Eirene Cafe is taking a significant step forward. As you read this newsletter, a quiet corner amid the chaos of the internet has been created.
Some paint has been added, a few decorations hang on the walls, and furniture has been placed. We don't have much at the moment; it's a work in progress. The feeling is akin to a garage business—lots of ideas with a total lack of funds.
And that's okay. The dream of Eirene Cafe being a curated and lively physical space, accessible daily, still lingers in the air. Maybe it will come true one day.
Last fall, we hosted great gatherings. I was incredibly fortunate to meet and create these memorable venues with amazing and competent women like Shelbie, Camilla, Kate, Claudia, and Roberta. Personally, I was terrified the first time. I'd never organized an event in my life, and I had no idea how to do it. But you said you enjoyed it a lot. Some of you wanted more. Some of you were returning participants. Some of you asked for resources on a certain topic and a continuation.
But something was missing, and I couldn’t shake that feeling off as I cleaned the empty space and locked the door. You came, opened up, got emotional, connected, joked and laughed, said goodbye, and left.
Was that it? Was this the right way? This was a closure when, in fact, a beginning was naturally and organically happening. I knew I had to figure out how not to get in the way of amazing and much-needed beginnings. I knew I had to find a way to carefully move that lively and vital flame to another space to avoid having to blow it out—seamlessly, without interruptions.
Every time I locked the door after a gathering, I knew I left you alone to deal again with an unspoken heaviness by yourself as we never met or spoken. We all dispersed back into the dark.
We are talking here about loneliness, among other struggles we carry on a daily basis. There is a lot of loneliness, not out there, but in, here, inside us. We are containers, pots of longings, a sense of isolation, unfitnesses, inadequacy.
With the little resources I have, I found a way to give an opportunity to the connections to continue and deepen. Eirene Cafe is not only for expat women, but for every woman who feels lonely, isolated, disoriented and could manage a conversation in English even at basic levels.
We will initiate small rituals on a daily or weekly basis, little ponds of comfort and human connection, sometimes in-person, other times online. We can talk, ask questions, collaborate, co-create, organize gatherings and learn, exchange competences and skills, and build something together—online or in-person, as we please.
Why, you might ask. Because we are stepping away from social media norms, and because you wouldn't invite more people than your home can comfortably contain and take care of.
The only thing you have to always keep in mind—a really important thing—is that Eirene Cafe won’t offer professional help of any kind.
Looking forward to welcoming you all.
With love,
Natasha Nedelkovska, Founder and Creative Director