The Globe April 2007
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
To the world you might be one person, but to one person,
you might be the world. Kindness is the golden chain by which our world is
bound together. - Johann von Goethe
Bow, shake hands, one kiss, two, or
more? Beginning with the basic
greetings, Janet Fagan, Great Expectations, LLC, led us through an enlightening
workshop activity on cross-cultural etiquette at our March meeting. Lively
discussion followed as we explored how to recognize and appreciate cultural
differences, sharing personal stories from our own expatriate experiences.
This year our April Spring Tour brings us to
the University of Houston – Clearlake for a reception and then on to lunch, shopping or exploring
Kemah. Please join us to meet the current winner of our Billie C. Fowler
International Connections of Houston Scholarship. The ICH scholarship is the
first scholarship exclusively dedicated to aiding international students at the
university. On behalf of the ICH Board, thank you all for your generous
support.
Back by popular demand, ICH
is holding our second annual Wine and Wisdom evening! Mark your calendars now
for Saturday, May 19th for a fun evening of world-wide trivia as you
enjoy wine and a Ploughman’s supper. The Wine and Wisdom event will be limited
to fifty people, divided into teams of 6-8 people.
New happenings! ICH is now
offering Computer Data Courses. Please contact Adriana Diesen, VP Public
Relations to learn more about these one-on-one lessons in your own home!
Further details follow in this newsletter. New to Houston? Confused with the local highways? Two ICH members
have recently teamed up to launch “H.I.N.T.s” (Houston International Newcomers
Team) for our members. Whether you are
new to Houston, or would like to work with the team, please look for
their notice below as well. Last but not least, the Nominating Committee for
the 2007-2008 ICH Board will be forming soon. Please contact me if you would
like to serve on the committee or the board itself.
All my best,
Chris Lusignan
SPECIAL ICH EVENT - Wine and Wisdom: an evening of wine, cheese and trivia
Date: Saturday 19th May from 7pm hosted by Jackie Verity and ICH
Cost $20 per person includes supper of breads, cheese,
fruit, wine and drinks
Teams of 6-8 participate compete to outdo each other
in their knowledge of trivia.
Contact: Barbara Donnelly for
reservations and more details (limited to 50 persons so book early)
A Special
Thank You to Exxon Mobil Corporation for their donation of $1,000 to ICH
through their Foundation Volunteer Involvement program. Many thanks to Chris
Lusignan for choosing ICH as the recipient of this generous gift.
MONTHLY MEMBERS’ MEETING –APRIL 2007
THURSDAY
APRIL 19TH, DEPART 9
AM – RETURN 3 PM
At
University
of Houston
– Clear
Lake
2700 Bay Area Boulevard, Houston, TX 77058
and then on to
KEMAH BOARDWALK, 215 Kipp Ave, Kemah, TX 77565
http://www.kemah.net/map.html (carpool arrangements are
detailed below)
We are planning a fabulous “Day Out” for all of
our ICH Members with a trip first to the U of H Clear Lake campus & then on
to Kemah for lunch & activities on the Boardwalk!
UHCL has planned a Reception for us, during
which time we will be honored with meeting University President Dr. William
Staples; Associate Vice President Dion McInnis; Ingborg Hays from the Office of
International Initiatives; Amy Weldon, the Coordinator of Donor Stewardship
& Vy Trinh, the ICH 2006-07 Scholarship recipient. The University is really looking forward to
hosting our members & we are hoping for a great turnout!
Following our Reception at UHCL, we will head
out for a fabulous lunch at one of the many seafood restaurants on the
Boardwalk in Kemah. Depending on your
time schedule, after lunch you can take time to shop in some of the best local
boutiques & antiques stores in Kemah & Seabrook – or try a ride on “The
Beast”, or any of the other fun Boardwalk rides. Want to bring home some fabulous seafood to
cook that night? Bring a cooler &
we’ll point you in the right direction!
What a day out!
The University of Houston – Clear Lake is located at 2700 Bay Area Boulevard, Houston, TX 77058. We will be meeting at 10am in a
classroom in the Bayou Building. Carpools will be departing
from:
1.
Starbucks at the corner of S. Post Oak Rd & Westheimer at 9am: contact
Kathy Waugh if you plan to meet us there!
2. Lakes
of Parkway Clubhouse carpark at 13900-13998 Barnhart Blvd off Briar Forest Dr.
west of Eldridge Pkwy at 8:45am: contact Mun Molloy in advance!
If you would prefer not to carpool, please find
directions below:
Directions:
The University of Houston – Clear Lake
2700 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, TX 77058
From the Starbucks at S. Post Oak Rd & Westheimer
(just off the 610W loop.) At Westheimer,
merge onto 610 South via the ramp on the Left.
Take the I-45 Exit on the Left toward Dallas/ Galveston. Merge onto I-45 South/US-75 S toward Galveston. Take Exit 26 toward Bay Area
Blvd/ University of Houston Clear Lake. Stay Straight to go
onto Gulf Fwy. Take the ramp toward Bay Area
Blvd/U of H/ Clear Lake. Merge onto W Bay Area
Blvd.
You will go thru several lights passing: Hwy 3, El Camino
Real & Space Center Blvd. Turn off to U of H Clear Lake (Clear Lake High School
is across the street.) Take a Right into
Entrance #2 (University.) Go over a
bridge of water (bayou,) & cross a road thru the woods. On the Left side is Parking Lot R. (We will
be given a parking token when we leave this lot.) Across from the parking lot is the Bayou Building with a “Yin
& Yang” stone sculpture in its front garden. The information desk directly inside the
building will tell us our meeting room number.
Our contact at the University is Amy Weldon at 281-283-2022.
‘Oranje Feest Houston 2007’ -
a celebration to honor the birthday of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
This year’s Oranje Feest will take place on
Friday, April 20th, from 19.30 till 00.30 hours at Willow Fork Country Club, 21055 Westheimer Parkway, Katy, TX 77450. It will be a great evening! There is a
maximum of 200 people. The evening will start off with an appetizer on the
balcony, with a beautiful view on the 18 holes golf course, followed by a
buffet. Afterwards there will plenty of time to dance to live music. Dress code
is festive with a little orange. Tickets $45 per person
(minimum age 21 yrs old). To reserve, send a check for $45 per person
payable to ‘Nicole Bos’ stating ‘Oranje Feest’ to: Nicole Bos 13719 Sundowner 
Drive Houston, TX
77041. Reservations have to be made
by April 6, 2007.
Extravaganza!!
Fashion Show by Dillard's coming to Lakeside
Country Club, Wilcrest
Drive, on
Wednesday, April 18th, 11:30 a.m. Price: $25. Proceeds to Houston Area Womens Center. Door
prizes and a special gift drawing, plus discount card to everyone. Contact
persons: Catherine Hay at 713-972-0350 or Sandi Ward at 832-242-5634.
Reservation by April 9th, 2007.
If you
have not seen the tree-lined avenues and Victorian style bungalows and houses
in one of the most atmospheric areas of Houston, don’t
miss the Historic Houston Heights Spring Home & Garden Tour “The Colors Of Our Lives”, Sat & Sun, April 14 and 15, tickets $15 -
$17. Click on the website http://www.houstonheights.org/hometour.htm
for tickets and details of the Victorian style homes and bungalows in the tour.
Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival
The two-day Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival features more than 200
national and regional artists of various mediums selling their original
creations. The festival takes place along the meandering Waterway from The
Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center alongside The Cynthia
Woods Mitchell Pavilion and culminating at Town
Green
Park.
Event URL: http://www.woodlandsartfestival.com
Date/Time: Sat., April 14, 10:00am-8:00pm,
Sun., April 15, 10:00am-5:00pm
Price: $10, Free for children under 12, Event Phone: 713-521-0133
For parents with children on their Easter break, the Easter Bunny is
available at various malls for photographs.
You can also look out for Easter egg hunts and other related events for
the younger child by looking up this really great website: http://www.gocitykids.com/?area=187
If you have older children, you
must look up this website for all types of events, activities and discount
coupons to whatever is happening in and around Houston, from sports events to
cultural events: http://www.visithoustontexas.com/
, for example:
The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships at Westside Tennis and Fitness from April 9th - April 15th. For
additional information, click on http://www.mensclaycourt.com/
14th Houston Japan Festival at the Japanese Garden at Hermann Park
Saturday, April 14th
and Sunday, April 15th
2007
The Houston Japan Festival celebrates the rich
cultural heritage of Japan with activities that
represent traditional entertainment, sport, food and art. The Japanese garden
at Hermann Park is transformed into
an authentic Japanese village with colorful windsocks, cherry blossoms, and
paper lanterns.
Activities Co-Coordinator: Barbara Donnelly (ich_activities@yahoo.com).
Note that all participants in ICH activities must be members of ICH!
*In
all the following activities, please contact the activity leaders using their
personal phone numbers or e-mails found in the ICH MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY or the
Attachment posted with the Newsletter each month. For a copy of the Membership
Directory, please contact the V-P, Activities Barbara Donnelly at ich_activities@yahoo.com
or V-P, Membership Shelagh Metselaar at ich_membership@yahoo.com.
NEW2ICH COFFEE
Our next New 2 ICH Coffee will be held on
Monday 30th April 2007, 10.30 - noon. If you are a
new member of ICH and wish to be invited please contact Barbara
Donnelly or Linda
Hunter to confirm
and ask for directions. Please note
this is a change of date.
COUPLES DINING OUT
The next meeting will be in May For more information about this event contact either Beverly Smolenski or Catherine Hay.
INTERNATIONAL
LUNCH
Hope
you can join us at one of our lunches as they are deliciously fun. The next
international lunch is being planned. Details will be published in the next
newsletter. For more information
contact Jo
Hentschel or Barbara Donnelly
EXPLORE HOUSTON .
Watch this space for exciting tours coming up
in 2007!
DINING DAMES! We are looking for a new leader for
this activity. If you are interested in organizing it, or would like to know
more, please contact either Jo Hentschel or Barbara Donnelly
TENNIS
We now have a number of members interested in
playing tennis. If you would like to either join or lead this group please
contact Barbara Donnelly with details of preferred time, day and location.
COOKING
We are forming a casual ‘cooking club’ where we can
get together to talk about food, share recipes and learn new cooking
skills. If you are interested in
joining this group please contact Barbara Donnelly.
SPANISH
CONVERSATION
A number of members are getting
together to start a Spanish conversation coffee morning. There are various
levels of ability in the group so don’t feel shy about attending (some of the
beginners will be there!) We will choose a topic each month and use this as a
basis for the ‘conversation’. The aim is for it to be lighthearted and fun;
giving people a chance to practise their Spanish in relaxed surroundings. The
day and time have yet to be decided. If you are interested or want to know more
please contact Barbara Donnelly
BOOK CLUB
The fourth
Thursday of the month at 10:30 a.m.
If
you are already a member of the group, you will be given directions to the
venue. If you would like to join, please contact Amber Wickwire OR Jeanne Hero. If you feel you cannot keep up
the pace of one book per month, you can choose one or more titles and attend
the appropriate meeting. "Casuals" are most welcome.
April
Rising Tide: the Great Mississippi Flood
of 1927 and How it Changed America, by John M. Barry. This non-fiction book tells
the riveting story of one of the greatest natural disasters America has ever known -- the Mississippi flood of 1927. The river inundated
the homes of nearly one million people, which had long-lasting social and
political consequences. (www.disasternews.net)
May
Desai,
Kiran. The Inheritance of Loss. Man
Booker Prize (UK), 2006. Set in New York and the Himalayas, an Indian-Nepali insurgency
disrupts the lives of a young woman, her Nepali tutor (and lover), and a host
of other characters. (www.penguin.ca)
FRIDAY NIGHT BRIDGE 
Anyone interested in playing bridge in the
evening? Come with a partner or request
a partner to play fun bridge on the second
Friday of the month. For more information please contact Barbara Donnelly or Friedel Liptay.
FRIENDLY BRIDGE ( Tuesday)
Every other Tuesday of the month
from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00
p.m. If you would like to play
with this group, please get in touch with Raquel Fernandez.
GENTLE
GOLF
Every Wednesday morning at Bear Creek Golf Club. We would love to have you
join us and we would welcome some more players. Anyone interested in joining us
call or email Jen Carne.
ICE SKATING
When: First Friday of the month, 11:00 am.
Where: Galleria Ice
Rink. Meet at La Madeleine at 10
am
for coffee. Contact Sandra Pezzetta.
MOVIE MATINEE
Movie Matinee meets every second
Thursday of the month. Please contact
Susan Cunha for further information,
schedules and location.
STITCHING GROUP
The Lone Star Stitchers (embroidery, quilting,
cross-
stitch etc) meet every Monday
from 1:00–4:00pm. If you wish to join the
group, call Margaret Wallace.
SPANISH CLASSES
The 12 week Spanish class
(beginners) started on 6th February.
We have another session starting
soon. If you are interested in
joining the class please contact Barbara
Donnelly
WEST SIDE WALKERS
This is a great way to meet people in the West
Memorial area, especially if you are new to Houston. We meet weekly on
Friday mornings at 9:00am, at Terry Hershey Park on Memorial Drive, and ¼ mile west of
Eldridge. Meet by the pavilion (gazebo) on the north side of Memorial Drive. Contact Kate Horan.
Member Services
We act as facilitators for a number of
activities that may be of interest to our members. If you wish to participate or if you want to
know more please contact either the leader or Barbara
Donnelly
DATA COURSES - New
MS Word any version; MS Excel any
version;
MS Outlook any version; Internet
Adriana
has kindly offered to run ‘Data Courses’ for our members. The course(s) will
take place in the participant’s home, using his/her computer. Course content, time and schedule needs to be negotiated with
Adriana. All sessions will be one-to-one. No special material will be
provided. Beginner
users will be given preference over Intermediate ones. Cost $40 per course. Duration
2 hours per course. For more
details contact Adriana Diesen.
PLAYGROUP
ICH members have been invited to join the TANZOT playgroup.
They don’t mind at all if you are not from The Antipodes! The playgroup meets
every Thursday morning 10:00am-12:00pm, usually at a member’s
home. Come and let your kids play, while you have coffee and a chat. For mothers and children from 0-4. For information,
contact Megan Jamieson.
GET UP AND
DANCE!
If
you would like to explore the world of social dancing in Houston then Bronwyn is happy to
facilitate that. She knows where you can
go to begin or can find out. If it’s two step, polka, east or west coast swing,
salsa, waltz or hip hop, she can help get you launched and would be happy to
accompany you to your first class or for your first social outing and to join
you regularly for dancing. Its fun and a great way to meet
locals. To find out more
contact Bronwyn Browne.
Looking for something for the teenagers to do during the Easter and
summer vacations? Christa is organizing trips and outings for teenaged
children. For more details contact Christa Dyson.
H.I.N.T.s (Houston International Newcomers Team)
We are
getting together a team of people to help newcomers to ICH. They will be
putting together a welcome pack full of useful information about Houston. If you have any suggestions or
wish to be involved please contact Janet Dunlop or Carol Hammer. More
details in next month’s newsletter
EVENTS
& ACTIVITIES CALENDAR – April 2007
