Guess what? I had an audience with Queen Silvia of Sweden. Yes! It is true and this is what happened. In the presence of Her Majesty, I had the privilege of saying thank you to the FAWCO Foundation and its member clubs for choosing our AWCH club nomination, the Children of Cali charity, for the highest development grant given last year of $5,000. Due to the fact that Cornelia would be in Cali during the time of the conference, she asked me to represent her. I was honored and thrilled to represent us, her, the children of Cali and Father Alfredo. Cornelia prepared a beautiful PowerPoint presentation that told a visual story of the children who were recipients of the grant. I was so proud! The message of the presentation was so personal. I know you would have been proud too. And what was so cool was that on each frame of the presentation was stated "Thank you from AWCH." I gave a little speech as the presentation was being shown that explained how the money was spent and then expressed a very personal thank you from all involved. It just so happened that the Queen of Sweden (Queen Silvia) was invited to attend our general session the same morning in which the Foundation would give their year report. The conference delegates were impressed and proud that this was shown in front of the Queen. The Queen presented her charity and was given a portion of the proceeds from the Conference Silent Auction towards her charity. It was a very special day, one I will never forget! Nancy T was the final winner of the Stockholm Raffle. She says: "I got tired listening to the lists of activities and accomplishments of the various speakers at the general sessions -- they seem to have accomplished so much! An impressive speaker was Elizabeth Rehn -- the first woman Finnish defense minister who also ran (but lost) for the Finnish presidency who spoke on the effect of armed conflict on women." After experiencing the conference I totally agree with of Ms. Rose's explanations for the FAWCO initials, "Fantastic American Women who Complement each Other."
As of March 1, 2003, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) became the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) when it moved from the Department of Justice to the newly created Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The new web site address is http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/index.htm. More than 160 participants from 41 clubs in 24 countries attended the 36th biennial FAWCO conference in Stockholm. The largest group was 14 women from FAUSA, the alumna arm of FAWCO made up of former club members who have returned from the United States. FAUSA will sponsor its own regional meeting in Chicago, September 18-20. To attend contact Brooke Bremner, 2041 N. Howe St., Chicago, IL 60614, tel 312-266 8585, brookebrenmer@aol.com. Plan to join Karen P at this USA Regional; it's going to be great!
Former AWCH club member Jeannette S has moved to London and she served as that club's FAWCO rep to the conference. In an article for London Bridge, the magazine for the AWC London, she wrote, "It is with great pleasure that I am writing this column as the AWC London's new FAWCO representative...A bit of personal history is appropriate at this point to tell you about my enthusiasm for the job. In 1997 I was an AWC member in Hamburg as my oldest daughter Sandra was looking at universities. She was a 12th grader at the International School when she decided to apply for one of the scholarships that the FAWCO Foundation awards every year. She was one of the fortunate ones to have been chosen. The enthusiasm that I saw in the ladies who were working with her to postulate her and then to follow-up on her case served as an inspiration to me. As a result, here I am, five years and three moves hence which have taken me through three different continents, feeling honored and excited. I cannot wait to do my bit for someone else in the many ways that FAWCO is active in our club and cannot wait to get more of our members involved in the wonderful causes that are championed under its umbrella." What a Raffle Winner Did at the FAWCO Conference
The plane was very empty and it took me a total of six hours and two meals (a second plane connection to what should have been a direct 1.5 hour flight from Hamburg.) It was a strange feeling flying over Hamburg a second time on my way to Stockholm - four hours later! On the bus to the city center from the airport, my suitcase took on a life of its own rolling back and forth, threatening to fall over with every curve in the road. I felt like Lucille Ball in her old trailer vacation film. My hotel was three stops on the T-Bahn (underground) from the Sheraton where the conference is located. I registered, cashed money, bought candle holders at the crafts exhibition and quilt raffle tickets AND stumbled upon a realist art exhibition in a fine gallery in the city center. When asking about opera I found a 40 K (about EUR 5) ticket for a modern, well received production of La Boheme on that same evening. The set for Acts I & 4 was on a lightbox with the flip side representing the outside of the artists' garrett where Marcello and the guys live and Mimi eventually dies. It was fun to see such a modern production in the baroque Operahouse, with its famous great Gold Room where people promenaded in the intermission. High, decorated ceilings, typical of the Swedish architecture with a row of heavy crystal chandeliers reflected in the mirrors amongst the gold and paintings. I missed a great steak dinner that night but it was worth it! Friday, March 28 I was on time for the meeting and there was a fun "rap" report from the London clubs which somewhat resembled Friday nights in 8-Mile, the Eminem film. An interesting Finnish lady politician was the key-note speaker today, very anti-war but in a quiet way. I was amazed at the lack of signs or demonstrators in the city center. Peace must be built into the Swedish psyche - a huge contrast to the loud rallies and posters in Hamburg. I coaxed Becky away from the convention at a noontime break for 20 minutes (I stayed three hours) to the wonderful marble high ceilings of the Dans Museet - where I saw a series of Nureyev films including excerpts from Armand+Mathilde (the story from Neumeier's Die Kamiliendame), Le Corsaire, and Adam and Eve, a choreography by Birgit Cullberg, a student of Martha Graham, who, along with being the mother of choreographer Mats Ek (who periodically comes to Hamburg) is considered the mother of the Stockholm ballet. In the 1950's, Miss Julie was her breakthrough creation - and she continued the theme of "love" throughout her career which spanned 1908-2001. I skipped the afternoon's workshops for the National Art Museum, its massive foyer covered with Sweden's darling Carl Larsson's murals and its great kids' exhibition of animal paintings, constructed, complete with sound effects - like you were walking in nature looking at the animals (paintings) through the tree branches. In a special traveling exhibit of Spanish art, I saw this beautiful allegorical painting by Goya, Truth, Time and History, with women representing Truth (Spain) and History. There was also a special exhibition commemorating 2002 as the 750th anniversary of Stockholm which I had no time to see. Could this lovely city have been spruced up for last year's event? This evening's event included a tour of a prestigious furnishing design store, the address for buying a gift fit for the Swedish queen, on a picturesque waterfront location in the city center. There was a lecture on the history of the store (somehow I managed to miss the lecture as I'd gotten into an interesting conversation with LeAnne from Cologne, who was staying in the same bed and breakfast as Karen) and a goody-bag containing a lovely polished pewter vase for all attendees, followed by a sumptuous buffet with free-flowing champagne which encouraged the shoppers amongst us. (Surprisingly I did not buy any food on the trip - breakfast buffet in hotel, plus lunch buffet daily at the conference and evening dinner events, covered all food costs.) After the event I walked back to the central station, which was easy to find even though I was coming from a different direction, for my train ride to the hotel, and was struck by the whimsically shaped buildings with interesting colored lights in the darkness. Saturday, March 29 General meeting at 8:45 - great! An extra 15 minutes to sleep in! I left the session a bit early to take the noon tour in English of the city hall which was only a ten-minute walk from the conference. Years ago doing portraits on the boardwalk in Travemunde, I'd been told by Swedish boaters that it was the most important place to see when visiting Stockholm. And it did not disappoint. It is the center for the Nobel Prize festivities. The evening's dinner takes place in the "blue" room, and the evening's ballroom is the "gold" room, the walls of which are covered in glittering gold and blue mosaic mural historical stories. After a quick run back to the hotel to change clothes for the evening's event, we lined up for the chartered busses to take us to supper at the home of the American Ambassador. Karen had warned me before leaving Hamburg that I should bring my pencils along. At the entrance of the mansion we were informed we were too early and must return in 1/2 hour. Our bus driver assisted by a Swedish AWC member gave us an impromptu tour of this part of the city. I was captivated by my lively seatmate, an 85-year-old diplomat's wife who had lost sight in one eye being hit by a tennis ball while playing at 82 (she only plays golf now). She recounted incidents from her life in Stockholm - a time of seamstress-made ball gowns. I'd asked her what she thought was intrinsic to the Swedish personality (my paternal grandfather was Swedish.) She said it was very formal, respectful, reserved, and lubricated by a lot of alcohol. Ambassador Charles and Mona Heimbold greeted us at the entrance to their residence. They had produced a catalogue of the many artworks in their home, both publicly and privately owned, which included a Carl Larsson painting over the buffet table. At dinner, after a short speech by Mr. Gallo, a grandson of the vineyard's founder who provided the evening's goodbye of Zinfandel, I had a lovely talk with a Danish AWC member who had just completed all the exercises in "Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain" in preparation for illustrating her own children's book about her dog and cat! We exchanged a few ideas as I'm working on a children's book, too, and we promised to keep in touch.
Sunday, March 30 No morning meeting to accommodate those who wanted to go to church. I attended the walking tour of the city. Particularly impressive was the statue of St. George and the dragon and the maiden George was saving. Our tour guide informed us the maiden represented Sweden, being saved from the dragon Denmark by an unknown savior knight. It seemed to me a surprisingly passive identification for a country. At lunch was a presentation by a winner of one of the FAWCO scholarships in conjunction with Volvo. They are developing a MCC, My Concept Car, designed and built by female engineers to include safety features for pregnant auto travelers- emphasis on protecting the unborn child. Tips garnered for the pregnant driver:
Then on to the workshops. I chose Computer Virus Control, a hot topic at the conference as most of their correspondence is through email. That night we divided into groups of eight for the in-house dinners - a favorite event of the conference. Our group rode in two taxis outside the city through the woods to a small town on a huge lake and this opportunity to see a little more of the country was appreciated. Our hostess was an American author of five books. Jann and her recent Swedish husband Dr. Erik told a romantic story. They had met years ago in Portland where he was attending a conference. They had an email relationship. Both were married at the time but during their friendship she was remarried and divorced while his wife died and they found each other again on the internet. She moved to Stockholm and now both seem very happy. They prepared a typical Swedish meal for us, and we learned the types of lives we expatriate Americans are living in Saudi, Britain, Germany, Belgium. It was a wonderful evening. Monday, March 31 I took the airport bus early the next morning. A nice man directed me through the maze of underground tunnels that I could not remember from last Thursday, or I would have been lost. Girl! did I have a great time! Thanks everyone for letting me benefit from this raffle. And I hope this article inspires you to buy a chance in the new FAWCO raffle for a trip to the Hague in 2004! Return to: Home |
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By
Karen P
By
Nancy T
Jazzed
by the whole evening, on my way back to the hotel I tried to find
a recommended jazz club in the city's old town. Walking through the
narrow cobble stoned streets, I asked directions of two women who
said I could follow them! They were going there, too. Decided not
to stay, as it was a traditional club -but was happy that I'd had
the adventure of getting there. On my return to my hotel room, used
my energy to make a portrait of the ambassador and his wife, and later
gave her the picture as a remembrance of the event from our Hamburg
AWC.