Sparks Are Flying This February at InterNations

By Monica Hide

Being the shortest month of the year, February can often fly by quickly! However, before March sneaks up on us, members from all over the globe have been coming together to celebrate Valentine’s Day and the Lunar New Year! Here are just a handful of this month’s highlights!

Love Is All Around

The Antwerp Community got together on Friday, 15 February, celebrating a day late with an After-Valentine’s Day Party. Hosted at the newly renovated Diamond Lounge in the Radisson Blu Hotel, members enjoyed an exclusive InterNations-only evening of drinking, dancing, and socializing. A big thank you to our Ambassador Alain Kerkhofs for organizing such a sophisticated evening!

Photo credit: Jayshree Shah

Our Stockholm Ambassadors, Amaris C and Johannes Joergensen, decided to spoil the Stockholm Community on Wednesday, 13 February, with a Valentines party to remember at Hotel Hobo — one of the coolest new venues in town! Thank you both for hosting such a lively evening, we hope to see more exciting events in the future.

Photo credit: Ashie Shivdat

Antalya Ambassador Rosemary Lockyer also really went above and beyond this valentine’s day, playing the role of cupid with a Singles Champagne and Cocktails Night! Hosted at Nensies, a boutique hotel, it was the perfect spot to dress up and mingle with a cocktail or two.

Photo credit: Rosemary Lockyer

On the other side of the globe, the Hong Kong Wine Tasting Group met up for a romantic French four-course dinner at BeerMeat Private Kitchen. The activity was not only for singles, and everyone enjoyed the exquisite food, great wine, and company. Thank you to Consul Minnie Wong for hosting such a superb event.

Photo credit: Minnie Wong

The Oslo Community also got into the valentine’s day spirit on Tuesday, 12 February. Ambassadors Aru Redondo & Rita Andrea Simon did a great job breaking the ice with a friendly matching game, in which members raced to find their “other half”. We hope all those who came eventually found their match and had a good time!

Photo credit: Aru Redondo

Welcoming the Year of the Pig

The Beijing Community began their Chinese New Year celebrations a little early on Friday, 1 February at George’s bar & restaurant. Celebrating the end of the year of the dog, new and old friends met up to socialize. There was also a raffle and the chance to win some great prizes. A big thank you goes to Ambassadors Gabriela Filipovici and Pablo Rojas Vidal, we really appreciate all your hard work!

Photo credit: Gabriela Filipovici

Thanks to Ambassadors Nils Valentin, Lilo Yu, Chulanga Perera and Albert Olu, our Tokyo Community also celebrated the Lunar New Year in style, at the trendy R2 Supperclub on Thursday, 7 February. The recently relaunched venue was the perfect mix of eccentric and sophisticated and a great place for such a festive occasion.

Photo credit: Akihiko Sato

The Paris Joie de Vivre Group welcomed the year of the pig together on Saturday, 9 February at the city hall. Members had the opportunity to discover traditional Asian culinary specialties, music, creative workshops, and dance performances. Such a great activity idea, thank you, Carolina Ortega Gutiérrez.

Photo credit: Carolina Ortega Gutiérrez

Also inspired by the Lunar New Year, Consul Valia Calda of the Manchester Creative Group arranged a weekend long celebration crawl. Highlights included Chinese brush painting workshops, Chinese knot making, and a tea ceremony. Thank you Valia for all your hard work, and we hope you all had an amazing time.

Photo credit: Valia Calda

About Monica Hide

Monica Hide is a German Student at Queen Mary University of London, currently working as an Editorial Intern at InterNations. In her spare time, you will most likely find her riding her bike, or in a modern art gallery.

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