PALVASHA H .
Palvasha H . supporting SDG 16 Peace , Justice , and Srong Institutions
I joined AWCH in the summer of 2019 and found it to be just the kind of Englishspeaking club I had been looking for ; indeed , as it turned out , I was just in time to get to know some of the great members and participate in a few of the wide range of activities on offer before the pandemic struck in early 2020 .
In the period before physical events became impossible , I attended some meetings of the dedicated and very nice Book Club , my very first hosted by the gracious Carol H ., who inspired me to join ; I remember our totally engrossing discussion of The Great Believers at a subsequent meeting fondly . As a member of the Art Group , I greatly enjoyed the very original exhibition called Liquidity at the Frappant Art Gallery in Altona by the talented young New Zealand artist Monique Barnett in the summer of the same year . Being an ardent believer in gender equality , peace , and justice , I decided to become the AWCH “ face ” of Sustainable Development Goal ( SDG ) 16 , ( peace , justice , and strong institutions ) in the summer of 2020 . What times those were , when one could still meet at a café , as I did back then to have a chat with Mary Frances about the SDGs ! Since then , we have had interesting talks and a Zoom event introducing some great short films on various SDG themes .
Since the beginning of my relatively short but fulfilling membership I have contributed articles to four issues of Currents , of which I particularly enjoyed writing “ Art in the Barracks ” on Liquidity ( Currents , Summer / Fall 2019 ) Living so far from Hamburg , I can ’ t always make it to all the events I ’ d like to attend , but the dedicated group activity organizers have been successfully arranging Zoom meetings for discussions , film viewings , etc ., plus there are many local groups for those who live outside of or
Monique ‘ s exhibition 2019 , # 1
Monique ‘ s exhibition 2019 , # 2
on the outskirts of Hamburg . New members are sure to find something of interest to do and engage in , to realize their own ideas in cooperation with club members , and , of course , to make new friends .
VENITA K .
My very first impression of the American Women ’ s Club of Hamburg , way before I became a member , was made at the Amerikahaus in the early ‘ 80s when I first came to Germany . I remember thinking that the majority of the club women were “ older ” corporate wives with big sprayed hairstyles who did luncheons and seemed to live in a bubble .
My career left me with little time to participate further . Fastforward to years later when , after turning 50 and “ missing the buzz ,” I joined the club for a few events and was impressed by the wonderfully diverse and fun group of women with a highly motivated and creative AWCH board .
I treasure the shared identity of our expatriate experiences and have fond memories of past live events — whether curing our homesickness at a potluck Thanksgiving , laughing with Gayle Tufts during a gala , discussing world affairs or a book over a glass of wine , just walking or biking to a Harbor Explorers event , helping out a charity , or experiencing an awesome lightbulb moment during an AWCH workshop entitled “ Me and My German Husband .”
Meanwhile , I may find myself living in a bubble due to our COVID-driven world ... but there is always an inspiring AWCH Zoom event to log on to and enjoy the membership of — with a bit of lipstick and a very light spritz of hairspray , of course .
www . awchamburg . org 35