Chinese School - Brekkie with ladies

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CITYLIFE / Odds & Ends






Brekkie with ladies


By Bessie Ng
Updated: 2007-07-30 10:21



July's guest speaker and store owner of Ling Ling Pearls is a deft hand
at luring housewives. Along with tips on how to spot fake pearls and
hands-on jewelery-making workshops, housewives sit biting their nails in
anticipation of who will win the week's lucky draw: a pair of pearl
earrings."When we invite speakers to events, they are usually more
popular", Susan Grant, president of INN, said. "Usually, we expect 40 to
100 people. I'm impressed by the turnout rate today, because a lot of
members are away on holiday," she saMystery brekkie.

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A new idea brought up by INN volunteer, Susan Trimble, "Mystery Brekkies"
or "Mystery Breakfasts," gives a new twist to cntional "jam and bread"
mornings. Liz Taylor, like many other expatriate-wives, followed her
husband to Beijing five weeks ago. She already knows half the members by
their names and has already attended two months of "bekkies" in less than
a month in town."My sister said the first thing I should do after I land
is to contact this group-she highly recommended it". she said. With her
two daughters studying back home in Brisbane, shays that mystery
breakfast excursions have definitely helped ease her homesickness. "Last
month, we traveled all the way to the mountains near the Great Wall to
have breakfast. It was one of the best trips I've had sin my arrival."
INN Volunteer Rebecca Malzacher said June was the first time the group
hosted a "mystery brekkie." Given no informationbout the location, they
were led by Susan Trimble, tour guide of the day, to Valley View Resort
in the country-side for breakfast. "In September, we are planning a
surprise called a 'Surprise brekki!'" Malzacher said.

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We're a communit

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As an expat-only club, INN members are all foreign passport holders.

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"Our community has a broad age range, you see newly weds in their
twenties, as well as retired couples in their sventies," Grant said. She
explained that events organized by INN are not only a means for new
members to make friends, but a way for older members to expand their
social network. "Half of the people who attend brekkie and monthly
meetings aren't newcomers: some women have lived here for more than two
years, and [in that time] their friends might have left. They need
opportunities to make new friends," she said. With the expat-scene in
Beijing growing faster than ever, the need for socializing has exploded.
In particular, Grant hopes to accommodate the needs of busy husbands and
working women. "It occurred to us that, so far, our activites like
'coffee mornings' and 'brekkies' were restricted to stay-at-home wives,"
she said. "We began 'cocktail nights' two months ago at theHotel and
Kerry Center to try including husbands and working women in our events."


Another popular but lighter housewife gathering, "Coffee Mornings," was
set up for Shun Yi only. Grant said that as more volunteers helped, the
community was able to set up a second "coffee morning" point in Sanlitun
five months ago.

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She said that INN activities rely intensively on volunteer support, and
is disappointed that they have not reached Haidian. "We can only do as
much as volunteers are willing t take the time and effort," she said.

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Wanna meet up?


Open to: Expats living in Beijing
For: Monthly opportunities to meet new friends and chat! Topics
discussed: schools, medical facilities, culture clubs and charitable
organizations.
Where: The Capital Club Athletic Center (Jingcheng Dasha Julebu), 3rd
Floor, Low Rise Capital Mansion, 6 Xinyuan Lu, Chaoyang
When: Anyone interested is free to join. Start off by attending an INN
monthly meetings, open to all foreign passport holders. INN Meetings are
held on the last Monday of each month, except December, from 10am to noon.
Cost: There are no membership fees, but expect to pay at least 40 yuan
for coffee, tea and pastries.
Tel: 010-8486 2225 ext 136




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