December Forum newsletter

Monthly Newsletter December 2009www.amsoc.com.br

FORUM

In This IssueIn This Issue

Luggage saetywhile fying

Page 6:

Take at look at these tipsfor those

ﬂ

ying back to the U.S.for the holiday season. Also, goodnews for future TAM rewards.

White gives or her all,earns top AmSoc award

Page 3:

Terri White was awardedthe 2009 Eric Poliak Award herendless charitable contributionsthroughout Sao Paulo.

Page 7:

Fellowship Church isinviting all AmSoc membersand their friends to its Dec. 24candlelight service this year.

Candlelight onChristmas EveMeet new boardmember

Page 12:

Monica Freyre is thenewest member of the AmSocBoard of Governors. Learn whathas motivated her to give her timeto charitable efforts.

Eggnog Party the place tobe on Dec. 11

C

hristmas caroling, an endless buffetof cocktail food and the sweetestholiday spirit ever concocted willbe in ample supply at the 2009 AmericanSociety Eggnog Party.The AmSoc December tradition willbe held again at the Mangel householdin Chacara Flora, this year on Dec. 11starting at 8 p.m. This is a members-onlyevent for AmSoc, with tickets set at R$50each. Reservations are necessary by Dec.4, and getting your name in by that date isparamount: Only reserved guests will beallowed into the gated community.Homemade eggnog will be providedby former AmSoc President MarleneRubeiz for the eighth year in a row. Rubeiztook her recipe from Texan cook HelenCorbitt’s cookbook when she moved toBrazil 30 years ago. It includes 24 eggs,separated into yolks and whites beforemixing, a heavy dose of vanilla icecream for

ﬂ

avor, and plenty of bourbon and cognac.Members are encouragedto get their friends signedup for AmSoc in thecoming weeks, so theytoo can reserve a spotat this members-onlyparty. Call 5182-2074by Dec. 4.The American Society of São Paulopromotes friendship by organizingsocial, cultural and athletic events forits diverse membership; encouragesintegration with the Brazilian society;and supports the American traditionsof education, philanthropy andvolunteerism.

Our Mission

F l i p t o p a g e 8 f o r p h o t o s f r o m A m S o c ’ s 2 0 0 9 C h r i s t m a s A n g e l P a r t y.

Name:

Asli Scott

Origin, TimeHere:

Turkishbut lived in HongKong for the last10 years. I’ve beenhere three monthsso far.

Profession:

Economist byeducation, currently housewife

Why São Paulo?:

My husband’s jobbrought us here

Best thing so far:

The space! Comingfrom Hong Kong where we lived in asmall apartment, it’s amazing to havea house and garden, although the kids

ﬁ

nd it strange to be living on the ground

ﬂ

oor.

Early frustrations:

the inef

ﬁ

ciencies.The telephone service providers havecome around 35 times in three months andall we did was have the number changed!

Have saudade for anything backhome?:

I miss the convenience of walking to restaurants/cafés and doingthings on the spur of the moment – hereyou have to drive everywhere and planthings ahead.

Progress with Portuguese:

I reallyenjoy learning it and trying to speak it.According to my teacher I’ve picked upa Bahian accent from the maid.

Favourite place to hang out:

We lovethe restaurants Fogo de Chão and Casada Fazenda, and can always be found inthe park near our house.

Newcomerprole

The President’s Corner

December is atime of mixedemotions, isn’tit? First thereis the fact thatits actuallyDecember, thelast month of the year, whichmakes mewonder wherein the heck did the year go?What about all those things Ihaven’t

ﬁ

nished this year? Howabout that trip I wanted to take toBonito? And I certainly didn’tprogress on guitar or get too far onPortuguese. And I wanted to spendmore quality time with family andfriends than I did. Then we canremember that this is summer! Thekids will be out of school in a fewdays, work will slow down; evenstop for a week or so, the beach isnear, traf

ﬁ

c will be better…Recently a friend of ours wasreflecting on December in herFacebook. She, like several of us,grew up experiencing Decemberand Christmas in the middle of frigid cold, mittens, stocking capsand frosty windows. Here is whatshe said about December in Brasil:“Hot, steaming hot, here, andmeanwhile Silent Night is playingin Portuguese, whilst the Christmastrees twinkle in the sunlight! Too

By

Tim Scott

, AmSoc president

Bob Moser

,

editor

Kim Beecheno

,

staff writer

141 Preview,

layout

Ana Claudia Teixeira,

editorialassistant Forum

is printed by Intergraf.(www.intergraf.com.br)Views expressed in

Forum

donot necessarily re

ﬂ

ect those of the American Society board of governors, members, or staff.

Forum

reserves the right to editcontent for brevity and/or clarity.

The American Society of São Paulo

Rua da Paz, 1431

n

04713-001 São Paulo, SPTel: (11) 5182-2074

n

Fax: (11) 5182-9155

forum@amsoc.com.br

Forum

is published monthly, withthe exception of January and July, by

A b o u t

F o r u m

FORUM

December

2

strange.”Yes, this captures the mixedfeelings one can get while knowingthat it is Christmas. Decorations andcolorful lights are up, yet somethingfeels amiss when you’re drinkingfresh agua de coco on the praia.If you are spending your Christmasaway from home, do plan to connectwith friends. Plan to help someone inneed. Be thankful for your blessingsin life. Create a new tradition, andabove all, do connect with the realmeaning of Christmas.I write this one day after theannual American Society ChristmasAngel Party. The event was trulyoutstanding. The impact on thechildren involved was evident fromtheir giant smiles and spontaneousexpressions of gratitude. It’shumbling to see such genuinethankfulness. The American Societyin turn thanks the volunteers whomade it happen and generously gavetheir time, smiles, money, hugs,patience and kindness. It is an eventthat makes me proud to be a part of such a great team.The mixed feelings of December,and the beauty of an event likethe Angel Party, remind me of mydad, who always tells me how timespeeds up as we get older. It’s anot too subtle reminder that life isprecious, so get going, dream, loveand suck the marrow out of life.

The American Societyof São Paulo

Eric Poliak Award winner honored for service

By

Kim Beecheno

, staf writer

This year’s Eric Poliak Award, theAmerican Society’s highest honor, waspresented to Terri White at the AmericanSociety Ecumenical ThanksgivingService on Nov. 24, in recognition of her tremendous support to AmSoc’scharitable communities and the city of São Paulo.The award was founded in memoryof Eric Poliak, past governor andPresident of AmSoc, who passedaway suddenly in May 1984. Thistribute was established by the boardof governors to honor a member of the São Paulo expatriate communitywho has unsel

ﬁ

shly contributed his orher time and effort for the good of theentire community.The list of White´s efforts islong. She participates on AmSoc´sCommunity Action Committee and actsas the liaison for Projeto Sol, where shehelped to build a greatly needed newCommunity and Arts Center. She helpedraise a signi

ﬁ

cant portion of the projectfunding needs through The CanadianInternational Women’s Association,by helping to organize a bene

ﬁ

t withthe help of the Consulesas Association-- a non-pro

ﬁ

t organization made upprimarily of wives of consuls anddiplomats in São Paulo, and by offeringart classes and seminars in her home.As a key member of the ConsulesasAssociation she was very helpful inlaunching the Visão do Futuro NGOwith Monica Serra, where

ﬁ

rst-gradestudents are vision-tested and givenglasses as necessary.White taught painting and drawingat Vida Jovem for well over a year,and in 2008 she was responsible forsetting up the Silent Auction at theVida Jovem Gala Ball. She has been avolunteer at Vila Acalanto orphanagefor abused and abandoned children andeven encouraged her own children toparticipate.White also helped organize the teaoffered at her home to raise money fora teenage girl named Jessica of charityLar Tia Edna, so that she could travel toa music camp in the U.S.“That girl won this scholarship, but

FORUM

3

2009

didn’t have any money to go to thestates. Terri immediately organized aconcert in her home, and helped thisgirl raise the money she needed. WhenI

ﬁ

rst heard about that, I thought,‘Wow, she did everything in 24 hours,’and this girl was off to the States,” saidMarlene Rubiez, AmSoc board memberand part of the Poliak Award SelectionCommittee.White is a certi

ﬁ

ed elementaryschool teacher now substituting atGraded School, has helped raise moneyfor a health-related NGO namedINMED, and has helped Jane Hawkinsget the SPACE Program on its feet andeven offered her home to launch thefundraising campaign. According toMark Abrams, “whenever there is asocial event you can always count onTerri to participate and get others toattend as well.”AmSoc would like to extendits warmest thanks and deep-feltcongratulations to Terri White for hertireless contribution to the community.

President of AmSoc Tim Scott, USConsul General Thomas White with Terri White, winner of this year’saward, Thomas White Jr. and Joe Sherman,VP of AmSoc.