On 6 July, I attended the SENSE Summer Social, which this year was held at the Hortus botanicus in Leiden, followed by lunch at Loetje Leiden. The event, organized by Becky Tomas, was a well-attended and enjoyable day exploring the multi-faceted gardens.

I was very excited to have an official tour of this historic garden, and to meet new colleagues. Though I joined SENSE several years ago, this was my first in-person event. I am a relatively new copy editor, and participating in a professional community where I can learn and grow is important to me.

On the rainy and windy Saturday morning, the sound of SENSE members and their partners greeting one another filled the glass house entrance hall of the Hortus botanicus. From the way people asked after each other’s families, it was clear that SENSE has facilitated many lasting friendships. This struck me particularly, as working for one’s self, as I do, is potentially isolating and lonely.

More than 40 people attended; I had never before been in the presence of so many language professionals at once. As a dedicated introvert, I found the noise and number of people to be a bit overwhelming. But my social anxiety was quickly put to rest by how welcoming and friendly people were. Throughout the day, multiple SENSE members approached me to introduce themselves and welcome me to the event and to the group.

Once everyone had arrived, we split into three groups and took guided tours of the gardens. The tour was very interesting and informative, and being in a smaller group allowed me to learn a little about some of the other members. I was impressed by the breadth of knowledge represented in our small group; many thought-provoking questions were asked of our guide, and some SENSE members were even able to provide additional information and context about the plants and the history of Leiden.

The Hortus botanicus, our guide explained, was established by the University of Leiden in 1590, less than 50 years after the world’s first botanical garden at the University of Padua in Italy. The garden’s layout have understandably changed as the garden has grown and evolved over 400+ years, reflecting the history of the Netherlands and Europe.

It seemed appropriate that a society of language professionals, hailing from different countries and with different backgrounds, would meet there, in a place that has represented since its founding the Dutch engagement with the rest of the world.

A relatively recent effort, completed in 2009, has restored the original garden as it would have been in 1590 under the prefecture of botanist Carolus Clusius. The original collection, intended to benefit the university’s medical students, housed both medicinal plants and those plants gathered from abroad by the Dutch East India Company – including the infamous tulip.

As we walked through the somewhat wild reconstructed garden, a few SENSE members commented that many of the plants grown there also grow in their own gardens across the North Sea in the UK. Dutch-speakers and English-speakers shared the plants’ respective common names, often finding similarities.

My reminder of home came in the form of the swamp cypress (Taxodium distichum); though not particularly notable, the tree is native to the southern United States, where I lived for a year (from my native California) before I moved to the Netherlands.

As it was a particularly windy day, we spent the largest part of our time in the glass house with the tropical plant collections. Though we’d sadly missed the smelly bloom of the Amorphophallus gigas (native to Sumatra), we were impressed by carnivorous pitcher plants, a giant elephant ear (Colocasia gigantea from Thailand), and the soft pink bloom of a giant water lily (Victoria amazonica from the Amazon rainforest).

As I looked around at the international group of SENSE members, I couldn't help but feel a kinship to the plants so lovingly cultivated and cared for by the botanists of the Hortus botanicus: we are most of us transplants ourselves, and have made the Netherlands our home and the source of our professional community.

The tour could have easily gone on all day, as we’d only viewed a fraction of the gardens. But as our bodies were tiring and our stomachs were hungry, I was happy to start the trek to Loetje Leiden, where three large banquet tables were waiting for us in a private room.

Over lunch, I had the opportunity to get to know my table mates as we chatted over cheese croquettes, a tasty goat cheese salad, and generous plates of sandwiches. The conversation was stimulating, ranging from the language profession to our personal life histories, to the best activities to do with children in the Netherlands.

Though I did not have the opportunity to visit with everyone, I was impressed by the obvious depth of knowledge of those SENSE members with whom I did visit. As a new editor, it was inspiring to meet so many who have not only made successful, longstanding careers in the language profession, but have also made the Netherlands their true home. I look forward to growing my own connections with this dynamic and welcoming group of people.