Author Archives: Friendship

Spending a day with Friendship Force members from Cornwall

On October 20, 2017, 10 people from the Cornwall Friendship Force club visited Washington, DC, and several members of our club spent the day with them. We met at the Smithsonian Metro Station at 9:30. Karla Timmons and Helen Cassidy helped Anne and Tod Herrick, who organized the day’s activities.

Cornwall group and hosts visited the National Museum of the American Indian

We divided up, with some of our group going to the Air and Space Museum and the rest going to the National Museum of the American Indian. We could have spent more time exploring the museums.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat we all made our way to the Library of Congress for our 1:00 tour. This tour was a fascinating discussion of the history of the institution and the architectural features. Following the hour-long tour, we viewed the displays of the Jefferson Library, mapping the new world and courtroom drawings on our own.

Part of the group met for a photo in front of the White House.

We planned to meet at the front of the White House for photos at 5 p.m. However, when we arrived we found a couple of people at the front and the rest of the group missing! Apparently, they all went to the other side of the White House and took pictures in front of the Rose garden. That was the most recognizable view for them from all of the pictures.

The rest of the group found the Rose Garden side of the White House.

We then walked to Woodward Table where we had reservations. We had our own section and had a lovely dinner together. There was much laughter about being on both sides of the White House and not knowing the other group was there!

The group decided to shelve the night-time stroll around the monuments as it was late and we were all tired, so we escorted the Cornwall group back to the Metro to return to their hotel.

It was a fun day!

Looking ahead to summer

June 1, 2017

Seems like there’s always food involved!

Our members who participated in the trip to Turkey have returned home and have many great experiences to share. It sounds like the hosting clubs did an outstanding job in welcoming our group, and our Journey Director, Chuck Goldfarb, did an equally great job in organizing on our end. We will look forward to opportunities to hear more of the details from the participants.

We also had a group make a shorter journey, to Richmond, VA, for a weekend visit. This group experienced the food and culture of an area that is close by but quite different from the DC area.

We are starting to implement our new locally focused activities. Several local groups are meeting during the weekend of June 3-4. These local activities can be dinners at a home or restaurant or some other activity of interest. We hope to get to know each other a little better by doing some things that should require less travel around the Beltway and generally won’t take a lot of effort to organize. Be on the lookout for an email from one of our members if you have not already been contacted about an event in your area. We have two groups meeting in Maryland, one in D.C., and (currently) one in Virginia. The Virginia group probably will be split into two groups.

At the end of June, we are planning to have a meal at an English pub (or some other interesting restaurant, TBD). This will be on June 25th. Look for an email soon with more details.

Looking ahead, we are considering having a pool party in July. Please respond to the interest survey so we can decide on whether to hold this event and which of the two possible dates will be better.

In the fall, we will be hosting a group from Hamburg, Germany. They arrive on September 9th and depart on the 16th. Plans are underway and requests for volunteers for hosting and various activities will be coming out soon. Please get involved. There are many things you can do even if you can’t home host, such as accompanying the group during the one of the days they are here, helping plan the schedule of activities, coordinating or assisting with a specific activity such as the farewell dinner, and so on.

In the really long term, we are going to be hosting a regional meeting of Friendship Force clubs in the spring of 2018. We could use some help over the next few months in organizing this, so if you have an interest in meeting planning or just would like to help with this, let us know.

If you are new to Friendship Force, don’t hesitate to jump in when there is a call for volunteers for something. No experience is needed…we will make sure you have all the information you need.

I look forward to seeing you at upcoming events!

In Friendship,

Claire Gesalman, President

FFNCA

Welcome to 2017

Friendship Force of the National Capital Area (Washington DC Area) is planning several interesting events for the new year.

We encourage you to join us in celebrating the 40th anniversary of Friendship Force. We will be having a luncheon event on April 8th where we will have a speaker and present information about Friendship Force in an informal atmosphere. Information will go out on our Yahoo group email about this event and be posted on our website, but for now, just keep this date in mind. This will be a great chance to introduce your friends to Friendship Force, so think of who you might invite to join you at this event.

Our exchange schedule for the year is busy. We start with out outbound exchange, to Izmir and Cankaya, Turkey in late April. Information about this exchange is available in the Friendship Force catalog. We hosted Izmir in 2016, so we are looking forward to reconnecting with our friends there.

In May, we will visit Richmond, Virginia on a weekend domestic exchange. The dates are May 19-21, but that is the only information available at the moment.

In the fall, we will be hosting an exchange from Hamburg, Germany. We expect this to be in September. The group will also be visiting a club in Michigan, so we are currently working on coordinating dates with both clubs. There will be many opportunities to participate in this exchange, including home hosting, day hosting, assisting with planning and running activities, etc.

Our “ethnic dinner” committee has set their first event for February 12, at SER in Arlington. If you did not see the email about this event, check the calendar on this site for information.

A new feature this year will be some activities for members based on where you live. We realize that sometimes the traffic around here can be overwhelming, so we are going to try to get folks together in their local communities and in smaller groups.

Let us know what you are interested in doing with Friendship Force and what questions or comments you have.

We are looking forward to a fun and interesting year, and I am pleased to be your president (again). We have an enthusiastic and talented board of directors and are hoping to see you at many of the activities throughout the year.

Claire Gesalman, President