Spring

I and my friends and colleagues are still shocked over the hacking of my Facebook page and attempted hacking of my email. Many have suggested I employ double verification process on my online things. I guess I will have to. No choice.

Tulips in bloom

The weather has warmed up a lot today. It was 18 degrees at noon and the nights are about 8 degrees. The skies are clear and blue. It is really pleasant. And much more delightful are the Spring flowers. Tulips are now flowering after the cold spell 2 weeks ago. Almond trees are also in full bloom, as the Judas Trees also are. Narcissus, Muscari, irises .... in fact all the bulbs are in various stages of bloom. It is so colourful and some flowers exude strong perfume, like the almond blossoms.

While the rest of international news is buzzing with the boo-boo at the Oscars, over here a Bethlehem christian guy won the Pan-Arab Idol singing contest. The whole of Bethlehem came out to celebrate. Arabs living in Israel are also celebrating. And they're still celebrating and buzzing with that news today. I guess it's good to boost the morale. Let them celebrate. It's a luxury here. And as if by coincidence, the Municipality has attached lights on and around New Gate. It's turned on all evening, thus making the Gate look very magnificent. It's the only City Gate that had no decorations for many years. Justice ... or luxury?

New Gate all lit up

After the news of ISIS occupying a part of the northern border with Israel, today we had several missiles fired into Israel by Gaza. Not sounding good. Looks like summer could get pretty heated, and I don't mean the weather. I don't know if I'll be able to get a few days off during summer ... but I certainly don't want to stay in the Old City if there are tensions in the streets.

I'm recovering from what could be a flu infection. On Saturday night I had a very high fever. All the joints were aching. I was nauseous and had fainting spells. Today I'm much better ... except for the fainting spell. On my way to school 2 kms away, I almost fainted this morning and had to sit down for 15 mins at the park to recover. Well it could have been hunger too ... I haven't eaten for over a day. Students in my class quickly got me biscuits and water to boost my sugar level. And by the way, the superiors of the John of God Order and the Maria Bambina nuns, both who run the Nazareth Hospital, came to visit me and insisted that I go for a check up. They say I look terribly bloated and sick. Then the sisters of Mother Teresa also came a few minutes later and said the same thing. So apparently by consensus I am very sick.

Hacked !!!!!!

Damascus Gate on Friday morning

My Facebook page was hacked yesterday. While writing a post, the page locked out and a message flashed saying someone changed my password. I could not re-enter Facebook with any and all means - whether other computers or phones. Total lock out. So I had to re-identify myself and re-set my password. Then I was able to re-enter. Then it occurred to me that for the past few weeks I have had messages from google etc.. saying someone has been trying to enter my email as well but it had been blocked. Not once but at least a dozen times as I recall. Well I don't know how real it is but it is certainly worrisome. I might be changing emails hence also this and other blogs. Any one of you had this experience? Advice me please.

Well the weekend is in and I had to miss our monthly retreat this morning because I had to work. Contracts were made in such a way that workers don't work on Fridays and Saturdays ... leaving me with no one. I have to do all the work by myself for those 2 days. Frustrating ... especially since I was not involved when contracts were made. I'm left to carry the consequences while the signatory for eh contract washes his hands of how to resolve this weekend problem.

Definitely not a happy weekend.

Sabbat Shalom

Damascus Gate parking space for cars
motorbikes and horses

It's the weekend here in Israel - Palestine. Friday is the Muslim day of prayer hence the muslims weekend, and Friday evening begins the Jewish Sabbath. The streets in the Muslim Quarter are packed with muslims coming from various parts of the country to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque. Every Friday I have to go against the current when I come back from school. The crowds would just have finished noon prayers and leaving the Old City while I try to enter. It is an almost impossible task. And it freaks me out ... agoraphobia ... you get it when you have to have thousands of people jam packed like sardines in the tiny streets of the Old City. It's suffocating.

You get an idea of the crowds when you see the number of cars and motorbikes parked outside Damascus Gate at Palm Plaza. This morning there were evening 2 horses!! They were police horses though. Police presence has multiplied though there has been no attacks for almost 2 months now. What is worrying though is our northern border. Yesterday we received news that ISIS has made a surprise attack at the Syrian-Israeli border and captured a town/village. This is very worrisome for us here.

Judas tree in full bloom

Well this is the last weekend before Lent begins. Ash Wednesday is next week, but so is the jewish feast of Purim. How can you reconcile penance with fun? Well penance could be fun ... but then it won't be penance would it?

Well right now it's more penance than fun for me. I have been extremely weak and giddy for 3 days now. Yesterday was so bad the sisters of M. Teresa had to bring me home. They wanted to bring me to hospital but the hassle is not worth it. I told them I'd rather go home. Perhaps it's the exhaustion. I'm running around 6 kms a day in 3 places of work, with only 3 hours of sleep and one meal a day. Then of course the cold is making my knees, ankle and shoulder hurt very badly.  I wonder what other penance I can add for Lent. Fasting is nothing as I'm practically fasting everyday. Maybe penance for me would be to rest, no work, eat more, sleep more.

Weekend

More anemones
blooming at the
library entrance

It's Thursday ... another week comes to an end. Time passes so quickly sometimes I don't know how it was spent. Students have started the 2nd semester of school but within 4 months it's the exams again. But in between those months, we have Holy Week and Easter. This year the Orthodox and Roman calendars coincide (like in 2014 and 2015) so the Holy Sepulcher will be packed with christians of all denominations. Let's hope there will be no fights between the churches.

The weather has warmed up a little. It's ok to wear a light jumper but when indoors a thick jacket is needed. The flowers on the otehrhand are enjoying the warmth. The anemones that I planted in the library's flower boxes are blooming profusely. Back home the muscari and freesias are also budding. I'll enjoy them this year ... possibly the last time. I don't think I have the energy anymore to garden anymore. I'm just too weak and drained to do what I love. I might even stop teaching altogether.

My portrait

My best buddy Sharfi is studying graphics and animation ... and he drew a caricature of me yesterday. Rather flattering ... like I was 30 years back!! Hahahahahahahaha. Well at my age all I ever will have is memories. Sometimes as I walk in the streets and look at the faces of the people especially the elderly, I think of what stories they can tell about their lives .... the war, the pain, sorrows, joys, successes, adventures .... The stories would be so rich. But all remain hidden in the heart ... and will be buried forever in the grave. It's so sad that others will never learn from their experiences. So time passes, history slithers on .... the words of W.B. Yeats come to mind "Turning and turning in the widening gyre ... the falcon cannot hear the falconer ..."  ... the chasm that time creates between the past and present, between memories and dreams.

One week to Lent

We woke up to some disturbing news this morning .... Israel had bombed a convoy of weapons in Damascus. Not that there will be retaliation strikes ... but that there are sufficient storage and movement of weapons in the north to start a regional war. But that of course is the news. On ground level, people want continue to live as normally as they could.   http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4925977,00.html

Students at the studio

Since Monday I've been having classes like almost every morning and afternoon, every day. Yesterday I had to bring my class of 40 students to the Media Studio down the street from their seminary. They were introduced to how news and documentaries are made, from pre-production to post-production stages. They saw the latest equipment and editing programmes used, and how live broadcasts are made. It was very interesting for them as it was the first time they have seen a studio. I was director here many years ago ... and things have changed ... from equipment to management. That's good.  All my plans that I left for the Media Centre have now for the most part been fulfilled. There's a sense of satisfaction in that.

My hoodie jumper to
coincide with the PM's
visit to Singapore

The Israeli PM's visit to Singapore is getting a lot of headlines locally. Israeli friends have been messaging me to read this or that news. It's creating quite a bonding among us. That's nice. I managed to squeeze 45 minutes from yesterday's schedule to have lunch with a really good friend whom I've not seen for 3 months. And we talked about the visit while eating a salad lunch. Some of my other Israeli friends are in Singapore too ... and others in Thailand and Cambodia right now. So our circle is getting thin this month.

Weatherise it should be warmer ... nights are 5 degrees and daytime up to 15 degrees. But in the shade, it can feel very very cold. In fact for the past 2 nights I've been getting so cold I couldn't sleep. It should be 5 degrees but it feels like zero. I went back to my doc this morning to see if I need another flu shot ... he said no need. I've weathered through the winter without a cold or flu so I'm good for now. Yesterday I went to see my physiotherapist too. The shoulder is still very painful, and my spondylosis on my neck was bad. It makes me dizzy, nauseous and the pain prevents me from sleeping. A bit of manipulation helped to relieve the pain, and the analgesic sprays that you gave are good temporary pain-relievers ... so I can sleep for us an hour.

Tomorrow it's going to be 4 hours of classes, then 3 hours of confessions and adoration. I will be extremely tired so tonight I'll be spraying the analgesic balm. Need the sleep so bad tonight so I can face tomorrow.

New week

Yesterday's newspapers and TV showed some distressing videos of nurses abusing ole people in a geriatric home in the north of Israel. It's a very large and well financed institute with modern equipment .... but instruments do not  determine the quality of care the aged receive. The elderly residents were beaten, punched, thrown around, tied to wheelchairs at 2am to prepare for breakfast so the staff could go home early.  The video is distressing   http://www.mako.co.il/news-israel/local-q1_2017/Article-adab832d0925a51004.htm?sCh=31750a2610f26110&pId=948912327

On the international level, the Trump bumbling act is the joke of town. But it's a bitter dark joke as consequences affect real people and International relationships.

Our museum's audio-visual room

I survived the morning so far ... managed a 3 hour sleep before starting class at 4am. The cold was unbearable and I had an asthma attack. Was feeling so tired I managed a half hour snooze after class before starting to prepare the laundry and starting work in the library at 7am. Now it's 11am and I'm at work in the other library. Another class will start at 3pm but I have to start getting there by 2.15pm as it's uphill 1km away and I can't talk well with pain in my ankles and knees. And of course there's always the asthma that comes and goes.

Our museum's audio-visual room has been opened for almost a year now. It's situated in the archeological "park" where lots of Roman period things have been found, including the :ithostrotos stone-pavement, ancient staircase leading to the Struthion Pool, stone missiles, engraved architraves etc... Very interesting place. Make sure you stop by for a visit.

February is ending and Ash Wednesday is next week. Lots of preparation to make ... spiritually.

Still cold

Cold quiet Sabbath

The temp. has risen a little over the past 36 hours. Up to 5 degrees and no rain. But it still feels awful cold. This "unseasonal" cold snap as the weather forecasters call it, is hitting hard on many people. Lots of coughs and colds. Lucky for me I was asked to go to Jaffa to hep in the sacristy. There it was a nice 15 degrees ... but only if you are under the sun. Indoors and under shade, it feels like zero degrees. You wear more clothes indoors than outdoors. It was just as well that Saturday was this cold. Being the Sabbath, everyone was indoors, no work done. But I think electric bills will be soaring for most families this winter. The extreme cold is forcing even the poorest to turn on heaters. I can imagine that in the coming months, lots of people will have to start borrowing money to pay their bills.

Anyway work all Sunday was tiring. I had to prepare all the Masses till the last one in hebrew at 7.15pm. That is more than 12 hours of work in the sacristy. I really had to rush home (70 km away) because I have to wake up at 3am for classes. Mondays are nightmares. I have classes at the university all morning and then same for the afternoon. Tomorrow night we also have a house meeting at 7pm. I shall be awake tomorrow for 21 hours with 3 hours of sleep in 48 hours.

Some of the Coptic children with
Abuna Soriel in our chapel

There was a very nice visit by Coptic christians today in our Jaffa Church. Children from their school in Jerusalem with their teachers and 2 priests made an excursion to Jaffa and included our sanctuary in their itinerary. It was good to receive them and show them around, explaining the history of the place. The priests were very friendly too. And their guide is an old friend of mine ... going back 25 years. He was just a student part-timing at our Casa Nova hostel as receptionist in order to earn a little something. He comes from a very poor family. Now he's got grown up children and is manager of a meet and assist team of a travel agency. I was so happy for him. He's a Coptic christian too.

Minus 2 degrees

Very sunny but cold

What a dreadfully cold day it was. This morning at 5.30am when I left to celebrate Mass for the Ivrea sisters, it was minus 2 degrees. But it didn't rain. That helped a lot because for once I did not have an asthma attack while walking on the way. In fact the sun came up bright and sunny at 6.40am. It seemed very pleasant except when you realise it was only zero degrees at that time. People were cowering in corners with hoods up. Luckily it was Friday so the kids had no school. They could sleep in.

Had a good laugh when I saw the report in Channelnews Asia saying Singapore will have 22 degrees in the next few days ... hence very cold. What will happen to Singaporeans if they experience minus 2 degrees?  http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/monsoon-surge-in-south-china-sea-expected-to-weaken-in-next-2/3524720.html?cid=fbcna

Indonesian tourists

There were lots of Indonesian and Turkish muslim pilgrims. Being Friday they flocked to the Al Aqsa Mosque. When I returned home from the convent, I encountered many of them. All in green scarves with green masks. Scary. Christian pilgrims on the other hand have trickled to barely a handful. Just as well ... it's a period of rest for us.

Billy called from the restaurant to say he boiled herbal soup for me. I went to take it after work ... 2 kms away in the cold. Billy and his wife Linda are very kind to me and boil herbal soup almost every week for me. Mandarin Restaurant's Ah Ling used to do that but as business boomed, she hardly has time now to do it. Hundreds of chinese groups go to her restaurant for meals so she's made a lot of money. Now the restaurant is closed for a month because she's renovating the kitchen. Anyway being Sabbat and most restaurants are closed, and because of the extreme cold, many Israelis and asian tourists have flocked to Billy's restaurant for a warm meal this evening. Good for him.

Huddling inside Herod's Gate
from the cold

Students and workers in the library are telling me that I look terrible and should rest more. I have been over stressed and overworked the past few weeks ... that's true. And with the cold and asthma attacks in the night, I hardly have enough sleep. So it;s showing in my face which everybody could read. The students have been very kind and took turns to watch the library reception while I went to my room several times to rest. Short rest periods of 20 minutes. It's a help.

Minus 1 degree ??

Muscari in bloom

The cold and hail / graupel persisted throughout the night. It felt very very cold. I couldn't sleep because the 2 heaters weren't warm enough. Had a bad attack of asthma. And was awake till now. It's exhausting. The weather is said to be unseasonably cold and wet. Well in a way we really need the rain. Unfortunately the rain is falling on the wrong side of the country: Instead of flowing inland to the Sea of Galilee, it's flowing out to the Mediterranean Sea. The Sea of Galilee remains 27 cm below the critical red line.    http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Rain-and-Snow-cover-Israel-481489

Well one thing certainly is enjoying the cold snap ... it's Spring flowers. Muscari, also called grape hyacinth,  are flowering now in this cold. I guess the tulips will follow soon. These bulbs need a shock of cold in order to get them flowering. And of course the almond blossoms are stunning.

The highest temp. today was 4 degrees and tonight it will hit minus 1 degree. It is freezing and I don't look forward going to the Ivrea Convent at 5.30am tomorrow morning. Please don't rain as well.

More almond blossoms

Meantime the threat of Hesbollah in Lebanon against Israel, the Defense Minister's overture to Hamas in Gaza ... all the big local news are being drowned by the news conference of Trump now going live online. Absolute circus ... he just never answered any question upfront simply because he didn't know a thing about anything. It's just empty talk, hot air ... presupposing the audience are sponges who'll soak up any and every garbage he throws at them, masking his ignorance by hype. It's Hollywood in the White House.

I on the other hand, have better things to do than listen to hot air ... though hot air sure helps in this freezing weather. Time to stay warm and check on my friends to make sure they're ok.

Snow and hail

Caesarea Maritime covered in hail

Snow and hail this morning in most parts of Israel. Even the most unexpected places such as Caesarea Maritima, the ancient capital during the Roman and Byzantine period, was white with hail and ice. Fascinating because Caesarea is by the Mediterranean Sea which is warm and humid, hence snow and hail are extremely rare. Northern parts of the country like the Golan was covered in snow. So much snow that the ski resort had to close because the roads were too dangerous for driving.

The rains had started to fall last night followed by hail. Jerusalem though had no snow. It might have had some hail but by morning nothing was left except puddles of water. This week is my turn to go to the Ivrea convent to celebrate Mass for the 3 old nuns. It's about 1km away in East Jerusalem. And Mass begins at 6am so I have to leave about 5.30am to get there on time. The walk there is cold, wet and miserable. But the sisters serve a great breakfast that makes the journey worthwhile.

Almond blossoms

The rest of the day was cold and very cloudy. Drizzle was almost constant and there were occasional heavy showers. I haven't recovered from the weekend exhaustion, so the thought of walking to work in this weather was unpleasant. But I did finally go. My right shoulder was killing me with sharp pain - the old problem has not healed - and I had a couple of asthma attacks. Anyway right now 6.09 pm I finished my work and am planning to sleep early.

Spring is certainly in because the almond trees are blooming. Not profusely as previous years but there are a couple of trees near the Old City that have burst into flowers. It's the Middle Eastern counterpart of the Japanese cherry blossom. They are very pretty - in pink or white - and they are very strongly perfumed. However due to the unexpected and unusual cold snap that we're experiencing, I guess most of the almond trees will take another week before they flower.

That Garfield feeling ....

Highway in heavy fog at 5.30am

What a weekend ... it was filled every second with some work or other that ended last night with massive asthma attacks. The meetings on Saturday were finally over but I still had one thing to do in the evening .... it was Yuen Xiao (Chap Go meh), the 15th day of the Lunar New Year so I asked Bro. Philip the salesian deacon to come out for dinner. He was on retreat when we had the Reunion dinner so I thought it would be nice to let him celebrate the New Year in a chinese way. I also asked Matthias and Sr. Theresa to come along. Philip is a little homesick after spending 4 years here. It cheered him a lot at dinner at Mian restaurant. And we were happy he could be with us. He studies very hard and almost never goes out from his seminary.

Full moon over
Damascus Gate

Sunday morning I left for Jaffa at 5am. It suddenly rained very hard along the highway. And at 5.30am there was a traffic jam ... something very very rare. Traffic usually starts at 7am. And the highway was covered in heavy fog. Work started at 7.45am and ended late at 6pm. The filipino community was kind and brought me coffee and cake while I was at work. Went home very tired but during my walk home I had a very severe attack of asthma. It was very cold and the air was dry and I was just too tired to walk another 1km. Anyway managed to go home and sleep which didn't last long because at 3am I was up to prepare for class. After class it was rushing off for Mass at the Ivrea Convent at 5.30am. It was raining very hard and I was soaked through and I had 2 major asthma attacks on the way. I really felt I was going to die.

Went to the doc for injections and medication and then library work at 7.30am till 12.30pm when I had to walk to school 2 km away. It was drizzling and cold and I was pretty dizzy with all the heavy medication. Taught till 5pm then got home, passing by Mian to collect "tang yuan" which Billy cooked for me. Decided to share the "tang yuan" with Teresa and Philip, so I left it at the chinese convent. All in all I worked 17 hours on Sunday and 16 hours today with only 3 hours sleep in between. I feel like Garfield ... "I hate Mondays"

Tu B'Shvat

A bare winter tree
with 12 crows

Yesterday was Tu B'Shvat ... the jewish feast literally meaning 15th (day) of Shvat (month). It's Arbor Day or the New Year of the Trees. This should signal the beginning of Spring in a week's time. Right now the almond trees begin to blossom, like the cherry blossoms in Japan. Winter is passing in a few days, and sunrise even today is about 5.45am instead of 6.30am. Jews celebrate by eating the 7 species of fruit described in the Book of Deuteronomy: dates, olives, wheat, barley, figs, pomegranates and grapes ... the choice fruits God promised to the Israelites. Today they are baked into bread or cakes.

It's been so busy these few days. You've heard me say that enough ... but yesterday and today was truly unbelievably busy. So may appointments are work ... had to postponed one in order to fit another more important meeting. The postponed meeting was scheduled today at lunchtime so another original one meant for lunch had to be postponed to next week. Then a job in Jaffa had to be postponed possibly 6 hours in order fit another meeting this evening. If I manage to pull this through, I should arrive at midnight in Jaffa. But I think I'll be so exhausted I prefer to go to Jaffa at 5am tomorrow morning and finish that job before rushing back to Jerusalem for class at 4am. It's major time for a nervous breakdown.

For 3 days now ultra-orthodox Jews have been rioting in several cities, and beating up police and soldiers. They were demonstrating against the arrest of one of their boys who refused to report for military service. It sort of mars the happy Tu B'Shvat spirit.   http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Haredi-extremists-riot-for-third-night-in-a-row-31-arrested-481085

Israel has been secretly sending blankets and other aid to syrian refugees. In the end, Israel has a heart ... remembering God's word to Israel in the Book of Deuteronomy "Remember the stranger in your midst ... for once you too were a stranger in Egypt".  http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/news.php?Itemid=25352

lesson from the trees

Cold and drizzling

The weather continues to play tricks on us. This morning it was not only cold and grey ... it even started drizzling. The thermometer says it's 14 degrees but it actually feels like 4 degrees. It's nearing the end of the exams for public schools so lots of students are scattering around the streets, getting out of the drizzle and cold ... They would usually gather in cafes and street corners to group study ... and for some it's last minute cramming.

Tensions continue in and around the Old City as heavy police presence enforce stop-and-search on male and female arabs. I found it very distasteful when I came home from the doctor's this morning, passing by the 3rd Station. There were 3 groups stopping there praying the 3rd Station of the Cross and right in their midst were 2 soldiers searching an arab, who was spared eagle against the wall. It wasn't right, it wasn't nice. They could have moved him to a side street.

Trees in winter

Anyway I've been busy running up and down between the 2 libraries as well as teaching in several places. The anti-slip shoes are great but the cold air and brisk walking causes asthma attacks. I have to usually make a stop in the middle of each journey and rest and spray my inhaler as my breathing gets too laboured and I suffocate.

Well on my way to work this morning I passed by the park between Damascus Gate and New Gate. Do that several times a day. But today I noticed that some trees are completely bare because of winter while others are luscious green and even spouting new branches and leaves. It got me thinking about how we too are like the trees: when faced with a situation we react differently. Some just drop all their leaves and wait for winter to pass before sprouting new life. Others take advantage of  the rain and cold to sprout. Such diversity in reactions in order to survive. Conformity would spell death for many.

Stromata

One of our badly
damaged manuscripts

Exams are still on in our school and our students are studying hard. More than half of our carrels in the library are filled. Something very rare. I've been extra busy as a result in both libraries to make sure all our students - undergraduate and graduate - have everything they need to revise, study and write their theses. Running up and down 1km several times a day between the 2 libraries is tiring me out. Yesterday and today was exhausting.

The British Library team of conservators will finish their job by this week. So will the Milan team preparing for the Spring exhibition. That will take a load off my work. The exhibition of Venice in Jerusalem is still on ... but with poor publicity, no one is coming. Well it was not organised by me or the library team but by the museum ... so I'm not taking responsibility for it. Anyway the British Library team have been a great help in restoring and conserving some of our badly damaged manuscripts ... damaged by time and weather. Once the team leaves, it's up to me to follow up with maintenance. That's time-staking, costly and needs a lot of patience. I doubt I have any of that.

Real bad news last night when the govt voted to legislate the annexation of palestinian land retroactively. That means land occupied by settlers in the past can now be legal. Palestinians whose lands have been occupied now cannot appeal to regain them. In effect Palestine will now be much smaller in size and Israel will be greater. Maps will be redrawn. We are not sure how the arabs will react to this but Israel is taking no chances. Lots of military presence to prevent any demonstrations or violence against this "land grab" as newspapers are calling it.  http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.770099 

Across the border, the Egyptian govt has made a surprising move by granting one month's paid leave to Coptic civil servants so they can make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem just as muslim civil servants are allowed to go to Mecca.  http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/egypt/1.769803

Half day off

Sunset at Jaffa beach

Another tiring weekend packed with work. Sunday morning I was supposed to celebrate 2 Masses but luckily several profs and students found out and told me not to do the 7am one because they will substitute me. That way I was more free in the morning to celebrate the 9am Armenian Mass at the 3rd Station. Immediately after that, I had to accompany 2 students to our Jaffa house as they have never been there before. I had to bring them around to know our 2 church communities there, watch the liturgies celebrated and introduce them to our apostolates. In a way it was a half day off for me. It was a nice break though it was more of a job. A different job from the daily routine.

Entrance of the
Carmel Market

We also had some time to walk around Carmel Market just on the outskirts of Tel Aviv city. There's lots of interesting things there like food, flowers, souvenirs, clothes ... all much cheaper than Jerusalem. The market is a lot more cosmopolitan, with people from many different countries. In Jerusalem the market there is frequented by ultra-orthodox jews.  It's a lot different from the Jerusalem atmosphere. Here we don't see troops of police and soldiers at every street corner. No one was stopped and searched. There was no tension in the air. People were relaxed. It's a good change from Jerusalem. But it was tiring for me. And I had to wake up at 3am this morning for class.

Back in Jerusalem, the police presence is very heightened. The weather is lovely though ... warmed up during the day with no wind, only sunshine. But the nights still go down to 2 degrees. I still get my asthma attacks ... but now it's when I walk long distances. I get terribly out of breath and the airways begin to spasm. I realized that every 300 meters uphill I have to stop and rest otherwise the spasms will get worse. That goes for climbing stairs as well. Anyway let's see if it'll rain on Thursday as predicted. That might give me the excuse not to go to work and reduce my chances for asthma.

Cold weekend

Cold lonely walk
to the Holy
Sepulchre

The winter continues to bite hard on us. For many in our region, it is one of the most difficult periods where there is either no shelter, food, heat and medication, or it costs too much. For the record, I have never asked for a fund-raising for the Holy Land or for anyone; nor asked anyone to do so.

Strangely while it's 12 degrees outside with the sun shining brightly, it remains very cold in the shade and indoors. For us working indoors, it means wearing stacks of sweaters. Well the forecast for the week is sunny till Thursday when rain is expected again. Nights continue to be 2 degrees while daytime the temp. may rise to 15 degrees.

And in this cold weather I had a very hard day yesterday, beginning at 4am and finishing past 9pm. It was just work right through, with classes and work in the 2 libraries and several meetings in between. And it included running (or hobbling in my case) 2 kms from school to the library in 40 minutes.

Mass inside the
Empty Tomb

Early yesterday morning I had to celebrate Mass in the Empty Tomb for the American Franciscan sisters. It was a very dark and cold walk up to the Holy Sepulchre Church. I walked slowly as I didn't want an asthma attack. The Mass was beautiful because there were only 2 sisters and myself in the Tomb. There was space and silence. And I could take some photos that I would not usually be able to do. Remembered you all during Mass in the Tomb.

Meanwhile there was a massive police presence in the Old City and outside as well. This time in a reversal of roles: to protect arabs from jews. This is because the court ordered and the soldiers enacted the forced evacuation of jewish settlers from occupied private arab land. Pro-settlers are enraged and we expect some revenge attacks by them on arabs and on our churches. It has happened many times before. They call it "price tag" attacks. So the soldiers were here to protect us. Let's hope they do a good job.

Cold day

It was freezing cold last night. Minus 1 or even lower elsewhere in the City. Had my 2 heaters on but wasn't enough so wore my bathrobe and buried myself under 2 blankets. At about 2am I had an asthma attack but it wasn't major. The good thing was it wasn't raining. It was very dry and crispy. That made the morning more bearable.

Anti-slip shoes

Thanks to everyone for their New Year greetings and gifts (clothes, shoes, medicines, lai see, food). I've shared them around with the other chinese religious today. And the shoes are a blessing because they are ice - snow anti-slip. I wore them this morning and could walk confidently without fear of falling ... without crouching and holding on to railings. It makes a big difference when I can walk without fear of falling ... it changes the mood, the whole day's work goes a long way when you have some form of independence and freedom from fear.

The Garbage Strike seems to be over. I noticed the trash along Suleiman Street have been removed. But I've not been to West Jerusalem yet so I don't know the situation there. But let's hope it's over. No one should get sick because of this.

Our hostel for pilgrims "Casa Nova"

Casa Nova's new lobby

had a makeover at the lobby. It looks so much better ... less cluttered and more inviting. But right now it's low season for tourism so it's very empty. If things continue to be calm, we expect a rise in tourist numbers in summer.

The New Year saw a rise in prices of goods and services here. Because of the drought, water has become more expensive as well. And the bitterly cold winter meant that electric bills go up because of heaters being turned on most of the time.  Poor people are now suffering greatly. And it's worse in Syria for the refugee christians. We haven't forgotten them.

Coldest day so far

Sunny but very very cold today

It's possibly the coldest day this winter today ... forecast for minus 1 degree this evening. Even right now at 1pm it's freezing. But the sun is shining brightly. Could easily fool anyone just seeing the sun from indoors that it's warm.

The trash collection strike is into the 4th day. Garbage trucks have parked in front of the PM's residence here in Jerusalem. People affected are getting annoyed, having to climb over piles of  trash getting in and out of the house. And newspapers have now revealed that it's a row between the Jerusalem Mayor and the Finance Minister which, out of spite, have ordered this strike. Every resident, innocent though they may be, is now affected. Kindergartens have now joined in the strike as well.  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4915624,00.html

In the camouflage of American chaos, Israel goes ahead to allow building thousands of houses in Palestinian land. Trump is providing a great smoke screen.  http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.768882

Anyway despite everything, life goes on. I still have to climb 1 km uphill to get to work twice a day and rush downhill twice a day for the other job. Asthma attacks whenever I'm halfway on the road. I work about 16 hours a day. And I was so tired, I slept though Sunday night when Billy of Mian restaurant invited me over for steam-boat (hot pot). Felt real bad ... so went over today to exchange New Year greetings.

Exhibition on Venetian treasures

Meantime am very busy co-organising an exhibition in conjunction with the Italian Synagogue. It's a celebration of Venice's presence in the Holy Land. Some of our ancient manuscripts and books will be displayed, those produced in Venice or produced here by Venetians. Then there is another team here preparing another exhibition for November. Then there is the British Library team digitalizing our other manuscripts. And it's exam time so lots of students are coming in asking for books. And this is just one library. The other one also has its share of students facing exams, and an extra-curricular course with lots of visiting students asking this and that. Also school is starting in the other university faculty where I teach. 4 hours a week. I'm running here and there like a headless cook as australians would say. I am exhausted ... and exhaustion has made me lose my memory.