AWC Going Dutch Jan Feb 2021

Going Dutch
January/February 2021
The Magazine of the
American Women’s Club
of The Hague
Table of Contents
6
Despite coronavirus restrictions, the
AWC managed to have some fun
activities this fall
5 Officers and Chairwomen
6 Fall Activities
8 Message from the President
10 Kick Off: Icebreaker BINGO
10 February General Meeting
12 Ramblings from the Editor
14 Ongoing Activities
16 Book Lovers
18 AWC and the Arts
20 Lessons from COVID-19
22 FAWCO Corner
26 Calendar
28 Tribute to Martin Luther
King, Jr.
28
A Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.
30 - 47
Our Members reflect on what the
AWC means to them
SPECIAL AWC MEMORIES SECTION
30 Georgia Regnault
32 Mary Adams
34 Suzanne Dundas
37 Emily van Eerten
38 Jo van Kalveen
40 Eileen Harloff
41 Michelle Voorn
42 Roberta Enschede
44 Melissa White
47 Melissa Rider
48 Classifieds
49 Advertising Rates
49 Index of Advertisers
50 Toy Drive
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 3

Editor
Melissa White
2020-2021 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
By Appointment Only
Dues (Effective 2020-2021)
€ 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
Deadlines: Submissions are due no later than the last Monday of the month preceding the publication month.
For example, for the March/April issue, submissions are due before Monday, January 25.
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
Design and Layout
Teresa Mahoney
Cover
Leidse Schouwburg in Winter 2018
Photography
Greetje Engelsman, Melissa White
Proofreaders
Celeste Brown, Jane Gulde, Diane Schaap,
Debbie van Hees
Advertising Manager & Invoicing
Open
Contributors
Mary Adams, Molly Boed, Barbara
Brookman, Jane Choy, Suzanne Dundas,
Greetje Engelsman, Roberta Enschede,
Eileen Harloff, Georgia Regnault, Melissa
Rider, Asmi Sen, Jo van Kalveen, Anne van
Oorshot, Emily van Eerten, Michelle Voorn
Printer
www.dwcprint.nl
AWC Bank Account Number
IBAN: NL42ABNA0431421757
KvK Den Haag
40409274 BTW or VAT: 007408705B01
Honorary President Diane Hoekstra
President Barbara Brookman
president@awcthehague.org
Vice President Melissa Rider
vicepresident@awcthehague.org
Treasurer Sarah Dunn
treasurer@awcthehague.org
Secretary Mary Ellen Brennan
secretary@awcthehague.org
Club and Community Development
Officer
Carin Elam
community@awcthehague.org
Clubhouse Administration Officer
Open
clubadministrator@awcthehague.org
Communications Michelle Voorn
communications@awcthehague.org
Front Office
Liduine Bekman, Siska Datema-Kool,
Jan Essad, Deana Kreitler, Hannah Gray,
Georgia Regnault, Lindsey Turnau
Activities: Sarah Partridge
Arts: Jane Choy
Assistant Treasurer: Teresa Insalaco
Board Advisor: Jessie Rodell
Book Club Daytime: Teresa Mahoney
Book Club Evening: Dena Haggerty
Bookkeeper: Lori Schnebelie
Caring Committee: Naomi Keip
Chat, Craft & Cake: Suzanne Dundas
eNews: Michelle Voorn
FAWCO: Molly Boed
Front Office Coordinator: Hannah Gray
General Meetings Programs: Open
Heart Pillows: Jan de Vries
Historian/Archivist: Georgia Regnault
Holiday Bazaar: Georgia Regnault
IT Administrator: Julie Otten
Kids’ Club: Open
Lunch Bunch: Greetje Engelsman
Mah Jongg: Jen van Ginhoven
Membership: Heather DeWitt
Movie Network: Tina Andrews
Newcomers: Jo van Kalveen, Hilde Volle
Parliamentarian: Georgia Regnault
Philanthropy: Open
Pickleball: Barbara Brookman
Social Media Facebook and Instagram:
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.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 5

Fall Activities
6 GOING DUTCH
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 7

Message from the President
by Barbara Brookman
Welcome to 2021!
At the start of the New Year, AWC The
Hague is once again a mostly virtual Club
as our Clubhouse remains closed and the
country remains in a hard lockdown. All
year, we have scheduled and rescheduled
events and activities. You will see some
activities on our calendar in this magazine
marked as pending or subject to change.
That’s just the reality of life right now.
Despite all this uncertainty. the Club has
stayed connected and will continue to look
for what we can do or how we can do old
things in new ways. This year, our January
Daytime and Evening Kick Off meetings
will be online events with Icebreaker
BINGO games to bring us together. Be
sure to register on our website or through
the Wild Apricot app and put the dates on
your calendars to make these events a success.
Our 2020 Toys and Toiletries Drive was
a great success with more than € 1,200 in
cash donations and probably half as much
again of in-kind donations. Thanks to your
generous gifts, we were able to deliver 60
gift bags and 70 care bags for kids and
young mothers at De Oase foodbank and
at the Salvation Army’s Vliet en Burgh
Children’s Home. Thank you to all who
participated! It’s great to see what we can
do together. You can see some pictures on
page 50.
FAWCO Target
Project: Safe
Alternatives for
Female Genital
Mutilation, which
is looking to
abolish this longstanding
practice.
We will be looking
at opportunities
to raise money
for this project
in the spring and
to continue to
amplify voices of change.
As we leave 2020 behind, I am optimistic.
I am optimistic because while the pandemic
is a thief who robs us of time with
friends and family, of get-togethers, travel
and plans, we are rising to the challenge by
working together. I can’t help but think that
if we can collaborate internationally to find
a vaccine against the coronavirus in less
than a year, there is no limit to what we
can do to deal with climate change or the
systemic inequities at home and around the
world. And there is much work to be done.
I hope that we will look back at this time as
the year that made us rethink our priorities,
relationships, work and impact on each
other and the world. We’re at an inflection
point and we have a choice. I hope your
New Year’s resolutions include something
you want to change for the better―I know
mine will.
8 GOING DUTCH
I’m inspired by the
stories in this magazine
of AWC
women making
change. I urge everyone
to read our
intern Asmi Sen’s
excellent article on
page 22 about the
Happy New Year!
Barbara
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 9

Virtual General Meetings
by Melissa Rider
With coronavirus restrictions limiting the number of people allowed in the Clubhouse,
our General Meetings for the start of 2021 will be virtual. We encourage all Members
to join us for the videoconference call from the comfort of their own homes or
offices. Please RSVP via our online calendar or the Wild Apricot app to receive the Google
Meet link via email.
Kick Off: Icebreaker BINGO
Join us as we virtually host two amusing
and engaging Kick Off meetings to celebrate
the start of the New Year and welcome
new Members into our Club. Let the
fun begin with Icebreaker BINGO, a game
with a slight twist to an old favorite. The
rules will be explained at the meetings, but
the game will be simple and entertaining
for everyone. Registration is required on
our website calendar at www.awcthehague.
org or on the Wild Apricot app in order to
receive the Google Meet link as well as a
link to your special online BINGO card. If
you’d prefer to have a printed card, you can
use the following page for play or can request
a PDF for printing at home from me at
vicepresident@awcthehague.org. Feel free
to join one or both meetings.
Daytime Kick Off
Thursday, January 14
via Google Meet
Social Time: 10 – 10:15 a.m.
Icebreaker BINGO: 10:15 – 11:15 a.m.
Club Business: 11:15 – 11:30 a.m.
and/or
Evening Kick Off
Thursday, January 21
via Google Meet
Social Time: 7 – 7:15 p.m.
Icebreaker BINGO: 7:15 – 8:15 p.m.
Club Business: 8:15 – 8:30 p.m.
Free
February General Meeting
In February our guest speaker will be
Michelle Oliel, an AWC Member and human
rights lawyer. She is also the Executive
Director and Co-Founder of the Stahili
Foundation (www.stahili.org), a registered
charity in Kenya, the Netherlands and US.
Stahili’s work in Kenya involves helping
children return home from orphanages and
providing holistic support to strengthen
families and create opportunities for education
and sustainable development. Its 1
Million in Mind Project was awarded the
2020 FAWCO Foundation Development
Grant for the category of Critical Health
Concerns.
Thursday, February 11
Via Google Meets
Time TBD
Free
Welcome New Members!
Blair Adams
Joy Marino
Gwendolyn Boevé-Jones
Jessica Singh
Members: eNews Distribution
A weekly electronic newsletter
is sent to all AWC Members.
If you have not been receiving your eNews, please contact Heather at
membership@awcthehague.org.
10 GOING DUTCH
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 11

Ramblings from the Editor
by Melissa White
Happy New Year! I’m guessing I am not
alone to be relieved to kiss the year
2020 goodbye and welcome 2021 with
open arms. One of my favorite memes about
that crazy year was: I’m beginning to think
that “hindsight is 2020” was some kind of
message from a future time traveler that we
all misunderstood. Originally I was a bit leery
about 2021 after seeing this meme: Not to
alarm anybody, but Mad Max took place in
2021. Luckily that warning turned out to be
just a cruel joke, because the movie Mad Max
was actually set in a dystopian Australia of
the mid 1980s that luckily never came to be.
I’ve never been a big fan of making New
Year’s resolutions, but this year seems like
be able to celebrate this great news with his
family over a Thanksgiving meal.
While we are all happily putting 2020 in the
rearview mirror, Going Dutch continues to
celebrate our Club’s 90th anniversary by
reflecting on what the AWC means to our
Members. Several of the Members who submitted
articles have lived in the Netherlands
for decades, while one has been here for
only two years. You might notice that this
issue is slightly shorter than previous issues
due to a smaller number of articles submitted.
Of course, each theme will appeal differently
to our regular submitters and those
others willing to write for us, perhaps even
for the first time.
I’m beginning to think that “hindsight is 2020” was some kind of message
from a future time traveler that we all misunderstood. ~ Anonymous
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a good excuse for an exception. Perhaps we
should all try to close the door on 2020 without
focusing on the disappointments and instead
reflect on the opportunities it gave us to
slow down and smell the roses. I realize that I
was especially lucky to have my two daughters
and their boyfriends home with us for an
extended time that included a lot of fun family
dinners and celebrations. We also were
fortunate to get an offer we couldn’t refuse
to become part-owners of a boat, or what I
fondly refer to as our “floating bathtub” because
it is so basic―with only a seat for the
skipper and a portable gas tank that luckily
fits on the back of James’ bike. What perfect
timing to be on the water during a particularly
beautiful summer taking socially distanced
boat rides around Leiden with friends.
In a follow-up to my June article entitled
Laughter is the Best Medicine, I am happy
to share that Mark was declared cancer-free
in late November. He will need to be monitored
for the next five years before he is officially
declared cured, but we were thrilled to
Our next theme will be Reflecting on Life
in Holland, which I hope will prompt many
of you to write something. If you’ve never
submitted an article, I’d like to encourage
you to challenge yourself and see where it
takes you. Of course, writing should never
be a chore. If the words don’t flow, don’t
force it. However, instead of thinking of
writing as an intimidating task or homework
assignment, try thinking of it as just
sending a best friend an email to share a
funny story or observation of life in your
adopted country.
As you might have noticed, I always manage
to come up with something to say, but
sometimes it’s definitely much easier than
other times. Writer’s block is never fun, but
eventually the words start to flow. I still remember
the angry red lines covering my attempts
of creative writing for Mr. Cousins,
my 9th grade English teacher. I now agree
with him that my talent isn’t in fiction; I
hope you’ll agree that I’m better suited to
telling it like it is.
12 GOING DUTCH
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 13

Ongoing Activities
Pending Activities
Due to unknown coronavirus guidelines, the
following activities are considered pending
as we consider holding them virtually until
the Clubhouse can reopen. Look for updates
in eNews. Please contact Suzanne Dundas
with questions.
Chat, Craft & Cake
Every Tuesday
10 a.m. – Noon
Wassenaar and Environs Coffee
1st Thursday of the Month
9:30 a.m.
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.
Due to coronavirus uncertainty, nothing is
definite, but we hope that AWC Members
will be playing this fun and easy to learn
game on an indoor court beginning on
January 21―see eNews or Facebook for
updates. Contact Barbara Brookman at
president@awcthehague.org to join a trial
session with the option to join for the season.
Day and Time: TBD
Sporthall Houtrust
Laan van Poot 22, Den Haag
Trial Session: Free
8-week Season: € 35 Members
Virtual Quiz Night
Join us for a fun time of quizzical questions
to test your trivial and general knowledge
on a variety of topics including but not limited
to: art and music, geography and travel,
movies and actors, sports, literature, history,
etc. This month’s quiz will be devised
by the Rider family and hosted by Melissa
Rider. Participants will connect via a link
to a Google Meet video call. Each team
will consist of two people. You can form
14 GOING DUTCH
a team from your home with a partner or
housemate, or play remotely with another
AWC Member (i.e. you both use Google
Meet, but stay in contact with each other by
phone). Each team should have a pen and
paper for writing down the answers and
keeping track of your scores. There will be
three to four rounds with each round having
ten questions. After a round is completed,
we will review the answers as a group and
teams will track their own score. Once all
rounds are completed, we can determine the
Grand Winner! In the event of a tie, a super
hard rocket scientist level question will
be used as a tiebreaker. Food and drinks are
essential to successful game play and will
be available for takeaway from your local
kitchen! Questions? Contact Melissa Rider
at vicepresident@awcthehague.org. Please
RSVP by January 29, so you are sent a confirmation
email with details on how to join
the Google Meet call.
Saturday, January 30
7 – 9 p.m.
Comfort of Your Own Home
RSVP deadline: January 29
Walkie Talkies
Whether you count your steps or just want to
take a socially distanced walk with friends,
the Monday morning Walkie Talkies is a
fun and healthy way to start the week. The
group meets in front of the Clubhouse before
heading out promptly to walk to various
destinations in the area, usually racking
up 10,000 steps along the way. No RSVP
is necessary. Contact Emily van Eerten at
walkietalkies@awcthehague.org to be added
to the WhatsApp group for last minute
updates and cancellations.
Mondays
9:30 a.m.
AWC Clubhouse
Free
Virtual Women in Business
Are you a business owner? Are you thinking
about starting a business? Come to our
ongoing meetings for networking and discussion
among AWC Members about being
a business owner in the Netherlands.
All are welcome, no matter what amount
of experience you may have with owning a
business. We will start the New Year with
new topics and networking opportunities.
Feel free to email Mary Ellen Brennan
for more information or suggestions at
secretary@awcthehague.org.
Friday, January 22 + February TBA
10 – 11 a.m.
Virtual Meeting
FREE
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 15

Book Lovers
Book Clubs
The AWC Book Clubs are FREE and open
to all readers. 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. We have a daytime
and an evening group. Questions? Teresa
Mahoney organizes the daytime group:
bookclubday@awcthehague.org. Dena
Haggerty handles the evening meetings:
bookclubevening@awcthehague.org. Look
for messages in eNews about the possibility
of meeting at the Clubhouse or virtually.
Daytime Book Club
January Selection: The Testaments by
Margaret Atwood
We had to wait 34 long
years for this sequel to
The Handmaid's Tale,
which takes place 15
years later. The theocratic
regime of the Republic of
Gilead maintains its grip
on power, but there are
signs it is beginning to
rot from within. At this
crucial moment, the lives of three radically
different women converge, with potentially
explosive results.
Thursday, January 28
10 a.m.
February Selection: Lady in Waiting: My
Extraordinary Life in the
Shadow of the Crown by
Anne Glenconner
An extraordinary candid
memoir of drama, tragedy
and royal secrets by a
close member of the royal
circle and lady-in-waiting
to Princess Margaret from
1971 until the Princess'
death in 2002. Should be of special interest
to fans of Netflix’s The Crown.
Thursday, February 25
10 a.m.
16 GOING DUTCH
Daytime Book Club Reading List:
Thursday, March 25: An American
Marriage by Tayari Jones
Evening Book Club
January Selection: The Last Painting by
Sara de Vos by Dominic
Smith
This historical fiction
novel brings to life a fictional
artist from 1631
Amsterdam, while also
telling a modern tale of
her last surviving painting
being forged in New York
City in 1957. Rich in historical
detail, join us to learn more about the
challenges faced by women artists throughout
the ages.
Wednesday, January 13
7:30 p.m.
February Selection: All Adults Here by
Emma Straub
Quirky characters combined
with some big topics
makes for a funny and
insightful novel about
the life cycle of one family―as
the kids become
parents, grandchildren become
teenagers, and a matriarch
confronts the legacy
of her mistakes. There’s plenty to which
we can relate: adult siblings, aging parents,
high school boyfriends, middle school mean
girls, the lifelong effects of birth order, and
all the other things that follow us into adulthood,
whether we like them to or not.
Wednesday, February 10
7:30 p.m.
Evening Book Club Reading List:
Wednesday, March 10: The Midnight
Library by Matt Haig
Daytime Book Club Recaps
The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul
Didierlaurent
Guylain Vignolles is an avid reader who,
ironically, spends his workday pulping
books with a machine he loathes so much
he can’t bring himself to call it by its real
name, choosing to refer to it as “The Thing.”
He leads a quiet life, with few friends and
just a goldfish to confide in. One of his few
pleasures in life is saving random pages that
have been spared the pulping machine and
reading them out loud to the same group of
commuters on the 6:27 train he takes daily
to work. One day, he discovers the diary of
Julie, a lonely young woman who feels as
lost in the world as he does. Without realizing
it, he becomes swept up in her story
that desperately needs a voice. This novel is
quintessentially French in its style and scope
and includes a small cast of quirky, mostly
charming characters, just a small amount
of plot tension, and liberal helpings of feelgood.
Ultimately it is a delightful depiction
of literature’s power to uplift even the most
downtrodden and the importance of words,
language and stories. This was a popular
read with most of our group. We were a little
in awe of the two of our readers who tackled
the book in its original French and were impressed
with the ability of the translator of
the novel to not lose the essence of its beautifully
written prose. Highly recommend.
The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke
Lucas Rijneveld
One of our group joked that this book might
as well have been called The Discomfort
of Reading, but after a solid two hours of
discussion, most agreed that the book was
an uncomfortable, yet worthy, winner of the
International Booker Prize. Marieke Lucas
Rijneveld started writing this poetically
ruthless exploration of a devout farming
family’s experience of grief at the age of 20.
Although Rijneveld’s own family circumstances
seem to suggest a certain amount of
autobiography, the details of the novel are
disturbing fantasy as the 10-year-old narrator
tries to comprehend the loss of her
brother, and how her parents and siblings
rationalize the bewilderment of God’s hand
in that and subsequent events. The parents
struggle to cope, and the children are left to
their own twisted logic as they try, and fail,
to process events without adult guidance.
Rijneveld liberally employs farm-influenced
metaphors, at times strikingly insightful, but
at other moments just plain disgusting. This
is a book that is hard to recommend, and few
wanted to finish it. And yet there is much
here for those who also struggle to comprehend
and accept loss, or to come to terms
with darkness and light, both that externally
imposed upon us and that battling within us.
Evening Book Club Recaps
The Cut Out Girl by Bart van Es
Many of us have read quite a few books
(both nonfiction and historical fiction) about
the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during
WWII, so it was refreshing that this biography
managed to share yet another chapter
to this complex part of history. It was
very well written, and we appreciated that
the author didn't seem to allow his family
connection to Lien, the “Cut Out Girl,” to
cloud his telling of the story of her life. It
was also interesting to realize that we had
visited several of the places mentioned in
the book, bringing yet another aspect more
to life for us. Although several of our group
hadn’t looked forward to reading yet another
WWII book, they were glad that they read
this one.
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!
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 17

AWC and the Arts
by Jane Choy-Thurlow, AWC Member and Mauritshuis Docent
Fashion in Color
In this time of lockdown when group tours
in museums are not possible, we are excited
to announce that Monique Varma, one of
our favorite tour guides, will give us a special
socially-distanced in-person presentation
at the Kunstmuseum in a 200-seat auditorium
reserved just for us about its special
exhibit Fashion in Color.
We will be reminded how the fashions of
yesterday and today can bring us together
in every color of the rainbow―a multicolored
natural phenomenon that is a symbol
of hope, courage, pride and gratitude.
This exhibition, created since the start of
the COVID-19 pandemic, will use fashion
items, many from the museum’s own collection,
to explore the symbolism of color. At a
time when many of us need some comfort,
connection and hope, a fashion exhibition
can offer all these things. Immerse yourself
in color and enjoy the creations of leading
Dutch and international designers including
Comme des Garçons, Chanel, Dries van
Noten, Louis Vuitton, Vivienne Westwood,
Gianni Versace, and Thierry Mugler, and
also colorful costumes dating from the 18th
century to the present day.
RSVP for all Arts Activities directly
on www.awcthehague.org
Direct any questions to
jechoy@me.com
Today’s fashion is bursting with color. Is it
a coincidence? “In difficult times, fashion
is always outrageous,” Italian fashion designer
Elsa Schiaparelli once said. At a time
of crisis, color does wonders for boosting
the spirits to lift an otherwise black mood.
There are many stories to be told about the
symbolism of color. What a color symbolizes
for us today may have been very different
in the past. Color in fashion is often like a
code, and sometimes the code is now secret,
its past meaning long forgotten. Several designers,
including Valentino, Bas Kosters
and Hanifa will show garments that bring
them hope. They will be woven through the
collection, providing a diverse and hopeful
look to the future.
You MUST book entrance to the museum in
advance at www.kunstmuseum.nl. Entrance
is free with a Museumkaart, but a reservation
is still necessary. It is recommended to
book your ticket first and then your spot at
the lecture to ensure that you can enter the
building. You can then plan to visit the special
exhibit after the lecture or on a different
date before February 28. Please understand
that in the event of another national
shutdown of museums, this lecture will be
conducted virtually instead.
Wednesday, January 20
11 a.m. – Noon
Kunstmuseum
Stadhouderslaan 41, Den Haag
€ 15 Members (€ 18 non-members)
PLUS € 16 Museum entrance fee (free
with Museumkaart)
Maximum 19
Nonrefundable
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18 GOING DUTCH
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 19

Lessons from COVID-19 Applied to
the Climate Crisis
by Karen Rudin (AWC Zurich) and Anne van Oorschot (AWC The Hague and FAWCO
Environment Co-Chair)
If you are anything like me, you are sick to
death of coronavirus and all the restrictions
and changes that accompany it!! There have
been so many changes and cancelled plans in
my family alone: one wedding postponed and
one cancelled, vacations and trips to the US
cancelled, no Thanksgiving with the whole
family around the table, a Christmas that was
sliced up into little pieces with our kids taking
turns coming over and meeting each other, and
worst of all: no hugs! I will never again take
hugging people for granted. When I remember
that Anne Frank spent 761 days confined in
an Amsterdam attic―no trips to the grocery
store, walks outside to enjoy nature, or ZOOM
calls with family and friends―I do feel like
an enormous whiner. However, for me and
the rest of us, being so limited in our activities
and movements is a big deal and a hardship. I
know these coronavirus restrictions will end
and do try to keep it in perspective. I am also
heartened to learn that even this crisis has a
bit of a silver lining. For whom you may ask?
Why for our planet.
The recent COVID-19 crisis was only a
couple of weeks old when the media began
reporting one unexpected positive effect:
worldwide greenhouse gas emissions were
markedly reduced and the atmosphere less
polluted as a result. As well as being good
news in itself, this was an inkling that the
coronavirus crisis and the climate crisis are
linked. Recognition of more linkages followed;
not only of causes and effects, but
also similarities between the two crises. Both
are global in scope and require international
cooperation and respect for scientific facts.
Both are unprecedented in the scope of disruption
they bring to society, and both require
coordinated efforts and long-term thinking
on the part of politicians, scientists, the business
world and society itself for their solution.
Climate change threatens broad natural
and human systems, among them health
networks. As was noted in The Economist,
“Following the pandemic is like watching the
climate crisis with your finger jammed on the
fast-forward button.” (The Economist, May
21, 2020)
As time went on, another parallel became evident.
It is the poor and the disadvantaged who
have been hardest hit by the coronavirus, and
it is just those who will suffer the most as the
climate crisis continues to unfold. We began
to see that this virus isn’t just a health issue
and, of course, the climate crisis doesn’t just
affect the environment. The climate crisis can
be seen as the major public health threat of
our time. Both are going to require broader
and more fundamental changes if they are to
be mitigated.
At this point we should look at another cause
and effect relationship: a deep lack of respect
for nature and its part in causing coronavirus
devastation and environmental destruction.
We pave over, build, cut back and generally
encroach on wilderness, so that animals in
the wild increasingly lose their habitats and
move closer to our habitats. It is inevitable
that zoonoses, diseases that can be transmitted
from animals to humans, are on the rise,
among them COVID-19.
As we dug deeper into the coronavirus crisis,
all sorts of cascading effects became clear.
The most obvious was economic disruption,
all the way from soaring unemployment to
the threat of worldwide recession. The immediate
worry was the enormous cost of imposing
lockdowns; would they prove disastrous
to the economy? It took a few cost-benefit
analyses to answer that no, drastic action
at the beginning would in fact be worth the
costs, economically as well as socially. In a
world where the enormous cost of fighting
climate change is often touted as a reason to
do nothing, it was fervently hoped that business
and political leaders would get the parallel
message that spending now would lead to
clean air and green jobs later.
Having taken a deep breath and pledged
millions to prevent coronavirus deaths, has
society experienced any other positive effects
of the various lockdowns? Yes, indeed.
Economic aid on a huge scale became necessary
to prevent social disaster, and voices
were loud and clear in all sectors of society
that this aid presents an excellent chance to
create a new green deal. A petition introduced
by Greenpeace, for example, sees coronavirus-related
economic aid being part of the
European Green New Deal (www.greenpeace.
org/eu-unit/issues/democracy-europe/2780/
seize-the-moment-to-deliver-a-green-economic-transformation-says-greenpeacefirst-hologram-march-in-the-europeancapital).
Seventeen European Climate and
Environment Ministers have asked the
European Commission to put the Green Deal
at the heart of the recovery after the pandemic.
Hundreds of companies globally have
signed open letters to world leaders, requesting
the assurance that economic stimulus
packages will be applied to the impacts of the
coronavirus and the climate crisis.
Has the pandemic shown us other behaviors
that we would like to see continue? A few
practical ones come to mind: less travel and
consumption, mutual help and social solidarity,
appreciation of nature, greater respect
for healthcare workers, and greater interest
in healthy food and its origins and processing.
On the social scene, young people have
recently been the source of information and
action demanding climate change with the
same gravity as their elders now feel about
COVID-19, perhaps making mutual understanding
and cooperation possible.
COVID-19 has thrown a glaring spotlight
on social inequalities, most notably the need
for universal health coverage. Various international
human rights agreements make it
mandatory for countries to protect their citizens’
right to health, and the Paris Agreement
draws a connection between action on climate
change and promotion of the right to health.
Perhaps most heartening is the fact that,
“If COVID-19 is a precautionary tale, it is
also a crash course in the possible” (World
Economic Forum, June 9, 2020). Our worldwide
community has acted to work through
the crisis, showing that all aspects of society,
from the individual to governments, can pitch
in and make radical changes to behavior. One
hopes that this cooperation and determination
can coalesce into the resoluteness to
make the fundamental changes necessary to
face the huge challenges of the climate crisis.
20 GOING DUTCH
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 21

FAWCO Corner
by Molly Boed
Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas, a United Nations NGO with
consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council
www.fawco.org.
Below is the first of a two-part series explaining FAWCO’s current Target Project for
2020 – 2022, which is known by its acronym “S.A.F.E.” or Safe Alternatives for
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Elimination. As the new FAWCO Representative
for our Club, I would like to explain this project to help end FGM. While our efforts are focused
on ending FGM in Tanzania, girls and women are being subjected to FGM in virtually
every country in the world. I have been working with an intern, Asmi Sen, who has written
two articles about FGM and the work being done by courageous souls in Tanzania to end
this abhorrent practice. This article highlights why we need to help end FGM in Tanzania,
and what the Tanzanian government and the Tanzania Development Trust are doing to stop
FGM. The second article will focus on a new documentary and address what one woman,
Rhobi Samwelly, herself a victim of FGM, is doing to protect girls in Tanzania from this evil.
Please note that Asmi’s sources are available from me on request as they were too lengthy
to include here.
The Seeds of Saintpaulia
by Asmi Sen
An African violet grew beside a tree. It burst
out of its seed into a tiny plant, after which
it emerged as a fully grown flower as it blossomed
into the sky, which was decorated by
a canopy of leaves of the high cloud forest of
Udzungwa National Park. Sadly, as more and
more seeds are shipped off to be planted as
houseplants in the West, they are slowly disappearing
towards extinction. Their chance
to grow in their natural habitat, to embrace
being whole, is being taken away from them
since birth. It’s being cut away from them.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is likewise
an act of removing a part of a girl that
affects her permanently. It is a procedure
where female genitals are cut, injured, or
changed without any medical justification.
Just like the seeds of the African violet are
removed from their native soil, the parts of
the girl that make her whole are being taken
away from her. Although another name for
FGM is female circumcision, this is wrong
in every sense of the word. Circumcision involves
the removal of foreskin of the male
genitalia, while FGM involves the total re-
22 GOING DUTCH
moval of parts
of the vagina.
This can lead
to severe
health problems
including
infection,
infertility, difficulties
during
childbirth,
and even
bleeding to
death.
FGM is believed to reduce the sexual desire
of women and is seen as a way of ensuring
loyalty to their husbands. This belief
is rooted in the patriarchal ideal that the
physical whereabouts and sexual activity of
women must be controlled by men. FGM is
also linked to economic incentives. Rural
Tanzanian communities force girls to undergo
cutting ceremonies organized by their
parents so they can secure a higher dowry.
Cutting has also been justified as a means to
support the local economy because the accompanying
ceremonies are often elaborate
and require new clothes, food, and services
performed by a professional local cutter. So
while FGM is a matter of tradition, it is also
difficult to prevent due to the local economic
impact it has in one of the poorest countries
in the world.
FGM also has implications for gender roles in
society, as it reinforces the patriarchal structure
of these communities, thus promoting
gender inequality and the subordination of
women. It is often the first step towards early
marriage. At-risk girls often run away from
their homes in adolescence to escape their
cutting ceremonies. While the Tanzanian
government criminalized FGM for girls under
18, 10% of women in Tanzania between
the ages of 15 and 49 are still cut. In fact, in
central and northern parts of Tanzania, up to
60% of women and girls are cut, typically
during the December holidays. FGM is a
grave issue, not only because of its implications
on health and illegality, but because
95% of women in Tanzania aged from 15-49
believe this practice should be put to an end.
Another obstacle in the fight against FGM is
that many perceive the work of the Tanzania
Development Trust (TDT)―an organization
that combats FGM in rural Tanzania and
has raised over £250,000 for this cause―as
an act of imposing “colonial” or “Western
standards” on local culture. It is important
to address the ethical implication of working
against FGM. Relativist thinkers would
argue that every culture has its own perception
of right and wrong, and therefore it is
not acceptable to fight FGM because it is a
cultural tradition. Absolutist thinkers would
argue that there are some matters, such as
FGM, that are always wrong, regardless of
the culture in which they are rooted because
they violate human rights. We must therefore
view this from an absolutist and, more importantly,
humanitarian perspective: FGM is
a violation of human rights and should not be
tolerated in today’s world.
Rhobi Samwelly is a local representative of
TDT. She was a victim of FGM at the age
>> 24
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 23

FAWCO (cont.)
Continued from page 23
of 12 and nearly bled to death at her cutting
ceremony. Even before working with TDT,
Rhobi played a tremendous role in sparking
local change. She spent years courageously
leading a team of actors, singers and dancers
to educate and change attitudes towards FGM
in villages. It must be emphasized how much
personal courage and strong will it takes to
approach local communities where FGM is
considered a norm and encouraged, especially
by men. Rhobi has organized roadshows
in high risk areas during the cutting season to
demonstrate the health risks that accompany
cutting to crowds of the men enforcing this
tradition. This has put her at risk, exposing
her to a hostile response, as she is challenging
a tradition that is systematically ingrained
in these communities. Additionally, Rhobi
has established a team protected by the local
police that help at-risk girls escape from
their cutting ceremonies, taking them to a
safe house where they are cared for until the
cutting season is over. The first safe house,
established in Mugumu in the Mara region,
received roughly £165,000 in donations allowing
Rhobi and her team to protect 329
girls within three years.
In order to put an end to FGM once and for
all, it is crucial that the inherent patriarchal
mindset from which this tradition stems is
eliminated. The only way to do this is to educate
boys and men of the negative effects of
FGM from an early age instead of teaching
girls to fit society’s standards. With the help
of the government and financial aid from
TDT, the re-education of boys and men in
pro-FGM communities has sparked into action.
This is significant in the fight against
FGM because of the prominent role men
have played in controlling the female body.
This re-education campaign also paves the
path for future generations of men and women
because they are less likely to impose FGM
on their children after having been educated
about its negative consequences. Provided
this re-education campaign continues, this
tradition will be extinguished over time. To
speed up the
process, however,
it is important
to actively
address
this issue and
fund organizations
like TDT
to help change
attitudes towards
FGM.
Most importantly,
issues
surrounding Gender Based Violence (GBV)
should be addressed directly rather than euphemized
or worse, ignored.
FGM isn’t just prevalent in Tanzania.
Classified as an act of GBV, FGM is practiced
around the world. Studies have revealed
that an estimated 200 million women
and girls that are alive today have undergone
FGM, most before the age of 15. Due to increased
migration, increased numbers of girls
and women who live away from their home
countries have reportedly undergone (or are
at risk of) FGM in Europe, Australia and
North America. In order to promote the UN’s
Sustainable Development Goal #5: Gender
Equality and Women’s Empowerment, we
must ensure that FGM is a practice that is outlawed
and stopped. With our Target Project
S.A.F.E, we hope to maximize our impact in
ending this demeaning and unjust practice.
The seeds of the African violet need to be
planted in its heartland. It cannot survive
wholly without its parts. In order to flourish
and blossom, the Saintpaulia needs to be
taken care of with love and support, without
which it won’t have the necessary nutrients
to survive, even when grown in its heartland.
Likewise, the parts of millions of women that
are being taken away from them leave them
broken. In order to prosper as women, they
need to be granted the basic human right,
their seeds, in order to have happy and fulfilling
lives. Let’s plant their seeds back where
they belong.
24 GOING DUTCH
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 25

January 2021
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2
Happy New Year
3 4
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
5
Chat, Craft & Cake
(pending) 10 a.m.
6 7
Wassenaar Coffee and
Convo (pending)
9:30 a.m
8 9
10 11
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
12
Chat, Craft & Cake
(pending) 10 a.m.
Buddy Check 12
13
Evening Book Club
7:30 p.m.
14
Morning Kick Off
Meeting: Virtual
Icebreaker BINGO
10 a.m.
15 16
17 18
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
19
Chat, Craft & Cake
(pending) 10 a.m.
24 25
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
26
Chat, Craft & Cake
(pending) 10 a.m.
20
Museum Lecture:
Fashion in Color 11 a.m.
21
Evening Kick Off
Meeting: Virtual
Icebreaker BINGO
7 p.m.
27 28
Daytime Book Club
10 a.m.
22
Virtual Meeting: Women
in Business 10 a.m.
23
29 30
Virtual Quiz Night
7 p.m.
31
February 2021
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
2
Chat, Craft & Cake
(pending) 10 a.m.
3 4
Wassenaar Coffee and
Convo (pending)
9:30 a.m
5 6
7 8
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
9
Chat, Craft & Cake
(pending) 10 a.m.
10
11
Virtual February General
Meeting 10 a.m.
12
Buddy Check 12
13
Evening Book Club
7:30 p.m.
14 15
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
16
Chat, Craft & Cake
(pending) 10 a.m.
Happy Valentine's Day
17 18 19 20
21 22
Walkie Talkies 9:30 a.m
23
Chat, Craft & Cake
(pending) 10 a.m.
24 25
Daytime Book Club
10 a.m.
26 27
28
26 GOING DUTCH
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 27

A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.
by Roberta Enschede
This year, there will be no Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute and Dinner for the first
time since January 1986―the year Martin Luther King Day became a national holiday.
Even though we will not be able to “break bread together,” we can think about Dr.
King’s message and what it challenges us to do.
Over the years, many special people have spoken at the Tribute. Their messages are
etched on our memories. There was Gloria Ray Kalmark, one of the Little Rock Nine.
She had a successful career as an engineer, but the memories of Little Rock were always
with her. I remember one day in particular. We were at a gathering at the residence of the
American Ambassador. Several people were standing around the grand piano. Gloria asked
the piano player to play Lift Every Voice and Sing. She listened and started to cry. “I never
thought I’d stand in a place like this and hear that song.” That song, of course, people call
the Negro National Anthem: Lift every voice and sing till heaven and Earth shall ring, ring
with the harmony of liberty.
Every year, Lois Mothershed Pot speaks. Her sister Thelma was also one of the Little
Rock Nine and Lois was the first Black student in her university. She once talked about her
father, a WWII veteran who was an officer in the segregated US Army. He returned from the
war a liberator and hero, but in Little Rock, he was a Black man who had to live with the
indignities of segregation. He allowed his daughter to be one of the Little Rock Nine. She
had to be escorted to Little Rock High by armed soldiers. Like Gloria and the other seven
students, she was ridiculed, spat upon and threatened. There was no place for Black kids
like Thelma and Gloria in white Central High. Think about it. Her Dad was willing to give
his life for the kind of freedom neither he nor his family could have.
When we commemorated the 25th year of the Tribute to Dr. King, we invited a very
special guest from Chicago: Professor Timuel Black. He was one of the organizers of the
1963 March on Washington and is a decorated WWII veteran who landed on Normandy
Beach and was at the liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp. He spoke about how
profoundly he was affected by the discrimination he experienced in the US Army and the
human devastation he witnessed at Buchenwald. He resolved to dedicate his life and work
to peace and justice. He celebrated his 102nd birthday on December 7, and he’s still making
speeches, writing books and above all, encouraging and empowering young people to
speak out. In fact, a very young Barack Obama went to him for advice when he first came
to Chicago.
Another speaker at the Tribute was Paul Rusesabagina, the hero of Hotel Rwanda. While
working as the manager of a hotel in Kigali, he hid and protected 1,268 refugees during the
Rwandan genocide. Sadly, he is now a political prisoner in Rwanda.
At the very first Tribute to Dr. King and ever year until his death, Henry Blackmon, the
minister of music at the American Protestant Church came and sang. His glorious voice
and humble nature were an inspiration. “Oh Freedom, oh freedom over me,” he’d sing and
“Keep your hand on the plow, move on.” Henry, too, served in the segregated US Army in
the Battle of the Bulge and around Europe. His answer to segregation was a deep love of
his fellow man that exuded from his soaring voice.
28 GOING DUTCH
Each year the Reverend Harcourt Klinefelter also speaks. He worked for Dr. King for
three years, until his death. He can tell stories about him that are not in books. He laughs
and talks about how Mrs. King asked him to stay for dinner one night. He’d been at the
house fixing some electronics and it got late. When Dr. King came home and they sat
down at the table, he said “I don’t feel worthy to sit here with you.” Dr. King answered,
“Harcourt, now do I have to give you a sermon about how all men are created equal?”
Lastly, every year we ask children and young people to speak and share their thoughts
and wisdom:
I learned that human rights aren’t about feeling sympathy. They’re about reaching our
hands out to people who other people have turned their backs on. ~ Emily, 17, Norwegian-
American.
Before the US election, I heard a woman on TV say, “If Obama gets elected, the Blacks
are going to take over the world.” I know Martin Luther King’s fight had to be fought
and has to be fought every day until we are all able to say, “We’re all the same. We’re all
people. We’re like a family”. ~ Olivia, 16, American
Martin Luther King didn’t have a dream, he woke us up from a nightmare. ~ Damian,
15, American
Like Dr. King, I firmly believe that no matter how many ages must pass, peace and
freedom will ultimately prevail. There will be fraternity between nations. ~ Alexander,
17, Swedish
When I was asked to speak, I thought what could I say? I’m white and blue-eyed. I’ve
never experienced racial hate. Then I realized that’s precisely why I should speak. Hate is
not an issue for one race. It is an issue for the human race. ~ Ben, 17, American
You can’t blame other people for what they don’t know and understand, however you
can blame yourself for not trying to make them understand. ~ Warren, 17, Dutch-American
We’re all the same. We just look different. Some people have white faces. Some people
have dark faces and some people have black faces, but that’s not how I choose a friend. I
choose a friend who’s not mean to other kids! ~ Benjamin, 6, American
These young people are now a few years older. They and young people like them
everywhere make us believe and know there is hope for a better, more tolerant tomorrow.
And so, we will remember Dr. King this year even though we cannot “break bread
together.” We will remember, too, Congressman John Lewis, who marched by his side
and was beaten bloody and had his skull cracked on the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma,
Alabama. John Lewis kept marching and speaking out and “making good trouble” until the
last days of his life, which ended on July 17, 2020. They called him “the Conscience of the
Congress.” He, like Dr. King, was indeed and will always be the conscience of our nation.
May Martin Luther King Day and every day be a day to be vigilant, a day to speak
out and “make good trouble” until “Justice rolls down like water and righteousness like
a mighty stream.”
Next year, we will be together on the last Sunday evening in January. We will join
hands and sing We Shall Overcome and listen to the words of Dr. King’s Dream.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 29

The AWC Has Been Good to Me
by Georgia Regnault
Before writing this article, I had a short visit with long-time AWC Member Jessie
Rodell, and we talked about what an American Women’s Club meant to us. Jessie
first lived outside Rotterdam, and joined ANCOR, the American-Netherlands Club
of Rotterdam. When she moved to The Hague in the early ‘80s, she immediately joined
our Club as well. We both agreed strongly what the AWC of The Hague has meant for us:
innumerable friendships, the chance to meet Americans from all over the States and
all age groups (for example, I am from the Northeast, Jessie the West Coast), the (former)
library, the children’s parties, and the celebration of American holidays and customs.
Since 1968, I have been a Member of three different AWCs: Hamburg (1968 – 1971),
The Hague (1972 – 1990 and 1993 – Present day) and Curaçao (1990 – 1993). Interestingly,
I was at a different stage of my life in each place. Assuming when we married that we would
move to the States, you can imagine my surprise when my Dutch husband and I jumped
from student life and living in the smallest apartment you can imagine to finding ourselves
in Hamburg as expats―all in less than a month. I was a newlywed who spoke not a word
of German. It was my husband’s first job (with Shell) and there were no job possibilities for
me. The AWC Hamburg, with its + 80 members, was my lifeline. I still have friends from
that time, and we continue to enjoy visits over these many years. So, for me, AWC Hamburg
meant friendships.
Between 1971 – 1972, Peter was transferred to Assen in Drente and, if you can believe me,
the only friends we made there were company people and the local huisarts. Both Peter and
I missed having American friends. After just a short year there, Peter’s next assignment was
at Shell headquarters in The Hague, and I made a beeline to the APCH (American Protestant
Church of The Hague) where the AWC had
a large library and small office. By this time,
AWC The Hague would fulfil another niche
of my life. I had a baby son, and both of us
took advantage of the library and children’s
parties. I loved that it was easy to teach him
and as well as my other two children about
American customs and holidays through the
activities of the Club.
One short story to show why I think the
AWC Members are also very caring: a few
days after I had given birth to my daughter
Lara in the fall of 1973, I woke up from a nap
finding a small bouquet of flowers arranged in
a pink baby boot―a congratulatory gift from
the Club. I was so touched, and ever since, I
have supported the work of the Caring Chair
who takes care of reaching out to Members. I
had only been a Member for less than a year
and a non-active one at that, considering I
had a little tot at home, was pregnant, and
had moved twice in that year. Still, someone
had reported that I had given birth.
30 GOING DUTCH
After a wonderful 18 years living in Wassenaar, off our family went to being expats in
Curaçao. I was not only one-third empty-nester with one child studying in the States, but the
other two were growing up fast and had their own new circles of friends from high school
and sports. During the ‘80s, I became very involved with FAWCO. Since the AWC Curaçao
was a FAWCO member, my energies went toward helping the club in that aspect.
As I wrote in the last issue of Going
Dutch, through AWC activities I have learned
many skills that I wasn’t taught in high school
or college. The experience of being involved
in the financial aspect of our Club from 1976
– 1982 enabled me to be hired in 1983 as
Business Manager of the newly opened
Webster University. Being Club President for
two years taught me the skill of writing and
speaking, which were totally new practices
for me, but that experience helped me when
I became President of FAWCO in 1987. Now
delving into the archives of both FAWCO
and the AWC, I am not only learning about
the history of AWCs throughout the world,
but also the enormous impact they have for
the American woman abroad, whether she
be a temporary expat or a partner of a local.
Both Jessie and I agreed: the AWC is our
home away from home. It has also provided
each of us with a way to contribute to the
American community abroad and (selfishly)
develop as a person as well.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 31

The Pivot Point
by Mary Adams
What is a pivot point? It is a moment of truth where you make a decision that changes
your life’s direction. It can take years to reach a pivot point or the blink of an eye
… or maybe the power of a women’s club. I would like to share how being a Club
Member literally changed my life. This article is a thank you to the AWC / FAWCO women
who have shared friendship, culture, support and innovation with me. Here’s how it happened.
First Turn
In 2014, I was finishing my 25th year of management consulting. My life was rolling along
in a normal routine, but life dealt me some surprises. Within a span of six months, both my
father and brother died. My consulting work seemed hollow. My women’s club in Rotterdam
(ANCOR) got so small that it folded and eventually withdrew from FAWCO. This series of
endings put me in a frame of mind that life is short and maybe I needed a change. I resigned
from my job to take a break and think about what I really wanted to be when I grew up.
Second Turn
If I wanted to continue with my FAWCO volunteering, I had to be a Member of a FAWCO
Club. What to do? Where to go? Then it dawned on me that perhaps AWC The Hague
wasn’t so far away from Rotterdam. From the start, the AWC gave me the opportunity to
participate in Club activities, fundraisers, book clubs, join heart pillow workshops, shop
bazaars and, most of all, be charitable. It was an opportunity to meet terrific women. Women
on their own life journeys from country to country, from job to job and from language to
language with the eagerness to share their experiences, insights and even sorrows with others.
I felt my own burdens start to lighten a bit, my head clearing and the opportunity to
volunteer on a larger basis.
Third Turn
From 2015-2017, I served as the FAWCO Foundation Global VP of Fundraising. The FAWCO
Foundation and FAWCO agreed to jointly host a human trafficking awareness and fundraising
event in The Hague on behalf of the Target Project: Free the Girls. After nearly a year of
research, networking and partnering with Target Chair Johanna Dishongh and Operations
Manager Julie Mowat, the STAND UP Against Human Trafficking symposium was presented
in October 2016. It never would have happened without the AWC Board’s agreement,
support, commitment, coordination and the volunteer work from AWC Membership.
The Pivot Point
I was totally unaware about modern slavery before 2015. My education was done in a slam
dunk and it left me stunned. It got me thinking that I could do more. I myself could stand up
taller against human trafficking. This was my pivot point. All of a sudden, I wanted to shake
off the old, secure routines and take a new and unexplored path. So I did. I spent the next
two years researching how I could translate my business talents into human rights. I formed
a small work team think tank. In 2018, I founded a business dedicated to disrupting the business
cycle of human trafficking.
Full Circle
The AWC supported me along the way by participating in One Billion Rising events with
Leiden University’s Bijlmer Project to reintegrate and reskill undocumented female sex trafficking
survivors. After the Symposium, the AWCA in Amsterdam began volunteer work
with the social enterprise restaurant Dignita (www.eatwelldogood.nl) training sex trafficking
survivors in culinary work through an organization called Not For Sale. In 2019, Dignita
was awarded the FAWCO Breaking the Cycle Human Rights Development Grant. That same
year, the AWC submitted the Bridge2Hope Academy (www.thebridge2hope.org) for the Safe
Haven Human Rights Development Grant.
When the grant was awarded to Bridge2Hope in March 2020, it was a glorious example of
coming full circle guided by the women of AWC / FAWCO. What we started together in
2015, truly ended up making a difference in this world for women in desperate need of sustainable
rescue… including me.
32 GOING DUTCH
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 33

Pulled Back into My Home Away from Home
by Suzanne Dundas
when I think I’m out, they pull me back in.” This quote from Michael Corleone,
played by Al Pacino, in The Godfather, Part 3, wasn’t about being pulled back
“Just
into the American Women’s Club of The Hague. And Michael wasn’t happy about
being pulled back into whatever he was pulled back into. Other than those two things and,
oh, the fact that Michael was a man, this quote applies perfectly to my tale of being pulled
back into the AWC.
I joined the AWC within days of landing in the Netherlands on November 15, 1994. As
a former USAF Officer and the wife of a then Lieutenant Colonel, I’d always relied on Air
Force clubs to ease my transition into a new place. Cue the AWC. My first three years were
a whirlwind: a trip to Stoke on Trent to buy pottery, bus trip to Belgium to buy carpets, trip
to Toledo and Seville in Spain, coffees, classes, lectures luncheons, and Golden coaches and
Indonesian food on Prinsjesdag. For a while, I ran Dinners for Eight but, honestly, in my
mind, the Club existed for what it could do for me. I was a taker.
I ever discussed, at the old Clubhouse, was
Bride Flight. The book was meh, a screenplay
in disguise, but these women knew how to
discuss a book. I’m still a member of Daytime
Book Club and it continues to be meaningful
to me. I look forward to it every month.
Eventually, a woman whose children attended
the British School joined my quilting
group: Johanna Dishongh. You know her,
too. She’s a charismatic dynamo and she encouraged
us to move our meetings, which at
that time rotated through each other’s homes,
to the AWC Clubhouse. Doing so would mean we’d be an ongoing AWC activity. We adopted
a formal name, Chat and Craft—the Cake came later—and we’re still going strong. CCandC
turned out to be a valuable recruitment tool for the AWC and got me happily to the Clubhouse
every week for a decade. Post coronavirus it will do so again.
My giving went to what was then the center of our family universe: the American School
of the Hague (ASH). Also within days of landing, I was working in the school store. I was
a room mother, Girl Scout Troop Leader, and, eventually, Grand Poobah of American Girl
Scouts of the Netherlands. At one point, 2,000 boxes of cookies were stored in my garage
(Temptation, thy name is Samosas). I cooked for ASH International Days and bake sales,
housed visiting athletes for swimming and track, and happily attended school events. I did
something at the school at least twice per week for 11 years.
I also had—and still have—a husband: Paul. His term as President of ASH and the nature
of his workplace at NATO provided a lot of social interaction and obligations. There
were frequent parties and dinners as well as a Ladies Club associated with NATO, of which
I eventually became President. Many of my friends were Canadian and I was an active associate
member of the Canadian Women’s Club of The Hague.
The AWC fell away. I would write an occasional piece for Going Dutch, but there were
years when I rarely crossed the threshold of the Clubhouse. I continued to always pay my
yearly dues, be it in guilders or euros. I wanted the option to participate and to support the
American community here. Paying my dues was a simple way to do that.
And then my social and emotional support systems slipped away. My daughter graduated
from ASH in 2005, the NATO Ladies Club dissolved as new countries joined NATO
and changed the social culture, and multitudes of friends moved home. The losses in June
2009 were especially brutal. I knew I needed to find new ways to connect to others here.
Cue the AWC, specifically some wonderful ladies who went out of their way to welcome
me back into the fold.
Cherie Lacy was one such lady whom I’d met in my private quilting group. She was
a talented artist and quilter who was also an enthusiastic AWC Member. She urged me to
participate, “Just work at the Bazaar.”
So I worked at the Bazaar. I was paired with Teresa Mahoney at a payment table. You know
Teresa. She’s smart and personable and runs the Daytime Book Club. She said and I quote,
“I would enjoy having you join us at Book Club.” I took her up on her offer. The first book
34 GOING DUTCH
There was an ongoing AWC activity in
Wassenaar as well. Ramona Oswald hosted
monthly Wassenaar Coffees at her house
on the Lange Kerkdam. She loved to cook
and entertain and was very good at it. She’d
treat us to homemade coffee cake, quiches,
pies, fruit salad and cappuccinos on the first
Thursday of the month. When Ramona returned
to Chicago, I took over the coffees and
we broadened them to include communities
north of The Hague. We’re Wassenaar and
Environs Coffees now. We also started rotating
our coffees amongst different homes. I’m a
pretty good hostess, but I’m no Ramona
>> 36
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 35

Pulled Back (cont.)
Continued from page 35
and I decided to make the coffees more low-key. They’re a cinch to administer. If you’d like
to start a monthly neighborhood coffee where you live, contact me and I’ll show you how.
As I became more comfortable within the AWC, I initiated some activities. I started a
monthly Cranium Night with the support and active participation of then President Rebecca
Failor and her husband, Hugh. Both couples and singles were welcome. We had loads of
fun. Cranium Night segued into Quiz Nights at the Club. They were a big success and now
I’m temporarily hosting virtual ones.
Not everything works. I’m a tournament Scrabble player and I tried starting a Scrabble
Club. It turns out the level at which I play Scrabble—there’s a chess clock involved and lists
of esoteric words to study—isn’t fun for everyone. Oh well. We learn from our failures and
I do believe the Club is enriched by such efforts.
And effort is what keeps us going during coronavirus restrictions. I hope the women who
are serving on the Board now and organizing events and groups are telling their stories in
this issue of Going Dutch. They are many and I don’t want to forget anyone or step on their
stories. However, I will say, “Thank you,” and mean it sincerely.
Where I Truly Belong
by Emily van Eerten
When I married my Dutch husband, I had the idea in my head that I would learn the
language and quickly assimilate. We first lived on Curaçao, and when we finally
moved to the Netherlands via a stay first in England, my Dutch was good enough
that people would continue talking to me in Dutch. However, the idea of assimilation proved
to be more dream than reality. Everyone was friendly, but friendships were elusive.
The AWC has made all the difference in my life abroad. Being able to connect with other
women who live this in-between life has given me, and my dual culture children, the sense
of a community where I truly belong. I love that the Club welcomed me with open arms
on Day 1, and that it continues to be a place which helps connect me with so many other
adventurous souls who had the courage to move away from all that they knew and embrace
a new life. My Monday mornings with the Walkie Talkies have been a highlight, starting off
my weeks with fresh air and the company of some of the most interesting women around. I
also love that the Club is so committed to local charities and beyond (through FAWCO) as
a way to enhance and contribute to the local community, our own Club and the global community
as well.
As for taking and giving, I believe I’ve reached a good balance. I receive so much as a
(now Honorary) Member of the AWC. I give in ways that are meaningful to me and which,
importantly, I’m good at. For instance, I know the Club needs a Treasurer, but I don’t even
know how to use that green remote bank thingy my husband uses. I play to my strengths
and interests. I truly believe if everyone adopted that philosophy, it would be good for both
our individual Members and our Club as a whole.
I hope you are happy to have me back. I’m certainly happy to be active in the AWC again
and, in the same way my return was orchestrated by other Members, I try to bring others
into, and keep them in, the fold. It’s a challenge right now, but we’re expats—we can do this.
AWC App for Members
Wild Apricot, our membership management package, has a free
app that can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google
Play. Here you will find the latest information about AWC events
and activities. The app also provides contact information for all our
Members so you can stay connected until Club activities resume.
36 GOING DUTCH
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 37

AWC: Girl Scouts for Grown-Ups?
by Jo van Kalveen
My involvement with the AWC took about eight years longer than it should have! We
moved to the Netherlands in 2005, thinking it would be for two years. Maybe three.
Four tops. That was 15 years ago. Life is funny like that….
I moved here from London with my Dutch husband, Kees, and our three-month-old son,
Luc. I’d dated Kees for a looooong time back when he had lived in The Hague, so naively
assumed I knew what I was moving into. However, visiting for romantic weekends proved
very different than leaving behind a good career, active social life, lovely friends and family,
and moving to Holland with a baby in tow. Kees was only allowed two days off of work to
help settle us into a new house, unpack and register at the local gemeente, etc. Then it was
up to me to get on with my new life. Gulp!
I immediately set about trying to find some new friends (#priorities!). I immediately
joined the British Women’s Club of The Hague, which had a wonderful Mother & Baby
group. I was lucky enough to meet four other expat mums, all with babies of a similar age.
We bonded over babies and missing Marks & Spencer! They proved invaluable over the next
few years. We met up regularly at the club, beach, local parks and indoor play spaces, and
had more than a few Mums’ Nights Out. We were each other’s support network, helping with
childcare, seeing each other through new pregnancies (I had Oliver in 2007), homesickness,
good times and bad.
Then, as is the curse of living in an expat environment, one by one they moved away. My
circle got smaller and with it my social life! I will always remember Kees looking at me one
evening and saying, “Why don’t you go out anymore?” I took us both by surprise by busting
into tears in response. A problem solver by nature, he told me I should find a new club to
join. I pointed out I was no longer seven and couldn’t just join the Girl Scouts to make new
friends. Plus, I was reluctant to jump into another expat group only to experience the same
kind of emotional upheaval when close friends moved away.
So I muddled through. I took Dutch classes and tried to break into the Dutch friendship
groups in the local Dutch school playground whilst also trying to maintain friendships with
expats. I felt caught between two different worlds―a local Dutch one and a transient expat
one―and still felt there was something missing.
In 2013, I was chatting to a friend of friend and they asked if I was a Member of the AWC.
“I’m not American.” I said, “I can’t join.” And left it at that. A few days later I Googled the
AWC on a whim. It all sounded great: tours, activities, meetings and, most appealing for
me, there was a sub-group for Women with Dutch Partners (WWDP). It wasn’t immediately
clear if a non-American could join, but after a bit of scrolling I found a reference to non-
American nationals being welcome if they had an “affinity” for America. Well I thought, I
like lots of things that come out of the States: Barak Obama, Coca Cola, Cinnabon rolls, my
honeymoon in California, Black Friday. It will be fine!
I went to the September 2013 Kick Off not really knowing what to expect and came away
feeling a little annoyed it had taken me eight years to find the Club. I loved it! Everyone
was so welcoming and friendly. I think I signed up to almost every activity and tour on offer
that day. I was pleasantly surprised by all the different nationalities which comprised the
38 GOING DUTCH
Club Membership along with
the size and interior of the
Clubhouse. The array of
baked goods on offer were
literally the icing on the
cake. These were my kind
of people!
I was especially keen
to connect with the other
Members who had
Dutch partners. My first experience
of a WWDP event
was the wonderful Christmas
Potluck hosted by the lovely
Celeste Brown. I hadn’t realized
how many AWC Members had a Dutch partner. A group of 25 of us talked, sang, ate
and laughed. And laughed. And laughed. It was wonderful. Finally I was surrounded by a
group of women who could relate to having a Dutch mother-in-law (the pros and the cons!),
what it’s like to be a non-Dutch mum at a Dutch school, the complexities of trying to raise
your children bilingual and bicultural, and the frustrations of learning Dutch yourself. These
ladies nodded along when I talked about the unexpected issues that pop up when you have
a Dutch partner: the endless debate over whether the kids should eat hagelslag or Cheerios
for breakfast and why can’t we have the Christmas decorations up before December 5. I
was especially heartened to meet some of the ladies who had lived here for an extended period
of time and to hear about how they had adapted to living long term in the Netherlands.
It gave me hope that I could do the same (after eight years it had just about dawned on me
that we were not moving back to the UK anytime soon...!).
The subsequent WWDP meetups and wider AWC events and activities and, more importantly,
the friendships I have made have undoubtedly filled the “gap.” Personal highlights of
my time with the AWC have been the art exhibition tours with Monique, which are always
informative and memorable, helping make the Heart Pillows for breast cancer patients, being
so moved at one of the Volunteer Luncheons that I took on the Newcomers role (I confess
that Prosecco may have played a part in this decision!) and the Thanksgiving lunches where I
finally got to eat some of the
dishes I had only read about
in American fiction (verdict:
adore green bean casserole
and cornbread, not such a
fan of pumpkin pie―please
don’t rescind my AWC
Membership!).
I hope to be able to continue
to be an active Member
of the AWC in the years to
come. The pandemic has reinforced
what an important
part of my life it has become.
Just hope no one tells Kees
that he was sort of right about
joining the Girl Scouts.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 39

Discovering the AWC
by Eileen Harloff
I
first came to the Netherlands in 1957 on a Fulbright Fellowship, assigned to the
International Union of Local Authorities (IULA) in The Hague. Working there at that
time was a fellow American, Sam, who kindly introduced me to his circle of friends
that was centered in the American Protestant Church of The Hague (APCH). It was a
great relief to go to church on Sunday after stumbling around during the week with a new
language and to be able to speak and be spoken to in my native tongue.
After a year’s extension at IULA, I returned to the US to decide whether I wanted to
marry my Dutch boyfriend and to live permanently in the Netherlands. I decided “yes.”
We married in the US and returned to The Hague, to the apartment my husband had purchased
and which his mother and aunt had temporarily furnished. It was the first time that
I had not had a job, so I spent the days going through the large number of books to read
that were in the flat and looking out the window wondering what to do next. At church
one Sunday, I discovered that the American Women’s Club had a library on the second
floor of the church, which was open for business on Wednesday evenings. Moreover, they
were always happy to have new volunteers, and I hastily signed up. I looked forward to
Wednesday evenings, to meeting new people, discovering what the American community
was up to, and having access to a large variety of reading material. It was a lifesaver at a
difficult time.
Some months later I was asked to work at IULA, an offer I accepted with gratitude. I
continued serving on Wednesday evenings at the library, and had the best of both worlds.
When the Club bought its house in Scheveningen, the library was set up in the basement
and served there for many years. I continued working there until the building was sold and
the Club moved to its present quarters. I look back on the library days with fond memories:
it was always fun to meet and talk with old and new friends and to have a sizable source
of new and old literature at hand.
I also had a modest responsibility with FAWCO and attended its meetings in The Hague
and other European cities. My
favorite meeting, however,
was the gathering in Nairobi,
where one early evening we
took a ride to see the animals
at eventide and a pride of lions
settled themselves so near our
parked car that we had to wait
an hour before they finally got
up and majestically stalked
away, or was this just a joke
of the driver?
I’m glad the AWC is active
in the community and
now open to women from
other countries as well. May
it continue for many years to
come.
40 GOING DUTCH
The Best Decision
by Michelle Voorn
I’ve only been a part of the AWC The Hague for two years.
I’m one of the newbies, but joining has been one of the
best decisions after our move to the Netherlands!
I had first lived in the Netherlands in 2000, while I was
in my 20s. Although I had a very active online life back then
(AOL, mIRC, MySpace anyone?), googling and finding resources
via online searches rendered limited resources. I spent
nearly four years struggling to find my way, working for Shell
and doing a master’s degree at Leiden University, but not
feeling like I had a community to rely on. Shortly thereafter,
we moved back to the US. Fast forward nearly 20 years and
here we are again: repatriated, expat, migrated right back.
Except this time around, a quick Google search gave way to
great results. I easily found the AWC and I had no doubt in
my mind I would reach out and see what it could offer.
We moved here with two teenagers and I was looking to complement the crazies of adapting
to a new life as a parent, as an adult woman, and as someone who valued what it meant
to excel by having the companionship and wisdom of other women who had gone through
what I might be going through.
From the first meeting, I knew I’d be able to find people who cared and who I’d grow
to call my friends. What impressed me was the wide reach the Club had, from social activities
like book clubs to philanthropic activities which made a difference by not only helping
local organizations but also international groups which aligned with the common goals of
empowering and helping women in dire situations abroad.
And I can’t skip the fun: all the Thirsty Thursdays (which COVID-19 has put a damper
on), Lunch Bunch outings,
and so many other gatherings
which have brought on lots of
laughs and made it possible
to make friends.
If I’ve learned something
from hearing about the history
of the Club and its resilience,
it is that we will
get through coronavirus, we
will still be an anchor for
newcomers, and we will still
build and grow friendships
with new Members as well
as the many who’ve paved
the way for us to still have
an AWC The Hague.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 41

The AWC and Me
by Roberta Enschede
I
joined the AWC after living in Holland for about two and a half years. When I arrived
in the Netherlands, I had been married just two months. I was determined to please my
new family and do my best to learn the language and adjust to Dutch culture. I quickly
found out it wasn’t easy. It’s one thing to come here as an expat family and another to come
and be the foreigner in the family.
I was lucky, because the following year I got a teaching
job at the American School. That meant I had American
friends who I could talk to about my feelings. I taught for
one and a half years, until a month before our son was born.
As soon as I knew I would stop teaching, I decided to join
the AWC. I had resisted at first because, frankly, I didn’t see
myself as a member of a women’s club anywhere.
My world had been in Chicago and New York studying
acting and working and spending evenings with other actors
and writers discussing stuff like the meaning of life or
walking in Central Park to watch the sun come up over the
city. I asked myself, what on Earth would I or could I do in
a women’s club! Nevertheless, I joined. I wanted and needed
to be around Americans. I missed the US terribly.
As a new AWC Member, I was greeted by some of the “ladies who wore hats” with remarks
like, “Oh, you poor thing. Are you a lifer?” That meant: are you one of those unfortunate
souls married to a Dutchman? I hate to say it, but usually the “lifer ladies” had a Texas or
some sort of southern accent. I felt at home with tough Chicagoans and New Yorkers who
always let you know what they think, but who politely wouldn’t have called me a “lifer.” At
the time, it hurt, but now it’s good for a big laugh.
Seriously, what does the AWC mean to me? I’ve learned, it’s not just a women’s club.
It’s a haven, a family of friends, a home away from home where I can talk about American
things and not have to explain. Even though I’ve lived here so long, my roots―who I am and
who I will always be―are in the United States of America and the City of the Big Shoulders:
Chicago, Illinois. When I get together and talk with AWC friends, they understand. We feel
the same too when the holidays come around. Someone always wants to share Thanksgiving
memories or talk about picnics on the 4th of July, visiting Arlington or Margraten, or seeing
the Statue of Liberty or Washington, DC for the first time.
I guess I can say that the AWC is America to me. When I walk into the Clubhouse, I see
the American flag. I know I can always find someone who feels the same way I do about
seeing it standing there. Over the years, I’ve made friends who have become “my family.” I
met most of them at the AWC and every year, I almost always find a new “family” member.
I love the Club and respect it because it is always there for people in need, whether to
help individuals or the community. Long ago, I chaired what was then the Philanthropy
Committee. The AWC funded a respirator for the Juliana Kinderziekenhuis and a portable
dialysis machine for the old Red Cross Hospital. We had found out that doctors had to make
choices about which patients would be put on dialysis.
The AWC has supported all the activities I’ve been involved with over the years: the
Thanksgiving Service at the Pieterskerk, 4th of July picnic at the ABF and Ceremony of
Remembrance and Hope on 9/11. When Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria in
October 2017, I went to the AWC President and suggested we help our fellow citizens. She
didn’t hesitate and neither did anyone else. The AWC gave a sizeable contribution to aid the
people of Puerto Rico. And then, there were all the years the AWC held the Pink Ribbon
Galas to support breast cancer research.
Besides all of that, I’ve had lots of fun. I have silly memories of the goofy Christmas plays
we used to stage and fashion shows, country and western parties, even a Venetian masked ball,
and Halloween and Easter parties for the kids. Someone always thinks of something original
to do. Who knows what fun activities will be planned when this pandemic is finally over?
Long ago, I might not have thought that a women’s club was for me, but I know now it
was and it still is. My life here would have been a lot different without the AWC and I am
thrilled that this year will be “90 Years and Counting.”
42 GOING DUTCH
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 43

Appreciating Dutch Art
by Melissa White
When I think back on my 15 years as an AWC Member, there are a few things that
stand out beyond my years of writing and editing Going Dutch: working the payment
desk at the Holiday Bazaar, a Christmas market trip to Tallinn, sitting at the AWC
table at the Marine Corps Ball, and many fun Daytime Book Club Christmas Potlucks. As
entertaining as those events were, there’s one thing that really stands out as having enriched
my life in the Netherlands, and that would be how much I have come to love and appreciate
Dutch art because of Jane Choy, the AWC’s resident art historian.
I didn’t grow up going to museums. I remember an occasional visit with my school or
parents to an Egyptian or natural history museum. When I was living in San Diego after
college, I had a very strange experience of déjà vu while accompanying a friend to the fine
art museum when I rounded a corner and clearly knew what was coming next and could
envision myself and my sister at that exact spot. When I asked my father if he had taken us
there during our vacation in San Diego when I was nine, he scoffed at the idea that he would
have taken us to an art museum.
On the surface, it is easy to understand why art museums can seem intimidating. I suppose
some people assume that it’s important that you’ve studied art so you can understand
the underlying motivation of the artist and the choice of a particular brush stroke to get a
message across. I definitely have a much more simplistic viewpoint: I either like a piece of
art or I don’t. Thanks in part to Jane and her masterful tours of the Mauritshuis, I am very
partial to paintings by the Dutch Old Masters. I love the realistic way they depicted life in
the Netherlands in the 17th century―like
photographers before cameras were invented.
Jane has helped guide me to appreciate those
classic works of art as well as contemporary
art of all kinds, through both lectures and
guided tours of special exhibits at a variety
of museums.
I still remember the first of Jane’s lectures
that I attended in 2006 at our old AWC
Clubhouse during the Year of Rembrandt in
honor of the 400th anniversary of his birth in
Leiden. We were living in a suburb of Leiden
at the time, and regularly went into the city center which was covered in banners depicting
many of Rembrandt’s self-portraits. At that point, I knew his name, but wasn’t actually
familiar with his paintings and could only assume that he was quite an egomaniac. I had
never attended an art lecture before and wasn’t too fond of Rembrandt at that point, but Jane
helped to open my eyes to his mastery of light and his ability to paint truly lifelike hands.
Over the years, I have attended many
art history lectures in the intimate setting of
Jane’s 17th century house (depicted here in a
lovely painting hanging in her dining room) in
historic Voorburg. I was especially intrigued
with Holland’s Golden Age Revealed!―a
series serving as an introduction to the art
of this dynamic period, which included history
and culture as well, to give attendees
a deeper understanding of the country in
which we now live. I am especially drawn
to landscape paintings, so it was fascinating
to learn that the Dutch are considered to
have started the naturalistic landscape style.
In fact, the word landscape derives from the
Dutch word landschap.
Another lecture that I enjoyed attending at Jane’s beautiful home was about one of my
favorite Dutch painters: Jan Steen. Another painter hailing from Leiden, he is known for his
frolicking scenes of everyday life—each one telling a story. He was one of the first Dutch
artists to concentrate on the portrayal of many everyday activities, including charming scenes
of Dutch holidays: Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas), celebrated on December 5, regarded by many as
the quintessential Dutch holiday, and Twelfth
Night, celebrated on January 6. Jane went out
of her way to expand our horizons beyond
the usual pepernoten and chocolate letters by
introducing us to other baked goods popular
for celebrating Sinterklaas.
44 GOING DUTCH
Jane also arranged to bring Dr. Jeremy
Bangs, Director of the Leiden American
Pilgrim Museum and a leading expert on
Pilgrims, to the Clubhouse to give two lectures
about the Pilgrims and their life in
Leiden and the New World. More recently,
>> 46
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 45

Appreciating Dutch Art (cont.)
Continued from page 45
she had arranged a walking tour of Leiden with
Dr. Bangs’ associate, but that was converted to
a virtual lecture due to coronavirus restrictions.
Two other lectures that stand out are ones
that Jane and I coordinated together featuring
my dear friend Abbie Vandivere. The first was
way back in 2010 while Abbie was a freelance
art restorer at the Frans Hals Museum
in Haarlem, where she hosted the AWC for
an art conservation lecture and guided tour
of several of the pieces that she had restored,
including The Capture of Damiate from 1628
shown here. Even more exciting, Abbie hosted
the AWC in 2018 at the Mauritshuis, where she has worked since 2015 as a painting conservator
and restorer, explaining the technical examination which she led, along with a team
of international scientists and researchers,
of Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes
Vermeer in 1665 that was then taking place
at the museum.
Frankly, I have attended so many guided
tours over the years that either Jane gave herself
at the Mauritshuis or that she arranged at
other museums, I can’t even list them all but
can confirm that I was never disappointed.
A few tours definitely stood out, such as
Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style at
the Kunsthal in Rotterdam. Rather than being
a docent of the museum, our guide was
an active member of the Dutch James Bond
Fan Club with an extensive and fascinating knowledge of James Bond trivia. Ever since my
daughter started modeling, I’ve become more intrigued by fashion exhibits, of which Jane has
arranged many at the Kunstmuseum (showcasing
international fashion) plus several at
the Rijksmuseum (showcasing Dutch fashion)
and the Hermitage Amsterdam (showcasing
Russian fashion).
It is ironic that as I am putting the finishing
touches on this article, the Dutch government
has just announced that museums will
be closed yet again for the third round since
the pandemic started. Here’s hoping that we
can put these closures behind us in 2021 and
Jane can arrange many more great tours and
lectures.
46 GOING DUTCH
Undiscovered Benefits
by Melissa Rider
Nearly 10 years to the day from our first arrival, my husband and I returned to the
Netherlands for a second overseas work assignment in January 2017. The big difference
in our expat life this time around was that no school age children were accompanying
us. Instead we had a four-year-old kooijkerhondje dog, Nienke, who filled the void
when my youngest son went off to college. Without the children’s school and activities as a
means for my social networking, I was thankful
that the AWC The Hague was hosting its
January Kick Off meeting just one week after
my arrival. I signed on to find friendship and
community. Through the intervening years, I
joined Walkie Talkies, attended the monthly
General Meetings and other various activities,
became the Membership Chair, and ultimately
was elected to the Board. Now four years later,
as an active Member, I find the AWC has given
me even more than wonderful friends and a
feeling of sisterhood, but also purpose and
structure in my life beyond being a stay-athome
mother. For this I am truly grateful!
Submissions Needed
To continue with Going Dutch’s focus on Reflections, the theme for our next issue
will be Reflecting on Life in the Netherlands. Whether you have lived here for
decades and consider Holland your adopted country or are just passing through
for a few years, please consider submitting an article. Feel free to write from your
heart. This could be a soul-searching article about what it is like to leave your
home country (whether temporarily
or permanently), a funny story
about settling in this foreign land
or sharing your favorite thing about
living here. There’s enough craziness
in the world right now, so let’s
keep it positive, and please understand
that we have the right to edit
any articles and are not obligated to
publish all submissions. Send articles
or questions to Melissa White at
goingdutchmag@awcthehague.org
by Monday, January 25.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 47

Classifieds
Index of Advertisers
Private Pilates Lessons in
Your Own Home
I am a Certified Pilates
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Please email
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info.
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.
ACCESS
page 25
Aveda Lifestyle
Salon
Inside Cover
Happy Critters
page 15
Marcel
Vermeulen
Jewelry
page 9
Playball Kids
page 19
Sligro
page 13
VERHEY VAN
WIJK brilmode
page 13
Wassalon
Weissenbruch
page 14
Advertising Rates
FRITSTAXI
Airport Service
Inside Back Cover
Petros Eyewear
page 9
TRI-PT Studio
Personal Training
Back Cover
Your Cleaning
Service
page 25
Going Dutch is published five times per year from September through May by the American
Women’s Club of The Hague. Our members are a combination of American, Dutch, British and other
English-speaking nationalities. Circulation varies between 300-350 recipients per month, and the
full online-version of our magazine receives over 1,000 views each month.
Deadline: In general, the 1st of the month prior to the month in which your ad will appear.
How to Submit Your Ad: Email our magazine staff at : 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: IBAN: NL42ABNA0431421757
Support Fellow AWC Members
Find links to a large variety of businesses
owned by AWC Members at www.
awcthehague.org/site/newcomers/businesslinks
Members: eNews Distribution
A weekly electronic newsletter is sent to all
AWC Members.
If you have not been receiving your eNews,
please contact Heather at
membership@awcthehague.org.
Display Ad Prices and Dimensions:
Ad size Dimensions Price per issue Price for 5 issues
Outside cover (full) 148 x 210 mm € 270 € 1.250
Inside cover (full) 128 x 189 mm € 250 € 1.120
Going Dutch is Available Online
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!
Full page 13 x 18 cm € 240 € 1.050
Half page 13 x 9 cm € 125 € 530
Third page 13 x 6 cm € 95 € 400
Quarter page 6 x 9 cm € 75 € 315
Half page and third page ads will always be landscape (horizontal) and full page and quarter page ads will
always be portrait (vertical).
Classified Mini-Ads:
AWC Member Rates:
For 45 Words
Per Issue € 10 € 5
Five Issues € 45 € 20
For 25 Additional Words
Non-Member Rates:
For 45 Words
Per Issue € 15 € 8
Five Issues € 70 € 35
For 25 Additional Words
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.
48 GOING DUTCH
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 49

AWC Toy Drive
50 GOING DUTCH
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 51

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