Remembering my Dad

My father, Bill Drennan died very suddenly at 60 years old in 1983. His good friend and medical colleague Morley Lertzmann had his son plant a tree in Israel in honor of my father. As I passed the forests of trees from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, I was reminded of how important friendship can be. What a wonderful legacy to have a tree in your honor.

Leaving Jerusalem

Leaving Israel. Sitting on my suitcases in Ben Gurion airport as the only plug was in a wall! There is free wifi which is great but not place to get power and work sitting down.

In no particular order I will try to describe my experiences in Jerusalem. It was a fascinating 4 days. As I have already described my living accommodations at St George’s College, I will focus on my walking adventures in this city of multiple cultures.

I walked every morning quite early in the old city – getting lost every day at least 4 times. At 6am, the children are walking to their respective schools and the only shops which are open are selling sweets. There are some coffee houses for a quick cup with marvelous pastries (I was good.) At that early hour the busloads of tourists have not arrived so it is very peaceful. Later during the day it is wall to wall. There are also the garbage “tractors” which have a wheel base that just fits in the narrow space – with only a skinny person on each side. I always stepped into doorways to prevent part of my anatomy from remaining in the Holy City.

I did not have the book – “Ten Things you must do in Jerusalem” so I wandered, got lost and found most of them I think. The Wailing Wall and the Temple of the Mount are side by side with each religious group finding its own peace. I was not allowed into the mosque but enjoyed the surrounding area and a wonderful conversation with a Jordanian woman who visits when she can. There are many mosques, temples, and churches in to small space. I was reminded of my work in Sarajevo in the early 1990’s – it too had many holy buildings and soldiers with guns.

I am always delighted at the wonderful people I meet. I spent most of my time on my own as Rev. Heather Mueller had duties as Warden of St George’s College. We connected generally at night.

Highlights: An extremely large Torah in presentation to the West Wall with 12 men. French nuns singing in the Church of All Nations. Calls to prayer from the mosques. And above all, the beauty of the city. Two young boys taking me to the roof tops to meet their donkey who was for sale. “Please take him to America.”

The Tower of David Museum is not to be missed in the daytime or at night. I spend several hours walking thru the history of Jerusalem. It is a well-curated exhibit with multi media and English signs. At night there is an outside lights and music show that replicates the history but very visually.

I bought very little but am much richer for the experiences. I am now at the airport. I rode in a shuttle from Jerusalem with 8 young men all studying to become rabbis. One was from Texas, one Connecticut and the rest from London. All were off for a month of holiday.

Home tomorrow and feeling blessed by the God of all men.

Jerusalem

My flights on Royal Jordanian from Doha Qatar to Amman Jordan to Tel Aviv Israel were excellent. RJ is part of the American Airlines alliances called One World. The airplanes were brand new 757 and 767 with English speaking staff and great food/drink! A very easy trip. The RJ plane from Amman to Tel Aviv was not parked at the main terminal where we arrived. Instead, we were bussed out to the military plane area and boarded our plane under the watchful eyes of soldiers.

I arrived in Tel Aviv where the Ben Gurion Airport is large and very modern. I asked Immigration not to stamp in my passport and there was no problem. This was what I had been advised by the Isreal Consulate in Los Angeles. My bag was delivered and I then met the cab driver which Heather Mueller had arranged.

As I mentioned, Heather is an Episcopal priest from Maui; we met many years ago on the island and have remained close friends. She retired from her parish and has taken a one-year job as Warden for St. George’s College in Jerusalem. She is responsible for all of the guest rooms and the logistics for the courses which are offered at the College. I was able to met several of the members of the last class – The Palestine of Jesus. Several were from Australia, one from Canada and the others American.

I am staying in one of the dorm rooms and it reminds me of my first year at UC Berkeley. Two twin beds, two desks, two closets and one bathroom. Quite a change from my stay in Doha! As all of you know, I can sleep anywhere. It is now Saturday am; breakfast was simple and filling. We are leaving for a walk in the Old City. WOW!

Leaving Doha

I have now finished with my training for CBQ. I had 21 bankers from a variety of positions and with a diversity of experience in commercial lending/credit analysis. Fortunately, those with more extensive expertise helped their colleagues and translated my words into Arabic. Everyone was fully engaged. I was presented with a typical Qatarian present – a decorative wooden door with concealed mirror.

The Doha Golf Course (where the course was held) is the host club for one of the early PGA tournaments so it is extremely posh and lovely. Golfers tee off early (dawn) to finish before it becomes too hot. As I begin class at 8:30am, foursomes are just finishing. It appears that most are expatriates; mostly British with some Japanese.

My last night in Doha, I was able to treat Haitham to dinner at……..Appleby’s! There are many chain restaurants in Doha catering to all the different tastes of the 1.5 million expatriates. Just like McDonald’s the food was well prepared and consistent with the American experience. Haitham’s grocery shopping followed at Carrefour’s, which is a very large British supermarket. It has everything except pork and alcohol. I am taking back different varieties of Cup of Soup!!

I am flying on Royal Jordanian (an American Airlines partner) through Amman Jordan and on to Tel Aviv. Several years ago I spent 3 days in Jordan – both Amman and a 2 day trip to Petra. Petra was one of the magical moments of my life. It is an incredible place. This time though I will just transit thru the airport.

I will blog either during my time in Jerusalem with Rev. Heather Mueller or when I return to California on the 31st. Wishing all of you peace and joy during the next week.

Doha Qatar Day One

It is a beautiful day in Doha though windy. I am “housed” in a 4 bedroom 3.5 bathroom - full dining room - full kitchen and a spacious living room on the 30th floor of the Kempinski Doha. Windows on 3 sides give me an almost 180° view of the bay of Doha. I asked for a normal one-person room but was told that this was the only room available for me. I am staying in one bedroom with bathroom en suite. The kitchen has a clothes washing machine so my travel outfit is ready for the next plane ride.

My Commercial Bank Qatar (CBQ) contact is Haitham Farouk. We met in 2005 when I taught a financial analysis class for the Egyptian Banking Institute in Cairo. He was recruited to CBQ a year later as AGM and Credit Risk Manager. I have been privileged to train for Haitham and the bank several times during the past 4 years.
Today he toured me through the downtown to see how much has changed in the 2 years since I was last here. As before there is construction everywhere. Many of the buildings I saw underway in 2008 are now finished. The Kempinski Hotel was completed only a year ago and is extremely modern in all aspects as well as its looks. Very sleek with black, chrome and mirrors.

Late lunch today was at a Persian restaurant that Haitham, his wife Dahlia and daughter Cheyenne had enjoyed. Grilled chicken, beef, fish and shrimp kabobs with 3 kinds of rice (dill, sweet, and saffron) on a sizzling platter. Delicious. A small shopping at Carrefour’s (British chain) to buy water. I also found Cup of Soup in two flavors that are not available in the US.

Off to create the flip charts for the class which begins on Sunday. It is now dusk so the lights are beginning. What a view. Have a wonderful Friday.

Home from - off to Qatar and Israel

I apologize for the delay in my final Tanzania post.

USOMAMA Cooperative was a delight! 19-21 members attended every session. At the closing, there was a wonderful luncheon of stewed goat and chicken with rice and sima. I was given lovely fabric of the tribal pattern in the area. The CNFA Country Director and Program Manager attended along with the District Cooperative Officer.

The unfortunate news was that my Mother had been hospitalized. My son Rob and his girlfriend Bari were in Palm Desert at the time, so visited Mother with some supplies from her home. My brother Jim and wife Kaye flew down to supervise her move back to The Carlotta. CNFA and its travel agents were successful and I came home early. Mother is now fine.

I am leaving in an hour for my flights to Doha Qatar; I will again be working with Commercial Bank Qatar's commercial lenders and credit analysts. My friend, Haitham is the AGM and Credit Risk Manager. He was a student many years ago when I taught at the Egyptian Banking Institute.

An early Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!