year in review

2010. How did it finish? How did it start, for that matter?

Well, let's see... actually not too much changed (in the monumental sense). It started with me working for Action Against Hunger, based in Jerusalem, in good health, single, no kids, no mortgage, no car payment, no obligations. And it ended in pretty much the same way. In between, however, there has been some pretty good stuff.

After years of doing this and that, it's nice to finally be moving my career forward in a focused direction - I'm now the country Food Security and Livelihoods Coordinator for the organization I've been working for over the last three years. I've been involved with such a variety of projects including agriculture rehabilitation/support, urban gardening and small livestock rearing, vouchers for food, vouchers for agriculture inputs, holistic livelihood support, micro-business support. I've worked with local people, with people returning to their villages after being displaced for years, with refugees who have been displaced for nearly two decades.

Over the last year I've been working in one of the most reported on regions of the world - Gaza and the West Bank - and I have to say that the media paints a very different reality from what I see. I really think that everybody should come see it with their own eyes before forming views and opinions, since none of what you read or see in the media is an unclouded image.

While the living conditions in Jerusalem are the best I've experienced so far since taking on humanitarian work, it is taxing mentally and emotionally, so every three months we are obliged to take a one week break. We can also tack on an extra week of annual leave days, which most of us do since one week is just not enough to properly disconnect from work.

So, in the last year I was able to go to Romania and Bulgaria on one trip in the spring, where I did a permaculture course. Then in the summer I had a workshop in Georgia and a work-related visit to Armenia, and I took one week of break in Georgia to putter around. In the autumn I went to Turkey and had a great time with a friend in Istanbul then went on my own to capadoccia and pamulake (look them up...beautiful and amazing!). It was a good year for travel.

I also had a couple of visitors, one from London over the Easter holidays, one for a long weekend from Delhi (if you can imagine!), and one from Toronto to look at all the old crumblies she had studied in her PhD. It's really great to have a small bit of "home" come to you when you're constantly away and on the move - so thanks for the visits!

I didn't manage to get in as much hiking as I would have liked and I didn't manage to get my PADI as I had planned, but I did go sea kayaking every weekend in the summer and into the fall. The water is fantastic and on some days you can even get some decent waves for surfing - kayak surfing, that is. I also finally completed my certificate program in food security from Ryerson. The first course I took in this program back in 2003 was really what put me on my current career path.

Oh, and I moved into my own place in the Christian Quarter of the Old City. It's a really old building with super-thick walls and 14-foot vaulted ceilings. I get a nice breeze in the summer and it stays relatively warm in the winter. I'm off the beaten tourist track so it's fairly quiet (except for the church bells every 15 minutes, but I'm now immune to them). Plus I have a pretty nice view on my roof of the Mount of Olives, the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque. I'm pretty happy with it :)

So what's next?

I'm heading back to Jerusalem on January 21st and I'll be there at least until May and possibly a bit longer. I want to continue on with the kayaking and get some more weekend hiking trips in. I've got a tent there now, so hopefully some camping as well. I'm hoping for a few more visitors while I'm still there. I'm looking at possibly going back to school and have applied to one program, but more on that later...