Studying far away from home is leaving your family just to meet complete strangers that in the course of a few weeks become both your adoptive children and adoptive parents. For me, my friends from Nijmegen are the non-biological family that is keeping me alive in times when the peeves of growing up outnumber the perks. But friends/alternative family members are, besides being there throughout the bad days, also really fun to be around on the good ones. And last week’s Saturday was definitely counting as one of the good ones.

For everyone who still doesn’t know what I am referring to: last week’s Saturday was the day where Europe was meeting and presenting the, what I believe to be, modern day equivalent of Medieval minnesinger competitions. Just bigger. And with way more glitter. My friends, it was the finale of the Eurovision Song Contest. That being said — I would probably not care very much if it wasn’t for a close friend of mine who is a huge Eurovision Song Contest fan. Because of that, I got invited to an Eurovision Song Contest screening and, long story short, became over the course of the past week increasingly excited about the contest.

I am going to be honest, I had watched the ESC only two times before — the first time when Germany won it back in 2010. And after that only once more, going to bed halfway through it. I do still listen to some songs I liked during the contest back in 2010. But I am definitely not a die hard fan. However, this year is different. Not because I finally discovered my deep-rooted love for music competitions, but because I associate it with people I love and time well spent.

I am aware that people have different opinions about the Eurovision Song Contest. Some love it, while some can’t stand it. But you cannot deny that coming together for an event like this with your friends can be something very nice. And that is, for me, what those kind of competitions are about. Being open for things you did not have a particular opinion about before, trying something new and, by that, making new traditions away from home. You do not have to be into Eurovision music in order to enjoy the idea of a big international get-together — both on screen and in your own living room. And if that is not a reason to watch — I don’t know what is.

Viva la Eurovision!

Every two weeks, Antonia will add the songs she writes about to the Spotify playlist below. This way, she creates a soundtrack to her time in Nijmegen. Click left and right for more songs.

Read Antonia Leise's blogs here