AWC Going Dutch October 2019

Message from the President
by Suzanne MacNeil
I
trust that your September was filled with
getting back into the swing of things as the
last of the sand from your summer holiday
was vacuumed out of the car (or wiped off
your bike), children were well ensconced in
school, and your month was busy with all
things AWC The Hague. There were so many
fun events and activities offered, and I hope
you took advantage of at least a few of them
and reconnected with friends from the Club.
Once I returned from my three state―
Massachusetts, Florida and California―vacation
in August, I was ready to get back
into our very full Club calendar. While I was
away and thinking of my expat friends and
throughout September as we reconnected, I
came to realize that there’s so much more to
our Club than just events and activities. It’s
about sisterhood. And that point was driven
home by a chance encounter at 35,000
feet somewhere between California and my
Dallas layover. After finding a window seat
on my Southwest flight, I looked to my right
after takeoff and sitting across the aisle was
Teresa Braunschweig. Teresa repatriated to
Dallas four years ago when her husband retired
after serving as the military attaché at
the American Embassy. She holds a special
place in my heart because we met at an ASH
adult education cooking class not long after
I moved to The Hague. When I mentioned
I was a new expat, Teresa told me about
our Club and I joined. As soon as we were
both off the plane, we hugged and chatted.
No time seemed to have passed between us,
and our conversation was
just as easy as it was
when we were
learning how to
cook Italian cuisine.
We will
be forever connected.
6 GOING DUTCH
Being an expat,
as most of
our Members
are, doesn’t mean
we’ve made a
move to another
city in another
state in the same
country in which
we hold a passport.
It means we’ve
left easy access
to our family and
friends and may
be an ocean away
from those who hold a place in our hearts.
Making new friends may have felt daunting
when you first moved to the Netherlands.
For me, those first few months were fearinducing,
but that’s where our Club and our
Members come in because they may be the
only ones who truly understand. We are a
unique group. Our Club sisters understand
the highs and the lows of being an expat,
the challenges and joys we experience, and
offer a warm embrace when we need confirmation
that we can make it to the other side.
On the other side of expat life is having to
say goodbye. We bond, we get one another,
we can relate to unique struggles, but then
reality slaps us in the face. Hard. For many
of us this is a temporary assignment, which
means we have to say “safe travels” over
and over when our friends and Club sisters
leave. We have laughed, and perhaps cried
together, and then they’re gone. I’ve been
to many going-away lunches in my seven
years and sadly, I have three goodbyes this
fall, two of them to Members of your Board.
The now-retired Editor of Going Dutch
and Communications Chair on the Board,
Audrey Goodman, is moving back to
Baltimore in December, several months earlier
than she originally expected. A new job
opportunity is beckoning, and she needs to
be on the job by the first of the year. Her
contributions to our Club are immeasurable.
>>43
October General Meeting
by Suzanne MacNeil
Internment,
Release,
Repatriation
Henriette van
Raalte was born
and lived in Java at
the start of World
War II, where her
mother worked for
Shell in the Dutch
East Indies and her
father was a tax inspector.
Not long
after war broke out, Henriette and her family
were interned in three different Japanese
camps. Once the war ended, Henriette’s
family repatriated to the Netherlands, specifically
the Archipel area and she now
lives in Benoordenhout.
Henriette never forgot her years in the
internment camps and she wrote a memoir
in the 1990s, Mogen Wij Altijd in Dit
Kamp Blijven? (Please, Can We Stay in
This Camp Forever?). It is the story of a
young child whose early years were shaped
by living in the camps and who wasn’t sure
why she had to return to the Netherlands.
The book has been translated into Japanese
and English with plans to turn Henriette’s
story into a movie. She will join us for
our October meeting to share her memories
about a piece of history that touched
the lives of many of our Dutch friends and
neighbors.
re-Building Lives Benefit:
Update and Check Presentation
Our Spring Benefit for Not for Sale raised
more than € 17,000. Toos Heemskerk, the
Director of Not for Sale, will be our guest.
She will receive a ceremonial check for
the organization and give Members a brief
update about Not for Sale’s work since the
benefit.
Thursday, October 10
10 – 10:30 a.m. Coffee and conversation
10:30 – 10:45 a.m. Club news and
updates
10:45 – 11:30 a.m. Presentation by
Henriette
AWC Clubhouse
Guests are welcome
Lunch at your own expense (Menu to be
shared on www.awcthehague.org)
Did you know that any woman who speaks English is eligible to join the
American Women’s Club?
Invite your English-speaking friends, wherever they’re from, to join us today!
OCTOBER 2019 7