Mental exhaustion

Yesterday was Transfiguration Day. As usual the arab christians from Nazareth hiked up Mt. Tabor and stayed overnight, feasting and singing the night through. The heat was unbearable though, and the basilica was terribly stuffy with hundreds of people squeezed inside ... and no windows.

The heat is still unrelenting. 44 degrees yesterday and today. People try to stay in the shade - elderly and children are warned not to go out. But there's still many people walking around as if nothing was wrong.

I was terribly dizzy yesterday. But I had extra work to do in the Holy Sepulchre as there were no enough people to make the procession and I was asked to help. Nearly fainted twice in the suffocating heat. Luckily there were a couple of visiting friends and Sr Maria who accompanied me home. Felt really sick. Maybe also exhaustion ... have been overworking to clear up my work this week. This week has been so very stressful. And I didn't even have one day to rest and recover from last week .... what with all the lessons etc.... and the awful heat that made everyone here sleepless.

Anyway once home, I asked Sr Maria to help me deliver 6 bags of medicine to Mother Theresa's sisters, all donated by you. on my way home, dizzy and sick, i got stuck in arab/israeli fight in the streets. Some 50 arabs started shouting and pushing Israeli soldiers because of something or other. It got pretty violent. I managed to squeeze around the fight to get home, got pushed over along the way though but wasn't hurt.

At the shop near my house, I wanted to buy a cold drink from the owner and saw he had ice almond drink. That's the typical drink locals make for Ramadan. There're different types on sale in the streets - almond, tamarind, karob are the most common. I love the almond. It's syrupy (there goes my diabetes) and iced and you let it melt before you drink it. Soooo good in this heatwave.

This morning started to clear up my work again ... but alot slower. Too weak and tired and dizzy. And tomorrow begins another nightmare. I'm just not up to it. Everyone here thinks I'm in for a breakdown ... haggard, lack of sleep, not eating. I think so too.