Palm Sunday

Procession around the Empty Tomb

Holy Week is upon us. Lent seemed such a short time this year. Today is Palm Sunday and as usual the thousands of catholics have poured into the City for the occasion. At 8am the Patriarch was at the Holy Sepulchre for Mass and procession around the Empty Tomb. At 2pm crowds had already gathered at Bethpage to begin the kilometer walk down the Mt. of Olives into the City through St. Stephen's Gate.

Family with their woven palms going
to join the procession

It took about 4 and a half hours for the procession to cover the one kilometer to arrive at St. Anne's Church where the Patriarch traditional blessed the crowd with the Blessed Sacrament. Security helicopters were flying overhead and there were soldiers and border police around but not too many. The crowds did not seem as many as previous years. Notably few were the pilgrims and catholics from arab villages in Palestine. They must have Israeli permission to cross the border and enter Israel.

Crowds returning home
after the procession

Still feeling weak I decided not to take the walk, nor even go down to Gethsemani and wait for the procession to pass by as I usually do the past years. Instead I stayed at our front door to greet the groups that passed by when they left the procession to go home. Met many friends whom I've not met since last Palm Sunday ... like Ayman and his deaf-mute friends. I knew when they were still students at the Bethlehem Deaf-Mute school of the Sisters of St. Dorothy many years back. They learn to read lips but only in arabic and luckily my arabic is ok enough for them to understand. It was good to see them. And there were many others as well whom I only see once a year. All in all I had to speak chinese, english, french, german, italian and arabic to them all ... and the Israeli security guys who were next to me were puzzled why I don't speak hebrew yet. Well I should put some effort and study modern hebrew I guess.

New Gate all decked with palms
and the vatican flag and 2 banners

Last week of Lent

The Italian synagogue roof being
repaired

The weather has suddenly warmed up ... alot. The nights now go up as high as 19 degrees and I have to sleep with the windows open. It feels like summer and I'm ready for it ... at least it's good for my lungs. And its also good for major repairs for many buildings and houses that have suffered damage during the last 2 snow storms. And mind you, there are very many houses damaged. Private houses are the worse hit as the bad economy has hit hard and most affected families cannot afford to make the repairs. Hence the endless calls for help which have interrupted my rest in the Judean hill country.

Israel's President Rivlin is representing the country at S'pore ex-premier Lee Kuan Yew's funeral. He arrived in S'pore several days ago but had kept a low profile till Friday when he attended the wake at Parliament House ... still keeping low key as no newspapers have reported it. It's a sensitive issue as most muslim states (enemy states too) have representatives at the wake as well. But I think it's a great occasion for "behind-the-scenes" politicking and negotiations between these enemy states which I'm sure is taking place ... so LKY even at death has pulled off his last statesmenship as middleman in the world stage.

"Fast food" on Friday

Holy Week is upon us. I've not been able to join in the Sunday Vigils at the Holy Sepulchre this Lent as my health was too bad. But I did go to the Holy Sepulchre once to celebrate Mass and pray for you all as I always do each year. And of course on Fridays, I keep the fast as much as I can. The meals are literally "fast food" = food for fasting : half a bowl of soup, 8 carrot sticks, 1 broccoli and a 4 cm piece of fish with a piece of bread/sesame bagel. On Palm Sunday the procession will begin at Bethpage on the eastern side of the Mt. of Olives down to St. Stephen's Gate in the Old City. It's just over 1km long but there are 2 steep hills to climb. I doubt I'll be able to do it but I'll probably go to Gethsemani and wait for the procession there.

Annunciation Day

Pear blossoms in the orchard

Spring flowers are blooming everywhere. It's a lovely sight. Down in the Judean hill country, pear trees are blossoming like crazy. Bees and butterflies are very busy in the orchard. I'm spending several days away from the City, trying to recuperate from the asthma/pneumonia of last week. I'm still under medication and the side effects are not good: alot of nausea, diarrhea and giddiness. Moving to the Judean hill country is a good break ... lots of fresh air and sunshine. But believe me, work does not leave me alone. Still lots of emails and phone calls and messages chasing me for information, work and other stuff. Leave me alone!!!! I find it wearily tiresome that the very people who tell me to go take a break are the same ones who are calling and messaging. I'm tired and weakened by the heavy medication.

Yesterday local news carried the headlines that a China company has taken over the management of the Haifa seaport ... Israel's major center of sea trade. Last week's news was that China's investment into China has tripled or quadrupled. I guess this will help Israel's faltering economy. Prices of daily goods have shot up so high it is impossible to live normally anymore. Let's see if the new coalition govt. can solve this problem.

Sushi dinner at Tokyo Express

And yesterday was Annunciation Day. There were big celebrations in Nazareth. I had a small celebration with the nuns who live around my house ... we celebrated Mass on Mt. Calvary. There were the Sisters of Mother Teresa, the Pious Disciples of the Lord from the 3rd Station of the Cross, the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist from Beit Safafa (near Bethlehem) and our polish Faustina sisters. It was nice to get together. In the evening I decided to go for a sushi dinner. Have been craving for sushi since last week but didn't have the money for it. There's been such a rise of appeals for help as the effects of the last war, the two snow storms and the dreadful economic situation are taking its toll on everyone - jew and arab alike. I'm doing what I can to help, but always with the help of these sisters who double-check each request and even making home visits to verify. Shamefully I had to borrow 100 shekels for the meal.

Change

Wild flowers as Summer approaches

Last night just after 9pm while watching the news on Channelnews Asia online, the flash break announced that Lee Kuan Yew had died. An era has certainly passed ... now we'll have to see all that he had engineered to make Singapore as it is today can continue under a younger leadership without his guidance. A change of wind ...

And a change for me too ... I'm in retreat this week ... a nice break away from Jerusalem and its growing chaos as the Jewish Pesach and christian Holy Week round the corner. But still I have to do some work otherwise the backlog would be too much. Still it's much more relaxing and a nice change.

Cafe Latte and a hot cinnamon cider

And to kick off this change ... yesterday I had the chance to go out to Hillel Cafe and have a cup of cafe latte. It's been a very very long time that I've had the leisure to do this. I needed this break as I recover from the fainting spell last week ... and I'm still under heavy medication. It's still constant checkups at the hospital to see if I'm getting better.

Pesach preparation

The weather remains dismally cold with occasional drizzle. But people were determined to continue with daily life. Most roadside hawkers though had to keep rushing to protect their goods from the rain. My asthma and pneumonia are under control now despite the cold and damp weather. Have to take 7 types of medicine everyday for 15 days including the dreaded Prednesone. While the main problem is solved, the side-effects are absolutely awful. Totally dislike the diarrhea, swollen hands and feet, nausea and dizziness.

The cheese counter at the supermarket
gets a thorough cleansing under the
watchful eye of the rabbi

The Jewish Passover "Pesach" is 10 days away and already shops and houses are preparing for the Feast of Unleaven Bread by cleansing their property from all leaven. Most bakeries have stopped producing bread and shops have also begun cleansing their shelves from cheese, egg products and other food that ferment. Soon rabbis will be going around restaurants and eateries checking on the cleansing ... even using burners to burn tables, chairs and furniture from any trace of leaven.

Kindergarten kids and their Exodus

There was a very cute surprise today at the Park when the local kindergarten decided to get the children dressed up as ancient Israelites and renacting the Exodus journey by walking through the Park's man-made pools and streams. Teachers were all dressed up too!

Mother's Day in East Jerusalem

Winter is not going out without a fight. With falling temperatures the past few days ... by late evening today it started to rain. Unbelievable. It's relatively heavy and quite cold. Yesterday's Equinox went by without much attention though most people were expecting a better start to Spring (or Summer in our case).

Fresh bouquets for sale on
Mothers' Day

It's Mother's Day in Palestine today. Many shops are selling balloons and fresh bouquets of Spring flowers ... but there're not many buyers. The economy is still very bad and most people cannot afford to celebrate the feast day with these little things that cost. And the remark is in Palestine, Mother's Day is not so much about giving mothers a gift of flowers ... rather it's the opposite, of mothers placing flowers over the graves of their children killed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ... children who cannot celebrate with their mothers today.

The PM's scare tactic that won him the elections is still on the headlines. All the major institutions and people who fell into it are keeping s sheepish silence ... but one conservative Jewish institution has broken ranks and openly denounced the scare tactic as unethical, to scare jewish voters to elect him as PM because "arabs are coming in droves" to vote Israel out of existence. All I can say is I never saw so much racist slurs and palestinophobia in elections in the recent years. Not nice. If this can happen to palestinians, what's stopping the next elections to become xenophobic, or anti-christian or anti-druse or anything deemed non-Zionist? And I can safely predict that if this is allowed to go on (with no judicial intervention) ... then it'll only end up being used against its own jewish citizens, those who hold different opinions from the incumbant PM or party. It's implosive and self-destructive ...

The Status Quo ladder

My headache is much lessened now but the heavy medication has caused severe diarrhea and giddiness. The asthma attacks have mainly stopped (75%) but I still wheeze quite badly and have coughing spasms. I ended a course of Prednesone last week but now am on another course ... I hate it. My fingers and feet are all swollen. But I still managed to go to the Holy Sepulchre today to say a prayer for you. The Lenten ladder is back in its Status Quo place for the next 50 days ... a strange practice through the centuries in the Holy Sepulchre where nothing changes, when no one else remembers why it was placed there in the first place hundreds of years ago.

Eclipse of the sun

Live broadcasting of the Way of the
Cross from Jerusalem's 2nd Station
"Flagellation Chapel" to Hong Kong's
Duns Scotus Bible Center every
Friday of Lent

The re-elected PM is flip-flopping on his campaign promises ... prior to the election he announced there will be no state for Palestinians; then after he won the elections and under much world criticism, he recanted. But last night he spoke to Fox News with another version. No wonder world leaders have been questioning his integrity ... it doesn't bode well at the beginning of a new govt. But then again Netanyahu has shown himself to be a survivor ... so he'll pull this one through as well.

Right now the solar eclipse is taking place ... it's only partial here in our country but already it's significantly darker and colder. I'd like to go out and see it but with my head still hurting from the fall, I think I'll stay in my room.

But it's a dark day for one arab family here in the Old City. Their house has been contested by jewish claimants and the case is still in the courts. This morning the family was summoned to the police station and while they were out, a jewish family moved in. We can expect alot of tension these few days. No good as the Jewish Passover is on April 2nd and the Christian Paschal Triduum begins on April 3rd. When the streets are packed with pilgrims and tourists, a heavy military presence does not help in the traffic along the narrow streets. I'm not sure I want to stay in the Old City for Holy Week.

Daylight saving starts on Friday 27th. That's officially summer time ... but the cold weather is still with us. There was even rain last night. Perhaps this summer might not be as hot as before.

Recovering

Amazing sunset

I was correct in my political analysis regarding the election. Today's newspaper all say Israelis voted out of fear. The PM had played forcefully the fear factor in the final days running up to the election: fear of nuclear war with Iran, fear of Palestinians over-running Israel, terrorists would be in the streets killing people .... I should consider changing careers and become a political analyst. I at least would get a salary and medical benefits instead of earning nothing now and still having to pay my medical bills.

My left temple still hurts after yesterday's fall ... and my neck as well. Must have hit the ground pretty hard. Like cracking a coconut. The funny thing is when I blacked out, it felt so peaceful ... it felt like a very deep sleep. I was totally relaxed and the last thing I thought was ... I'm falling asleep at last. Then I felt something hitting my left side of the head but it didn't hurt. Don't know how long I was down but when I came out of it, my left temple and jaw felt very painful. The chair that I was sitting was overturned on the ground, my books and other things on my table were all over the floor. The first thing I thought of was ... what am I doing on the floor? Getting up was difficult as I was pretty giddy so I held on to the table and got onto my bed. Then I realised I blacked out. Walked half a km out to the City before a friend drove me the rest of the way to hospital. The docs saw me and immediately shouted "Asthma! Allergy!" and rushed to get my usual emergency medicines ... I had to tell them it's not allergy but pneumonia and asthma.

The Parkour guys at
the Dome of the Rock

Anyway am home again. Miss Bird is clucking all the time and refuses to leave me. She hangs on to my arm or shoulder and will not go anywhere else ... not even on her favourite lemon tree or a walk around the courtyard chasing the doves and sparrows. It's good to know that at least Miss Bird is next to me. My Israeli security friends were the first to call and asked if I was ok ... their intelligence network is very powerful!! They get news seconds after I walked out of the house to hospital. Then at Damascus Gate I met a former employee of mine - a brasilian journalist. She herself is suffering from cancer but she wanted to accompany me to hospital. I thanked her but said I'll be ok alone. Then there were the arab friends I met along the way ... some were already saying loudly "He's sick" before I got near them. And of course all comments on FB. So I thankful for all of them who showed their care and concern. Now I only am trying to find some time to rest ... and perhaps go out and watch the Parkour guys perform at Damascus Gate. They're fantastically good and I find it relaxing to watch their antics.

Election Day

Back to Emergency Ward

Fainted this afternoon and landed badly ... on the floor instead of the carpet. Bashed my head and now it hurts .. also my neck. It was during a fit of coughing as I couldn't breathe ... the asthma and pneumonia the past 3 days was terrible. I put carpet on my floor precisely because I know I'm susceptible to fainting spells and it has cushioned many of my falls. But this afternoon I hit the spot between 2 carpets ... the left temple is red and swollen now but luckily the spectacles are not broken.

Yesterday was Election Day. Despite all the hype that Netanyahu has been PM too long, the damage he has done internally and externally ... he's back in power. Most of my Israeli friends voted Bennet, the new kid of the right block ... but I told them Bibi (Netanyahu) will be back not because Israelis want him, but because they're afraid of the uncertainties ahead ... better the devil you know than the devil you don't. Although the economy, security, foreign policy fields are all dismal ... Israelis know it can be worse ... so I was sure they'd revote him back to office. I was right. Problem is there is no outright majority so a coalition govt. is necessary. Unfortunately it doesn't look like a unity govt as the centre right refuse to join the coalition. Netanyahu is turning to the far right and ultra-orthodox jews for his new govt. Bad news for us.

On Friday we're expecting a partial solar eclipse ... ominous as the christian and jewish Passovers are just round the corner. Eclipse was one of the 10 plagues in Egypt.

Lenten suffering

Our Indian students leading
the Way of the Cross with
their congregation

Wacky weather. Friday was back to sunny summer but Saturday the winds were cold. Today its very sunny but cold. Practically every other person is coughing. So I'm not the only sick one. But the wheezing and coughing is very bad these few nights for me. I have been walking on the terrace for hours to stop the fluids accumulating in my lungs ... but it means no sleep at all. I am very very exhausted and tired. Went to see the doc just now and he insisted I go to hospital. He suspects bronchitis or an infection of some kind. Life has become very difficult and painful as I suffocate every minute. No steroid or inhaler can help right now. The very thought of going to bed is a nightmare. That's when the most severe attacks occur.

Well all this suffering fits in with Lent I guess. Right now there's an amazing influx of tourists and pilgrims. Local arabs from other cities are coming to make the Way of the Cross. Thousands of chinese, indians and africans are also here. Total chaos in our courtyard as it's packed shoulder to shoulder. The noise is unbearable. Nothing sacred about it. An unholy chaos of wrangling, pushing, shouting adding to muslims trying to sell cards, crosses and other stuff.

News of more attacks on the church in India and Pakistan is upsetting many of us: a 71 yr old nun gang raped and 2 churches burned. What bothers us is that the rest of the Catholic world is silent, totally disinterested in the suffering of other fellow catholics. We have reached a stage of the lack of charity or care to such a global degree I wonder if the word "catholic" means anything at all. Or if Lent means anything at all other than non eating meat, wearing veils, to kneel or not kneel at communion. Here in Syria, ISIS has attacked and destroyed more christian villages. Egypt has also recently witnessed more attacks on Coptic churches. I think catholicism as widely practiced today has lost its conscience. It has lost its soul. It is no longer catholic or universal in its charity ... it's all about the self.

Rain again

Judas trees are
happily blooming

The weather has gone all crazy last night. It started to rain ... after several days of perfect summer weather. Everyone is complaining how erratic the weather has become this year ... and how many people are falling sick because of it. I'm not the only one suffering from severe asthma ... almost everyone who suffers form it has had an attack or more these few days. Yesterday was especially bad ... I was totally crippled by it. I didn't want to go to hospital so I had to take things really slowly and carefully. No amount of medicine could help alleviate the asthma.

But the rains bring alot of much needed water to this otherwise drought-stricken place. The plants are loving it. Almond trees which are the first to blossom are now in fruit, and the 2nd tree to start flowering before all others is the Judas tree. Thousands of pink flowers burst from the branches ... they look like star-fruit flowers. They're not as fragrant as almond flowers but the shock of pink flowers covering the tree is a great sight.

Can you believe this is the desert?

In the desert, all the wild flowers are blanketing the usually dry sandy hills. Last week some students went on a hike into the desert and took some amazing photos of the meadow that become of the desert. You cannot believe it was once dry, stony and harsh when you see the swarths of flowers encircling the hills. This is the wonder of Spring. It makes Easter alot more meaningful; the idea of death and resurrection.

Music festival

I survived a hectic Monday and Tuesday was no less hectic. It was work all morning and afternoon ... with lots of tourist/pilgrimage groups that came looking for me. I had to greet them and say a few words to each group. It went on till the night at about 9pm.

Modern jewish bands perform at the
Citadel of David (Jaffa Gate)

Then though I was very tired, I decided to go and see the "Sounds of the Old City: music festival in Jerusalem" which this year is spread across the 4 quarters of the Old City. Moving from one Quarter to another, musicians  performed music characteristic of that quarter. It gave a voice to the thousands of years of history of each area ... with Ottoman period music and traditional arab folk singing in the Muslim Quarter, to hasidic and modern jewish music in the Jewish Quarter, haunting Armenian songs of the sad history of this people in the Armenian Quarter and modern western music in the Christian Quarter. Thousands of locals were walking through the narrow streets of the City, appreciating the beautiful performances. Arabs, Jews and tourists were all together. Military presence was much less than last year. It was a very nice event. It lasts till this Thursday.

My little garden in bloom

The weather has certainly warmed up and the flowers ... damaged by the two snow storms, have finally bloomed. They're a bit crooked due to the heavy snow crushing on the young tender stems. But the colours are amazing. This year the violet anemones and orange ranunculi are putting up a big show. The freesias though are not flourishing as well as last year. But everyone still enjoys the beautiful splash of colour and fragrance.

Summer is here?

And we're into another week ... March too. Time is flying. Israeli newspapers are warning that the Jewish Pesach is round the corner so they should begin to clear their houses of leaven. And we on the otherhand are preparing for Holy Week and Easter. The City is buzzing with activities.

Swarths of rosemary under
the City Walls

And talking about buzzing ... bees are pretty busy this time too. The rosemaries in the park are blooming like crazy and the bees are loving it. The double snowfall was hard on the bees and the flush of rosemary in the park is providing much needed nutrition to the bees.

And the politicians are as busy as those bees. Elections are up in 2 weeks ... just before the Jewish Passover. Campaign slogans and posters are everywhere ... and so is the mudslinging. We're all waiting with apprehension to see which govt. we'll end up ... I think we can all expect a centre-right coalition or a far right coalition. The Left has lost all direction.

A row of soldiers sitting out at
Palm Plaza which the bikers
perform their stuff.

Military presence is still high after the terror attack and riots 2 days ago. But the sun was really very hot today ... above 20 degrees ... and everyone just wanted to enjoy the change of weather. So the Parkour guys were doing their stuff at Damascus Gate Park. And the Bicycle guys are doing their stuff at the Palm Plaza. This group are teen arabs who who stunts on their bikes. They can get quite provocative ... like this morning when they performed their stunts very close to a platoon of soldiers ... almost irritating them ... mocking them. But the soldiers kept their cool and nothing happened.

So it feels like Summer is in ... and I'm ready for a long long holiday ... in my dreams.

Parkour delights, Mr. Bird's surprise

Parkour in the City

As expected, military presence was and is heavy throughout the City after the terror attack and riots in the Bab Hutta area east of my house. But the air calm and without tension ... strangely enough. The attack is another "lone wolf" type that has no links to organised terror. This is the phenomenon that we're facing in this year's violence. Because they're individual acts, they are difficult to predict and to have intelligence surveillance. However the good side is that there is no public support for it either so communal violence is less.

Incredible Parkour by the guys

On the otherhand a group of young Parkour enthusiasts have been making headlines . They're all arab schoolboys who have been practising for years in the school gym opposite my house every Thursday and these past few months they have come out to perform in public. Amazing feats of somersaults, jumps and other Parkour  ... they have drawn crowds of Jews and arabs alike, tourists and locals, watching, photographing and filming them doing their fantastic exercises. This has united the community alot. And its also good discipline for the boys as they must pray as a community before each practice and keep away from drugs, alcohol and other vices. It's a very healthy outlet for these boys who have no other place for sports and I totally support it.

Mr. Bird's egg

I had an incredible shock ... or surprise this morning as I cleaned out Mr Bird's cage. "He" laid an egg!!! Mr. Bird is Miss Bird !!! No wonder she was so very quiet this whole week ... sitting in the sun, eating a celery stick or just sleeping, no walking around curiously or squawking. And strangely whenever I let her out, she wanted to go back into the cage. Now I know ... she laid an egg. Of course it's not fertilised and being the first time, she wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Silly bird. Now I'm thinking of getting a male parakeet for Miss Bird. Just that I'm not sure if she'll be ready to have another bird in her cage. She's become very very attached to me this week, even allowing me to take her whole body in my hand and move her around. She just wants to remain sitting on my arm or shoulder and doesn't want to leave me. I'll have to study her emotional state before making any decision.

Terror in Purim

Hamantaschen or Haman's ears on
sale in most shops for Purim

Just an hour ago the City was filled with sirens of police and ambulance. A terror attack was perpetrated at the very spot several months ago a previous attack took place ... the Light Rail Station near French Hill (just after Damascus Gate). An arab youth rammed a car into Israeli soldiers waiting for the train. 7 were injured ... the driver was shot and captured. The City is now in jitters as it's Friday and muslims from around the country are flocking into the Al Aqsa Mosque inside the Old City. I'm sure the next few days security in the streets will be tightened ... much more than it already is.

Yuen Xiao dinner at Mandarin's

And this is a real pity as yesterday Jerusalem celebrated Purim ... a day after the rest of the world. Well actually its the other way around ... the world celebrates Purim one day in advance of Jerusalem. Ben Yehuda Mall was packed with people, mostly young, who danced and drank all night as stipulated by the rabbis. Most people were in costumes ... not unlike Halloween or Mardi Gras, because in the Book of Esther the jews were allowed to disguise themselves in order to escape the persecution of Haman in Persia. Bands were playing loud music in most street corners and little children were enjoying themselves. But a heavy military presence was clear ... soldiers and armoured vehicles at every street corner.

Hamantaschen or Haman's ears are the traditional cookie eaten during Purim. It's a triangular pastry stuffed with dates but nowadays they also make them with jam, halva, chocolate and other strange things which I don't dare try.

Pipa music during dinner
at Mandarin's

Yesterday was also Chap Go Meh or Yuen Xiao Jie. The students who could not come for the Reunion dinner, I invited this time for Yuen Xiao. They came from many different countries, a salesian seminarian from Taiwan, a friar from Hong Kong, a sister from Korea, an exchange student from Singapore, 2 university students from Canton, 1 from northern China. It was a simple meal but it made the students happy ... all spending the New Year for the first time away from family. Thy were all homesick. What made their day was the group of artistes from China at the next table ... they performed traditional music on the erhu and pipa. Very nice way to end the New Year ... and a little fun as among the diners were jews celebrating Purim: one in a lion's costume, an elderly couple dressed as a king and queen, a lady in gypsy clothes ...

Cold and wet

Wet, cold morning yesterday

The rain stopped yesterday evening and it remained cold. It was very cloudy all day and all in all a pretty gloomy day. I certainly look forward to a sunny summer soon.

This evening the jewish feast of Purim begins. It's the story of Esther and how she saved the jewish people from the genocide planned by the Persian commander in the Persian court.

Rain today

The flowering Judas Tree at
Piazza di Roma (Jerusalem)

The past few days has seen the weather warming up to a very comfortable temperature - around 18 degrees maximum. Flowers are blooming everywhere. But suddenly this morning it started raining. The temperature fell and is still falling. Let's see where this will lead to. Frankly I'm getting sick with this extreme swings in weather ... literally sick ... as are many other people - coughs, colds, flu, cold sores ...

I've been overworked these few days ... Mondays of course are the most horrendous. Waking up at 3am to prepare for class at 4am. Finished at 5am with only half an hour to move the several bird cages from indoors to outdoors. Then it's a rush to the sisters' convent one km away for Mass at 6am. Rush home at 6.50am to feed the birds, clean the cages, water the plants and then open the library at 8am. From there, rush off to the second library one km uphill to open and prepare manuscripts for visiting scholars to study. Then working there till 2pm when I have class with 10 students till 4.30pm. Rush home to keep the bird cages indoors and have a quick snack which is my first meal for the day. Then at 7pm there's work with tourist groups till almost 11am. I work practically 18 hours non-stop every Monday with no meal breaks. Hate Mondays.