ilv newsletter - International Ladies in Vietnam

I LV N E W S L E T T E R
2014 / VOL. 49
WHAT’S INSIDE
With A New Year Comes A
New Venue For ILV !!
Please pass the word, ILV will be moving starting
January 16th (same times) to a new venue. We will
now be meeting at the lovely InterContinental
Asiana Hotel centrally located on the corner of Hai
Ba Trung street & Le Duan Bl District 1. We will be
meeting on the 2nd floor in The Purple Jade
Room. You can either take the elevator or the stair
up to your new home. We hope to see you there for
our first meeting of the New Year January 16 with a
Vietnamese Cultural presentation on Tet by our
adorable and well loved Nga!
ILV’s New Venue
1
Water Puppet
outing
2
Help needed
3
EILV
3
Pop Quiz
3/6
Jan’s Book Clubs
4
Jan’s speakers
4
Month in
review
5/6
Viet. Cooking
6
Cook Book
6
Board members
7
Pop Quiz Answers
7
ILV Library
7
DVD Swap
7
Weekly Activities
8
Dec at a Glance
9
AGM Vote
10
Page 2
ILV NEWSLETTER / www.ilvietnam.com
Be a tourist in your own city! How many of us have actually gone to see the Water Puppet
Show? Now’s your chance to see this ancient art of puppetry. First performed 100’s of years ago
on ponds & in paddy fields in Vietnam’s Red Delta. It was created by farmers in the fields to
pass the time. This is a must do before your time is up here in HCMC. Lisa has arranged for us
to all go (with our significant other) to see this colorful & revived art form performed. Spaces are
limited to 25 people.
Where:
When:
Time:
Cost:
Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater
55 B Nguyen Thi Minh Khai St. D1
Wednesday January 22
Meet there at 6:30pm to make the 6:45pm show.
160, 000 VND (this doesn’t include the cost of your dinner)
*Following the performance we will dine at a new Vietnamese
restaurant, Propoganda, 21 Han Thuyen (next to Au Parc)
Sign up at ILV’s Thursday Coffee Mornings in our new home at “Purple Jade Room” at the lovely
InterContinental Hotel. Hope to see you all there!
The ILV wishes everyone a
wonderful and safe
Tet Holiday!
Chuc Mung Nam Moi !
ILV NEWSLETTER / www.ilvietnam.com
Page 3
What is the name of the
American actress who
played “Betty Draper” on
Mad Men ?
Are You Interested?
Sherry is our New Members table
coordinator & she needs your Help! We are
asking for someone to help out at the New
Members table.
All you need is a welcoming friendly
smile & be willing to help
someone new to our club.
If interested please email Bronnie
Hint: She also played “Emma
Frost” on X-Men First Class.
What does she have to do
with this month?
ilvchairlady@gmail.com
Funny January Poem
T'was the month after Christmas, & all through
the house, nothing would fit me, not even a
blouse; the cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I
had to taste, at the holiday parties had gone to
my waist; when I got on the scales there arose
such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a
lumber), I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd
prepared, the gravies, sauces & beef nicely
rared; the wine & the rum balls; the bread & the
cheese, & the way I'd never said, "No thank you,
please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt,
& prepared once again to do battle with dirt,
I said to myself, as only I can, "You can't spend a
winter disguised as a man!" So, away with the
last of the sour cream dip. Get rid of the fruit
cake, every cracker & chip. Every last bit of food
that I like must be banished, 'til all the additional
ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie--not even a lick. I'll want
only to chew on a long celery stick. I won't have
hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie, I'll munch on
a carrot & quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore,
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!
Author Unknown
ILV NEEDS YOUR HELP!
ILV is currently trying to fill the volunteer
roster for the reception desk at ILV coffee
mornings
Volunteering on the reception desk could
not be easier.
*Full training will be given, but all you really
need at this table is a friendly face. All we
are asking is for ladies to help at maybe one
coffee morning a month - the more
volunteers the less you will be needed!
Please contact Leanne who will
work with you over available
dates. Thank you in advance.
ilvreception@gmail.com
Help!!
Afternoon book club
is looking for a new coordinator to send out invitations/ notifications, as well as take care of the
printing of the books. There will be someone to
guide through the process.
If you are interested please contact
Suzanne Miller at suzmiller53@yahoo.com
No Evening ILV for the Month of January
We will not be having a EILV for January. We will be back on
February 12 th.
Please check the website for more details.
*If you are interested in attending February's EILV please
contact Traci Hopkins at
0938038845
January 2014 / Vol. 49
SAVE THE DATES! • SAVE THE DATES!
January
No meeting back on Feb. 12
New Members Coffee
Join Tracey at the
The InterContinental Hotel Residence
Contact Tracey Mitchell
traceymitchell2@gmail.com
January
No Meeting be back on Feb. 12
Evening ILV
For more info Contact
Traci at 1222523150
Jan 9
No Meeting be Back Jan 16
ILV Coffee Morning
The Purple Jade Room
The InterContinental Hotel
Hai Ba Trung St. & Le Duan BL.,D1
Jan 16
10 am– 12pm
ILV Coffee Morning
The Purple Jade Room,
The InterContinental Hotel
Hai Ba Trung St. & Le Duan BL., D1
Page 4
MONTHLY BOOK CLUBS
Jan 23
10am– 12pm
ILV Coffee Morning
The Purple Jade Room,
The InterContinental Hotel
Hai Ba Trung St. & Le Duan BL. , D1
Lunch time Book Club
Monday January 13
Jan 30
NO MEETING, Tet
ILV Coffee Morning
The Purple Jade Room,
The InterContinental Hotel
Hai Ba Trung St. & Le Duan BL. , D1
January’s read
“Open Secrets”
Jan 2
NO MEETING, Tet
ILV Coffee Morning
The Purple Jade Room
The InterContinental Hotel
Hai Ba Trung St. & Le Duan BL. , D1
Jan 9
10 am– 12pm
ILV Coffee Morning
The Purple Jade Room
The InterContinental Hotel
Hai Ba Trung St. & Le Duan BL. , D1
127 Pasteur St. D3
12 NOON, THE HIDEAWAY CAFÉ,
41/1 PHAM NGOC THACH, D3
By Alice Munro
The lunchtime book club is usually
held on the second Monday of
each month. Enjoy lunch at your
own expense and participate in
lively discussion.
To join, give Moray a call at
0938 366 714 or email
moraypagoda@yahoo.co.uk
Book Clubs
Afternoon Book Club
This months book TBA
Meeting date also TBA
SPEAKERS / EVENTS
Jan 8
New Members Coffee– We will be back in February.
Jan 8
EILV– We will not be having it this month but will be back
in February with more fabulous evenings. Happy New Year!
Jan 16
Welcome to ILV’s New Home– join us at the Purple
Jade Room, Intercontinental Hotel for a special 1st meeting
in our new home..
Tet Cultural presentation– Join our very own Nga as
she takes us through the special way that Tet is celebrated
in Vietnam.
Jan 22
Water Puppet outing – sign up at Thurs. coffee mornings
Jan 23
Thymai Ceramics– Conformation pending
Jan 30
To
Feb 6
Chuc Mung Nam Moi– We will not be having meetings
over Holiday Tet, but will be back on Feb 13. ILV wishes
you and your family a safe and happy Tet Holiday.
“The new book can picked up at
that time. The afternoon book club
is held the last Thursday
of each month at 2pm.
Afternoon book club is looking
for a new coordinator.
If interested or want to join please
contact Suzanne Miller at
suzmiller53@yahoo.com
Page 5
ILV NEWSLETTER / www.ilvietnam.com
What happened last month at ILV
ILV Winter Wonderland
Christmas Luncheon
It definitely was a party of merriments, joy, laughter &
cheer! On Thurs. Dec. 5 ILV celebrated the Christmas
season early with our annual Christmas party luncheon.
This year’s theme was Winter Wonderland, & that it was!
There were snowmen, lighted trees, snowflakes hanging
from the ceiling & even snow decorating the lobby. Each
table was beautifully decorated with care, keeping the
winter wonderland theme going. So much effort & thought
went into every aspect of the day. With even the angelic
voices of the hotels choir (with help from Santa) singing
carols as we entered the ballroom. My personal favorite
was the cute snowmen filled with a delicious Christmas
shot. It all made me feel like I was at a Christmas party in
my home country. It was lovely to see all of our beautiful
ILV ladies dressed up in all their finery. We had some lady reindeers, angels, snow goddess, shining sparkly stars
in different sequined dresses, & even a table of ladies all
dressed in white. It was fun to see everyone enjoying
themselves. There were of course quite a few winners of
our Christmas prizes including the beautiful center pieces
created by our talented Christmas committee, (thank you
to all who sponsored our prizes) & a huge thank you to
the ILV Christmas committee for all of their hard work, it
was noticed & appreciated! As always the hotel did an
amazing job with the food and drinks. Thank-you to the
Hotel Equatorial for allowing all of us crazy ladies to kick
up our heels as only we know how to do! Also a big thank
you to both Rika Olson & Michelle Moarbes for allowing me to
use their beautiful
photo’s!
Page 6
ILV NEWSLETTER / www.ilvietnam.com
What happened last month at ILV
December 7th Vietnamese Cooking Class With Kim
Nine ladies gathered at Saigon Pearl on Monday December 2 for another cooking class taught by ILV’s own Kim
Pham. This session focused on “Vietnamese Chicken Salad” and
“Caramelized Pork Belly”, a Vietnamese specialty. The “Chicken Salad” included banana flower which was a new ingredient for many of the ladies.
The consensus was that it served as a lighter and healthier alternative to
noodles in a salad . The key for this dish was learning how t make the vinegar and fish sauce salad dressing which is also commonly used as dips and dressing for many other Vietnamese dishes. Kim showed everyone the brand of fish sauce to use for dressing versus cooking, a very helpful tip
for those wanting to do more Asian cooking at home. The “Caramelized Pork Belly” was delicious, and the same
recipe for those wanting to do caramelized chicken too! Though not part of the day’s lesson, Kim also served a
tasty Vietnamese style sweet and sour soup and stir-fried morning glory. Thank-you to Master Chef Kim!
This popular class fills up fast so plan a month or two ahead and don't be shy about adding your name to a
waiting list either. If you're lucky, there might be cancellations, which has been known to happen.
*if you would like to join the fun sign up at the ILV coffee mornings.
Vietnamese Cooking
Class
ILV's own Kim Pham started Vietnamese
Cooking Classes in September! Want to join
the fun… You can sign up there won’t be one
in Jan. due to the Tet holiday or Feb. but she will be back in March! Each
month either Kim or another ILV member will teach us how to cook some
of Vietnam's favorite dishes. Each class is 200,000VND/person and after
we cook the meal, we will sit together and share it. . You can sign up at
the activity desk on Thursday mornings. The classes will be held the first
Monday of each month (with exceptions to Jan. & Feb.) at Kim’s place.
For times and date of the next class please referrer to the website.
Hint:
Sticky cake has been used to
prevent him from being able to reporting
to the Jade Emperor, Yu Huang, the
Emperor of the heavens.
Limited places are available each month. But you can add your name
to the waiting list in case something opens up, which does happen.
ILV Cookbooks Are here!!
Get your Now!!
Pick yours up
at the New
Comers Table
on
Thursday!
Only 100,00 VND
Answers on page
7
January 2014 / Vol. 49
Page 7
ILV Committee Members
2013-14
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Bronnie Mengersen
Chair Lady
Traci Hopkins
Vice-Chair Admin./ Website/ EILV
Sandra Steindl
Vice-Chair Social
Janett Lozano
Treasurer
Narda Person
Secretary
MEMBER LIBRARY
Happy Reading!
COMMITTEE
Sherry Groen
New Members / Asst. Website
Leanne Rideout
Reception / Activities
Tracey Mitchell
New Members Coffee
Tina Bacon
Speakers/ ILV Guide Book/ Discounts
Lisa Boudreau
Outings/ Holiday Luncheon
Colette Almstrong
Newsletter
Nanna Arnadottir
Website / Asst. Newsletter/ facebook
Nilufer Aldemir
Bazaar Coordinator
Suzanne Miller
Holiday luncheon/ Member at Large
Marinette Rikong
Member at Large
ILV MEMBERS HAVE ACCESS TO
A LIBRARY LOCATED IN THE
SHERWOOD RESIDENCE
DOWNSTAIRS LOBBY
127 Pasteur St. D3
The Library will operate on a honor system. All book donations,
loans or returns are handled by
the Sherwood Residence staff.
Please present your current ILV
Membership Card.
SWAP WHAT YOU‘VE GOT
DVD’s and Books
Bring along any DVD’s or
Books you no longer need to
the ILV Coffee morning &
swap them for different ones!
The answers to the Pop Quiz: (A) Her name is January Jones, (yes it’s her
real name). She was born in South Dakota, USA January 5, 1978. She is
named after “January Wayne”, a character in Jacqueline Susann’s “Once
is not enough. (1975) (B) On the 23rd day of the lunar month, just before
the “Tet Holiday”, “Tao Quan” (the kitchen god, also know as the stove
god or genie) returns to heaven to report the activities of every family’s
household over the past year to the Jade Emperor, Ngoc Hoang. The Jade
Emperor either rewards or punishes a family based on “Tao Quan” yearly
report. And the sticky cakes are used to stick his mouth shut so he can’t
speak bad words in heaven of the family. “The Kitchen gods” are sent from
heaven to each family to take charge of family affairs and report back to
the “Jade Emperor”. (my maid says that this must have been what a
bad family does to keep him from telling & that every family has different customs. But all families give him fruit, flowers, incense &
sometimes fish to ride to heaven.)
ILV NEWSLETTER / www.ilvietnam.com
Page 8
ILV Weekly Activities
Tuesday 10am—12
Wednesday 10 am—12 pm
Mahjong
Beginner Bridge
NORFOLK MANSION, D 1
2nd Floor next to pool
All levels of players welcome
This is not just a Bridge Club of
beginners. Some have never
played cards before. Learn
how to play in a friendly group,
where you can ask questions.
Contact: Keiko 0903 332 081
Friday 1 pm
Shanghai Rummy
We will eat lunch 12pm first
then play cards at 1pm
Contact: Kasia
09121621378
Tuesday 10 am - 12pm
Interested??
Bridge
Japanese Flower
Arranging or
Japanese Cooking
Norfolk Mansion, D1
2nd Floor next to pool
Contact: Keiko 0903 332 081
Friday 11 am
Friday 9am
Japanese Calligraphy
Group
Summerset D1
Meeting Room
Nguyen Binh Khiem
Contact: Yoko 090 839 7829
Line
dancing
Please let Keiko
Know if you would be
interested in These activities.
Contact: Keiko 0903 332 081
Sherwood
Residence
127 Pasteur
D3
Contact: Keiko
0903 332 081
1st Monday of each month
Are you a Quilter?
Craft Quilting Group
If you are interested
Contact: Sherry 0908 546 015
Wednesday 9 am
Golf
District 7
Meet at the course
For details and location
Contact: Sherry 0908 546 015
Vietnamese Cooking
Class
200,000 VD
Class size is limited to
6-7 people
Sign up at ILV coffee mornings
New ILV Sponsored Activities Welcome!
If you are interested in starting any new ILV Sponsored activities,
Contact: Leanne Rideout at
ilvreception@gmail.com
January 2014 / Vol. 49
Page 9
at a Glance
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
3
4
NO
Meeting!
5
6
7 Mahjong
Bridge
8 Golf
Beginner
Bridge
Line Dance
Shanghai
Rummy
Japanese
Calligraphy
10
11
9
Line Dance
NO Meeting
Shanghai
Be Back on
Rummy
Jan. 16
Japanese
Calligraphy
12
13
14
Mahjong
15 Golf
Beginner
Bridge
Bridge
16
ILV Coffee
At New
Home
TET
Cultural
Presentation
19
20
22
21
Mahjong
23
ILV Coffee
Speaker
TBC
Bridge
17 Line
Dance
18
Shanghai
Rummy
Japanese
Calligraphy
24
Line Dance
25
Shanghai
Rummy
Japanese
Calligraphy
26
27
28
1st Day of
the Tet
Holiday
29
30
No
31
MEETING
Chuc Mung
Nam Moi
We will be
back after
the Tet
Holiday on
Feb. 6
January 2014 / Vol. 49
Page
ILV Elections are coming up on February 27th
& we need YOU!
Nominations will be made in the coming coffee mornings & we encourage anyone to
consider joining as a member at large!
What a great opportunity to help shape the future of ILV! Don't forget it is never too late or too early to join
the ILV board. If you are interested in joining the ILV Committee, just let one of our committee members
know at the next coffee morning or by emailing them direct on our webpage. As we are all here on
indefinite assignments, the Committee occasionally has unexpected vacancies which need to be
filled during the year. Elections are once a year.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE JOB DESCRIPTIONS 2014
*required to attend monthly Committee Meetings
Chair




The official face of ILV - represents us at meetings and functions outside of ILV
Chairs monthly committee meetings
Must attend as many coffee mornings as possible
Some time required each week on phone calls / emails
Vice Chairs x 2 (Admin & Social)




Assist the Chair & act in place of chair when required
Attend monthly committee meetings
Attend as many coffee mornings as possible
With chair, form special function sub-committees (e.g. Christmas lunch, Summer Send-Off, Quiz night &
Welcome Back.)
Treasurer 




Responsible for ILV Finances
Keep detailed records of incoming & outgoing monies and balance them against cash on hand
Keep cash secure
Take care of weekly coffee morning payments at venue
Present finance report at monthly committee meetings and at the AGM
Assistant Treasurer

Perform’s Treasurer’s duties in her absence
Secretary




Prepare and distribute agenda for monthly committee meetings
Take and distribute minutes of each committee meeting
Handle incoming & outgoing correspondence as needed
Distribute committee nomination forms & job descriptions for AGM
*Other Committee members – all are also required to attend monthly Committee meetings