I have now finished with the first of the tour steps of my master. My next stop is Tampere, Finland, starting on the 2nd of January. I left Oslo on a snowy Sunday, happy and sad, with two bags and a million experiences, feelings, memories and friends. One of these friends is the special person I will talk about today.

Iyad Abdualrub is from Palestine, born in Riyadh. He grew up in Qabatya and it is the only place where he feels really at home. He worked at the Arab American University of Jenin where he taught communication skills and English speaking and listening skills. He is married to Hege, a very intelligent and sweet Norwegian who also worked at the same university. This year they decided to embark in the adventure of living in Norway and Iyad enrolled in the Higher Education Master at the University of Oslo.

We have come to call him the “positive Palestine”, because he is charming, happy and always has nice stories to share about his home, his traditions, his olive trees and wonderful tasty Palestine food. When you ask him about home, his face shines and he can talk and talk and talk with sparkling eyes and gestures. When I asked him what does he understand by being a positive Palestine, he answered “I think being positive means to feel confident and strong, to love and enjoy the life. and to believe and work for peace and justice for all people. Palestine to me it is like the olive tree...its branches are the sympol of peace, its fruits are filled with energy, its leaves are always green, its trunk is strong and its roots are deep.”

He would like to share with you, dear readers of the blog “Un lloc, un món”, a different vision of Palestine, not the one we see on television everyday, but a little bit of the inside, of the positive Palestine, of their lives, their capacity to enjoy in hard times, to live and cherish being together, the olive season, the food... life. Here is a website where you will find a different view of Palestine, an active society, full of events, music, thoughts and energy: www.thisweekinpalestine.com

I will not be sharing so many moments with Iyad the next semester, he has promised to come and visit us in Finland. We will miss him terribly, but I also know I have made a new friend, a very special one to me, for the times we have passed together, but also because he is a positive Palestine and has shown me how to focus on the positive to be stronger. Thank you Iyad!