Alumni Visits

by Daniel Renzi

Dear I-House community,

Have you ever met an old friend after a long time, noticing that from the last time nothing has changed?

This was my feeling when I first arrived at Joe's house in Algarve, a stunning region in Southern Portugal, for our first big reunion.

A year has passed since the first time I set foot on our beloved I-House for the Fall Semester 2021. 

Those were four months full of laughs and adventures throughout California and beyond, with weekend getaways and unforgettable roadtrips to some special places, Yosemite and Lake Tahoe to name a few.

When we left San José, I wasn’t sure that we would see each other when back in Europe, because I feared that those unique memories and friendships would fade away when getting back to routine and busy life in our home countries.

However, to my delight, we managed to stay in touch for all this time and finally organised this get together in August.

Seeing some of the friends with whom we shared so many memories was such a dream!

We joined from Austria, Denmark, England, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.

From making delicious brunch at home, to spending a chill day at the pool, or watching sunset at the beach while tasting Portuguese cuisine, we had a real blast!

Being such a diverse group with all our different accents, made ourselves easily recognizable and we met funny people that were curious to know where we were all from, and a Dutch family even offered us a shot of Amarguinha!

We made the most out of the little moments of everyday life, telling funny stories of last year while still making new memories that will last forever.

I am grateful for all the moments that we shared in and outside of the I-House, and while now it’s time to start another semester in Switzerland, I am sure that our paths will cross again!

At the end of the day, our next reunion is just one message away 😉