Steamed buns and chicken soup

What rains we're experiencing these 2 days! And cold! 5 degrees during the day, lower in the night. At 4am this morning we even had slight snow in Jerusalem. It quickly melted in half and hour though. And the wind was icy, cutting through flesh and bone. It's times like this that I feel like burning all my books to keep my room warm.

Homemade buns for lunch

I woke up at 3am to do my work prior to going off for my medical check 70 kms away. The rain and graupel was awful as I left the house at 5am. But it was a good visit and I rushed back to Jerusalem because I had a 40 minute lesson to teach ... quite ridiculous having to travel 140 kms, costing US$300 for the journey and medical cost just to teach 20 students who can't respond to a single question. Time to call for my retirement. And it was raining graupel and only 5 degrees and I had to walk another 2 kms to get home!!!

Traditional chicken soup
chinese style

As a consolation, Ah Ling of Mandarin Restaurant made veggie-vermicelli steamed buns and gave me some to eat. She also slow-boiled chicken with chinese herbs and gave me a big bowl to drink. It was nice to eat and drink this  in cold weather and after the medical checkup. I hadn't eaten in the last 24 hours. It certainly gave me back my energy.

So the morning was spent in Israel's coastal city for my medical checkup. In the afternoon I went to Palestine up in the Judean hill country - Bethlehem. It was raining and wet and I wasn't thrilled. All the shops were closed too. Had to go there to do several chores but went home empty-handed, cold and with a splitting headache. Luckily my arab friend and his family were there to help me.

Rain again

Dark rain clouds over the city

And the weather forecasters were right .... the past two nights rained. Today it continued to rain in the day. 6 degrees right now. Cold, wet, gloomy.

Students trudge to their exams. There's an air of tension and nervousness wherever students gather. It's that time of the year .... a necessary evil ... exams. The weather seems to reflect the students' gloom.

Aches and pain ... that's what this weather is all about. Us old folks are writhing in joint-pains. Young folk are all down with the virus or headaches. Can't wait for this winter to pass.

Tu B'Shvat

Today is the Jewish arbor day - Tu B'Shvat. It's a celebration of life and nature ... but the cold and gloomy skies don't invite barbeques in the parks. Some groups have gone tree planting - a good idea as most of our forests are slowly giving way to urbanisation. Rain forecast for the next few days.

Musakhan - the best!

Last night I had a lovely surprise. My muslim friend called to say his mum made something great and I must taste it. Later that evening he sent his brother to bring a huge plate over to me. It was a taboon bread baked with onions and sumac topped with the juiciest chicken drumsticks I've ever eaten. It was really good and I thoroughly enjoyed. The dish is a typical Palestinian cuisine called Musakhan. Have a look! I guess it was Mawled al Nabi - the feast of Mohammed's birthday so my friend's mum made this. I really like local food.

Today is also the feast of Blessed Gabriele Allegra. it's the first time a memorial Mass is celebrated in his name on his feastday. It was good. The professors here remember him as their teacher many years back. The new students have not the slightest idea who he is. So Osvalda our librarian and myself decided to do up a little exhibition of Allegra's works and life at the school foyer.

Hot is back

The weather is hot like summer today .. except for the occasional wind that reminds you it's winter. Oh I was referring to Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan area. Had to go for my checkup this morning. But had to wait till 12pm for my turn. Brought along a book so I read quite alot for my research. Jerusalem though is still cold.

Damascus Gate getting packed
with crowds this evening

Today is the muslim feast of Mawled an Nabi - the birthday of the prophet Muhammed. The Old City was packed with muslims on pilgrimage to the Al Aqsa mosque. Chants filled the air the whole day and night from the minarets. It was festive. For a 2nd time this week, local business did a brisk trade ... marking up their profits.

Meanwhile in Israel, the PM is meeting Lapid the leader of Yesh Atid party - a new kid in the block, founded only last year but is the party that won the 2nd largest amount of votes. Pretty tough party this one - wants to continue with settlements in Palestine and building the wall. I guess the Israeli public wants to hear that - what with the chaos in neighbouring Syria. It also addresses the economic problem ... something which certainly won them votes from the cash-strapped masses. And fear among the ultra-orthodox jews as this party aims to draft their males into the army ... something they have managed to escape for the past 40 years. The next few weeks are going to be interesting.

Chicken soup

Yesterday's Election Day was a great occasion for Israelis to enjoy the holiday. The Old City was packed - literally sardine packed with Israelis who came for a visit. And they're mainly secular Israelis. Whole families in the carloads. There was not a parking space available around the city. The Light Rail was jammed pack and the streets had no standing space. Election Day is certainly good for local business. Restaurants and little eateries made brisk business. Who cares if Netanyahu wins? Just organise an Election Day holiday once a month ... it brings in the money. That's what most local shopkeepers feel.

Chicken soup at Mandarin's

I went to Mandarin's yesterday for lunch with an Israeli friend. He was going off to vote but decided to stop by for a chinese meal. The restaurant was quite busy. Ah Ling the owner had just boiled chinese chicken soup with herbs and insisted I drink a huge bowlful in order to strengthen my constitution. It was good. Drank halfway through before deciding to take a photo. Ah Ling has a new menu done. Lots of new dishes - homemade dumplings and buns (bao). I guess I'll have to organise a reunion dinner here for the New Year. It's pretty costly so I'll have to work to earn something.

And here's a headline from a local newspaper:

Want to buy a home in Israel? Better get yourself a large fortune; Israel isn't quite as expensive as Hong Kong, yet. But going by a new international study, 

http://www.haaretz.com/business/want-to-buy-a-home-in-israel-better-get-yourself-a-large-fortune.premium-1.495758

Everything is expensive. The new govt. is not going to solve this anytime soon. The economy severely needs some chicken soup booster.

Election Day

The streets are full of soldiers. High security on Election Day as polling stations open at 7am throughout the country. But the arabs are disinterested. In fact they're resigned ... resigned to the fact that the next govt. is no more different than the previous one, that their lot will not get better but worse. The Israeli Left is equally resigned ... their agenda is lost and the public has abandoned them as the govt. moves further right. The public is resigned ... nothing has been mentioned about solving the economic problem, panic is on the rise as the govt. plays up the fear factor of Iran and arab attacks. Only the Israeli Right is excited. Exit polls show they've grown in influence and votes. Now they're jostling each other for power as Netanyahu starts looking for coalition partners from the far right. Everything was expected.

In the light of all this election fray, an insightful documentary is being screened which stirs up many emotions that recalls the 1948 war.  What happened to Palestinian books when Israel was created in 1948? Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

"Gagou" on St George's Street

Meantime life goes on ... here's a pic of my favourite french pastry shop "Gagou". Nothing like a little sweet pastry to remove the bad taste of an election that wasn't. This time round, there was no need for a crystal ball to tell us the election results. There was no fight. It's like shooting fish in a barrel.

... where angels fear to tread

Another vote catcher today ... the Trade and Labour Ministry made an unexpected swoop on 140 restaurants and found everyone of them to be violating labour laws. Employees were underpaid or were unfairly treated ... so now they get justice. There's overall praise for this protection of the lowly workers. More votes for the incumbant govt.

Then the PM and other candidates are swearing to the Israeli public they'll never pull out of the settlements; the Defense minister today adds 3 km of fence/wall to divide Israel from Palestine just below the Mt. of Olives .... more vote pulling from the undecided public. Unfortunately what all these candidates missed is: no one is bothered with the defense issue. Everyone is worried over the economy ... rising prices of food and housing. So far no candidate has dared to broach this topic. Better stick to national security issues that are a time-tested election winner then to address the failing economy that's tearing the country apart. Only fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Sunrise over the Kidron Valley
and Dead Sea beyond

In the deep of winter now ... the sun rises late, at 6.10am today. And it's from the south-east that the sun now rises ... just over the Kidron Valley and Dead Sea. The chemistry of nature over this unique region results in spectacular colours and hues. Too bad people prefer to sleep through it all. You get to see this only in winter. But anyone who makes the sacrifice to get up an hour earlier, he'll see this array of glowing colours and changing hues created by the vapours of the Dead Sea ... and there he'll see the place where angels tread. Footprints in the sky.

Chicken rice

9 arabs arrested for throwing snowballs at orthodox Jews  http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/nine-palestinians-arrested-for-pummeling-ultra-orthodox-with-snowballs.premium-1.495078  but 2 jewish youths who attacked an arab boy and left him in a coma is charged only for incitement and not assault http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/two-defendants-in-jerusalem-lynch-of-palestinian-youth-get-plea-deal.premium-1.494324 while a dozen other attackers scooted off because the video evidence was mistakenly erased. It doesn't sound right ... but as elections are in 48 hours, it certainly helps boost jewish votes.

Home-cooked chicken rice

To take my mind away from these horrible events, I distracted myself by translating 2 essays, reading and cooking. Yes, I cooked chicken rice this morning; nothing like the real thing but it's as good as it can get with the limited ingredients available.

And one good news - Maria, wife of my good friend Vax, earned her Master's degree in the UK and she also won a prize for best student. It's really great. I'm very happy for her ... so Vax who's here in Israel for his own Master's defense, and myself went out to Rossini's for dinner to celebrate. Good food, good atmosphere as usual at Rossini's ... but nothing beats home-cooked chicken rice.

And on elections again .... the heat is up. Mud slinging and book burning is the latest tactic. Mind you elections are alot more exciting here than other countries, even though everyone knows who's going to win anyway. It's not the winner that matters but the coalition partner ... they hold all the power you can possibly imagine. Can be depressing when you think about it ... so I guess I'll go cook another lot of chicken rice. It's a therapy.

Baqdunes

So the State elections are on Tuesday ... 3 days to go. Polls show that the the gap between the center-right and the center-left are closing ... with only 6 seats difference between them. That makes the minor coalition parties very powerful as they'll ultimately decide who becomes king. Be that as it may ... everyone is sure Netanyahu will be back as PM.

Parsley in a vase

The Bedouin women at Damascus Gate are selling herbs of the season - lots of shallots, sage, fennel, mint and parsley. Very fresh. I thought I'd make some parsley tea to settle my usual stomach cramps but I know if I asked the women, the price would rise. So my arab friend bought it for me - 10 shekels for 3 bunches. If I had bought, it would have cost 5 shekels for 1 bunch. So anyway I ended up with more parsley than I need. Put it in 3 glass containers for decoration. Parsley in arabic is "baqdunes". It's a nickname my local friends call me - baqdunes: small, insignificant but goes well with everything.

By the way, world famous agony aunt "Dear Abby" has died at the age of 94. The author is jewish immigrant Pauline Friedman Phillips, whose twin sister also ran a competing column for a rival paper.

So with "Dear Abby" gone, the angst of the coming elections will have no agony aunt to soothe the nerves and talk some sense. Maybe a bunch of baqdunes might help.

High Horror Days

Lovely fireplace warms up the
Seminary divano

Days of high drama .... that's all I can say. Things seem to be spiraling out of control as work and demands pack one over another. And with my asthma and breathing problems added, you can imagine what the past few days have been. So 3 days back I was sure I put my Samsung Galaxy into my backpack as I had to go out to do several chores. In fact I actually used it once when I was out. But later when I got home, it was missing. Searched everywhere ... even through the night. Desperate. Didn't want to accuse anyone but there was one strong suspect who might have stolen it. Many people made calls to the number and helped search for it. Even the "suspect". Anyway to make the long story short, after 2 full days of anxiety ... I found it at the bottom of my trash can as I was emptying it out. I must really be so exhausted, I unconsciously threw it away in the trash can without realising it. But the thing that hit me most was that the person I suspected of stealing actually called over 28 times on this phone number - even at 2.30am and 6am - to see if anyone would pick it up and return the phone to me. So much for jumping to conclusions and suspecting others ..... what a lesson to learn. I really respect this guy ... owe him big time.

Chapel of the seminary

Anyway to end off these past few days I was invited to visit the Latin Patriarchate Seminary in Beit Jallah. It was fantastic. 60 seminarians form both major and minor seminaries live and study in this huge  complex of buildings. The interior is beautifully done. The boys were well-behaved and earnest in their vocations. It was a pleasant visit - and a nice denouement to the horrors of the past few days.

Colder than ice

Lovely fireplace at Rossini's

Still cold today ... 10 degrees. I found a fireplace that actually works: logs happily crackling in the fire while ambers glow at the corners. And it was so warm. It was at Rossini's and Chef Joseph sat me directly next to the fireplace so it felt very comfortable. I decided to treat our Hong Kong volunteer of our museum for dinner because she's been surviving on instant noodles and bread all these weeks. She works hard and enjoys archaeology so the museum is the right place for her in this weather.

Sad to read that a 4th Palestinian has been shot dead by Israeli soldiers this week. The boy was only 16 years old. News reports say he and others tried to breach a fence. Surely Israel can understand the anger and frustration of the Palestinians being caged in by walls and fences ...

And just as sad ... the Saudis beheaded a Sri Lankan maid. It is such a violent culture of vengeance: an eye for an eye. There is no place for compassion or mercy; no idea of forgiveness or magnanimity. It is a world so cold ... colder than the winter we're having.

Still cold

The weather the past few days have hovered between 2 and 7 degrees. The sun is shining brightly but it is still very cold. Many people are sick. Thank goodness I caught the bug last week so I'm feeling better now ... but there're students and professors right now with fever and cough. Quarantine is the solution. Now if only we can get the sick guys to stay inside their rooms instead of going to classes.

Crowd lining up at the bank

Despite the cold, there was a very long queue at the nearby bank. At first I thought it was a demonstration but going closer I saw it was a crowd lining up to get into the bank. I wonder why.

Exams are round the corner so everyone is studying hard. The first semester is almost over. Once this hurdle is past, another round of hard work begins for the 2nd semester. For those who don't enjoy studying, it's tough.

Food and vegetable prices have skyrocketed recently and critics say it has nothing to do with the snow storm. Apparently large food chains have jacked up prices without justification. That's rising the heat among the public and who knows ... another round of demonstrations might be in sight. And election fever is hitting the country. I believe next week is Election Day so let's see where the country is heading.

Storm over

The snow storm finally died down yesterday night. It was the heaviest snow storm in 20 years. Pretty fun for kids and some others ... but bad news for many people who have to clean up their gardens, roads, roofs, vehicles .... and the sludge and muck leftover this morning was yucky. And dangerous too ... black ice everywhere. I nearly fell 5 times while going up to New Gate. I hear Sinead fell and broke ehr leg. Farmers are suffering losses as crops have been damaged.

Sludge, muck mixed with dates
fallen from the palms

Roads cleared of snow. Black ice on
the sidewalk

The Park 

More sludge and muck

More snow!!!

It snowed all night and early this morning at 6am and again at 9am it peaked to almost storm level. The City is awfully quiet. Everything is white. It's surreal.

Old City in snow

My flowers smothered
in snow

Mt. of Olives

Palm at the piazza

Incredible beauty

Cold and brittle

Pine tree

Damascus Gate park

Snow

First snow this morning

The first snow has finally fallen. It started out at 11.15 am with stormy hail and then flakes of snow accompanied. Very delicate that melted on contact. But it was nice. Later at 3.30pm another snowfall with bigger flakes. It's zero degrees now and will drop to minus 2 tomorrow. And more snow is expected tonight and tomorrow.

In Ramallah the snowfall was alot heavier and blanketed the land. Samaria (the region of central Israel) is much higher than Jerusalem so it's colder there. I'm thinking of the orphans that Mother Theresa's sisters care for ... if they have enough heating there. In the Bethlehem area there was also snow but it wasn't much. Let's see what tonight brings.

Prior to the snow, the storm ravaged the country yesterday. The winds were vicious. I was nearly blown off my feet twice. And umbrellas were useless. In fact I've never seen so many broken umbrellas strewn in the streets like yesterday. Every few metres of road lie a umbrella ripped apart .... I thought of Charlie Brown's kite-eating tree; here we have an umbrella eating wind.

One of the many umbrella
victims to yesterday's wind

Most shops have closed. The roads and streets are hazardous in this weather. School continues though, but many students don't show up. Heaters are on in every place. And just my luck, when things got really cold last night, my heater died on me. This afternoon Majed managed to buy one for me so I don't have to freeze tonight's -2 degrees.

Last night I wore a fantastic down and waterproof hooded jacket that is absolutely suited for this weather. It's a wonderful gift from Margaret Lobo several years ago and the jacket has saved me from several bad winter colds. Along the street was a guy in a flannel hoodie, all soaking wet. I could see he was poor. He touched the sleeve of my jacket and said "It's so warm and nice". So I exchanged it for his flannel hoodie. I think he had never felt this warm and dry before. I was wet and cold though. But I was happy. He needed the jacket more than me.

Wet books

Drying a book

The storm grew in intensity yesterday. Winds up to 120 kmph lashed across the country - downing lots of trees and edifices, and flooding many low-lying areas.   http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/stormy-weather-causes-damage-injures-more-than-10-israelis-1.492415

The wind was so strong it blew apart the windows of our library and rain poured onto the shelves. Many books were wet. Everything turned to crisis mode - we had to save the books quickly. So after moving them into a dry and warmer room, I spent the rest of the morning and day drying each book by hand. Exhausting job. Stopped work 10 hours later but have another lot to do later this morning.

The temperature has dropped to 5 degrees now but forecast says it feels like -2 degrees. Snow is predicted for tomorrow and Thursday. School was barely attended yesterday as students avoided traffic jams, flooding and fallen trees.

Now let's see what the weather will bring us this morning ....

Epiphany

Gloomy and cold today

Although the rains stopped, the day continued to be cold and grey and gloomy. Not a ray of sunshine. And the wind was cold. Now at 11.30pm the winds have picked up to extremely gusty ... so much so that the authorities have issued warnings to secure windows and doors, remove flower pots and other things that might get blown away, and stay away from electrical wires. The forecast is zero to minus 1 on Wednesday/Thursday with snow in Jerusalem. That will be fun!!!

This year Epiphany coincides with the Orthodox Christmas. Bethlehem was packed with latin and orthodox faithful. Very festive despite the cold. As with every year, cartoons depicting Mary and Joseph or the Magi blocked by the Wall that separates Bethlehem from Israel. It's a poignant protest at this dividing wall.

So the 1st week of 2013 begins with a storm. Hope it's not a harbinger for what's to come later in the year.

Storm

Dappled sky like sugar frosting

The weather made a quick switch last night. It started raining and the temp. began to drop drastically. This morning was only 6 degrees. And it'll get colder such that by Wednesday it would be only 3 degrees. Snow is expected in the north and graupel in the south. Finally sounds like winter 20 years back. The clouds this morning were wickedly threatening ... dappled and very usual.

Schools begin on Monday ... right in the middle of the storm. So that should be interesting. Today is Epiphany Eve and there's a solemn entrance into Bethlehem by the Custos of the Holyland. That means police and cavalry escort from Rachel's Tomb to Bethlehem - a good 1 km. Lots of Crusader pomp and pageantry. Prayers will be sung the whole afternoon today and into past midnight. I'm too tired and weak to go. Am still with fever and down with a cold from yesterday. But my asthma was greatly reduced after I took Solvex yesterday. And a nasal spray that unblocked my nose. Finally could sleep for a few hours with suffocating.

The country is broiling in pre-election fever. Lots of posturing, promises and secret deals .... It could be a close race but anything is possible in this country. A political storm is brewing ... no less potent than the climatic one that's blowing right now.

Last Supper Room attacked again

Broken tiles on the floor of the
Last Supper Room

After last month's vandal attack on the Last Supper Room where extremely offensive graffiti were sprayed all over its doors, last Thursday saw another attack on the place where the Last Supper took place, where the Holy Spirit descended, where the Eucharist was instituted, the Priesthood was instituted, the Sacrament of Reconciliation was instituted .....

An orthodox Jew destroyed the ancient tiles that covered the walls of the ancient and sacred place.

In microcosm these two attacks reflect what's happening throughout the world - relentless attacks against the Church. It's apocalyptic.

Happy surprises

1st rose to bloom in
my garden

3rd day into 2013 ... and I was never so busy with work. Just non stop work from one place to another. At the end of the day I almost fainted as I was so tired and hungry ... didn't eat anything since yesterday night.

But I had 2 very nice surprises. Yesterday my former cameraman Andrea and his fiancee returned to Israel for a visit. It was really unexpected. Both had gone to work in Afghanistan, Libya and Syria as journalists. Andrea was badly injured in Libya when his convoy was bombed; blew his right leg into 3 pieces. But thank God he's walking again albeit with a limp. I was so happy to see them both again.

Then Haytam from Beit Sahour popped up at the door. Actually I couldn't recognise him. He was one of the deaf-mute students who joined in the Palm Sunday procession last year. The nuns had brought them out to Jerusalem when Israel gave them permission to enter. I only spoke to the group for about half an hour ... they read lips; and I had practically forgotten the individuals and their names. But Haytam remembered me and now that he has permission from the Israeli authorities to enter Israel, he wanted to pay me a visit. It was good to see him again. He was very excited as he wanted to tell me Holland may sponsor him over to study there. It'll be a fantastic break for him; a new future that many in the Territories will never have. I certainly hope things will work out fine for him.

The nursing nuns from Nazareth also came to Jerusalem and visited me. They brought the results of my tests and it was quite good. My cholesterol is on the upper borderline. But fatigue is getting on to me. Smashed my head on the electrical box when I opened the door for the nuns. Good thing they were nurses and they quickly wrapped my head while another held me up as I was collapsing on the stairs. By the way my asthma is utterly unbearable and was tempted to start on a course of prednesone. But the nursing nuns quickly dissuaded me and suggested using another alternative. WIll give it a try tonight. Meantime my head still hurts from the bash.

02/01/2013

Second day into the new year. Weather is miserable - grey, cold and humid but not one drop of rain. A storm is forecast for the weekend.

Though school is not yet started, many students have come to use the library which remains open during the holiday period. There are students who spend the holidays studying and writing up their thesis ... hard to believe but true.

My harvest of lemons

I spent the morning harvesting lemons from our tree in the garden. It's an old tree but it still yields 2 boxes full of lemons. I had to use a ladder to pick the lemons higher up the tree but it was tricky as the tree was not pruned last year, so long straggly branches got in the way. And the south side of the tree is especially tricky because it grows out over a 2 storey drop below. I gave the tree a very good pruning.

So the new year is hardly in and we got bad news - the govt. is getting harsh with foreigners ... this time those living in Palestine.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/state-bars-westerners-living-in-west-bank-from-entering-israel-east-jerusalem.premium-1.491318  They cannot enter Israel. And a get-tough-with-arabs security procedure backfires in Brussels when a jewish Israeli soldier with an arab sounding name gets the full treatment; he calls it discrimination. http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/idf-soldier-with-arab-sounding-name-accuses-el-al-of-discrimination.premium-1.491309

New Year's Day

So 2013 is in. No big entrance like in other countries - israelis and arabs have different calendars so Jan. 1st means little to them. There was a sputtering of fireworks down at the Sultan's Pool south of the Old City - like every year - but that's about it.

Sweetbread at Firas'

The past few days was nothing but food, food, food. Sunday lunch was an invite by Firas' family. Lunch was sweetbread - sheep tongue and jowl, tripe, intestines stuffed with rice and poached in goats' cheese, plus stuffed squash and vine-leaves. Very arabic. Delicious but very heavy.

Then last night - New Year's Eve I was at Khalil's house with his extended family and friends for the last dinner of 2012. The journey there though was thoroughly unpleasant. Though Khalil only lives a couple of hundred metres from where I live, I always get lost in the maze of dark alleys in the Old City. So I got lost. Tried to call him but mobile telephone reception is very poor due to the heavy rock walls of the closely-packed houses. It was cold so I had heavy clothes on with a hood. Suddenly I heard a commotion behind me - guys running past me from behind. I turned and saw a policeman grabbing a huge guy and throwing him on the wall to arrest him. Suddenly another policeman rushed up and grabbed me by my shirt, another arm was locked on my throat and I was thrown back on the wall. It was too quick for me to react. When the police saw I was a foreigner he let me go and went on chasing the other arab guys who were dispersing in the labyrinth of alleys. Luckily Khalil was just round the corner and rushed up to help me. Christians living in the houses along the alley came out and shouted at the police to go away. Later it was explained to me that the police were arresting illegal fireworks sellers in the Old City and I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. It certainly made the last day of 2012 unforgettable.

Kahlil's banquet

Sheep spleen stuffed with spices

Dinner at Khalil's was a banquet of arab delights: sheep spleen stuffed with spices, rice with minced lamb and roasted pine nuts, chicken stewed with mixed veggies, different types of cheese and yoghurt, ending off with homebaked knaffye. Nice consolation for the rough treatment I suffered earlier on the  street.

My chinese lunch

And finally today, New Year's Day I cooked up some chinese food for the chinese guys studying or working at our school. White rice with fatty pork belly and mui choy, phoenix telons (chicken feet), spicy fish cakes.

Well the end of one year and the beginning of another seemed to be filled with good food and great company. But the really best thing that happened to me in 2012 is you. Thanks for journeying the past 365 days with me .... and join me for the coming next 365. We'll support each other, challenge each other, laugh and cry, pray and laugh, learn and teach together. That's what life is all about. If we haven't done it so far, then it's time we start today - 01/01/2013