24.10.2007
So I’m finally in the UAE! The first night I got here, we went out with the Dubai members, interns & Alumni for dinner. It was good to see some old faces again and definitely good to meet some of the friends I have made in AIESEC UAE.
After dinner I and Stella headed to Abu Dhabi with Mohammed who is a new friend of AIESEC. At the beginning of the trip Stella comforted me by telling me that it wasn’t a long trip, she said it would last ONLY an hour. And I was like “and that is what you call a short drive?? Did you know that you can get from one side of Bahrain to the other in 1 hour!!?” Then we started talking about Bahrain and the population and how small it is.
On our way, Mohammed kept on talking to me in Arabic because he found it difficult to talk in English. Since Stella didn’t understand a thing that we said, she decided to fall asleep and we continued to talk about the UAE and how people lived and the relationship between locals and expatriates etc. Although Bahrain is in the GCC, I never imagined it would be this different from the UAE.
Anyways when we got the apartment, I got the shock of my life. I was speechless and all I could do was smile and act as if it was normal. I never knew this kind of apartment (or whatever they want to call it) existed. It was a huge apartment with 5 rooms and in each room there were 2 – 4 people depending on the size of the room. Our room was huge, it was almost empty except for 2 beds and 2 cupboards; one for me and the other for Stella and later on the CEEDer Reham. The rest of the night I couldn’t concentrate and didn’t know what to do. How was I going to live like this? No personal space? The apartment was a total mess. The location was great but the apartment was crappy and everything thing in it was even crappier. How could I tell my family I was living in a place like this? They would tell me to get the hell back home. I have to share the bathroom and kitchen and later on I found out that two random ladies will also be living with us so I will be sharing the room as well. The whole night I couldn’t sleep; I finally fell asleep at something like 3 am and woke up again at 6.30 am.
In the morning we got ready to go to an external event which was key for AIESEC Abu Dhabi. In this event we got to meet with a lot of externals who were mostly directors and top officials in their businesses as well as some people with a hell lot of money. The best part of the event was the Eric was there. Eric was the main person who started up AIESEC in Bahrain and now that I am in charge of expanding to Abu Dhabi, I again have Eric by my side. It was good to see him there; in some ways when I saw him, I was very comforted and knew that even if I could not depend on anyone here I would have him to depend on.
After the event, we headed to the Abu Dhabi women’s college where my office was going to be. When we got there, turned out there was a Nobel Prize winner coming to speak at the college. I don’t know what her name was, but we joined in and I watched one of the most inspirational people in front of me talk about her life and her struggle in Africa to get into parliament. After that, I got to meet the director of the university and some of the people I will be sharing the office with.
The whole day, people kept talking to me in English, I figured they thought I was Indian or something and it pissed me off. After getting home, I decided that I would wear the Abaya so that I get more of an Arab look and this morning it worked fine. When we got out of the building this morning and I was an Emirati guy looking at me, I knew it worked!!
Lets see how this experience goes…
Friday, October 26, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Iran
Filling my application to AD and looking into all the global strategies and structures was how I spent most of my time in Iran. I was very nervous with the application; questions like am I the right person? Is there someone who can do a better job than me? What the hell will I do there alone? ; kept running in my mind. All of these questions were answered when Jorein sent me my recommendation letter. The letter was so strong that I knew I was the right person for the job.
After a couple days after my first interview I headed off to Tehran to meet up the AIESECers there. It was one hell of a trip. The AIESECers were so motivated and thirsty to learn more. I was only there for a few days but every time I would meet up with them, they kept asking me how we did things in Bahrain and what I thought the best way would be. The thirst to learn more could be seen in their eyes and I was so happy and proud of them. AIESEC Iran will be facing a lot of difficulties for sure; they will have many challenges that maybe other countries haven’t faced due to their country reality but I am sure that with the members that are running the show it will all be possible. One the best things I like about the AIESECers there was that when they ask for your advise they actually listen to it and use some of it; which is something very rare.
Ramadan in Tehran was a bit different for me. The first we were having meetings in a park and for iftar two international students one from the Philippines and the other from Ireland joined us. We had ‘ash’ (kind of a soup) and tea to break our fast and then moved on to a restaurant for rice and kebabs. It was a wonderful evening filled with meaningful talk and a lot to learn. Although the two guys were not from AIESEC, the beauty of AIESEC was proved to me again. We were a group of 3 Germans, an Iranian, a Philippine, an Irish and a Bahraini having iftar together in Iran. Beautiful.
I returned back to Shiraz with Jonas, Jane and Gert and spent two wonderful days with them sightseeing and experiencing Shiraz. For me one of the best places we went was ‘Shah Cheraq’ which is a mosque where a very religious person is buried. While entering one of the guards asked if they were Muslim and my Aunt confidently answered ‘yes, yes they are Muslims’ (apparently non-Muslims were not allowed in which I think is a stupid thing to do). It was beautiful inside and best of all it was very peaceful; I wanted to cry for no reason.
After the guys left, I had a couple of days left for my family and I tried to make the most out of it. We went together for picnics after iftar, went Karting with the cousins who were very funny since some of them couldn’t drive, ate junk off the street (which by the way I love to do) and much more. They day I was leaving was very gloomy; I didn’t want to leave because I really enjoyed it there. It was the first time in my life that I have stayed so long in Iran and didn’t want to run back home. I loved it.
After a couple days after my first interview I headed off to Tehran to meet up the AIESECers there. It was one hell of a trip. The AIESECers were so motivated and thirsty to learn more. I was only there for a few days but every time I would meet up with them, they kept asking me how we did things in Bahrain and what I thought the best way would be. The thirst to learn more could be seen in their eyes and I was so happy and proud of them. AIESEC Iran will be facing a lot of difficulties for sure; they will have many challenges that maybe other countries haven’t faced due to their country reality but I am sure that with the members that are running the show it will all be possible. One the best things I like about the AIESECers there was that when they ask for your advise they actually listen to it and use some of it; which is something very rare.
Ramadan in Tehran was a bit different for me. The first we were having meetings in a park and for iftar two international students one from the Philippines and the other from Ireland joined us. We had ‘ash’ (kind of a soup) and tea to break our fast and then moved on to a restaurant for rice and kebabs. It was a wonderful evening filled with meaningful talk and a lot to learn. Although the two guys were not from AIESEC, the beauty of AIESEC was proved to me again. We were a group of 3 Germans, an Iranian, a Philippine, an Irish and a Bahraini having iftar together in Iran. Beautiful.
I returned back to Shiraz with Jonas, Jane and Gert and spent two wonderful days with them sightseeing and experiencing Shiraz. For me one of the best places we went was ‘Shah Cheraq’ which is a mosque where a very religious person is buried. While entering one of the guards asked if they were Muslim and my Aunt confidently answered ‘yes, yes they are Muslims’ (apparently non-Muslims were not allowed in which I think is a stupid thing to do). It was beautiful inside and best of all it was very peaceful; I wanted to cry for no reason.
After the guys left, I had a couple of days left for my family and I tried to make the most out of it. We went together for picnics after iftar, went Karting with the cousins who were very funny since some of them couldn’t drive, ate junk off the street (which by the way I love to do) and much more. They day I was leaving was very gloomy; I didn’t want to leave because I really enjoyed it there. It was the first time in my life that I have stayed so long in Iran and didn’t want to run back home. I loved it.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Fit right back in...
On my way to Iran, I was stuck in between two old ladies on the plane. On my left hand side was an old Iraqi women who was going back home to Iraq from Mecca; on my right was an Iranian who lived in Washington DC and was on her way to Iran to see her family. Sitting in between these two women was very Ironic because I have always felt that I belonged to both sides (not necessarily Iraqi but Arab), but the problem is that Arabs and Iranians don’t necessarily get along very well. It was funny that in the airplane there were Arabs and Iranians and both of them thought they were better than the other and both of them commented on what each other was doing wrong and made fun of the other in their own language.
The Iraqi woman one my left for some reason was very interested in me, she kept asking me question like what I studied? If I was married? How old I was? Where I lived etc; turned out this was not just out of curiosity but because she wanted me for her son who lived and worked in Iraq!! She even asked me for my cell number which I don’t know why in the world I gave her (I guess it doesn’t matter because I will rarely be using that cell phone since I keep on jumping from country to country). After having an extensive conversation with the Iraqi about my life and her life back in Iraq, I moved on to the Iranian. One of her first obvious questions was if I was Iranian. I told her that my mother was Iranian which in return she concluded that I am Iranian. I then told her that my father was Bahraini and I have lived my whole life in Bahrain and therefore I am stuck in between. With this woman we talked about life in the US and the life of Iranians living and getting married outside the US (funny enough both women opened up the conversation about marriage).
When I got out, four of my cousins were waiting for me and for some reason felt like I was just with them. Driving through the streets of Shiraz felt like I never left this place. We dropped by my Uncle’s house to say hi and drop off one of my cousins; then we moved on to our house. We arrived home had dinner, showed them some pictures of my trips and the family back home and went to sleep at around 3 am. Next morning I visited my grandmother; it was as if they had preserved her for me, she looked exactly the same as the last time I left her. Same hair, same wrinkles, same smile, same attitude…I love her; she annoys me at times but I love her dearly. After staying there for a while two of my aunts dropped by to say hi and I loved it. For lunch we moved on to my favorite aunt’s house; for some reason I get along with this aunt quiet well and everyone back home tells me that we have a lot in common. I love her. We had lunch, washed the dishes and chilled out together. My cousins all slept (as this is something everyone does after lunch) Me and my aunt sat and talked for 3 hours, she told me stories of the family, who got married, who died, how they died, what happened in their mourning; stories of random people she met on the streets or while waiting for doctor’s appointments, stories of when she was a kid and much more.
In the evening me, my cousins and their friends went out for dinner; I had the usual Iranian pizza which was fabulous. After laughing all night, we came back to my aunt’s house and I slept there for the night.
This trip has been easy for me so far; I fit in very easily as if I never left this place. Doesn’t really feel like home but feels so good with my family. I love the random laughing, the stories, the weather, the food, the family gatherings, the everything.
The Iraqi woman one my left for some reason was very interested in me, she kept asking me question like what I studied? If I was married? How old I was? Where I lived etc; turned out this was not just out of curiosity but because she wanted me for her son who lived and worked in Iraq!! She even asked me for my cell number which I don’t know why in the world I gave her (I guess it doesn’t matter because I will rarely be using that cell phone since I keep on jumping from country to country). After having an extensive conversation with the Iraqi about my life and her life back in Iraq, I moved on to the Iranian. One of her first obvious questions was if I was Iranian. I told her that my mother was Iranian which in return she concluded that I am Iranian. I then told her that my father was Bahraini and I have lived my whole life in Bahrain and therefore I am stuck in between. With this woman we talked about life in the US and the life of Iranians living and getting married outside the US (funny enough both women opened up the conversation about marriage).
When I got out, four of my cousins were waiting for me and for some reason felt like I was just with them. Driving through the streets of Shiraz felt like I never left this place. We dropped by my Uncle’s house to say hi and drop off one of my cousins; then we moved on to our house. We arrived home had dinner, showed them some pictures of my trips and the family back home and went to sleep at around 3 am. Next morning I visited my grandmother; it was as if they had preserved her for me, she looked exactly the same as the last time I left her. Same hair, same wrinkles, same smile, same attitude…I love her; she annoys me at times but I love her dearly. After staying there for a while two of my aunts dropped by to say hi and I loved it. For lunch we moved on to my favorite aunt’s house; for some reason I get along with this aunt quiet well and everyone back home tells me that we have a lot in common. I love her. We had lunch, washed the dishes and chilled out together. My cousins all slept (as this is something everyone does after lunch) Me and my aunt sat and talked for 3 hours, she told me stories of the family, who got married, who died, how they died, what happened in their mourning; stories of random people she met on the streets or while waiting for doctor’s appointments, stories of when she was a kid and much more.
In the evening me, my cousins and their friends went out for dinner; I had the usual Iranian pizza which was fabulous. After laughing all night, we came back to my aunt’s house and I slept there for the night.
This trip has been easy for me so far; I fit in very easily as if I never left this place. Doesn’t really feel like home but feels so good with my family. I love the random laughing, the stories, the weather, the food, the family gatherings, the everything.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Mixed Feelings...
The last three days in Turkey were a lot of fun. I got to hang out with the girls and have some really deep talk. Also I got to know Mariam Kamal much better and realized that we have a lot I common. I’m glad I spent the extra days with these wonderful people from Bahrain. The streets of Istanbul were full of life yet for some reason I felt so lonely.
Tonight I’m leaving to Iran; meeting my family after two years is going to be very exciting. I’m sure I won’t be able to satisfy everyone with such a short time. Everyone would want me to go either for lunch or dinner at their house which will be impossible since the family is huge.
I will also be spending Ramadan there which is something new. I have always wanted to see what Ramadan was like in Iran and this year I will have the freedom to experience that. I will also have the time and space to fill in my application to Abu Dhabi more contentedly.
Mixed feelings…
Tonight I’m leaving to Iran; meeting my family after two years is going to be very exciting. I’m sure I won’t be able to satisfy everyone with such a short time. Everyone would want me to go either for lunch or dinner at their house which will be impossible since the family is huge.
I will also be spending Ramadan there which is something new. I have always wanted to see what Ramadan was like in Iran and this year I will have the freedom to experience that. I will also have the time and space to fill in my application to Abu Dhabi more contentedly.
Mixed feelings…
Monday, August 27, 2007
Disappointed
So finally I made it to the biggest AIESEC conference of the year, the International Congress (IC) in Turkey. I really enjoy spending time with amazing people from all over the world. This AIESEC conference has been very different for me; I no longer see AIESECers the same way, I don’t know if I have lost the fling for them or I have in a way moved on. I have in some way calmed down, I don’t enjoy role calls like I used to, I don’t enjoy talking about my achievements anymore, I for some reason don’t have the passion to talk about my country anymore. Maybe I just expected more out of AIESECers; I expected them to be more mature, more independent, stronger…
I am really disappointed with this conference; In terms of content it has not satisfied me a lot. The conference has been a great Networking opportunity but I wanted to get more from it and unfortunately I haven’t yet.
Delegates are not really responsible; a lot of people come late; people talk during sessions & speeches, a lot of people doze off and sleep during sessions; people cut all the time and much more. Almost everyone in this conference is on the Leadership team, and for these people to act the way they do is very unprofessional.
All I am doing is complaining about this conference which is not necessarily a positive thing to do but hey I got to get it out.
In terms of the Bahraini delegation, I could never have wished for better people to represent Bahrain. Everyone loves the Bahraini Delegation and this is something that I am most proud of. Today they went through the Issue Based Experiences Certification and out of 5 projects; Bahrain’s name came out in two of the Projects (Entrepreneurship & Finance). What more could I want from a country who has had AIESEC only for one year and is an expanding country. We are growing and we are proud of it.
Lyna thanks for all the things you taught me about AIESEC; IC has been a piece of cake!!
I am really disappointed with this conference; In terms of content it has not satisfied me a lot. The conference has been a great Networking opportunity but I wanted to get more from it and unfortunately I haven’t yet.
Delegates are not really responsible; a lot of people come late; people talk during sessions & speeches, a lot of people doze off and sleep during sessions; people cut all the time and much more. Almost everyone in this conference is on the Leadership team, and for these people to act the way they do is very unprofessional.
All I am doing is complaining about this conference which is not necessarily a positive thing to do but hey I got to get it out.
In terms of the Bahraini delegation, I could never have wished for better people to represent Bahrain. Everyone loves the Bahraini Delegation and this is something that I am most proud of. Today they went through the Issue Based Experiences Certification and out of 5 projects; Bahrain’s name came out in two of the Projects (Entrepreneurship & Finance). What more could I want from a country who has had AIESEC only for one year and is an expanding country. We are growing and we are proud of it.
Lyna thanks for all the things you taught me about AIESEC; IC has been a piece of cake!!
Sunday, August 12, 2007
I will miss BMI
Thursday was my last day at work. I hadn’t really felt that I resigned until the last day; I really felt it when people would gather at my table and talk about the farewell party and what was needed in it. It suddenly hit me that I won’t be coming to work again. I won’t be waking up early every morning and rushing to work. I won’t be walking into the building and saying hi to the security guards on the ground floor. I won’t be walking out the elevator and seeing the security guard on the 6th floor with a wonderful smile wishing me a Good Morning. I won’t be entering the main door to see Khadija with a big smile wishing me a Happy Eid.
I’m going to miss my desk with the MEPI group picture on my PC. I’m going to miss the Credit Admin Department since I would pass by them every morning and Mansoori would make some kind of funny comment. I will truly miss the customers and their nagging on why we have charged them extra or why we have not put their money in a deposit and why we haven’t reduced their loans.
Although I always knew I am not a business person and I just studied business because my father wanted me to, I am really going to miss my work. For some reason I actually enjoyed my work; although it was frustrating but I enjoyed even the bad times. I enjoyed nagging over Faby to pass the entries he had to pass weeks before, I enjoyed telling Ali to pass the transfers ASAP, I enjoyed disturbing Ameeta with all the proposal requests.
Most of all I will miss my department. I will miss Mohammed’s so though bad temper (which by the way I think is not that bad, he is actually much sweeter than what people think about him). I will miss Ameer and him getting pissed at some clients but still wishing me a Happy Eid. I will miss Basim calling out my name every 5 minutes and when I go to his room, turns out he could have just gave me the message over the phone. I will miss Joy’s “Oh you are still here Shereen!” and telling me his life stories. I will miss Mona for pissing me off because she never picks up the rest of the team’s lines. Most of all I will miss Haifa; not only my colleague but a true friend and sister.
I will miss wafa, mariam, Cynthia, FCU, Chandran, Jalal, HR, IT, Ebtisam (even though I didn’t spend much time with her), Corporate, GTS, Operations, Treasury (specially Khalid) and defiantly Ahmed Gallaf!! Every single one. All of them have in one way or another impacted my life and have taught me something new, or reminded me of things and why I should try to enjoy and stay positive every day of my life.
I will miss wishing people a Happy Eid and Merry Christmas in the heart of summer. I will miss singing them seasons of love (525,600 minutes). I will miss BMI!
I’m going to miss my desk with the MEPI group picture on my PC. I’m going to miss the Credit Admin Department since I would pass by them every morning and Mansoori would make some kind of funny comment. I will truly miss the customers and their nagging on why we have charged them extra or why we have not put their money in a deposit and why we haven’t reduced their loans.
Although I always knew I am not a business person and I just studied business because my father wanted me to, I am really going to miss my work. For some reason I actually enjoyed my work; although it was frustrating but I enjoyed even the bad times. I enjoyed nagging over Faby to pass the entries he had to pass weeks before, I enjoyed telling Ali to pass the transfers ASAP, I enjoyed disturbing Ameeta with all the proposal requests.
Most of all I will miss my department. I will miss Mohammed’s so though bad temper (which by the way I think is not that bad, he is actually much sweeter than what people think about him). I will miss Ameer and him getting pissed at some clients but still wishing me a Happy Eid. I will miss Basim calling out my name every 5 minutes and when I go to his room, turns out he could have just gave me the message over the phone. I will miss Joy’s “Oh you are still here Shereen!” and telling me his life stories. I will miss Mona for pissing me off because she never picks up the rest of the team’s lines. Most of all I will miss Haifa; not only my colleague but a true friend and sister.
I will miss wafa, mariam, Cynthia, FCU, Chandran, Jalal, HR, IT, Ebtisam (even though I didn’t spend much time with her), Corporate, GTS, Operations, Treasury (specially Khalid) and defiantly Ahmed Gallaf!! Every single one. All of them have in one way or another impacted my life and have taught me something new, or reminded me of things and why I should try to enjoy and stay positive every day of my life.
I will miss wishing people a Happy Eid and Merry Christmas in the heart of summer. I will miss singing them seasons of love (525,600 minutes). I will miss BMI!
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