Second Chances Are Rare

Thank you MrsK for suggesting that when we moved to Dublin 7 years ago I hook up with the American Women's Club or something similar. She said that if it wasn't for her involvement in the Americans Womens' Club in Tokyo, she'd be lost.

So I did.

I joined the International Women's Club Dublin.

The IWCD opened a new world to me. I befriended women from countries I had to look up on a  map; I dined with Ambassador's wives and soon became friends with a few; Dublin opened it's cultural doors via the IWCD as we toured so many interesting places with expert guides; we dined in the State Rooms of Dublin Castle to celebrate the Clubs 25th Anniversary and attended a private evening tour and art auction atop the Guiness Factory amongst other things.

The best day of the month was when the IWCD Newsletter arrived and I entered into my diary all the things I would be doing that month. Other stuff revolved around this.

Entree to historic private homes usually closed to the public were open to us.
Guided tours of exhibitions before the general public got to see them.
Summer Lunch events at Michelin star restaurants.
The FOOD! WOW can the IWCD members cook up an international feast.
I soon found myself volunteering to co ordinant the monthly Area Coffee Mornings.
Introducing Australia to the IWCD with MrsS and MrsM in my home for Australia Day and Melbourne Cup.
Learning about other countries from friends.
Immersing myself in Irish Culture thanks to MrsB's monthly talk.
Friends. The most incredible, diverse group of friends.


The list goes on ..... and above it all, the friends!

WOW the friends you meet in a club as diverse as this is an incredible gift.

Back in 2009, the incoming President asked me to be on her Committee and I thought it best not to accept her offer as we knew we were leaving ... not sure when or where we were going, we just knew we weren't staying.

When we moved to Yokohama, one of the first things I did was to look up IWC YOkohama. There is a club there, but it's very very different and for all sorts of reasons I didn't join. At first there was a huge hole in my life, but soon school-life filled in the gaps very well. Everyone probably got very tired of hearing about 'when I was at the IWCD .......'

All the IWC's are in London, and sadly Winchester didn't offer anything close to what I was looking for. The initial social isolation proved to me how invaluable an IWC or similar is to a new expat in town.

The first thing I did when G rang to ask if I wanted to move back to Dublin was contact the IWCD and renew my membership.

I'll never forget walking into the September 2014 meeting and seeing so many familiar faces, and so many new ones too. Good ol' Facebook kept us connected so it wasn't like starting over at all.

I was delighted to be asked to co ordinate the Annual Charity Bazaar at Christmas. It was such fun working with the ladies, and my brain was back to work for the first time in nearly 2 years. I felt alive!

Then I was asked to help put together a Helpful Hints Guide to Living in Dublin (we're in final revision stage now)

And now, I have been appointed Vice President for the 2014-15 year.

I'm so excited because I follow in the footsteps of many talented expat women, especially one of my BF's, MrsS (she was VP then President).

How lucky am I to have a second chance to be on Committee and give back to the Club that's given me so much!

I feel like a racing car at the orange light, waiting for the green to say GO!

You ever had a second chance to do something you really wanted to do?

What Clubs or organisations do you belong to?

How involved do you like to be?

With friendship
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