June/July 2019
SILC NEWS
A publication by the Samutprakarn International Ladies’ Club
IN THIS ISSUE
5. Dates for June and July!
8.
Friday Night Out!!
Night Out
10. Healthy Teeth Month
14. Save The Date
18. Spotlight On...
24. Bilingual Bites
28. Birthdays!!
M A WORD FRO R O T I D E W E N OUR Hi there! I’m Aminta Ochoa, the new Online Media co-ordinator which means I have the great honour of putting together this magazine as well as assisting in the marketing of SILC through online media. In last months issue, I gave a small introduction of myself, but maybe you also recognise me from last years SILC Bazaar and the “live FB event” I recorded on that day ; ) Charlotte has done an amazing job over the last two years, transforming the visual to a more professional and enticing product plus delivering it in a sustainable and greener way. You now have access to the magazine anywhere and anytime, at your fingertips, online. Everyone that worked with her knows that she has the King Midas gift to transform everything she touches into gold… so it is a big challenge to fill these shoes. This is as a new adventure for me. I feel thrilled and confident to deliver what you are expecting, as I’m surrounded by so many fantastic women from all over the world working side by side, since, I’m a faithful believer that great things in life are getting done by a team of people and not just one person. The best thing of SILC, that moves me to join, is that is an international club. Coming from the smallest country in America, I cannot afford to miss the opportunity of being enlightened and enchanted with the variety of knowledge, tips, point of views, skills and an unending list we can share between ourselves and grow together.
My aim is to contribute to SILC’s mission of welcoming and empowering women to connect and contribute in Bangkok; Since our club is getting bigger, this online magazine is a great tool to do it and I hope you will join me too in being an active contributor. In this issue, you will find the Birthday ladies of the month, a short story of the famous “cookbook” project from one of the key members in it, a charitable organization that has ‘fun’ as its core work, a short introduction from other behind the scenes volunteers in our club and tons of pictures that capture our escence... In the coming months I will send a short survey to understand what is that you are looking forward to seeing in our magazine each month, but please do feel free to let me know what you like, dislike or is missing by contacting me at silcmagazine@gmail.com
Aminta Ochoa
Behind the scenes volunteers Get familiar with some other fantastic and key ladies that are leading different areas of our Club
Marta Hola, from Sathorn. I moved to Bangkok less than a year ago from Berkeley - California, where I spent 12 years and had two daughters who are now in Patana School. Our goal is to travel to as many countries as possible while in SE Asia, since you never know how long will this experience last! I was born and raised in Barcelona, where we visit as much as we can for obvious reasons (food, sun, siesta and football). I had no idea about this expat lifestyle and community and SILC has been a great introduction to it. I’ll be looking after the Facebook & Instagram accounts for SILC. Hope to see you there too and let’s keep the activities rolling!
Hanneke My name is Hanneke Langschmidt I’m Dutch, married to Wilco and mother of two sons. For four years we have been living ‘our dream’ in Bangkok. I love being a SILC member and SILC is a great way to get in touch with other ladies with different nationalities. I’m involved in SILC’s English Program and have been teaching now for four years on Thursday mornings. We teach a class full of funny and sweet Thai children all from Mahawong School. We are running this project with a group of devoted SILC ladies. SILC is doing such great job and I’m very proud to be a member of this amazing ladies club!
Servane Hi, my name is Servane and I arrived in August 2017 in Bangkok, I have one daughter in Patana and that is how I got in touch with SILC and learnt about their different projects. I am involved in two key Community projects: the oil and rice distribution in Klong Toei which takes place every fortnight and in visiting refugees at the IDC.. With IDC, I meet wonderful people and live pure moments of joy accompanying refugees at the airport, who will start a new life. In a word, I really experience the motto "In helping others, you receive more than you give".
JUNE ACTIVITIES Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1
2
8
9
15
16
I
3
4
Craft circle
Self Defense Workshop
5
6
7
Aqua Aerobics
Pilates
Historical Walking Tour
Mahjong 10 Craft circle Ceramic Painting Workshop
11
12
13
14
Prakasamai Craft
Aqua Aerobics
Pilates
Havana Night Out
21 SS
22
23
28
29
30
Mahjong
17
18
19
20
Craft circle
‘Farewell’ Pot Luck Lunch
Aqua Aerobics
Pilates
Mahawong Craft 24
Int. Day of Yoga
Mahjong 25
26
27
JULY is normally a month without activities but for those of you that are here we have a special Chocolate Bonbon making workshop on Monday 22nd July
We try to schedule activities well ahead of time to allow you to plan your diaries, however please note these may change. Keep an eye on the SILC Facebook page and the next newsletter for updates! Contact silc.activities@gmail.com with any questions.
JOIN OUR ACTIVITIES
SELF DEFENCE CLASS
Have you heard of Krav Maga? It is a powerful and dynamic self-defense and fighting system. This 90 minute martial art course will teach you practical self-defense skills and weapons defense, and allow you to experience reality based situations. Techniques learnt will expand on your natural instincts to develop skills quickly and effectively, while enabling you to address attacks under any scenario. Have a little fun, burn some calories and remember - your last line of defense is you, so learn how to defend yourself!
On Tuesday June 4th, 9.30am at St. Andrews School next to BTS Bearing Cost 500 THB RSVP: silc.activities@gmail.com
HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR
Come away with us from the chaotic city to the back alleys of Bangkok in this walking tour, and discover Thailand’s cultural diversity. Stroll pass temples and mosques, then pay a visit to the tranquil Princess Mother Memorial Park and the Guan Yu Shrine - dedicated to a 2nd century Chinese general who became an iconic god of war. We will end of the tour with a sumptuous lunch near the Night Flower Market. Friday 7 June from 09:00-13.00 (meeting at Sathorn Pier). RSVP: silc.activities@gmail.com
Porcelain Painting Workshop Did you know that the art of porcelain first reached the Ayutthaya kingdom from China around the 15th century. Want to try your hand at painting “Benjarong” (a traditional form of Thai ceramic porcelain)? Join us for a session at an art café in Ekkamai Stella Hobby Lounge. Come along! It’s time to let your inner artist shine! On Monday 10 of June from 11:00 1:00pm near Ekamai BTS with a cost that will vary on your selection of porcelain size 800 - 1,300 THB RSVP to silc.activities@gmail.com
Most Mondays a group of enthusiastic and creative ladies get together to do crafts together. Come join us! Everyone is welcome and no experience is necessary. We meet at members’ houses so please contact silc.craft@gmail.com to find out more.
ED V L O V N I T E G Healthy teeth month This month the dentist will make their annual visit to the two pre-schools that we support, in order to check and educate the children on the importance of cleaning their teeth, To coincide with the visit, we have a special fun teeth themed craft for the little ones. Come along and help to put a smile on their faces! In need of a ride? No problem. Many of the ladies who volunteer are happy to offer lifts. RSVP: silc.community@gmail.com
Prakkasami Tuesday, 11th of June at 9am - 11:00 am Mahawong Monday, 17th of June at 9am - 11:00 am
MAHJONG Our group of Mahjong ladies is growing steadily and ranges from novices to experts. We meet most Wednesdays at members’ houses. Please get in touch if you would like to join us! silc.mahjong@gmail.com
CISE R E X E E R O M ILC S H T I W S N OPTIO
Tennis Perhaps you last played at school or maybe you play regularly. Whatever your level, please get in touch and we can find you a tennis partner. Please contact: silc.activities@gmail.com
Pilates Low impact and strength building, pilates is perfect for all. Join us weekly at St. Andrews (Bangna) with a Certified STOTT teacher. Please contact: silc.activities@gmail.com
Aqua aerobics If you would like to join our weekly sessions at Ekamai Gardens on Wednesdays 10-11:00 (cost 400 Thb) Please contact silc.activities@gmail.com
VER O K O K G N IN BA ? THE SUMMER This yummy workshop is all about creating beautiful chocolate Bon Bons that you can share with your loved ones. Let your tastebuds go wild as you learn to make stunning moulded Bon Bons in 4 amazing flavours with the choice of decadent dark or delicious milk chocolate. Lunch is included plus you will take home 24 Bon Bons that you have made. Come indulge with us! Monday 22nd July from 9:30-1:30 at the tutors home in Mooban Panya. Cost: 1,000 thb (1,350 thb non members) RSVP:silc.activities@gmail.com
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TE A D E H T E V SA
OUT B A & T U O SILC IN MAY Diet & Nutrition Talk Mirella gave us a couple of taster sessions of Pilates and we are loving it! So much so that we will be continuing every Thursday!
PILATES
Not only did we learn about diets that are currently fashionable like the keto diet and intermittent fasting, but we learnt that a glass of champagne is equivalent to only one chocolate digestive biscuit!
The ongoing weekly group of ladies, playing Mahjong, are getting better in many skills plus having so much fun every time! As you can see from the photo, after mahjong they indulge in another favourite pastime - eating and socialising!
MAHJONG
HARMONIQUE LUNCH We enjoyed a visit to this special hidden restaurant, with its delightful, eclectic decor, plus antiques and artefacts for sale. The food was delicious and the company was great! Definitely, we will come back.
SHIRT UPCYCLING The Sang Foundation is on a mission to reduce the amount of plastic used here in Thailand. This is something that SILC stands firmly behind, so we helped their cause by upcycling old shirts into shopping bags.
DUMPLING WORKSHOP In Taiwan the famous ‘Din Tai Fung’ dumpling restaurant always has a long queue of people waiting to go in. And for good reason - Taiwanese dumplings are delicious! This lucky group of ladies learnt first hand how to make dumplings and then enjoyed eating them all!
... N O T H G I L T SPO ‘The Gift of Happiness Foundation’ The Gift of Happiness Foundation (GoHF) is a small Thai registered foundation founded by Eddie Haworth, a long time expat in Thailand. Eddie is a professional entertainer, those of you with kids might know him as Clown Eckie. Eddie believes all children are entitled to have joy in their lives so he organizes and brings his shows to impoverished parts of Thailand. From the slums built on dumpsters around Bangkok, to migrant camps close to the borders, he goes there with his red nose and trucks loaded with donations.
Where he goes, he not only brings the gift of laughter to the kids, but also he brings tonnes (not an exaggeration), of donations of bedding, clothes, toys, toiletries. He also brings new underwear for the kids.
On Wednesday 15th May, three intrepid SILC ladies joined Eddie in his convoy of happiness plus two truckloads of essentials heading to three communities in the Samut Prakan area; that even though near the city was a world apart from the luxurious malls and the safe, well appointed accommodation that we are used to. Since Thai schools had started just the day before, the purpose of this trip was distribution of much needed and appreciated donations of mainly clothes for men, women and children and pre-loved toys. In addition, new underwear consisting of pants and vests were given out. Upon arrival to each community, the volunteers arranged donations in piles; Suddenly, people appeared and happily rummaged through the stuff to select what they needed.
We had much fun discussing with the ladies, in the language of love, as we didn’t speak much Thai and they didn’t speak English, about what clothes would fit whom and matching the outfits. Everyone was very happy with their “purchases”.
This time we didn’t get to see the kids, but we saw the older generations and the babies and all the family pets, including a family of wild boars! What we saw in this visit convinced us we must help Gift of Happiness continue their work. They help small communities outside the radar of bigger NGOs, and their focus is on a happy childhood. SILC pledged a financial contribution towards buying new underwear for 250 children.
Photos by Gift of Happiness Please check their website to know more: https://www.gohappiness.org If you would like to contribute as individual https://www.gohappiness.org/underwear-for-needy-kids.html
Article By Laura Troncoso SILC Community Co-ordinator
Y COMMUNIT PROJECTS
OIL AND RICE RUN IDC VISITS
The ladies involved in these projects have brought happiness again to the people they are in touch with. Oil and Rice distribution takes place every fortnight and IDC visits are done in a weekly basis as many days as possible.
PRAKKASAMAI PRE-SCHOOL The children in the pre-schools we support, have been learning via our SILC English Program all about “colours.� To reinforce their learning, during this months craft day, they created these enchanting rainbows. They had a morning full of textures, colours, cutting, sticky fingers, review of the colours, lots of happy faces and masterpieces to bring home!
TES I B L A U G N I L BI Article by Chris Rajakarier Our SILC cookbook, “Bilingual Bites” features favourite recipes contributed by many members. Sales of this book provide funds to support SILC’s ongoing commitment to several local schools and projects to enhance the lives and wellbeing of the children from deprived communities in Thailand. We published the first Bilingual Bites cookbook in 2012 and was an instant sell-out. It was a celebration of our love of food and the pleasures of eating! We published the current second edition in 2016 as a long-term fundraising project to last over five years. This sequel is equally good with a new assortment of culinary pleasures with over a hundred new dishes to delight your family and friends. As a community coordinator, for 7 years, I knew the burden of continuous raising funds, which gave us the motivation and passion for these books and allow the team to focus fully on working with our beloved community projects.
“Over 100 recipes from 26 nationalities in Thai and English raising money for our charity projects”
Bangkok is a vibrant city with a strong food heritage, and we are lucky to have such a wide variety of cultures and ingredients at our fingertips. The recipes are written in English and in Thai to reflect this, and to share our food traditions from our home nations across the globe. By adding a bilingual flavour to our book, we hope to invite a wider local audience to sample our delicious offerings of diverse world cuisines. The project took 2 years to create, from collecting the recipes, cooking them, taking photos, proofreading, formatting, translating, advertising, seeking sponsors and hosting a sellout launch in the Anantara Riverside. It was a labor of love from a dedicated team of ladies. A special thank you to Shirley, Sudeshna, Jan, Tracey, Jane, Rachel and Jimmy. With over 700,000 Thai Baht in pure profit, it certainly has been a worthwhile project.
Some comments we have received: With over 1,000 copies sold Bilingual Bites is still very much in demand. It is available in Asia Books at 700 thb. However for members and friends of SILC it’s available at a bargain price of 500 thb. To get hold of your copy then please speak to any Committee member or email Chris directly on silcwelfare1@gmail.com
“It is a great leaving present to give to friends that have lived in Thailand or to bring back home”. “My maid uses it all the time she loves that she can follow the recipes in Thai” “I can truly host a party and be sure that we will have dishes that everyone will love”
AD L A S E C I R D L WI Ingredients ½ cup uncooked white rice (not Thai), cooked & cooled ⅔ cup uncooked wild rice, cooked and cooled ¼ cup chopped spring onion 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced 4 oz snow peas, cut into 1 inch pieces 18 oz can water chestnuts, drained and thinly sliced ¾ cup cashew nuts (roasted lightly) Dressing ¼ to ½ cup mayonnaise 2 Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped 1 Tbsp fresh minced garlic 1 Tbsp finely grated orange rind 1 Tbsp finely grated lemon rind ½ cup fresh orange juice 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice dashes of hot pepper sauce
SALE 500THB
Method Let the rice come to room temp. and whisk the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the rice and other salad ingredients and toss well (put the cashew nuts in just before serving). Allow the flavours to blend and season to taste. If you feel the salad is too dry add more orange juice or soy sauce to taste. Serve on bed of lettuce garnished with orange slices or simply in a bowl. Keep in fridge until ready, then bring to room temperature. Peeled prawns or chicken can be added.
Our promise to you is that every dish is an excellent choice - it has to be, we cooked them and we even tasted them!
INT. YOGA DAY Let’s join this celebration and practice yoga for harmony and peace. There is no excuse to not join as is a Free event, mats will be pre-placed and you’ll received a bottle of water and a t-shirt. Additional if you coming by BTS there will be free shuttle buses from Siam Station. Sunday, 16th June at 6;15 - 7:30 am at the lawn in front of Chulalongkorn University To book you can scan the QR code, follow the link https://bit.ly/2TUeeaH or contact silc.thai@gmail.com
June Birthdays:
July Birthdays:
Cynthia Hu Elena Hnidenko Dominique Perry Els Wilms Herma Netjes-Vos Fiona Lu Judy Teng Karin Worthington Lonnie Kelsey Katja Goorman-Hartman Marie Nakayama Miriam Woelfel Nalan Topdagi Neha Rawat Patricia van Loggenberg Sally Dicken Zunaira Basit
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LADIES!!
I’m sorry if we have missed including your birthday. You might have omitted to provide it in the enrollment form but please update your info. to silcthai@gmail.com to include it next time.
IES C I L O P & S M AI Organisation of the Club SILC creates an opportunity for women of all nationalities living in Samutprakarn and Bangkok to meet and participate in a variety of activities. We invite members to join monthly events and interest groups. Members pay an annual fee of 1000 Baht from September till August each year. We also have a half yearly option of 500 Baht from February till August. Privacy The membership list is for the sole use of SILC members in a social setting and may not be used for commercial purposes. E-Newsletter The e-newsletter is published ten times a year with articles and information on club activities. Contributions are welcome and can be sent to the newsletter editor. Committee Meetings These are held the second Monday of each month and are open to all members. Please inform the SILC Chair if you wish to attend.
All SILC events are subject to change. Please confirm your attendance with the relevant contact, and advise of any cancellation as soon as possible so another member may take your place.
Committee Contacts Chair Vice Chair Secretary Treasurer Assistant Treasurer Membership Community Projects Activities E-Newsletter & Ads General Administration
silcchair@gmail.com silcvice@gmail.com silcsecretary@gmail.com silctreasurer@gmail.com silctreasurer2@gmail.com silcthai@gmail.com silc.community@gmail.com silc.activities@gmail.com silcmagazine@gmail.com silcbangkok@gmail.com
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er h e s i t r e v d A
SILC News goes every month to over 180 SILC members throughout Bangkok. Advertisements for non-profit community events are welcome and free of charge. Personal advertisements for SILC members are free of charge. Email reminders for SILC members and non-profit community events will be sent out free of charge; other events must be advertised in our magazine.
RATES
DISCOUNTS
Full Page Half Page Quarter Page
1500 Baht 800 Baht 400 Baht
Member - 25%
Website
3000 Baht per year
Only one discount may be applied.
Annual contract (10 ads/year) - 10%
Advertising requests and payment must be received prior to the published deadline. To advertise in the Newsletter, please contact: silcmagazine@gmail.com To advertise on the SILC Website, please contact: silc.websites@gmail.com To arrange payment, please contact: silctreasurer@gmail.com
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SILC News Copy Deadline for e-Newsletter: June 12th If you have any activities, events, book reviews, recommendations for holidays or items for our bulletin board please forward them to the Newsletter Editor: silcmagazine@gmail.com
