AWC of The Hague

The American Women's Club of The Hague was begun in 1930 and in 1984 was able to buy this big house in the Scheveningen area of Den Haag on Nieuwe Duinweg. Though it has been here so long and I was aware of it from before I even moved here, I didn't become a member till October 2008.

What took me so long? I came here intent on integrating and not relying on Americans and insulating myself in a group of Americans. I wanted to learn the language and make Dutch friends, etc. Well, making friends with the Dutch is the topic for another day...but when I returned to the US for the first time this past summer and the people were just as nice as when I left, and they are, and I returned here with even a couple more American friends, I knew I needed those connections here. I know the language enough to communicate with people who don't speak any English and I read very well and write ok in Nederlands, I can venture into the Expat world and speak English and even Nederlands with Nederlanders or other expats. There is an American Women's Club in Rotterdam but I have heard the Den Haag group is nicer and does more. (It's also evident in their websites.)

In September I went to the "Feel At Home in Den Haag" fair and there was the AWC table and I said how I live in Rotterdam and one of two people at the booth comes from Zwijndrecht, south of Rotterdam where one of Arjan's niece's lives. These women were so friendly and welcoming...I now go to the Club just about every week, and sometimes 2 or 3 times, and have taken the Program Chair position, they wanted me to take one of the 2 open VP positions but I don't like the responsibilities of either. I have met some really neat people, some have been here a long time, married to a Dutchie, or one woman lived here with her American man for over 30 years, he died, and now she has a Dutch man. One that just joined is a Dutchie is divorced from an American, returning here after they divorced. She totally understands the Dutch thinking but also the American and missed the friendship that Americans give and have. Others are wives of American men here for work. You'll be seeing pictures and hearing about them in the future.

Today was our monthly meeting and lunch. Each meeting has a special program, usually with a special speaker, and today our member Jane, who is a volunteer at the Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery in Den Haag, gave a presentation titled Love, Romance, and Deception. It was very interesting. The Mauritshuis is a smaller art gallery mostly housing works of art from the Golden Age, mostly 16th-17th century. This is the home for Vermeer's The Girl with the Pearl Earring.

Jane was asked how she came to be so knowledgeable about and interested in art. Her story was interesting...an American who has lived here over 20 years with her Dutch man. She went to Trinity College in Dublin and studied Irish History, and she's not even Irish but finds their history most interesting and loves the music, we'll be talking further! She ended up in education then met her Dutchie and moved here and then said exactly how I feel, when you move to a new country not as a worker expat, you end up finding that you have to reinvent yourself, you just can't get jump into the profession you were practicing in your home country. So, she figured it was a good time to maybe try something else and ended up becoming very knowledgeable about Dutch art.

God only knows where I'll end up...there's a German member who has a PHD in Psychology, she has lived almost all over the world, but mostly America and Europe, she has a house right near the AWC, and she speaks 5 languages. She is working on research studying how the brain has changed as people no longer have to memorize things like telephone numbers. Ok...that totally lights my fire, especially because I've considered the same type of thing. Today she encouraged me so much by telling me that the average age of people in the Open University here is 54 and a woman there just earned her PHD in Psych at age 60. There is hope and even in NL! It did bring me back to my junior year sitting in my beloved advisor and professor's office and I clearly heard him, as if it was today, tell me that if I was going for a Bachelor's in Psych and wanted to remain in that field, I'd have to get a Masters and Doctorate, and how I left college not wanting to return, then in my 30's the bug came and think isn't leaving me...just took a detour.

Then Laurie drove me all the way home today, quite a treat. Typically she drops me at a tram stop or Central Station to get home. Laurie is my God send. She just moved to Rotterdam in January from Westport, CT. Her husband is a ship architect for an American Chemical shipping company that moved it's entire business and operations to Rotterdam the beginning of last year. Their youngest son was in his senior year so she stayed till he got squared away in college and then decided to wait till after the holidays to make the permanent move, but already has to return next week for a month. I love it because she likes it here so much and is learning so much...she doesn't want to return to the States yet, but a couple family weddings call. The other great thing is she's in my age group and she has a son who shares my birthday, which excited her, as well as me--finally someone born on my day instead of dying. The other good thing is that she doesn't live in the area so far North where most other Americans live, she lives a bit closer to us on the North side of the city and comes over to my South side to go to "my" Jumbo!, what I call the American supermarket here. Also, they are here for the long haul, at least till he retires in 15 years. Hooray, someone who isn't leaving in a year, 2, or 3 and that has an auto paid for by the company, including the gas!, yes, some people receive some high perks to come here, to be able to do things with. Because her husband is here for a job she was able to just trade her American license in for a Dutch one, something those of us here for a Dutchie aren't able to do. And maybe Laurie will turn out to be a person who will take care of the boys so Arjan and I can take a real vacation!