The BBQ Welcome Party was held under Wan-shou Bridge on the 14th September, the next day of Mid-Autumn Festival, which also called the Moon Festival in some countries. Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival with friends and family is a tradition for most of the Asian societies, and in Taiwan, people like to barbecue. For IMBAers, the party not only provides a chance for the seniors to express their warmest welcome to the freshmen but also creating an opportunity for people to expand their social circle.
This year plenty of food that was all you can eat included freshly prepared corn and clam soups, vegetable salad, bread, pre-cook dishes and all kinds of barbecue meats you could imagine were offered and served by the Student Council and volunteers. All first-year students could get one free drink. Soda, beer and a special cranberry cocktail were also sold on site! The party started around 6pm. “There will be more than 100 participants today!” said Thacha Tapaneeyakorn, the President of Student Council when he was giving a bracelet with IMBA logo as souvenir for the entrants.
Party never ended by food and drinks but music and games! The party venue was well-planned with an area for playing games. There were two tables for people to play beer pong. Each table, players were grouped in two opponent teams and took turns throwing a table tennis ball into the other team’s cups. Once the ball landed into the opponent’s cup, the opponent then drinks the content inside that cup but shooting would be started again if both teams hit the cups. People were yelling “bottom up!” excitingly. Looked like they were so involved in the game.
Another fun game was a great chance to show the co-operation between partners. Two teams of two were competing with each other by transferring a plastic cup with their forehead from one side to the other side. The team who first completed transferring four cups won the game and decided the portion of beer or soju the losing team should drink. “It is harder than you imagine as the plastic cup is so soft and when we move quickly, it collapses!” said Alex Tsai, one of the Alumni who joined the game with his partner.
To enhance the teamwork between IMBAers, there was another game required teams of more than five to fit in different shapes drew on the floor and difficulties will be levelled up by minimizing the size of the shape when the team complete one level. People tried their best to hold each other’s hands, bodies and some team even lifted others on their shoulders! The winning team was rewarded with a nice French Champagne as first-runner-up prize!
In between, Jim Lai, one of the second-year student prepared his renowned Korean cocktail Soju Bomb or Poktanju for Thacha Tapaneeyakorn and Georgina Sapien, the President and Vice-president of Student Council as an opening game by hitting the glasses of separated shots of soju by a chopstick, letting them fell into glasses of beer to produce the puzzling chemistry, before they delivered a short speech to express their sincerest welcome to the new batch, the seniors, the alumni and their family who came to join this big party.
No one would doubt it was a great success of the BBQ Welcome Party this year and a good chance to get people together in the season. Wish all the freshmen from different countries and nationalities would enjoy their life in Taipei and being involved as a part of the IMBA family.
Anastasiia, Gina and Marilyn (2nd, 3rd and 4th left of the photo) from the Student Council and the second batch were helping the drink’s booth whole night.
The new batch was having BBQ during the Mid-Autumn Festival which is a traditional activity for Taiwanese and IMBA family.
People were so excited to see how Soju Bomb works.
Game time! Teams were practicing to fit in the small shape drew on the floor for winning the big prize, a French Champagne!
Having a joyful multi-cultural environment is always the spirit of NCCU IMBA Program!
