American Women's Club of Hamburg Currents Magazine January 2014 | Page 20

MEMBERSHIP

C E L E B R AT I O N O F M E M B E R S H I P
This year’s Celebration of Membership, held at the Consulate, included several speeches from
members (longstanding and new) as well as a lovely (and hilarious) performance by Robin
Meloy Goldsby.
The AWCH has played and continues to play varying roles in the lives of its members, as
evidenced by the speeches given that evening. Here are a few of those speeches.
Speech by Brooke V.
My story with the American Women’s Club began
several months before I moved to Germany when
I learned about this organization from a woman
I met at an international research conference. I
think her words were something like, “This club
has pretty much saved my life.” So, with that
endorsement, I decided to check out the club
online. I was still feeling a little skeptical because
it seemed like most of the people I talked to or
books I read said what a great adventure it was
to live abroad – that is, for a year. Who knows
what happens after that? I was starting to slightly
question my decision to marry a German and live
in Germany for a few years, maybe forever! As I
started poking around the website, a few things
jumped out at me. First, I thought, “These women
look like they’re actually having fun!” The pictures
of smiling faces at a luncheon and women dressed
up in pink for the Race for the Cure events were
far from the stereotypical German seriousness that
I had heard of, and they reminded me of things I
might do with my girlfriends back home. Then, I
stumbled upon a few articles and thought maybe
I’d take a look expecting to read more about how
hard life in Germany is. I couldn’t have been more
surprised! I was so encouraged by the articles from
members about the positive aspects about living
in Germany, how they have overcome challenges
to make a home away from home, and even
reverse culture shock (I had no idea that existed!).
Although I hadn’t met anyone from the Hamburg
AWC at that point, I knew that AWC is something
that I wanted to be a part of and was hoping that
it would still be around when I came to Hamburg
several months later.

becoming a member, AWC has played a big role in
my adjustment to life in Germany. Over the past
year, I’ve met many of the lovely members of our
club, attended many of the events and have served
on the board. I can now say that my expectations
and hopes for the club were realized! There have
been countless times over the past year when I
have been feeling lost or overwhelmed about life
in Germany. Being able to ask other club members
about things like – do I really need to bring cake
on my first day of work? And, how do you measure
those huge chunks of butter that they sell at the
store? One of my favorite activities has been going
to Stitch’n’Bitch, which has been a huge source
of encouragement as I’m constantly in awe of the
women that moved here before me and before the
days of Internet and Skype. However, SnB is also
a little dangerous, as I’ve spent hours afterward
watching YouTube videos that the other members
recommend and basically having entire meals
of cheese and cookies on Tuesday nights. This is
what makes AWC so special. Meeting members for
coffee or lunch outside of AWC events has made
Hamburg feel more like home. I still remember my
surprise the first time I was walking downtown and
ran into Denise S. Until then, Hamburg had been
a city of unfamiliar faces, but just that one familiar
face made it feel a little less unfamiliar.

Although I’m still adjusting to life here, I want
to say thank you to all of the members that have
made my first year in Hamburg better and to all of
you who have worked so hard so that there is a club
for new members like me. I feel lucky to be part
of such an organization of women and hope that I
can share my experiences with the AWC with other
Now, a year after moving to Hamburg, finding expats like me.
out that the club is indeed still here and then
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American Women’s Club of Hamburg e.V.