I am delighted to have been asked to contribute to the Sawalef
new issue.
As some of you already know that my family and I spent the last
year in Austria. It is a very beautiful country with great natural
beauty. Vienna, the capital, has been selected in 2009 as the best
city in the world in terms of quality of life.
While in Austria, I took the opportunity to study and had joined
an MBA program specializing in professional finance. I must
admit it was not very easy to go back to university after being
away for so long and having to compete with the wiz kids who
grew up on Excel. But all in all, I have done better than I hoped
for in my studies.
My family and I lived in one of the nicest parts of Vienna called
the 18th district. We had a truly simple life. Whenever, I was
not commuting to my university, which is an hour drive from
Vienna, I used to drop and pick-up my children from school.
I am very happy to see that all my children have managed to
learn German quite fast. Unfortunately, and as you might have
guessed, I still can not speak any German.
Austria has a very rich history. Few people here might know that one of the dynasties that ruled
Austria, the Habsburgs, their fiefdom used to include, France, the Nederland’s, Spain and its
empire in the Americas. Therefore, one could imagine the wealth the Habsburgs had then that
had been reflected in their grand palaces, opera houses and the monuments they left.
In Austria, you could really experience the four seasons. We arrived in late summer of 2008.
In autumn one could see how the tree leaves changing their colors before they fall. I used to
look outside our windows and see green, white, red, orange, yellow and brown leaves like a
beautiful painting of a great artist. Then, winter was really cold and it was mostly snowing.
Temperatures used to fall to as low as -10 degrees and below. Therefore, I believe, spring is the
nicest season of all, most especially since it comes after a harsh winter.
After all this, we were really delighted to go back to our life in Dubai. I was pleasantly sur-
prised to see all the new developments that were under construction had finished. I am happy
to be back on my desk at Al Habtoor Group working with my colleagues. There is a famous
Arabic saying” Traveling has seven benefits”. Therefore, I truly hope that I managed to reap the
benefits of this long journey outside my beloved Dubai.
Alaa El Husseini
Chief Operating Officer
Al Habtoor Group
Alaa El Husseini
Editorial Message
