The Bronx: undisclosed location on Harlemmerstraat

The Bronx is three floors of mayhem, beer, soccer paraphernalia and college testosterone (except for Unger: haha, grapje!) hidden away above a pharmacy on Haarlemmerstraat, one of Leiden's two main shopping streets. It belongs to the Minerva fraternity, an exclusive college group whose boys are all bonded by the same distinctive slicked back long hair, their tendency to suit up and their secret initiation process. For example, on the wall is a table with times ranging from 52 seconds to 4 mins 36 seconds set next to names of the members of the house. I have been told that the persons named would rather die than ever disclose the reason for these times.

Unlike in Australia, where fraternity college accommodation may number in the 100s, here there are only 6 people living in the Bronx, with many other houses scattered around the city. This makes for more close personal, gezellig, relationships.

I come here often to hang out with my mate, who lives in the Bronx but is not actually in Minerva. While Thorsten the outsider may have the benefits of living with real Dutch local students, such as discounted pizza, gezellig times (especially the habit of going to the nearby supermarket together as a group bonding activity, even if only to buy a stick of chewing gum) and funny stories, he must also abide by the rules. For example, his loss of a mattress, following an ill-formed gentleman's agreement, is vigourously upheld. Meanwhile, punishment for disturbing and/or annoying housemates may include having one's clothes dipped in water, then placed in the freezer.

When the sun came out, the residents were once seen sitting on their balcony patio with an open fire. They threw absolutely anything lying around into this fire in a fervourous smoky burning session, including books, CDs and discarded wood. Of course, my friend the token German was deeply offended by this historically insensitive act.

Talking to a visiting former Minerva committee member, I was moved by the great bond that is said to exist between members, even between different generations who have never met each other but are all bound by their time spent at the Bronx, or another other house for that matter.

What else can I say? Well, I feel quite privileged to be welcomed into this very exclusive and typically Dutch male student world. While at first, there may have been distance and high walls, once one spends enough time there and gains respect, there is a very loyal and tightly-knit group whose every member feels included and part of a family. In my time here, I will have have only observed and scraped the surface.

New experiences I have tried at the Bronx:

• Loopy Louie
• Jenever with Chocomel
• more to come...

Some random things that have provided much amusement to the Bronx:

• the barbecue - to burn things as aforementioned
• a stuffed falcon
• a samurai sword
• Thorsten's wet dirty towel (supposedly for half an hour)
  
• Loopy Louie children's toy as aforementioned
• flags - especially the German one.
  

Futher research: Paul Verhoeven, the director of Basic Instinct and Showgirls, has made a 4 part TV-series called "Voor Koningin en Vaderland" that prominently features a Minerva building and initiation rituals.