The Chronicles of Erika | Vol1 | 2011 | From the lands of the Arab Spring

The Chronicles of Erika… The Chronicles of Erika… The Chronicles of Erika… The Chronicles of Erika… Vol. 1 Vol. 1 Vol. 1 Vol. 1 ---- 2011201120112011

Jerusalem (Palestine / Israel) October 2010

Feb/March Feb/March Feb/March Feb/March 2011201120112011

One of the simple but most profound joys which I take from writing these updates so much is

found within the process. The final product is always a nice reminder of the past few weeks,

months, and years – but it is the process of reflection, day-dreaming on adventures past, and

the learnings that I can take away from this process that I absolutely adore. Something that

stood out to me this time around, was how ‘slow’ and unexciting I thought the past 7 months

were, since my last update. I recall thinking that it was a slow period at work, that my work-

trips abroad had dried-up for the time being, and it was a period where many friends

transitioned out of life in Jordan – many moving back to their home countries to start the next

phase of their lives.

But, upon reflection – though the Fall period at work was slow (it always is during and after the

Holy Islamic month of Ramadan, and work seems to take a while to reach the speed of light in

which we operate between January to July), the reduced work-travel meant that I had a lot

more time to spend with friends, travelling and taking up simple weekend adventures again. I

have taken one big epiphany away from this particular update: which is a newfound

appreciation for the last 7 months!

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

Soren Kierkegaard


Upon request, I have filled this update yet again full of pictures.

The adventures somewhat speak for themselves... Here’s what’s

happened since I reached out last:

SeptemberSeptemberSeptemberSeptember 2010201020102010:::: A familiar face from Canada which many of you know, Layial El-

Hadi, joined the Sustainability Excellence team as the manager of

the Arab Sustainability Leadership Group – a stakeholder group of

the top organizations in the Arab world committed to

Sustainability, chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of

Jordan. Layial and I lived and worked together in Toronto from

2008-2009, so it was nice to have a great friend and a trusted

colleague join our cause.

On top of that, we set-out to discover more of Jordan before the

winter cold sets in. We make trips to the Dead Sea, hikes through

water-filled Wadi Canyons, Um Qais Roman Ruins (along the

northern Syrian border), and have a fair few BBQs.


OctoberOctoberOctoberOctober 2010201020102010:::: I accompanied a great friend and colleague of

mine, Osama (Palestinian-Jordanian), to Israel and

the Palestinian Territories. He had an Israeli

conference to attend, so I crossed the border with

him and stayed in an Israeli Kibutz in the North

(Hebrew for “a gathering”), which is essentially a

collective community based on Agriculture. It was

interesting to see the small-village Israeli way of life

there, far from the political hotbed of Jerusalem,

and ignorant to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Tel-

Aviv on the other hand, is a very liberal and

educated Israeli city on the Mediterranean coast,

where I found loads of political activists, journalists

and academics – whom I was able to have some

engaging conversations with. Jerusalem itself was

an amazing place (meaning “The Holy Sanctuary” in

Arabic, and “Abode of Peace” in Hebrew) where

you can almost smell the culture in the air. It is

arguably the holiest city on earth, with three major

religions calling it the home of their respective

faiths: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

Later in the month, I enlisted in the Amman

Marathon (Jordan), for my first official 10km race. I

set a target to finish within 1 hour, and no matter

what – run the entire time (vs. walking or stopping

for a drink). I just missed my target, finishing in 1

hour and 02min, but was happy nonetheless.


NovemberNovemberNovemberNovember 2010201020102010:::: I met up with my father in Phuket, Thailand for the first father-

daughter holiday in 5 years. We boarded a live-a-board ship –

which was nothing short of breathtaking, as it was a refurbished

Chinese Junk Ship. I honestly felt like a pirate half of the week.

We sailed through the Similan Islands (on the Andeman Sea) for a

week, and went on 4 dives a day, where the small island beaches

gleamed with white sand, the water was turquoise and full of

amazing sea creatures like: unicorn fish, sea horses, eels, rays,

sharks, trigger fish, cuttlefish, octopus, barracudas and so much

more... And the daily doses of amazing Thai food was nothing

short of a dream...


DecemberDecemberDecemberDecember 2010201020102010:::: � I flew out of my Thai-holiday into Muscat, Oman to start a

project we recently won with a government arm and a

number of companies. I was pleasantly surprised to find

many Quebecers working at an Aluminum smelter in

Northern Oman (They were all Rio Tinto Alcan employees

from Montreal) – where I had a lot of laughs, reminiscing

about the beauties of living in Quebec, and meanwhile, I

also managed to learn all about the process of

manufacturing Aluminum!

�

� I headed back to Kofu, Japan for the Christmas and New-

Years holidays. My grandmother’s 88th birthday had just

passed in early December, so all the grandchildren made

their way to Japan for the holidays. It was the first time in 5

years that the entire family got together in one place, let

alone in Japan --- so it was a holiday to be remembered. My

mother pampered us all, going to wonderful places,

shrines, relaxing onsen baths, and visiting with family

friends.


January 2011: January 2011: January 2011: January 2011: Since coming back from my holidays in December-January, I have been working non-stop on some pretty

amazing projects at work. I’ve been dividing my time between Oman, UAE and Jordan --- with most of my

weeks spent in Abu Dhabi. A number of my past clients have taken me to some awards ceremonies this quarter

to collect sustainability awards for the work done in 2010 which has been really nice, as recognition for client-

based work is just not something that comes along often in the consulting world. I am grateful for having such

amazing clients who truly do appreciate the work we do, and for inviting us to their awards ceremonies. I have

also recently gotten my UAE residency, so am enjoying the flexibility of going in and out of the country without

applying for a visa. Our Abu Dhabi offices are functioning and operational in Masdar City, and it is a very cool

and inspiring environment to be based out of as a sustainability consultancy.

In late Feb and early Jan, the Middle East went into a state of turmoil. First, the people of Tunisia ousted their

long-time President Ben Ali – who ruled for 23 years. No one was looking at Tunisia beforehand (an interesting

North African Islamic state which is known for its tourism, fused French-Arabic language, and its semi-liberal

Euro-esque views. Tunisia is in fact, the only MENA country which has banned women from wearing a hijab (a

head scarf)! Anyhow, it all started with a man named Mohammed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire in the public

square when police confiscated his vegetable stand and goods for operating without a license, and would not

see him to register complaints or pay a fine. This set-off a country-wide revolt against oppression, high

unemployment rates, corruption, rising food prices, and autocratic rule. 10 days after Bouazizi set himself on

fire, the Tunisian president was ousted, and the rest of the Middle East followed suit. The domino effect started

with Egypt – as they began peaceful protest in Tahrir Square, and managed to kick-out President Moubarak after

his 30 year rule. There are protests in Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iran to name a few place --- and

other countries are reacting proactively – with King Abdullah of Jordan dismissing his entire cabinet for the 9th

time in 12 years. It is an interesting time in the region right now --- most nights or lunch-hour conversations are

heated debates over Middle Eastern politics --- and though I always found myself struggling to keep-up in past

years, I am pleasantly surprised to see that the last 20 months in the Middle East has been an unbelievable

learning experience for me which has allowed me to keep pace with my more politically-ept friends working in

the government or UN sectors.

I have never enjoyed political debates so much as I do now – and I am looking forward to seeing drastic change

in the Middle East. If only something would change with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict… it has been in a

stalemate for so many decades that even my most passionate Palestinian friends seem to have let go of any

hope. Though somewhat expected, it was still a huge blow when Obama’s administration used its first UN

security council veto against the Palestinian inspired resolution condemning further Israeli settlements. It was a

big blow, as all other countries were for the resolution, and the USA found themselves being the sole roadblock.

Fortunately, the EU is currently working with the Palestinian Authority to recognize Palestine as an independent

state. We’ll see if the EU can do a better job of supporting the oppressed in Palestine.


February 2011:February 2011:February 2011:February 2011: In February, some close friends

and I celebrated my 25th

birthday at the Ma’in Hot

Springs Eco-resort nestled in the

Dead Sea Mountains. We had a

grand time with bottles of red

wine, organic food, saunas, hot

springs and spa treatments. And

the weekend after, I enrolled in

the Dead2Red Marathon, which

is a 242Km race (2/3rds

of the

length of the country) from the

Dead Sea (lowest point on

earth), through the infamous

Wadi Rum Desert, and ending at

sea level in the port-city of

Aqaba, on the Red Sea. Our

team of 10 ran approximately

24km each, day and night - and

we finished the race in 22hrs

and 41min. It was unreal.

Upon hindsight, the birthday

weekend at the spa should have

come afterwards, but it was a

great couple of weekends

nonetheless!


Until the next update… Take care and I hope hear from you soon!

Erika xoxo

A string of excited, fugitive, miscellaneous

pleasures is not happiness; happiness resides in imaginative reflection and

judgment, when the picture of one's life, or of human life, as it truly has been or is,

satisfies the will, and is gladly accepted.

George Santayana

The Chronicles of Erika | Vol1 | 2011 | From the lands of the Arab Spring

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