AWC Going Dutch Jan Feb 2020
The American Women's Club of The Hague's monthly magazine
The American Women's Club of The Hague's monthly magazine
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Going Dutch
January/February 2020
The Magazine of the
American Women’s Club
of The Hague
Thanksgiving in Leiden
Out to Lunch Bunch
Exploring Boston
6
34
44
5 Officers and Chairwomen
6 Thanksgiving in Leiden
8 Message from the President
9 January Kick-Off and
February General Meeting
10 Letter from the Editor
12 Membership and
Newcomers
13 Clubhouse Corner
14 Ongoing Activities
22 One-of-a-Kind Activities
24 Open Chair Positions
25 TLC Dinner
26 Farewell to Suzanne
MacNeil
28 Calendar
33 AWC and the Arts
34 Out to Lunch Bunch
36 FAWCO Corner
39 Consumers, Brands and
Climate Action
42 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tribute
44 Exploring Boston
48 General Meeting and
Thanksgiving Potluck
50 Winter Woes
52 Announcements
56 Classifieds
57 Index of Advertisers
57 Rates
58 Restaurant
Recommendations
DECEMBER 2019 3
Editor
Alex Moore
2019-2020 AWC Officers
Committee Chairs
AWC Clubhouse
Johan van Oldenbarneveltlaan 43
2582 NJ Den Haag
Tel: 070 350 6007
info@awcthehague.org
www.awcthehague.org
Going Dutch Magazine
goingdutchmag@awcthehague.org
Clubhouse Hours
Tuesday and Thursday
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday Closed
Dues (Effective 2019-2020)
€ 110 per year (€ 66 after January 1)
€ 90 business, professional
€ 55 valid US military ID
€ 35 student
€ 35 Outside the Netherlands (Going
Dutch magazine not included)
Add € 15 new member registration fee
Design and Layout
Teresa Mahoney
Cover
Light Snow in Leiden by Melissa White
Photography
Greetje Engelsman, Deana Kreitler, Suzanne
MacNeil, Alex Moore, Melissa Rider, Emily
van Eerten, Melissa White
Proofreaders
Celeste Brown, Audrey Goodman, Jane
Gulde, Diane Schaap, Debbie van Hees,
Melissa White
Advertising Manager & Invoicing
Open
Contributors
Barbara Brookman, Mary Ellen Brennan, Jane
Choy, Suzanne Dundas, Greetje Engelsman,
Roberta Enschede, Jan Essad, Dena Haggerty,
Eileen Harloff, Sheyla Karman, Suzanne
MacNeil, Sunita Menon, Georgia Regnault,
Melissa Rider, Jo van Kalveren, Anne van
Oorshot, Emily van Eerten, Hilde Volle,
Melissa White
Printer
www.dwcprint.nl
AWC Bank Account Number
IBAN: NL42ABNA0431421757
KvK Den Haag
40409274
BTW or VAT: 007408705B01
Deadlines: Submissions are due no later than the last Monday of the month preceding the publication month.
For example, for the March issue, submissions are due before Monday, February 24.
Please Note: Articles submitted to Going Dutch will be published subject to space limitations and
editorial approval. All rights reserved; reprints only by written permission of the Editor. Please email to:
goingdutchmag@awcthehague.org
Legal Notice: Articles in Going Dutch express the views and opinions of their authors alone, and not necessarily
those of the AWC of The Hague, its Members or this publication.
4 GOING DUTCH
Honorary President Diane Hoekstra
President Melissa Rider
president@awcthehague.org
Vice President Barbara Brookman
vicepresident@awcthehague.org
Treasurer Teresa Insalaco
treasurer@awcthehague.org
Secretary Heather DeWitt
secretary@awcthehague.org
Club and Community Development
Open
community@awcthehague.org
Clubhouse Administrator
Jan Essad
clubadministrator@awcthehague.org
Communications Anna Molenaar-Ghijs
communications@awcthehague.org
Member-at-Large
Sunita Menon
Front Office
Liduine Bekman, Siska Datema-Kool,
Deana Kreitler, Hannah Gray, Georgia
Regnault, Melissa Rider, Jessie Rodell
Activities: Open
Arts: Jane Choy
Assistant Treasurer: Lori Schnebelie
Assistant Membership: Liduine Bekman
Board Advisor: Jessie Rodell
Caring Committee: Naomi Keip
Chat, Craft & Cake: Suzanne Dundas
eNews: Anna Molenaar-Ghijs
Evening Events: Open
FAWCO: Barbara Brookman
Front Office Coordinator: Open
General Meetings: Open
Heart Pillow: Jan de Vries
Historian/Archivist: Georgia Regnault
Holiday Bazaar: Open
IT Administrator: Julie Otten
Kids’ Club: Open
Library: Dena Haggerty
Lunch Bunch: Greetje Engelsman
Membership: Mary Ellen Brennan
Movie Network: Tina Andrews
Newcomers: Jo van Kalveen & Hilde
Volle
Parliamentarian: Georgia Regnault
Philanthropy: Jaimie Keppel-Molenaar
Social Media Facebook: Ceci Wong
Social Media Instagram: Anna Molenaar-
Ghijs & Michelle Voorn
Social Media LinkedIn: Julie Otten
Tennis: Molly Boed
Thirsty Thursday: Open
Tours: Liduine Bekman
Volunteer Coordinator: Laurie
Martecchini
Walkie Talkies: Emily van Eerten
Webmaster: Julie Otten
Women with Dutch Partners: Michelle
Voorn
AWC Mission Statement
The AWC is an association formed to provide social and educational activities for American
women living in the Netherlands and to promote amicable relations among people of all nations,
as well as acquiring funds for general public interest. Membership in the club is open
to women of all nations who are friendly and welcoming to American culture. The association
does not endeavor to make a profit. The AWC is a 100% volunteer organization.
DECEMBER 2019 5
Thanksgiving Ceremony in Leiden
Message from the President
by Melissa Rider
January Kick-Off
by Melissa Rider
Happy New Year! I always enjoy reflecting
on the past year to see where
I have been and then looking forward
to see where I am going. I began 2019
celebrating my one-year anniversary as the
Membership Chair and ended the year as
President. Talk about being fast tracked to
the top! Hopefully, my short stint as Vice
President, which began in June, has me well
prepared to handle the President’s job duties. I
much prefer behind-the-scenes administrative
work, but I will strive to be a good steward of
the presidency. Thanks to everyone who has
offered me their support and, in particular,
Barbara Brookman, who has volunteered
to fill the role of Vice President. Barbara has
been a tremendous help this fall organizing
several events and activities in addition to
doing her other volunteer job as our Club’s
FAWCO Representative.
or small, to keep
the AWC functioning
smoothly.
An all-volunteer
organization
should function
as follows: the
Board creates
the governance,
the Committee
Chairs are the
organizers, and
the Membership base volunteers for the
various tasks at hand. Currently, the Board
and, in particular, the Vice President, is doing
double duty of being a Board Member
and chairing several committees. Please see
the list of open AWC Board and Committee
Chair positions on page 24 and volunteer for
one of them today!
The January Kick-off is a two-parter
with a twist. Enjoy a morning mimosa
while mingling with Members, new and
old, and if you can’t make the morning shift,
join us after work for a borrel with friends.
Member-owned businesses will be showcased
to help “Kick Off” the second half of the Club
year. Committee Chairs and Board Members
will be present to answer questions about all
the great events and activities planned for
the first half of the new year. Please feel free
to bring your friends so they can learn all
about the AWC.
Thursday, January 9
Morning Mimosas: 10 a.m. – Noon
Evening Borrel: 5 – 7 p.m.
AWC Clubhouse
Free
Happy New Year!
The AWC Clubhouse will open again on January 7
February General Meeting
by Suzanne MacNeil
Another volunteer who has worked tirelessly
for the Club and has helped me immensely
with Membership Chair and Vice
President IT duties this past year has been
Julie Otten, our Webmaster. We’ve worked
together moving our Membership data and
events calendar over to our new web platform:
Wild Apricot. Without her expertise
and training, I would be floundering and so
would the Club.
Suzanne MacNeil’s leadership will be
missed, but the remaining Board Members
will continue with her vision of growing a
dynamic and involved Membership so that
the AWC remains strong. While
a lot has changed over
the years since the
Club’s founding in
1930, our strength
is still our volunteers.
I cannot
emphasize enough
how important it
is for you to volunteer
in any way, big
Of course, I would be remiss in not thanking
all of the Members who chair the Ongoing
Committees year in and year out. Weekly
and monthly, these women keep their activities
and events running smoothly for AWC
Members to enjoy. They are a vital part of
our active organization. Saturday Night Out
at the Club is the latest addition to our list of
Ongoing Activities. This event will be held
once a month starting with the return of our
Annual Chili Cook-Off in January, followed
by Bunco Night in February, and then Game
Night—Cranium in March. Look for all of
the details about these activities on page 19
or on our website calendar.
For 2020, make it your New Year’s resolution
to become a more active and involved
AWC Member! You won’t regret it.
Tot ziens,
Melissa
Sustainability is a key word in the work
being done to reduce plastic pollution.
Beth Massa is part of the shift towards
environmental responsibility and is striving to
put an end to disposable food containers. Beth
and her husband Michael, both from Seattle
and now living in Amsterdam, have developed
food-grade silicone reusable packaging
for restaurant take-away, which will eliminate
billions of one-use packages. Beth and
Michael’s product is not only environmentally
necessary, but once washed and cleaned, the
packaging is collapsible to about a half-inch,
making them easy to store and convenient
for reuse.
The Massas
have launched a
Kickstarter campaign
to introduce
their company
Ozarka and ARK
Reusables (www.
ozarka.club) on
a commercialscale
to restaurant
partners. This is
no easy feat, and Beth will join us at our
February General Meeting to not only discuss
ARK Reusables, but to share the trials
and tribulations of launching a business,
especially as expats. Don’t miss this interesting
discussion about the zero-waste takeaway
revolution.
Thursday, February 13
10 a.m. Coffee and Conversation
10:30 Club News and Updates
10:45 Presentation by Beth Massa
AWC Clubhouse
Guests are welcome
Free
8 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 9
Letter from the Editor
by Alex Moore
So, it’s that time of year again. The time
when we put away our hideous sweaters,
store the last of our Christmas
decorations, and make resolutions we are
most likely going to break in February. The
time of year when I realize that either I’m
getting older or time is flying by faster since
another year has come and gone. Normally,
I’d worry about pending existential crises,
but I seem to get fewer of those. I guess
that’s one benefit of aging.
While I may not have any more holiday
anecdotes or fun pictures about Teddy, I
do have good news: I managed to pull off
Thanksgiving without anything exploding,
catching on fire, or breaking. My inlaws
were wonderful as well, helping me
pick up the turkey, cook and set up. It’s the
first real Thanksgiving I’ve hosted, since I
don’t count the Friendsgiving I hosted in
Korea for my friends. There was no turkey,
after all, since that would have meant going
to Itaewon to the expat store and I lived
somewhat far from that part of Seoul.
After the excitement of the holidays,
January can be a tough month. Everyone
is broke, the holidays are over, winter is in
full force. No one ever said that a Dutch
winter was easy. It’s not uncommon to feel
sad during this time of year, especially for
us expats who are far away from the creature
comforts of home. The AWC has several
upcoming events such as a Welcome
Back Coffee, Welcome Back Borrel and a
Chili Cook-Off. Events like these can help
break up the winter blues that may seem
inevitable.
With the new year and new decade, there
are some changes to our Club as well.
Some Members have repatriated, new activities
have been added and new Members
have joined. I’d like to give shout-outs to
Audrey Goodman and Suzanne MacNeil
for everything they did to make our Club
and our magazine great, and for everything
they did to help me out. Here’s to hoping
our paths cross again. I’d also like to give
another shout-out to Teresa Mahoney and
Melissa White for everything they do to
help out with Going Dutch. If it weren’t for
them, we wouldn’t have successfully published
our fall issues.
I hope that 2020 is a wonderful productive
year for all of you. I look forward to getting
to know more of you at the various activities
planned for this year. I also look forward
to many more issues of Going Dutch.
Now if you all will excuse me, I’m going to
daydream about sunny places.
Happy New Year!
10 GOING DUTCH
Alex
DECEMBER 2019 11
Membership
by Mary Ellen Brennan
Clubhouse Corner
by Jan Essad & Sunita Menon
By the time you read this article, the
Club will have switched to its new
Membership management program:
Wild Apricot, which allows us to automate
many processes that we currently do manually,
such as connecting new Members with
the groups and activities of interest to them.
We will now be able to respond to prospective
Members more quickly. Members will be able
to update their contact information, which
will carry over to the Going Dutch mailing
list and their Membership record.
Help us recruit new Members by inviting
friends or acquaintances to our activities
Welcome New Members!
April
Carol
and events throughout the year. Thirsty
Thursday is a great activity for prospective
new Members to give them a chance
to make a connection with other Members.
Keep in mind that we are a diverse organization
(not just Americans!), and Members
can be Dutch or expats from other countries.
If you meet or know of someone who would
enjoy being part of the AWC, please consider
bringing them with you to Kick Off
(see page 9) or suggest that they visit our
website: www.awcthehague.org. Thanks!
A
new beginning... isn’t this a great time
of year? A mark of something new,
a chance to begin again with goals
and aspirations, or the opportunity to try
something different. This is the way Sunita
and I felt a year and a half ago when we decided
to venture together on this Clubhouse
Administrator journey.
I’m sure many Members wonder, “What in
the world does a Clubhouse Administrator
do?” Believe me, we asked the same question!
We soon found out it was a multifaceted
Board position with many fun support
roles, opportunities to maintain and improve
our Clubhouse, event planning and coordination,
team building, budgeting and, best of
all, shopping. (Sorry no shoes or half-price
boutique sales, ladies. But Sligro, grocery
and office supply can be fun, too!). Best of
all, you get to be part of a dynamic group
of women on a Board excited to serve, improve
our Club and contribute to the success
of AWC The Hague.
The new year brings all of us a chance to
consider something new, fun and challenging
that not only makes a difference to our
own life, but those around us. If you would
like to find out more about all we do, we
will be happy to answer any and all questions
about all the fun we have. You may be
just the right person to fill the position on
the upcoming 2020-2021 Board.
Thank you all for your support and we wish
you a very Happy New Year! Looking forward
to seeing you at the Club.
Newcomers
by Jo van Kalveen & Hilde Volle
Calling all AWC Newcomers! We are
Jo and Hilde, the AWC Newcomer
Chairs. Our one piece of advice for
anyone new to the Netherlands and the AWC
is to ask questions! Please feel free to email
us with any questions or queries if you are new
to the AWC or the Netherlands: awcthehague.
newcomers@gmail.com. In addition, make
use of the AWC’s Facebook Group as no
query is too small or silly. AWC Members
have a wealth of knowledge, experience and
areas of special interest between them, and
they’re always happy to share. And your
question(s) may just help other Members.
So, ask away!
12 GOING DUTCH
Keep an eye out for the next Newcomers’
event.
Tot ziens,
Jo and Hilde
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!
DECEMBER 2019 13
Ongoing Activities
Book Clubs
The AWC Book Clubs are open to all readers,
and new Members are especially welcome!
There are no requirements that you
must attend every meeting or lead a discussion.
Snacks are provided by a different
Member each month. There are two Book
Clubs hosted by AWC Members: One in the
daytime and one in the evening. Questions?
Teresa Mahoney organizes the daytime
group and can be reached at bookclubday@
awcthehague.org. Dena Haggerty handles
the evening meetings and can be reached at
bookclubevening@awcthehague.org. Happy
reading!
Daytime Book Club
January Selection: A Strangeness of My
Mind by Orphan Pamuk
From the Nobel Prize
winner and best-selling
author of Snow and My
Name Is Red, comes the
unforgettable tale of an
Istanbul street vendor and
the love of his life. Mevlut
Karataş moves to Istanbul
at the age of 12 in the hope
of becoming rich, but luck
never seems to be on his side. Every evening
for decades, he wanders the streets, selling a
mildly alcoholic drink and wondering at the
“strangeness” in his mind, the sensation that
makes him feel different from everyone else.
Told from different perspectives by a host of
characters, this is a modern coming-of-age
story in a great city that has witnessed many
changes over the past 50 years.
Thursday, January 23
10 a.m.
AWC Clubhouse
FREE
Daytime Book Club Reading List:
Thursday, March 26: Normal People by Sally
Rooney
Thursday, April 23: If Only I Could Tell You by
Hannah Beckerman
14 GOING DUTCH
February Selection: Fleishman is in Trouble
by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Toby Fleishman thought
he knew what to expect
when he and his wife of
almost 15 years separated:
weekends and every other
holiday with the kids,
some residual bitterness,
the occasional moment
of tension in their co-parenting
negotiations. He could not have predicted
that one day, in the middle of his summer
of sexual emancipation, Rachel would
just drop their two children off at his place
and simply not return. He had been working
so hard to find equilibrium in his single
life. The winds of his optimism, long dormant,
had finally begun to pick up. Now this.
As Toby tries to figure out where Rachel
went, all while juggling his patients at the
hospital, his never-ending parental duties,
and his new app-assisted sexual popularity,
his tidy narrative of the spurned husband
with the too-ambitious wife is his sole consolation.
But if Toby ever wants to truly understand
what happened to Rachel and what
happened to his marriage, he is going to have
to consider that he might not have seen things
all that clearly in the first place.
Thursday, February 27
10 a.m.
AWC Clubhouse
FREE
Daytime Book Club Recap – November
In memory of American author Toni
Morrison, who died in August 2019, we read
Beloved, her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
Inspired by the life of African-American slave
Margaret Garner, this novel tells the story of
Sethe, who escaped slavery and, when about
to be recaptured, killed her daughter to save
her from a life of slavery. The book portrays
a very dark point in American history, and
some found the book difficult to read due to
disturbing details. For some, it was their first
exposure to this chapter in American history.
While some found the book engaging, others
did not. Nevertheless, we agreed that this
book is important for its depiction of slavery
and its influence on African-Americans
even after slavery ended. The topics of slavery
and the depiction of Africans are current
ones more than a century later with the recent
news about Zwarte Piet demonstrations, the
appearance of racist abuse by Dutch football
fans, and the 25 migrants found on a boat
leaving the Netherlands for the UK. We discussed
the legacy of slavery and some of the
issues that still exist for African-Americans,
as well as the historical roles of the Dutch
and Americans in the slave trade. The
novel leaves many unanswered questions:
Is Beloved a real person, a ghost, or a figment
of Sethe’s mental illness? Should the
reader suspend disbelief and regard Beloved
as the dead daughter, or is Beloved simply
a runaway slave unrelated to Sethe? Why is
Beloved depicted as unlovable? Can Sethe’s
belief that Beloved is her daughter help her
to heal and get over the tragedy? Most of all,
we discussed whether to critique this book
on the importance of the topic or how it was
written.
Evening Book Club
January Selection: The Bridge of San Luis
Rey by Thornton Wilder
On Friday noon, July
the twentieth, 1714, the
finest bridge in all Peru
broke and precipitated
five travelers into the
gulf below. With this
celebrated sentence,
begins one of the
towering achievements
in American fiction,
and a novel read throughout the world.
By fate or chance, a monk has witnessed
the collapse. Brother Juniper, moved by
the tragedy, embarks on a quest to prove a
higher order is at work in the deaths of those
who perished. His search leads readers on a
timeless investigation into the nature of love
Evening Book Club Reading List:
March 11: The Signature of All Things by
Elizabeth Gilbert
and the meaning of the human condition.
The location of our discussion changes
every month, so please contact Dena at
bookclubevening@awcthehague.org if you
are interested in attending.
Wednesday, January 8
7:30 p.m.
Location TBA
FREE
February Selection: Nothing to Envy by
Barbara Demick
Award-winning journalist
Barbara Demick
follows the lives of six
North Korean citizens
over 15 years—a chaotic
period that saw the death
of Kim Il-sung, the rise
to power of his son Kim
Jong-il (the father of Kim
Jong-un), and a devastating
famine that killed 1/5 of the population.
Demick brings to life what it means to live
under the most repressive regime today—an
Orwellian world that is by choice not >> 16
DECEMBER 2019 15
Ongoing Activities (cont.)
Continued from page 15
connected to the Internet, where displays of
affection are punished, informants are rewarded,
and an offhand remark can send a
person to the gulag for life. She takes us deep
inside the country, beyond the reach of government
censors. Through meticulous and
sensitive reporting, we see her subjects fall
in love, raise families, nurture ambitions, and
struggle for survival. We witness their profound,
life-altering disillusionment with the
government and their realization that, rather
than providing them with lives of abundance,
their country has betrayed them. The location
of our discussion changes every month, so
please contact Dena at bookclubevening@
awcthehague.org if you are interested in attending.
Wednesday, February 12
7:30 p.m.
Location TBA
FREE
Evening Book Club Recap – November
Fleischman is in Trouble was the debut
novel by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. a staff
writer for The New York Times. Although
our group was almost evenly split as to
who liked the novel, most of the group
could agree about the obvious writerly
craftsmanship exhibited. The story itself
and our dislike of the main character were
quickly hashed out as everyone was eager
to discuss the subject matters brought up
by the story: the equality of the sexes (or
lack thereof), the ‘fragile’ male ego, and
sex after divorce. These subjects led to a
lively and sometimes heated debate. We
didn’t have a problem agreeing about the
so-called fragility of the male ego, but how
far towards equality women have come was
a matter of much discussion. No items were
thrown, but voices were definitely raised. If
the measure of a good book club selection
is the amount of debate during our discussion,
then this was most definitely a good
choice.
Chat, Craft & Cake
Chat, Craft & Cake is a weekly highlight
for those who enjoy crafts and camaraderie.
Whether your craft is knitting, quilting,
needlepoint or simply mending your
clothes, or whether you are a beginner
or an expert, you are welcome to join us.
Fish that UFO (Unfinished Object) out
of the drawer and get going on it again.
CCandCers are always ready with a helping
hand, a lesson, or some advice. Each week,
a different Member brings a cake―tried
and true, or experimental. Babysitting is not
available and there are lots of sharp objects
about (pins, needles, scissors and wit) so
we cannot accommodate children. Contact
Suzanne Dundas at chatcraftcake@
awcthehague.org for more information
Every Tuesday
10 a.m. – Noon
AWC Clubhouse
FREE
Heart Pillow Project
Members work together to make heartshaped
pillows designed to help support
the arms of recent mastectomy patients.
Each pillow is made with TLC, wrapped,
and comes with a note signed by an AWC
volunteer. No sewing skills are needed,
as you can cut, stuff or wrap the heart
pillows. We are proud to provide men
and women with something both practical
and comforting, and we know our work
helps because we often receive thank-you
notes and emails from the patients who
have received a heart pillow. For more >> 18
16 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 17
Ongoing Activities (cont.)
Continued from page 17
information, please contact Jan de Vries at
heartpillow@awcthehague.org.
Tuesdays, January 14, February 11
Noon – 2 p.m.
AWC Clubhouse
FREE
Visitors Welcome
Mah Jongg
Mah Jongg is a popular tile-based game
of Chinese origin. This exciting game is
similar to the card game, Rummy. We
will play the international version with
144 tiles with no scoring. Be prepared
for a game of strategy and luck that will
quickly become addictive! We will begin
with an introduction of the basic rules
and hands. All beginners and experienced
players are welcome at any time. Once
the group is established, beginners can
join and learn from doing. Please join us
as this game is simply good fun. For more
information and to RSVP, contact Jen van
Ginhoven at activities@awcthehague.org.
Every Tuesday, except second Tuesday
of the month
1 – 4 p.m.
AWC Clubhouse
FREE
Out to Lunch Bunch
If you’re interested in exploring new
restaurants, join us once a month for
lunch in or around The Hague. A different
restaurant is selected each month on
varying days of the week. If you have
any questions, please contact Greetje
Engelsman at outtolunchbunch@
awcthehague.org.
Out to Lunch Bunch: January
Restaurant Augustus (www.eetcafeaugustus.nl)
is situated on the
Reinkenstraat, a nice shopping street. With
the the most extensive lunch menu in The
Hague, you can choose from sandwiches
and toasted sandwiches to wraps, salads or
poke bowls.
Thursday, January 23
Noon – 3 p.m.
Restaurant Augustus
Reinkenstraat 75, 2517 CS Den Haag
Sign up at www.awcthehague.org
Registration deadline: January 21
Out to Lunch Bunch: February
Located on the corner of the Grote Markt
and Prinsengracht, De Boterwaag (www.
boterwaag.nl) was built in 1650 by city
architect Bartholomeus van Bassen exclusively
for the wholesale trade of butter and
cheese. Later this big 17th century property
was converted into a Grand Café and now
invites guests to eat, drink and be merry.
Wednesday, February 19
Noon – 3 p.m.
De Boterwaag
Grote Markt 8A, 2511 BG Den Haag
Sign up at www.awcthehague.org
Registration deadline: February 17
Pickleball
Pickleball is a sport that combines elements
from tennis, badminton and table
tennis. It is played with a paddle and light
ball in a badminton-sized court. It is a
friendly sport for all age groups and levels!
Pickleball is the fastest growing sport
in the US and is exploding in popularity
internationally. The AWC is now trying to
form its own Pickleball League with AWC
Member, Krishna Thakrar, teaching us
how to play. Contact Barbara Brookman
at activites@awcthehague.org to join a trial
session with the option to become part
of the league.
Every Wednesday
10 – 11:30 a.m.
Sporthall Houtrust
Laan van Poot 22, Den Haag
Trial Session: € 10 Members /
€ 15 non-members
NEW! Saturday Night Out at the
Club
The latest addition to our Ongoing
Activities will be a monthly Saturday Night
Out at the Club in which we’ll host a variety
of social events at the AWC Clubhouse.
January: Chili Cook-Off
The annual AWC Chili Cook-Off took a
hiatus last year, but now it’s back. Join in
the competition by bringing your best chili
in a crockpot, hot and ready to share with
Members who will vote to determine the
best in the bunch. Get creative as chili can
be meatless, spicy, white, or have a surprise
ingredient. Contestants get in free,
but partners pay € 12 to cover extra food
items, drinks and prizes. We need judges,
so come even without a pot of chili. Come
enjoy a warm bowl of chili with all of the
fixings on a cold January Saturday night.
Saturday, January 25
6:30 – 10 p.m.
AWC Clubhouse
Minimum 10 / Maximum 36
Free for Contestants
€ 12 Members / € 17 non-members
Sign up at www.awcthehague.org
Cancellation Deadline: January 17
February: Bunco Night
Bunco is a simple dice game that requires
only luck to win. Since it requires little
Upcoming Out to Lunch Bunch Dates:
Friday, March 27
Thursday, April 23
Monday, May 25
Friday, June 19
AWC Guest Policy
Guests are welcome to participate in AWC activities and tours on a limited basis. As a
nonmember, a guest is limited to attend two functions per calendar year and will be
charged an additional nonmember fee. Only Members are entitled to use babysitting
services.
18 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 19
Ongoing Activities (cont.)
Continued from page 17
focus and no skill, it is the ideal game for a
night of socializing with friends. The game
is played on three tables with four players
at each. It consists of six rounds with
each round ending when a table reaches
21 points. For the first round, the object
is to try to roll three ones, in the second
round twos, third round threes, etc. If a
player rolls three of the same number and
it matches the round number, that’s Bunco
worth 21 points. Although the object of
the game is to win, prizes are given for
the most Buncos, most wins, most losses
and the player who ends up even. The
Clubhouse has enough room to host three
games. Snacks are on the house, so just
bring drinks and your good luck. If you
want to compete for prizes, then bring € 5
cash that evening.
Saturday, February 8
7 – 10:00 p.m.
AWC Clubhouse
Minimum 12 / Maximum 36
Free
Sign up at www.awcthehague.org
Registration Deadline: February 1
Tennis League
Players needed! The AWC Tennis Group
plays doubles every Tuesday in Warmond.
Ladies move up and down the courts according
to a ladder system. The emphasis
in on having fun! The League is available
for all levels except true beginners. Contact
Molly Boed at mollyboed@gmail.com for
more information.
Every Tuesday
(except specific holidays TBD)
1 – 3 p.m.
Dekker Tennis Court
Veerpolder 14, Warmond
Thirsty Thursday
Join us again for our monthly gathering.
Thirsty Thursday is a casual evening of
companionship and good conversation―a
favorite for AWC Members and prospective
Members. Two soft drinks, wine or
beer, plus snacks.
Thursday, January 16
6 – 9 p.m.
Gallery 61
Passage 61, 2511 AC Den Haag
€ 15 for two drinks and snacks
No RSVP needed
Thursday, February 20
6 – 9 p.m.
Lof der Zotheid
Breiterlaan 84, 2511 AC Den Haag
€ 15 for two drinks and snacks
No RSVP needed
Walkie Talkies
Whether you count your steps or just want
to walk with friends, the Monday morning
Walkie Talkies is a fun, healthy and
energetic way to start the week. The group
meets in front of the Clubhouse before
heading out to walk to various destinations
in the area, usually racking up 10,000
steps along the way. Please check the
AWC Facebook page or contact Emily van
Eerten at walkietalkies@awcthehague.org
for last minute updates and cancellations.
Mondays
9:30 a.m.
AWC Clubhouse
Free
Wassenaar Coffee &
Conversation
If you live in or north of Wassenaar, join
your neighbors for coffee and conversation
once-a-month without having to drive to the
Clubhouse. One Member will host a casual
coffee at her home at 9:30 a.m. on the first
Thursday of every month. Prospective
Members are welcome too. Suzanne
Cancellation Policy
Members may reserve a spot for an
AWC tour, activity or event in advance.
Payment is required within five
business days of the reservation or
before the deadline date (whichever
is sooner) otherwise your name
will be moved to a waitlist. It is the
responsibility of the Member to
notify the Club at vicepresident@
awcthehague.org to cancel a
reservation prior to the cancellation
deadline. Please note that there will be
NO REFUNDS (no exceptions) after the
cancellation deadline. Members may
find a substitute in lieu of cancellation
provided that arrangements are
made with the tour, activity or event
organizer. Members shall be held
responsible for their guest reservations
in accordance with this policy.
Dundas coordinates these meetings and can
be reached at chatcraftcake@awcthehague.
org. Since the location changes every
month, contact Suzanne if you are interested
in attending or for more information.
Thursdays, January 2, February 6
9:30 a.m.
Location TBA
FREE
20 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 21
One-of-a-Kind Activities
by Barbara Brookman
RSVP directly on www.awcthehague.org. Direct any questions to
vicepresident@awcthehague.org
Payment must be made within 5 calendar days of reserving or your name will be moved to a waitlist.
Payment can be made in the Front Office by PIN, on the AWC website (www.awcthehague.org) or by
bank transfer to the AWC account NL42ABNA0431421757.
Winter Welcome Back
Come enjoy a morning mimosa while mingling
with Members, new and old. Can’t
make the morning session? Then join us after
work for a borrel with friends. Committee
Chairs and Board Members will be present
to answer questions about all the great events
and activities planned for the first half of the
new year. Member-owned businesses will
also be showcased during this event.
Thursday, January 9
Morning Mimosas: 10 a.m. – Noon
Evening Borrel: 5 – 7 p.m.
AWC Clubhouse
Free
AWC Table at Feel at Home Fair
The AWC will once again be represented
at the Feel at Home Fair, a celebration of
the uniquely connected and cosmopolitan
22 GOING DUTCH
international community of The Hague.
This fair provides a warm welcome to
newcomers and a friendly meeting place for
internationals already living here, so it’s the
perfect opportunity for the AWC to recruit
new Members. If you are already planning
on attending the event, please consider
spending an extra hour volunteering at our
table. Contact Mary Ellen Brennan at
membership@awcthehague.org to volunteer
for a shift. Entrance is free if you order tickets
in advance at www.feelathomeinthehague.
com.
Sunday, February 2
11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The Hague City Hall
Spui 70, Den Haag
Ceramic Canal House Tile Making
Class
Join Ceramic Artist Alexandra Breeze (www.
alexandrabreezeceramics.nl) for an introduction
to relief clay tile making. You have
probably seen Alexandra’s work at the AWC
Christmas Market or at shops around Holland.
We’ll look at different styles of Dutch canal
houses and their history, then we will make
and glaze four houses. Please note that due
to cost and time constraints, Alexandra uses
different glazes for the workshop, rather than
the process she
uses for her own
pieces shown
here. This means
that your houses
will have their
own unique
character!
Alexandra will
fire and mount
your houses, or
you can leave them unmounted to use as gifts
or ornaments. All materials are included in
the fee.
Monday, February 10
1 – 4 p.m.
AWC Clubhouse
€ 80 Members / € 85 non-members
Minimum 12 / Maximum 15
Cancellation Deadline: January 24
Private Dinner on the
Hoftrammm
Reserve your place now for a unique dining
experience on the Hoftrammm (www.
hoftrammm.nl), Once just a regular tram, it
is now a traveling restaurant, complete with
a WC and seating for 44 diners (8 tables
for 4 and 6 tables for 2). We’ve reserved
one car of the tram that seats 20 people for
our private AWC party. We’ll follow a scenic
route through The Hague while being
served a five-course gourmet meal designed
by Dutch Celebrity Chef Pierre Wind. The
Hoftrammm is literally a “moveable feast.”
Dinner will include: aperitif, bread, appetizers,
main course, dessert and unlimited drinks
(wine, beer and non-alcoholic options). A
vegetarian option is available if reserved in
Sligro The Hague Forepark is the perfect fit for you as entrepreneur.
We inspire and support you with our products and services, that will
help you with your business. Our people are always there for you
with professional and tailored advice.
sligro.nl
Linge 2, The Hague
advance; please note any food allergies when
registering. During our 2.5-hour tour of the
city, we will ride through Scheveningen, the
Statenkwartier and the Centrum. Please note
that the fee is nonrefundable unless your
spot(s) can be filled. RSVP and make your
payment via the online calendar on our website
by January 31. If there are not enough
participants by this date, the event will need
to be cancelled.
Sunday, April 19
Meet at 5:45 p.m. for a 6 p.m. departure
Stationsplein 8, Voorburg
€ 85 Members or Spouses
€ 90 non-members
Minimum / Maximum 20
Nonrefundable
Registration Deadline: January 31
Unique products
for entrepreneurs
1061246
DECEMBER 2019 23
TLC Dinner
by Suzanne MacNeil
Every so often we each need a bit of
tender loving care, also known as TLC.
The Merriam-Webster definition of
TLC is, “Extra attention to make someone or
something look or feel better.” And, once every
February our Club hosts the TLC Dinner
to provide that extra attention for women
who need a hand up, not a hand out. Guests
at the dinner come from all walks of life.
Some may be struggling financially, others
may be dealing with loss, and others may be
working to find their way back from illness or
dependency. No matter their personal issue,
our TLC Dinner provides a night filled with
friendship, good food, and efforts to make
the women who attend to put their struggles
aside.
Now is the time to recommend someone to
be welcomed to the Clubhouse for this warm
and gezellig evening. Perhaps you work
with an organization or group where women
are the focus and know someone who can
benefit from sitting with friends, old and
new, for the gift of being made to feel welcome
and to know they are not alone. If you
know of a woman, whether in the Club or
outside who will benefit from this night out,
please send her name and a bit of her back
story to Jaimie Keppel at philanthropy@
awcthehague.org, this year’s TLC Chair, no
later than Monday, January 20.
Our guests will be treated to dinner, entertainment
and gift bags. Each year our
Members volunteer to serve dinner to the
women who join us, to help make the evening
run smoothly, and to gain as much
from our guests as they gain from us. Please
consider helping make the TLC Dinner special
by any of the following options:
• Donate or find sponsors for gift bags
• Be one of six volunteers to help set up,
decorate and serve dinner
• If you know of a musician or other entertainer
who would be willing to donate
their services, please let Jaimie
know.
Saturday, February 15
5 – 10 p.m.
AWC Clubhouse
Guests by Invitation Only
Volunteers Needed
24 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 25
Farewell to Suzanne MacNeil
by Georgia Regnault
Most of this article I wrote back in
2016 for the bi-monthly magazine of
Benoordenhout, but thought it might be
nice to publish it again in Going Dutch as we bid
farewell to Suzanne MacNeil. Suzanne has been
an ideal example of today’s expat woman: one who
follows the creed to bloom where they are planted.
Suzanne lived in Benoordenhout for the last seven
years, leaving behind a career in the US as a TV
news anchor, reporter, producer and host, as well
as jobs in the corporate field.
As part of her study of mass communication at
Florida State University in Tallahassee, Suzanne had an internship at a local TV station. After
being promoted to reporter, she was one of the first on the scene when Ted Bundy, a serial
killer, attacked five women at the university, leaving two of them dead. A move to West Palm
Beach gave Suzanne the opportunity to cover the Ted Bundy case as the trial was moved to
Miami. For those unfamiliar with this case, Bundy was an infamous serial rapist and murderer
who, in the mid-1970s had committed gruesome murders of more than 30 young women
from coast to coast. He was finally apprehended in Florida, and Suzanne was in the right spot
at the right time to cover the trial on a daily basis. In her words, “In those days, there could
be no spinning of the news, just diligent research.” After several years in West Palm Beach,
Suzanne was offered a position in Champaign, Illinois as a host of PM Magazine, a nationally
syndicated show whose ratings were the sixth highest in the country.
This company, much like Kringloop here, helps people who need work, don’t know how
to find a job, and need to learn new work skills. Suzanne told their stories in the company
magazine, on the internal TV network, and to the news people in the city. She was literally
the face of Goodwill to the outside world. Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee had 1,600
employees when Suzanne worked there, and she said it was the best job she had in her long
and varied career.
That all came to a halt when she remarried in 2012 and her husband, Tim, was asked if he
would become the European liaison for an American company that developed a therapeutic
solution for patients with mitral valve disease. Since Tim had worked in The Hague several
years previously, he felt this was the best city for them to settle in. Although Suzanne was
extremely happy with this turn of events, it also meant she had to reinvent herself.
And we all know, Suzanne did just that. Suzanne joined the AWC and took a course in mosaics
at the American School. So intrigued by this new hobby, she built an atelier in her home
and took courses all over Europe to learn to work with various materials. She continued to use
her communication and writing skills while here and started working with several American
companies as a copy editor for teaching modules for nurses and also researching material for
a documentary that will be produced in California. Many of these skills Suzanne continued
to use in her positions as Editor of this magazine and President of the Club. I also can’t fail to
mention her many contacts who have visited the Club and shared their experiences. AWC of
The Hague will miss her gracious personality and her conscientious work for the Members.
Back in 2016, Suzanne closed our interview with a genuine promotion for The Hague, “I love
living here and made many friends: Dutch, American, Canadian and European. The lifestyle
suits me. The people are gracious. Never lost for something to keep me busy. Travelling is
easy. So much to explore.” I believe she still thinks this today and leaves with a heavy heart.
Suzanne, make sure you come back and visit.
Marrying soon after that to a university basketball coach, they consequently moved every
three or four years. In each place Suzanne found a new niche in the TV news world. She went
into writing and producing for TV, which included a cooking show that aired on HGTV, shows
that touched on social issues, and a documentary on how children of cancer patients deal with
their parent’s illness. This last production was nominated for an Emmy, the highest award a
TV show can win in the US.
In Nashville, Tennessee
Suzanne found herself a single
mom and in need of stable
work to enable her to raise her
two sons. She joined Nissan
America in their corporate office
in the internal communications
department. This involved
producing the company newsletter
and news programs for
employees. The urge to return
to her roots and work on social
issues made Suzanne decide to
leave Nissan when a job opportunity
opened at Goodwill
Industries of Middle Tennessee.
26 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 27
January 2020
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2
3 4
Wassenaar Coffee and
Conversation 9:30 a.m.
Clubhouse Closed through January 6
5 6
7
8
9
10 11
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
Chat, Craft & Cake 10 a.m.
Mah Jongg 1 p.m.
Pickleball 10 a.m.
Winter Welcome Back Coffee
10 a.m. - Noon
Clubhouse Closed through January 6
AWC Tennis 1 p.m.
Evening Book Club
7:30 p.m.
Winter Welcome Back
Borrel 5 - 7 p.m.
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Buddy Check 12
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
Chat, Craft & Cake 10 a.m.
Heart Pillow Workshop
Noon
Pickleball 10 a.m.
Dutch Politics Tour-
Parliament Buildings and
the Knight's Hall
10:15 a.m.
AWC Tennis 1 p.m.
Thirsty Thursday 6 p.m.
Great Chili Cook-Off
6:30 p.m.
19 20
21
22
23
24 25
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
Chat, Craft & Cake 10 a.m.
Pickleball 10 a.m.
Daytime Book Club 10 a.m.
Mah Jongg 1 p.m.
AWC Tennis 1 p.m.
Hermitage - Guided Tour of
Jewels! Exhibition
11:30 a.m.
Out to Lunch Bunch Noon
26
27
28
29
30 31
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
Chat, Craft & Cake 10 a.m.
Pickleball 10 a.m.
Mah Jongg 1 p.m.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Tribute and Dinner
5:30 p.m.
AWC Tennis 1 p.m.
28 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 29
February 2020
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
Looking Forward to Spring:
April 2: Handbag Auction
April 19: Dinner on the Hoftrammm
2
3
4
5
6
7 8
AWC Table at the Feel at
Home Fair 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
Chat, Craft & Cake 10 a.m.
Mah Jongg 1 p.m.
Pickleball 10 a.m.
Wassenaar Coffee and
Conversation 9:30 a.m.
AWC Tennis 1 p.m.
Bunco Night 7 p.m.
9 10
11
12
13
14 15
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
Ceramic Tile Making Class of
Amsterdam Canal Houses
1 p.m.
Chat, Craft & Cake 10 a.m.
Heart Pillow Workshop
Noon
AWC Tennis 1 p.m.
Buddy Check 12
Pickleball 10 a.m.
Evening Book Club
7:30 p.m.
Coffee 10 a.m.
February General Meeting
10:30 a.m.
TLC Dinner 5 p.m.
16 17
18
19
20
21 22
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
Chat, Craft & Cake 10 a.m.
Mah Jongg 1 p.m.
AWC Tennis 1 p.m.
Pickleball 10 a.m.
Out to Lunch Bunch Noon
Thirsty Thursday 6 p.m.
23 24
25
26
27
28 29
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
Chat, Craft & Cake 10 a.m.
Mah Jongg 1 p.m.
Pickleball 10 a.m.
Daytime Book Club 10 a.m.
Happy Leap Year!
AWC Tennis 1 p.m.
30 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 31
AWC and the Arts
by Jane Choy -Thurlow, AWC Member and Mauritshuis Docent
Guided Tour of Jewels – The
Glitter of the Russian Court
One of the Hermitage’s greatest treasures is
the fabulous jewelry collection. Hundreds of
them superbly sparkle in Jewels! Together
with many portraits and a profusion of richly
decorated gowns and ensembles once
worn by the highest echelons at the Russian
court in St. Petersburg, they represent two
centuries in fashion and jewels. Meet the
country’s flamboyant empresses—Anna,
Elizabeth and Catherine the Great—as well
as grand dukes and duchesses, tsarinas and
noble fashionistas of the 19th and early 20th
century. They wore dazzling costumes to
balls and parties, set off by bijoux carefully
selected to demonstrate identity, taste,
breeding and wealth. Jewelry might also be
designed to provoke or convey secret messages.
Pieces were ordered from leading
houses like Cartier, Tiffany and Fabergé.
Many pieces were lost following the Russian
Revolution. Jewels! presents a glittering array
of over 300 surviving masterpieces, situated
in ballrooms and boudoirs like those of
the tsars’ Winter Palace.
One of the highlights of the exhibition is
a flower bouquet made of precious gems
(1740–50): Empress Elizabeth’s brooch
made with over 400 brilliant-cut and over
450 rose-cut diamonds, as well as blue and
yellow sapphires, rubies, topazes and emeralds.
Catherine the Great’s personal jewelry
box will also be on view: an inconceivably
rich masterpiece weighing 6.5 pounds (3 kilos)
and covered with almost 400 colorful
precious gems, including 26 rubies, 24 emeralds
and various cameos.
Please meet in front of Starbucks at Den
Haag Centraal Station at 9:50 a.m. if you
wish to travel by train together (at own expense).
Save time by buying your entrance
ticket online in advance at www.hermitage.
nl. For further information, please contact
me at jechoy@me.com.
RSVP for all Arts Activities directly on
www.awcthehague.org
Direct any questions to
jechoy@me.com
Wednesday, January 22
Tour: 11:30 a.m.
Meet at 9:50 a.m. at DHCS
Hermitage Museum
Amstel 51, Amsterdam
Minimum 11 / Maximum 15
€ 10 Members (€ 15 non-members)
PLUS
Museum entrance fee is € 18 or € 2.50
with Museumkaart
Minimum 11 / Maximum 15
Cancellation deadline: January 11
It is possible to sign up after this date if
there is space
Future Activites
To mark Mayflower 400 (the 400th anniversary
of the sailing of the Mayflower), we
are planning a visit in February or March to
the Leiden Textile Center to see the exhibit
on American quilts and to the Leiden
American Pilgrim Museum. Please watch
for announcements in eNews.
A walking tour of Old Scheveningen by
Monique Varma is planned for Monday,
April 20, as a special Walkie-Talkie outing.
32 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 33
Out To Lunch
Bunches
34 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 35
FAWCO Corner
by Barbara Brookman, AWC the Hague FAWCO
Representative
Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas, a United Nations NGO with
consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council
www.fawco.org.
FAWCO 25th Anniversary
Friendship Quilt Raffle Tickets
Raffle tickets are now on sale for the 25th
Anniversary FAWCO Friendship Quilt:
A Stitch in Time. Every year, members of
FAWCO clubs around the world create
the squares that are included in the quilt,
including our own CCandCers. The anniversary
quilt will be raffled at the FAWCO
Interim Meeting in Luxembourg in March
with proceeds going to The FAWCO
Foundation’s programs and charitable
causes. In an effort to be more sustainable,
you can order this year’s quilt raffle tickets
online by going to The FAWCO Foundation
website at www.fawcofoundation.org or by
following this link: https://form.jotformeu.
com/92934416145358.
One Billion Rising on February 14
FAWCO clubs around the world will be
participating in once again in One Billion
36 GOING DUTCH
Rising on February 14. This campaign
started in 2012 and occurs annually on
Valentine’s Day. Thousands of events will
take place around the world in the biggest
mass action to end violence against women
in human history. The campaign began as a
call to action based on the staggering statistic
that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be
beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the
world population at seven billion, this adds
up to more than
ONE BILLION
WOMEN AND
GIRLS. Watch
our AWC
FaceBook page
and eNews for
additional information
about
our local event.
FAWCO Handbag Auction
Scheduled for April
Yes, we are planning a Handbag Auction
again this year! Please drop off your lightly
used handbags to the Clubhouse by March
26. Tentatively scheduled for April 2, the
auction is a perfect opportunity to combine
spring cleaning with a new seasonal look.
Come enjoy bubbles, snacks and a fun afternoon
as we auction the bags in support of
FAWCO’s philanthropic programs.
FAWCO Interim Meeting
Save the date! The 2020 FAWCO Interim
Meeting will be held in Luxembourg
starting at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 20
and concluding on Sunday, March 22 at 5
p.m. To register: www.fawco.org/about/
conferences/upcoming-conference
Your Vote is Your Voice
2020 is Election Year
Every American citizen has the right to vote!
Register and Request your ballot by using
the FPCA – the Federal Post Card
Do it TODAY!
To download the FPCA,
go to the Federal Voting Assistance Program
www.FVAP.gov
or www.usvotefoundation.org
Your voting address is wherever you last resided,
no matter how long ago.
In 37 states, US citizens born abroad
who have never resided in the US can
use the voting address of their citizen parent(s).
Follow up on your request
There will be voter registration
at the AWC January Kick Offs
DECEMBER 2019 37
Consumers, Brands and Climate Action
by Anne van Oorschot (AWC The Hague) & Alexandra De Jager (AWG Paris, FAUSA)
Did you come to the AWC General Meeting in November? If you did, you heard the talk I
gave about trying to reduce the amount of plastic packaging we bring into our homes. The
following article gives some background information on our plastic problem, so I hope
you’ll read on. It was written by a member of FAWCO’s Environment Team who lives in
France and the US to remind us that environmental problems are everywhere!
September 20, 2019 was the first day of
a week-long Global Climate Strike and
16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg was
in New York City to lead the way. Earlier in
the week, she addressed the US Congress and
said that climate change is, “This is above
all, an emergency, and not just any emergency.
This is the biggest crisis humanity has
ever faced.” In this meeting, Representative
Graves of Louisiana attempted to pass the
blame for carbon emissions onto China.
“Another perspective,” Thunberg replied. “I
am from Sweden. It’s a small country. And
there it’s the same argument: Why should
we do anything? Just look at the US.” More
importantly, she said that she was not there
to give a prepared speech; she was attaching
her testimony, “It is the IPCC Special Report
on Global Warming ... I am submitting this
report as my testimony because I don’t want
you to listen to me. I want you to listen to
the scientists.”
Indeed, our existential crisis is twofold: the
first aspect is climate change and the warming
of the planet through methane and CO2
emission into the air which results in the
warming of the planet. A lot can be said
about this complex issue and its causes.
Instead, I’d like to focus on the second aspect
of the climate crisis: the destruction of
the environment through human trash, deforestation
for farming and livestock, and
the use of everyday chemicals like pesticides
and herbicides. An important driver
of this aspect is our love affair with modern
conveniences such as single-use plastic
and disposable fashion. While many of
these issues, like deforestation, are beyond
the influence of the average person, the
consumption of plastic is within the control
of the consumer if we are aware of it.
For starters, we must be conscious of the
throw-away culture that was helped by the
invention of cheap plastic. In one report by
The Guardian, “One million plastic bottles
are bought around the world every minute
and the number will jump another 20% by
2021…. More than 480 billion plastic drinking
bottles were sold in 2016 across the
world, up from about 300 billion a decade
ago. By 2021 this will increase to 583.3 billion.”
The frequent images of whales
>> 40
38 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 39
Consumers, Brands and Climate (cont.)
Continued from page 39
and other dead sea animals with their stomachs
full of plastic have now become common
place. Once pristine Pacific beaches
are now awash with plastic waste. Plastic
does not go away; it just gets broken down
into smaller and smaller pieces. Scientists
recently calculated that people who eat seafood
ingest up to 11,000 microplastics per
year.
The average American goes through more
than 250 pounds of plastic waste, and
much of that comes from packaging. We
have been fooled into thinking the problem
does not exist because we recycle. Sunil
Bagaria, who runs recycling company GDB
International, bemoans, “European countries
are recycling 35% to 40% [of their
plastic waste]. The US only recycles 10%.
How tragic is that?” But here’s the real kicker.
“The vast majority of plastic that has ever
been produced—79%—has actually ended
up in landfills or scattered around the world
or burned, not refashioned into new products,
which is what we hope for when we
talk about recycling,” Sharon Lerner of The
Intercept says. “For plastic bags, less than
1% of tens of billions that are used in the
US alone are recycled. Overall in the US,
our plastic recycling rate peaked in 2014 at
9.5%.” Another report says a whopping 91%
of plastics are not recycled. Up until 2017,
the US and other countries were selling their
recyclables to China and other Asian countries.
Since a lot of the plastics are actually
not recyclable, China is now refusing to take
the trash of the world. It’s piling up at recycling
facilities and going to poor countries
that also don’t have the means to recycle
some of those plastics. “We can’t recycle
our way out of this problem,” she says.
“We have to buy less plastic, and we need
American and other businesses to make less
plastic. There are alternatives, and I want to
emphasize even the most careful consumer
has a hard time avoiding plastics.”
As if our plastic problem couldn’t get any
worse, “A report from ICIS, a plastics market
research company, says the petrochemical
industry will likely double its plastic
manufacturing capacity from 2016 to 2024.
And the American Chemistry Council,
which represents, among others, plastics
manufacturers, says it expects industry to
spend nearly $25 billion to build new plastic
manufacturing capacity by 2025. (That
compares with the $1.5 billion that the industry
plans to spend on cleaning up plastic
waste.) The World Economic Forum
has issued a report on plastic that predicts
a doubling of production in the next two
decades.” In other words, continue to make
more and people will find a way to use it.
So, is the problem plastic or people? Or put
another way, are consumers the problem or
the manufacturers? There are many answers.
The answer is to consciously use less (SDG
13, Climate Action). We have made a
start with using our own grocery bags and
water bottles, but much more can be done.
Manufacturers can produce sustainably
(SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and
Production) and brands can package better.
Do supermarkets need to plastic wrap three
bell peppers together? We can be more
informed of what actually gets recycled.
Instead of throwing away or recycling, we
can reuse. There is a movement now for a
“circular economy” in which big companies
such as Procter & Gamble (https://
news.pg.com/press-release/pg-corporateannouncements/pg-joins-terracycles-looppilot-test-new-york-metro-area),
Nestlé
(www.nestle.com/media/news/nestlehaagen-dazs-loop-reusable-packaginginitiative)
and Unilever (www.unilever.
com/news/news-and-features/Featurearticle/2019/we-are-introducing-reusablerefillable-packaging-to-help-cut-waste.
html) are experimenting with refillable
containers for products like detergents, dry
food and even Haagen-Dazs ice cream.
Sources:
www.cnn.com/2019/08/18/health/glaciers-melting-climate-change-trnd/index.html
The answer is partnering and sharing responsibility.
We as consumers alone cannot
solve this problem; we need to let the stores
and brands know we want better and less
packaging and we will reward them with a
return for their
“good behavior”.
Let’s
start with being
aware,
and as Greta
Thunberg
said, “If not
you, then
who? If not
now, then
when?”
www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/28/a-million-a-minute-worlds-plasticbottle-binge-as-dangerous-as-climate-change
www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/07/plastic-produced-recycling-wasteocean-trash-debris-environment/
www.npr.org/2019/08/20/750864036/u-s-recycling-industry-is-struggling-to-figureout-a-future-without-china
www.theintercept.com/2019/07/20/plastics-industry-plastic-recycling/
www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/09/20/how-to-recycle-plastic
40 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 41
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tribute and Dinner
by Roberta Enschede
A
former student of mine at the
American School of The Hague
(ASH) had a baby in Chicago in
August. She wrote, “My job is to raise you
into an empathetic being who will build
more love not hate in this already too cruel
world. The most terrifying part is raising a
black son in a country that will do its hardest
to harm you, to weaponize your own skin
against you, but your village is strong, my
beautiful son.”
When I read her words, I couldn’t help
thinking: why should a mother have to fear
for her child because he or she is a black
baby, or a brown, Asian, Jewish, Catholic,
Muslim or Roma baby?
Each year, on the last Sunday of January,
we commemorate the life and work of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and ask ourselves
that same question: Why? Dr. King articulated
an American idea when America is
at its best, its most principled and idealistic.
He challenged us to live out “the true
meaning of the Dream... We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal.” He weaponized the words
of the Declaration of Independence, words
that resound wherever men and women ask
why, march, speak out and demand freedom.
In the Netherlands, he is a hero with streets
named after him. The Vrije University of
Amsterdam awarded him an Honorary
Doctorate. In 1964, he received the Nobel
Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. At that ceremony,
he said, “I refuse to accept the view
that mankind is so tragically bound to the
starless midnight of racism and war that the
bright daylight of peace and brotherhood
can never become a reality... I believe that
unarmed truth and unconditional love will
have the final word.”
42 GOING DUTCH
Tragically, on April 4, 1968, Dr. King was
shot and died on the balcony of the Lorraine
Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Just four
days later, Rep. John Conyers called for
the creation of a national holiday to honor
him. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan
finally signed legislation designating the
third Monday of January as Martin Luther
King, Jr. Day. There was much resistance,
but even the most hardline states eventually
relented. Coretta Scott King said of the day,
“Make it a day on, not a day off.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was first commemorated
in the US in 1986. That same
year and every year since, we’ve commemorated
it here. We know we must always
remember and continue to do whatever we
can so that no mother will ever have to feel
terrified for her child. Dr. King once wrote,
“We must build dikes of courage to hold
back the flood of fear.” We need that courage
now!
Just a few days before writing this article,
I was watching CNN. A banner appeared
at the bottom of the screen that read, “In a
Strasbourg cemetery, more than 100 Jewish
graves were desecrated with swastikas!”
At Syracuse University in New York, a racist
and anti-immigrant manifesto was posted
Sunday, January 26 at 5:30 p.m.
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Anneke Beeuwkes, Michele Beier, Roberta Enschede, Tove McGrew, Jessie Rodell
online and a fraternity made a “funny” film
in which a student recited an oath “to solemnly
swear to always have hatred in my
heart” and referred to blacks, Latinos and
Jews. Fifteen students were suspended.
In November, there were innumerable incidents
on US college campuses. At the
University of Georgia, “All Heil” with a
swastika underneath was scrawled on the
door of a Jewish student. At Iowa State,
racist stickers and posters were found on
light poles and bus stops. At the University
of Wisconsin Eau-Claire, there was a string
of racist social media posts including a
burning cross of the Klu Klux Klan. At
Auburn University, an extension cord tied
as a noose was left in a common area. It’s
hard to fathom that 56 years after the March
on Washington in 1963, and 65 years after
Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954, and
11 years after President Obama was elected,
that such incidents continue to happen.
That people who are perceived to be “different”
almost certainly will be victims of
hate sometime in their lives. That more
likely than not, that precious little Chicago
infant will one day know hate.
It may be Charlottesville and neo-Nazis
chanting, “Jews will not replace us!” It may
be soccer fans in Italy or the UK tormenting
black players with monkey chants. It may
be Dutch teens on a bus to Wassenaar bent
on humiliating a young girl with a hijab and
causing her to get off the bus in tears.
That’s why each year, we set aside the last
Sunday evening in January to remember
Dr. King and to challenge ourselves and
our children to work to realize his Dream.
This year, as always, Reverend Harcourt
Klinefelter and Lois Mothershed Pot will
join us to share their thoughts and memories.
Reverend Klinefelter worked for Dr.
King for three years, until his death. He
went down South from Yale Theological
Seminary to find him and became his public
relations person. He ate dinners in his
kitchen and marched by his side. Lois
Mothershed Pot is the sister of Thelma
Mothershed, one of the Little Rock Nine.
She remembers how Thelma had to be escorted
by the National Guard in order to
enter high school. Lois was the first black
student in her university and the first black
president of the National Christian Students
Union. During WWII, her father was in a
segregated unit, fighting for the freedom
he did not have. Like Reverend Klinefelter,
Lois continues to work and speak about
where we’ve come from and where we still
have to go.
We hope you will join us. Bring your children,
friends and neighbors. There will be
wonderful jazz singers and musicians from
Memphis, Chicago and ASH. Young speakers
will briefly talk about what the “Dream”
means to them and a representative of the
US Embassy will share his or her thoughts.
Let Us Break Bread Together and as we
do, let us also remember that January 27 is
Holocaust Memorial Day, a date chosen by
the UN in remembrance of the liberation of
Auschwitz in 1945.
Dr. King warned, “The greatest crime of all
is the silence of good men.” The challenge
of his Dream is to always ask why and never,
ever be silent. Then and only then “Shall
we overcome.”
DECEMBER 2019 43
Revolution. Along the way we saw such
historic sites as Paul Revere’s home and the
Massachusetts State House, shown here,
which was built in 1798 and is still the state
capitol.
I
was impressed and surprised when I
learned that my friend’s son was accepted
for a one-year internship at Harvard
Medical School. Perhaps if Andrew was
studying biomed or medicine, it would be
expected, but he’s studying chemistry at
University of Bath in England. When Sally
said she was visiting him in late October,
without even thinking, I invited myself to join
her. As Andrew works all day,
she welcomed the company.
Our explorations began with
attending a vegetarian festival,
which Andrew’s roommates
told us about (and
was a good reminder that it’s
worth doing a little research
before heading somewhere
new to see if there are any
festivals worth attending).
It would have been easy
to have bought a bunch of
products I haven’t seen in
Holland, like grated cashew
cheese, but my luggage was
already at its max weight after
spending a week at my
44 GOING DUTCH
Exploring Boston
by Melissa White
parents’ house in California, so I restrained
myself.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking
the Freedom Trail, a 2.5-mile (4-kilometer)
path starting in Boston Common, America’s
oldest public park dating from 1634, to
the Bunker Hill Monument, commemorating
the first major battle in the American
The following day, Sally went on an allday
fall foliage tour, which she thoroughly
enjoyed. I had debated about joining her,
but recognized that my impatience doesn’t
mix well with a large bus tour. Luckily
the Boston Hash House Harriers had a run
that day, so I joined them for a hash trail
(somewhat like a scavenger hunt for beer).
Something truly unique about this running
club is that there are groups in nearly every
major city in the world and visiting
“hashers” are always welcome. I was a bit
nervous about getting lost, so was relieved
that I was able to keep up with the slower
runners. I was completely shocked when we
got to the end and saw that the host had a
large cooler full of live lobsters that he was
steaming for dinner along with corn on the
cob and potatoes.
I am not a foodie, but much of the five days
in my home town (we moved to California
before my third birthday) was about food
with an emphasis on seafood: lobster roll,
lobster soft tacos, scallop risotto and New
England clam chowder both in a ceramic
bowl and in a bread bowl. We also had fresh
cannoli from Mike’s Pastry, but rather than
wait in the hour-long line in the original
shop which opened in 1946 in North End,
we had no wait at all in Cambridge.
With Halloween around the corner, we took
a scenic journey by ferry to Salem, home of
the infamous Salem Witch Trials. We had
originally planned to visit one of the cheesy
witch museums, but not the haunted houses
as neither of us likes scary stuff. Instead
we watched a movie produced for the
National Park Service, which stuck to the
facts: between June and September 1692,
20 innocent people were executed―14
women and 6 men, 19 by hanging and 1 by
being crushed. It was quite sobering to walk
through the Salem Witch Trials Memorial,
consisting of 20 granite benches inscribed
with the name of the accused and date of
their execution located next to the Old
Buying Point. The other highlight of our >> 46
Travel4U@americantravelcenter.net/www.americantravelcenter.nl/tel. +3261234901
“Our next holiday is
a safari. They do
the whole world!”
“They make booking a
holiday so easy. I just
leave it to them!”
“Every trip is
customized, just for
me! That’s unique!”
DECEMBER 2019 45
Exploring Boston (cont.)
Continued from page 45
day in Salem was a visit to the Punto Urban
Art Museum, which consisted of 70 amazing
murals. I was happy that Sally was also
interested in taking the time to photograph
the artworks as I am always drawn to photographing
street art.
When I suggested that we visit the John F.
Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
the next day, I honestly had no idea if either
of us would enjoy it, but we both agreed it
was definitely worth visiting. We started
with an introductory movie beginning with
JFK’s childhood, his heroic efforts as a patrol
boat captain in the US Navy during World
War II, and ending when he threw his hat
into the race for President. Then the exhibits
bridged the gap from the election campaign
until that fateful day in Dallas, when I was
just three months old. It was fascinating!
There was a movie about the Cuban Missile
Crisis and videos of his iconic speeches:
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what
your country can do for you, ask what you
can do for your country. Just catching sight
of the black wall with November 22, 1963
upon it, brought tears to my eyes. I was very
relieved that the videos in that hall showed
the horse-drawn carriage with the flag covered
casket rather than footage of the assassination.
On my flight home the next day, I
watched the biopic Jackie, which focused on
the few days between his death and burial.
While there are currently 12 other presidential
libraries in the US, the next one I hope to
visit hasn’t even broken ground yet: Barack
Obama’s in Chicago.
That evening I treated Sally and Andrew to
a nice dinner to thank them for the hospitality.
I was quite excited when he led us to
the Prudential Building, the second tallest
skyscraper in Boston, but we actually ate at
Earl’s, a nice restaurant on the second floor.
Afterwards we headed to the 52nd floor to
grab a drink and check out the view, but
the windows were completely fogged up,
so we skipped the drink and went in search
for dessert. It was incredible that we didn’t
fall into sugar-induced comas after gorging
on enormous ice cream concoctions at Max
Brenner.
My final day in Boston was spent exploring
my father’s alma mater: MIT. Sally and I
started with trying to get into Baker House,
where he lived for the four years of his
undergraduate education. After making it
through the outer and inner doors, we were
quickly caught by security; I didn’t really
expect to get in, but figured it was worth at
least trying. Then we learned that MIT has
lots of cool public art, so we went in search
for some of the iconic pieces, such as this
stainless-steel sculpture by Anish Kapoor
that creates optical illusions. It was fitting
that I ended my explorations of Boston
where my story began―my father was attending
MIT when his parents met my
mother’s parents and set them up on a blind
date. Their marriage didn’t last, but I am
truly thankful that they met.
46 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 47
Annual General Meeting and Thanksgiving Lunch
48 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 49
Dealing with Winter Woes
by Alex Moore
Much has been written on seasonal affective disorder and the effects it has on us
during winter. Despite being a realist for much of the year, winter affects my mood
too, whether I’m in Florida, New Zealand or Holland. Believe it or not, Florida
has its fair share of rainy, cold winter weather. Something about those gray skies and short
days make me emo as well, so I’m stuck looking up ways to defeat the winter blues.
Indeed, winter can be quite lovely. Snow in the countryside can create a landscape nothing
short of a winter wonderland. Roaring fires and hot chocolate can be idyllic on those
cold nights. Dutch pubs create a certain gezelligheid that isn’t found just anywhere. It’s
the perfect time to sport our favorite sweaters. Winter can also be the perfect time to try
out all of those soup recipes you’ve been stocking. (Apologies, the door was wide open
for that one.)
Now it’s time for some real talk: sometimes winter sucks. Going to and from work in the
dark is not fun. Slipping on ice, landing smack on your backside while yelling a series
of four-letter words is not something I’d recommend. Sweaters can be itchy and bulky.
Soup gets old and stamppot is not going to help you with those fitness resolutions you set
for yourself.
It’s easy to get stuck in a circle of negativity, something that seems more magnified during
the winter. Admittedly, this article is part self-help, part morbid curiosity to attempt an
article on a subject that’s been written about many times. Paul Simon may have 50 ways
to leave one’s lover, but I have 8 ways to keep those blues far.
Movie Night: Gather your friends, Romans, countrymen. Well, maybe not all of them because
it might cramp your living room. Grab some snacks and pick out a movie to enjoy
on one of these winter nights. So help me, if I see you queuing up Dr. Zhivago, I will slap
the remote out of your hands and queue up Stepbrothers instead.
Day Trip: If flying anywhere is not an option, a day trip can work, too. We live in
Benelux after all, which is a convenient location. A trip to Belgium, Germany or perhaps
Luxembourg is an option to snap you out of that winter funk. The Netherlands has all
kinds of cute villages worth discovering. Pick somewhere you’ve never gone to and make
a day of it checking out what the new place has to offer.
Self-care: Many of us are guilty of not doing enough of this. But it’s so important to take
time out for you to do something you enjoy, whether it’s an exercise class, a favorite hobby,
or an evening with friends. There are infinite ways to practice self-care, but one option
is to go to a spa. You can sit in a sauna and pretend you’re in Arizona in July. Since many
spas offer massages and facials, you can get your diva on and book one of those as well.
Get Crafty: You know that one project that you’ve been meaning to do for a while, the
one that gets shoved in the back of the closet because you’ve found yet another way to
procrastinate doing it? Yes, that one. That scarf you want to crochet, the needlepoint, the
hat you want to knit. Get it out, dust it off and do it once and for all. Just like the charcuterie
board, that craft is not going to make itself. And you don’t have to craft alone as Chat,
Craft & Cake meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. all winter long at the AWC (see page 17).
Contact a Friend: Think of someone you haven’t seen in a while. Contact them and
invite them to do something, whether it’s coffee, lunch, or another activity. Chances are,
this friend will be thrilled to hang out with your fabulous self. A simple outing with a
friend can distract you from anything negative.
When the weather is cold and gray, the winter blues try to stay. With these suggestions,
you can tell those blues to go home. At least until March, when the winter funk subsides
and the spring funk takes over lightening up your mood before making you sneeze. You
take the good with the bad, I suppose.
Winter Potluck: Since the stores all have those three snacks for € 5 deals, have a potluck
where everyone can bring their favorite snacks. Eat, drink, and be merry. That charcuterie
that you worked so hard to arrange out of everyone’s borrel hapjes lottery is not going to
eat itself. Nor should it. That would be a waste of good munchies.
Get Out of Your House: Yes, I know the weather is atrocious and all you want to do is
drink tea and read a book on the sofa covered in so many blankets you look like a fleece
mummy. Staying in the house for too long isolated is only going to make you feel worse.
Bundle up, go for a walk, even if it’s only 15 minutes. Consider joining the Walkie Talkies
for their Monday morning walks throughout the winter (see page 21). Fresh air does the
spirit and the body good.
Long Weekend Trip: There may be flight deals to sunny places or to somewhere else new
and exciting. Look on budget airline websites for any new deals. Cheapflights is also a
good resource. Sunweb is your friend. The only problem with Sunweb and Cheapflights is
that you will need your Dutch partner or Google Translate. Unless of course, your Dutch
is good enough to decipher the text on these websites in order to book a brief holiday.
50 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 51
Announcements
The Arts Society Lecture
Treasures of the Ottoman Empire
Pencil shaped minarets, domed mosques,
vibrantly coloured tiles with tulips and arabesques,
and grand manuscripts enlivened
with miniatures are just a few examples of
the rich and varied Ottoman artistic heritage
that will be discussed by Dr. Luit Mols,
who teaches Islamic art at the University of
Amsterdam. Nonmember fee is € 13. www.
theartssocietythehague.org
Tuesday, January 14 at 8 p.m.
Doors open at 7:15 p.m.
Cultural Centrum Warenar
Kerkstraat 75, Wassenaar
International Literature Festival
Writers Unlimited, an annual international
literature festival connecting over 80 authors,
poets and musicians from all over
the world with each other and with audiences,
will take place from January 15 – 19
on stages around The Hague. The theme
52 GOING DUTCH
of the 25th jubilee edition is Freedom and
Decolonization in Literature and Art, focusing
on liberation, how truly free are our
minds, and the decolonization of Western
thinking. There are programs in English as
well as Dutch. www.writersunlimited.nl
National Tulip Day
National Tulip Day is on Saturday, January
18. To celebrate, Dutch tulip growers
create a massive temporary garden on Dam
Square in Amsterdam, bursting with
around 200,000 tulips. Everyone is invited
to pick their own tulips for free from this
specially constructed picking garden
with the theme of World of Colors. www.
tuliptime.info
Rotterdam International Film
Festival
The 49th International Film Festival
Rotterdam (IFFR) takes place from
January 22 – February 2. One of the largest
audience and industry-driven film festivals
in the world, IFFR offers a line-up
of carefully selected fiction and documentary
feature films, short films and media
art from 50 countries. This year’s festival
will examine the most basic elements that
make up film: primary colors, a flicker of
light meeting darkness, a chemical drip on
a strip of film―elements that, when combined
with talented determination, can create
infinite forms of cinematic experience.
www.iffr.com
Burns’ Night Supper
The St. Andrew’s Society extends an invitation
to the AWC to attend their annual ceilidh
(Scottish country dancing) and dinner in honor
of Robert Burns, Scotland’s most famous
poet. Dinner will include haggis (dispatched
with a swirling sword), neeps (turnips) and
tatties (mashed potatoes); please note if
you’d prefer vegetarian haggis when booking
your tickets for € 40 at www.standrews.nl. No
dancing experience is necessary as you will
be encouraged to join in with step-by-step instructions
by a caller―the dance teacher who
walks everyone through each dance.
Friday, January 24
Door open at 6:30 p.m.
Prompt start at 7 p.m.
BSN Leidschenveen
Vrouw Avenweg 640, Den Haag
Grab Your Skates
Winter is here and in addition to the
chance of skating on natural ice, there are
several outdoor rinks that have been set
up around The Hague. The seaside resort
of Scheveningen offers ice skating in front
of the Kurhaus through January 26 (www.
cooleventscheveningen.nl). Although
Leidsenhage, the large shopping center with
free parking in Leidschendam, is largely
under construction, its large rink is once
again open daily through March 1. This rink
is occasionally closed for private parties,
so be sure to check the calendar first (www.
iceparadise.nl).
Feel at Home in The Hague Fair
Whether you are new to The Hague and its
surrounding area or have lived here for years,
you shouldn’t miss the biggest international
community event in the region. There will
be an international food court and more
than 130 exhibitors providing information
on every aspect of life in and around The
Hague as well as shows and displays from
local schools, theater groups, musicians and
sports teams. Be sure to stop by the AWC
table. Free tickets are offered online: www.
feelathomeinthehague.com.
Sunday, February 2
11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Den Haag Stadhuis
Spui 70, Den Haag
Art Fair in Rotterdam
The 21st edition of Art Rotterdam, an international
art fair for contemporary modern
art, takes place from February 6 – 9 in
the Van Nelle Factory, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site. Built in 1931, this factory
produced tobacco, coffee and tea from until
1995. It is an iconic example of the Modern
Movement in the Netherlands. This is an excellent
opportunity to visit this unique site
in addition to browsing around an art fair
known for discovering up-and-coming talent.
Discounted tickets are available online:
www.artrotterdam.com
Chinese New Year Festival
There is a lot to see at the official opening
of the annual Chinese New Year Festival
to celebrate the Year of the Rat on
Saturday, January 25. In and around The
Hague Stadhuis (City Hall), the national
celebration is organized with Chinese
dragons and lions dancing, performances
by Chinese and Dutch artists, and an Asian
market in the Stadhuis starting at 11 a.m.
www.chineesnieuwjaar-denhaag.nl
>> 54
DECEMBER 2019 53
Announcements (cont.)
Continued from page 53
The Arts Society Lecture
In Search of the Queen of Sheba
The fame of the Queen of Sheba has lasted
almost 3,000 years since she made her
epic journey from her distant land to the
court of King Solomon. A passage in the
Bible’s Book of Kings has immortalized
this Queen and her camel caravan laden
with gold and incense as gifts for the king
of Jerusalem. In this talk, archeologist
and former curator at the British Museum,
Louise Schofield, looks at how the Queen
of Sheba has captured the imagination of
great artists, inspired epic films and has
led archaeologists to go in search of her
land—a search that has led to discoveries
of great temples, tombs and treasures in
Yemen and Ethiopia. Nonmember fee is
€13. www.theartssocietythehague.org
Tuesday, February 11 at 8 p.m.
Doors open at 7:15 p.m.
Cultural Centrum Warenar
Kerkstraat 75, Wassenaar
47th ABN AMRO World Tennis
Tournament
Over 100,000 spectators are expected at
this annual indoor tennis tournament from
February 8 – 16 at the Ahoy Rotterdam.
The event offers men’s singles, men’s
doubles and the World Wheelchair Tennis
Tournament. Ladies’ Day will be on
Tuesday, February 11 featuring tennis of
the very highest standards. Tickets for
Kids’ Day on Wednesday, February 12 can
only be purchased through the Ahoy Box
Office. www.abnamrowtt.com
Blues Festival Delft
Delft is home to the Netherland’s biggest
indoor blues event from February 14 – 16.
More than 70 Dutch and foreign bands perform
at more than 30 cafés and restaurants
throughout the city during this free festival.
If you love Chicago and Texas blues,
blues rock and acoustic Delta blues, you’ll
feel right at home. www.delftblues.nl
Offensive Books?
The House of the Book
within the Meermanno
Museum in The Hague
is presenting Offensive
Books? an exhibition
through March 1 about
books which have become
taboo over the
decades. Freedom of
expression and a free
press are guaranteed in the Dutch constitution.
This exhibit will challenge visitors
to consider if things have gone too far and
boundaries need to be set. The impact of
books will be explored through politics,
religion and society. www.meermanno.nl
Fashion Icon: Thierry Mugler
Through March 8 at the Kunsthal in
Rotterdam, the exhibition Thierry Mugler:
Couturissime brings together more than
150 outfits, most of them on display for
the first time, created between 1977 and
2014, as well as many never-before-seen
accessories and stage costumes, videos
and sketches. Innovative and rebellious,
the French designer has been surprising
the world for almost 50 years with his
extraordinary creations. This exhibit will
Photo by Alan Strutt
reveal the multiple universes of this undeniably
artistic figure—visionary couturier,
director, photographer and perfumer—in a
retrospective of his work. Due to the popularity
of this exhibit, timed slots will need
to be booked and there is a surcharge with
the Museumkaart. www.kunsthal.nl
The Offshore Experience
Many AWC Members have moved to
Holland because of the energy sector. Learn
more about Holland’s modern-day maritime
prowess at the Maritime Museum in
Rotterdam’s permanent exhibition, The
Offshore Experience, which allows visitors
to go on a challenging interactive search
for energy. Wearing a safety vest and helmet,
you’ll think you’re on board an offshore
oil platform in the middle of the
North Sea. Models of the newest and most
advanced offshore ships, built especially for
the exhibition, demonstrate their capabilities.
The adventure ends in the future. Vote
for the best sustainable idea for producing
energy at sea. Will it have been suggested
by a professional offshore engineer or by a
group of primary school students? Free with
Museumkaart. www.maritiemmuseum.nl
54 GOING DUTCH
DECEMBER 2019 55
Classifieds
Index of Advertisers
Private Pilates Lessons in
Your Own Home
I am a Certified Pilates
instructor offering mat
Pilates—tailored to your
body’s specific needs.
Monday to Friday, office
hours. Women only. Private
one-on-one or small groups
of up to three possible.
Lessons in English.
The Hague, Wassenaar area
only.
Please email christina@gikas.
nl for more info.
Members: eNews Distribution
A weekly electronic newsletter
is sent to all AWC Members.
If you have not been receiving your eNews, please
contact Mary Ellen at
membership@awcthehague.org.
ACCESS
page 32
American Travel
Center
page 45
Aveda Lifestyle
Salon
Inside Cover
FRITSTAXI
Airport Service
Inside Back Cover
Happy Critters
page 21
Marcel
Vermeulen
Jewelry
page 11
Petros Eyewear
Sligro
page 11
page 23
VERHEY VAN
WIJK brilmode
page 17
Wassalon
Weissenbruch
page 15
Your Cleaning
Service
page 32
Support Fellow AWC
Members
Find links to a large
variety of businesses
owned by AWC Members
at www.awcthehague.
org/site/newcomers/
business-links
Event information, suggestions or comments
for eNews?
Please send all eNews information to
enews@awcthehague.org
no later than end of day each Friday for the
following week’s eNews.
AWC is a Pet-Free Zone
As much as many of our Members love
their pets, please do leave them at home as
the AWC has a long-standing policy of no
pets in the Clubhouse. Thank you for your
understanding!
Going Dutch is Available Online
The AWC is not responsible for accidents
or injuries occurring at Club activities or
on Club property. Sports and exercise
instructors must carry their own liability
insurance.
Go to www.awcthehague.org to share the current month’s issue with friends and family. You will
also find links to our annual advertisers, whose support makes this magazine possible. If you
visit or contact one of our advertisers, let them know Going Dutch sent you!
Member Privacy
Please be reminded that the AWC Membership List is for AWC Member reference only and
use of this information in any communication other than AWC official business is strictly
prohibited. Members may not share the list with anyone other than another AWC Member
in good standing and never to any third party.
The AWC takes care to protect Member information and adherence to this policy is critical to
maintain Member privacy. Members are asked to report suspected misuse of the list to any
AWC Board Member.
56 GOING DUTCH
Rates
Classified Mini-Ads:
Deadline: In general, the 1st of the month prior to the
month in which your ad will appear, although subject to
change due to holiday schedule.
AWC Member Rates:
For 45 Words
Non-Member Rates:
For 45 Words
For 25 Additional Words
Per Issue € 15 € 8
Eight Issues € 110 € 55
For 25 Additional Words
Per Issue € 10 € 5
Eight Issues € 70 € 30
How to Submit Your Ad:
Email your ad to: goingdutchads@awcthehague.org
Payment Information:
Please indicate the name of your ad on your payment so that
we are able to match up your payment with your ad.
By Bank Transfer:
ABN-AMRO 43.14.21.757
IBAN: NL42ABNA0431421757
Display Ads:
For full, half, third or quarter page commercial display ads,
email our magazine staff at
goingdutchads@awcthehague.org
DECEMBER 2019 57
Restaurant Recommendations
Recommendations by Sheyla Karman & Suzanne MacNeil
Please send your recommendations to wwdp@awcthehague.org
La Lanterna
With four locations in The Hague, La
Lanterna, has been specializing in preparing
traditional Italian food with fresh ingredients
since 1975. They also have a wide selection
of Italian wines.
Javastraat 29
2585 AC Den Haag
070 365 6088
lalanterna.nl
Traditional Italian
€€ - €€€
Monday – Friday Noon – 10:30 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday 3 – 10:30 p.m.
Didong
Fresh, authentic and spicy Indonesian food
with a contemporary character. A variety of
menu items, specials of the day and the traditional
rice table, Didong can also serve to
the vegetarian palate.
2e Sweelinckstraat 115
2517 GW Den Haag
070 364 9887
didong.nl
Aisan, Indonesian, Fusion
€€ - €€€
Wednesday – Friday 5 – 9 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday 4 – 9 p.m.
Knossos
Located by the Grote Kerk since 1985, this
family-owned business caters lighter dishes
and sandwiches for lunch, as well as organic
meats and sustainably caught fish for dinner.
Kerkplein 1
2513 AZ Den Haag
070 365 4831
knossosdenhaag.nl
Greek, Seafood, Mediterranean
€€ - €€€
Lunch: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Dinner: 4 – 10 p.m.
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DECEMBER 2019 59