I received this wonderful message from Kara Fairchild, the new FAWCO Rep from the American Women's Club of Gothenburg, Sweden that I would like to share. Please send me your story to help us get to know each other.  Elizabeth Abbot, 2nd  VP-member clubs.

My goal for this year is to both keep our members abreast on FAWCO news, but also to encourage AWCG members to use the FAWCO website to find great information about the issues that matter to us as individuals and as individual FAWCO members. By the time this year is up, I hope that at least one half of our membership will have accounts on the FAWCO website and be receiving bulletins/information.

A little about me:
I was born and raised in Upstate NY, but came to Sweden for Christmas in 1999. I never really left. I was young...very young. I was just 17 when I came to Sweden the first time and 18 when I officially moved here. Today, I am a Human Ecology student.

I found the American Women’s Club of Gothenburg a few years after moving here. As with most women who find an AWC after already settling in, I had no idea how culture sick I was until I went to my first and second AWCG meetings and sat with people who instinctively understood me again. Body language, tone of voice and facial expressions seem like such small things until you realize that they are culturally bound and you realize that you don’t have to think or critique reading people nearly as much when they share your culture. More than anything though, they got my jokes. That did it. I was hooked!

I served as AWCG President for four years. Our club has an unwritten rule that says only 2, but finding a replacement is not always easy, so I stayed on longer. Once I was finished as President, I was able to move onto doing something on my life list...joining an  Environmental Committee for Environmental Concerns. I had my eyes on the Environmental Team for a couple years, but I did not want to be in a club leadership positions while pursuing it. So, I waited. Just a few weeks after I left my position as President though, I joined the Environmental Team. I have loved every single second of it! Then, I joined the Target Fundraising Committee. Meanwhile, I continued to be active for the AWCG as a planner, Newsletter Editor, general helping hand etc. This year, after two years, I decided that I was ready for the next challenge within the club and I volunteered to stand for nomination when our longtime FAWCO Rep (and a stellar one at that!) decided to give up her post.

Kara Fairchild, AWC Gothenburg, Sweden