Almond blossoms

Pink almond blossoms

 It rained and drizzled all day yesterday and into the night. The wind was very strong and the temp dropped by 8 degrees. It was very cold. I was working hard yesterday in my office for 8 hours to complete an important work so that I might be free on Sunday to rest. When I returned home at 6pm the weather was quite bad. I was wet ... so I decided to go and buy bread since I was already wet and won't make a difference if I went straight home. The bakery had just baked several trays of fresh muffins so I bought some to share with our sisters and students. And since I was already wet, I decided to walk another 1km to the only florist opened at that hour, to buy some flowers for our Madonna statue in our refectory. I usually put flowers on the statue every week with flowers from our garden, but since our superior threw away all the flowers in the garden and cemented it, I have to go out and buy them. Given this weather and season, chrysanthemums are prolific so I bought 2 stalks which cost 5 shekels each. Rather expensive but I bought them anyway.

White almond tree

Today the rains stopped and the weather was beautiful. The sun was up and it was 16 degrees ... nice and warm. A hoodie jacket could be worn but after a 1km walk uphill to the New City, a T-shirt would have sufficed. I went to buy food for Buddy and JJ, and enjoy looking around Jungle petshop. I haven't been there for almost a month now. My friend Eran was there and we chatted. Then I walked down the road to buy a sandwich because today being lunch, pork is served and I don't eat pork. I bought a simple and cheap submarine that I could eat in the afternoon just to fill my stomach.

Then I decided to go to Mamilla cemetery where the almond trees are blossoming. Unique to the cemetery are several almond trees that bloom white flowers instead of the common pink. They are remarkable as they sparkly in the Spring sunlight. It's a nice alternative to the dark and disturbing news of the war in Ukraine. There's been protests at the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv but there are also many russian jews who support Putin. By expressing support for Ukraine, Israel was indirectly warned by Russia when it issued a statement refusing to recognise Israel's control of the Golan Heights. And of course Israel's greatest enemy Iran is a Russian proxy. We're watching anxiously what will happen next.

Early day

Crossing the border at 5am

 It was a very early day for me. Woke up at 3am to tidy the room, feed the birds, throw the garbage and at 4,30am walked out to Musrara to catch the car to go to Bethlehem to celebrate Mass for the Caritas Baby Hospital sisters. They have Mass at 5.30am because it's the only time the community is together between day and night shifts. No priest is willing to go at that time so for most of the week the sisters have no Mass. The MC sisters in Bethlehem asked me to go for Mass at 6.30am and since I had to pass by Caritas hospital, I told the Caritas sisters I'd go and say Mass for them.

MC chapel at 6am

It's Friday so crowds of muslims were walking to the mosque at 4.30am. I was going in the opposite direction. Because I couldn't breathe well, it took me 35 minutes to get to the Musrara carpark ... which normally takes 5 minutes.Then it was a 20 car drive to the border between Israel and Palestine. I was quite tired mainly because I couldn't breathe well. After Mass at Caritas, it was a 15 min drive to the MC convent at the other end of town. The sisters cooked a lovely lunch for me to take away. Potato bhaji and prata. And they did 2 poached eggs for breakfast as well. It was so nice to eat warm food.

Got back at my office at 7am and started preparing for class at 10.30. I was tired ... yesterday I did alot of work and it's not finished. Fell asleep for half an hour the library doorbell was ringing. Students were coming in to study and borrow books. And it was raining and very cold.

It's been revealed in the news that just moments before Russia bombed Ukraine, Russia stated its refusal to acknowledge Israel's control over the Golan Heights which according to international law belongs to Syria which Russia backs. It was a diplomatic slap which unsettles locals here because only America (Trump) recognizes Israel sovereignty in the captured land. Israel had earlier supported Ukraine in the war. Now the northern border is shaky ... and the tension with Iran might worsen.

Rainy day

Jaffa Gate Plaza ... empty

 Russia's invasion of Ukraine is shocking and everyone here is shocked. There are thousands of ukrainian jews there who did not want to migrate to Israel last week though Israel encouraged them. Now Israel will have to find ways to save them ... they were told to escape toward Poland. The ukrainian president himself is a jew. Can Israel now trust Russia who has its grip in Syria? the repercussions in the Middle East is huge. We can only with anxiously to see the outcome. One thing seems to be everyone in the streets' opinion - neither europe or america will send troops in. It's all rhetoric and Russia will gets its way.

The sky seems to reflect the mood. Dark and gloomy and finally now drizzling. And the temp dropped quite alot ... about 8 degrees below yesterday's.

Israel announced Covid state of emergency will end on March 1st. So everything will be back to normal ... almost. The virus is still around. We just have to live with it. That means unvaccinated and vulnerable people like me still ought to wear masks and keep a safe distance from crowds. Self-imposed rules are the best.

Tension

Crowd jeering at police

 Tensions are high. An arab teenager was killed in one clash, and in another clash a mentally challenged man was roughed up by the police. The police did apologize but frankly I think protestors should not bring children and challenged people to clashes. It's not right to risk their lives in events that they don't understand.

Last night on my way home I could hear alot of shouting and jeering at Damascus Gate. I could see the police had stopped an arab teenager and brought him into the post. He was arguing with them and there was a tussle and the crowds outside began jeering and trying to climb in. I walked past them and the crowd of youths were continuing to provoke the police. As I walked far away, police reinforcements came and tried to disperse the crowd.

I guess I'll have to be careful going home from now on. No guarantees the streets will be safe.

22.2.22

Negative test

 Yes it's that rare calendarial occasion that occurs once in a 100 years ... 22.2.22 and wait till 20.22 tonight and 22.22 tonight. It'll be a fantastic moment to remember since it'll happen only once in your lifetime. 

I'm recovering from the anaphylactic shock. This morning the chinese sisters did reflexology on me. It was painful. Hope it'll help my breathing problem. It's not easy for me to do anything ... even lying down while I'm in such a situation. I lost my appetite now for 2 days. Nausea and can't eat. I drink alot though. 

Did the Covid self-test after 24 hrs of the first one. Result negative. That's a relief. Still I'm keeping away from crowds and wearing a mask and washing hands as much as possible. On March 1st Israel will open the country to normal life. Even unvaccinated tourists may enter the country if they're tested negative before the flight. And this morning our courtyard was crowded with pilgrim groups ... almost back to pre-Covid days. Our sisters tell me we have at least 1 booking for Mass a day now. That's really good news. On my way to work I saw tourists local and foreign sitting in restaurants drinking coffee and chatting. Slowly it'll be business as usual. Hopefully some other countries that impose draconian lockdowns learn from Israel ... you can't fight the virus no matter how technologically advanced your country is. This microscopic brainless life-form has brought the mightiest nations and people on their knees. So learn to live with it. We've done that with polio, TB, AIDS, flu and a whole lot of other obscure diseases. Nature is wonderful .. it knows how to bounce back. The body will adapt and protect itself.

The weather has been very good though. Sunny yet cool ... about 16 degrees today. I saw almond trees in the Musrara carpark blossoming. Beautiful ... it'll definitely warm up next week and then it's summer again. I'd love to take a slow walk around east and west Jerusalem and see the last traces of winter ... but my health is too poor right now to do it.

Anaphylactic shock

Sunrise today

 Last night I thought I was dying as I could not breathe. Oxygen level dropped to 92 and my heart rate was 103. I was having difficulty in breathing all day but it got worse during the night. I quickly called Fr Romeo, a student living on my floor and he quickly came to see if I needed to go to hospital. I thought I might have caught Covid so he quickly did the self-test on me. Turned out to be negative. 

Then I slowly remembered I had an anaphylactic shock on Saturday evening .... yes my memory is so bad I cannot even remember that. I had to go celebrate a funeral Mass and then had dinner with the family cooked by them. I guess among the food there were nuts because I started choking and had difficulty in breathing. Sr. David who was sitting next to me said "he's having an anaphylactic shock" and everyone was scrambling to get me into a car. They rushed me home where I took my medication (Epipen). Then I was slipping in and out of consciousness the whole night. Sunday morning and the rest of the day I was still very light headed and could not breathe properly. Then can the 2nd climax of the reaction in the night. Lucky Romeo responded quickly. It was about 10pm.

Now Monday afternoon I'm feeling alot better. I can breathe almost normally now and my oxygen level is back to 96. But I'm very exhausted because I hardly slept all night. 

Clash

Full moon over Palm Plaza

 Tensions have flared last night as the clashes at Sheikh Jarrah spilt into the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. And just now we heard that there were clashes again at Damascus Gate. The police had to close the City Gate and I think the Way of the Cross is cancelled because it lies directly inside the Gate. I might not be able to go home from work tonight if these clashes and blockades continue.

Meanwhile newspapers report that Lebanon had fire missiles into northern Israel and sirens were blaring for people to take shelter. It's all as I predicted .... once the weather warms up, violence will resume. Another newspaper reports that Israel bombarded southern Syria last night. This summer is not at all promising to be calm and serene. We had 2 years of relative calm ... thanks to Mother Nature and Covid ... and now that things seem to be back to normal, and so is the violence and  clashes.

Notre Dame in the sun

My asthma is not improving and everyone attributes it to the renovation works in 2 rooms in our house. The dust is horrible and so is the drilling. I feel alot better when I am away from home during the day. But even in the evenings I wear a mask when I'm walking in our corridor because the dust is not fully settled. Right now my diet is going fine, which is mainly vegetarian and fish/chicken on 2 days a week. Still I experienced bleeding last week and the nurses in the hospital advised to eat yoghurt and drink warm water. I guess it's working.

Full moon

Bedouin hawkers

 Israel is dropping the Green Pass system ... meaning there is free movement in indoor places and events. Infection rates have dropped and the experts believe the worse of Omicron is over. "Live with Covid" is the slogan. I'm sure many shop owners and companies are relieved to hear of this change, but some have suffered too much in 2 years to go back to normal. Many small businesses have closed for good. It is tragic. Many young people, graduates from universities, are offering to babysit or walk the dog or do house-cleaning because they cannot find jobs. Let's hope this is the beginning of better days.

In Palestine though, schools are reopening after a 10 day closure. There's alot of infections but there're no enough testing being done. Few people wanted vaccinations. And those who die are not checked if it was Covid that killed them. Hospitals are ill-equipped to handle the pandemic. The situation is tragic.

Full moon over Damascus Gate

On my way home yesterday evening, I saw the huge beautiful full moon over the City Walls. It was irresistible ... I stopped several times to photograph it. Unfortunately the beauty was lost as few people were out in the streets ... due to the tensions. Police were everywhere. People wanted to avoid trouble so they stayed away from the streets.

The weather has warmed up between 4 degrees in the night to 13 in the day. I hardly slept because I still felt very cold at night and was coughing. Everyone has noted the air has been cold and dry, causing alot of people to cough and have irritable throats. Also pollen from Spring flowers are beginning to fly around the air and make people sick with allergies. I take Telfast 180, an antihistamine, everyday but it's not working this week. Hope this will pass over soon ... I dread having to see the doctor and take more medicines.

Fog

Very foggy morning

 Fears of escalating violence in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood and other arab towns, and especially with Gaza, is worrying security chiefs in the country. Dramatic gestures of justice has been shown to appease arab anger by arresting and charging extreme-right jewish settlers for attack against arabs ... but like in the past, it's only a gesture and probably those charged will have a reduced sentence or early release. The powerful rabbis behind these youths hold the ultimate decision

One good news though .... we read that Singapore has opened flight access to Israel; and Israel has always opened its airport to Singapore ... so now perhaps Singaporeans will be coming to Israel on pilgrimage soon. Even for Easter!!! 

Mornings have been very foggy and the fog can block out the entire Mt of Olives! Visibility in the valleys are very low and the roads are very slippery with dew. Luckily this week I am no longer responsible to go to the Ivrea convent for Mass so I don't need to walk through those dangerous streets and roads.

Clouds blocking the sun

US House speaker Nancy Pelosi is in town so many roads are closed for security. Not as much as a head of state of course, but still sufficient closures to disrupt normal transport and movement. The hotel for visiting heads of state and the like is always the King David hotel, which is just an 8 min walk from my office. That means going to and from work through New Gate can get blocked if dignitaries are passing by our way. I'll have to go home from inside the Old City, which I dislike as there are many steps going down to my place and they are very slippery and many places are not lit. Double trouble.

Since yesterday afternoon I've been feeling nauseous and giddy. I haven't had my flu shot this year. Perhaps I should.

Yuan Xiao

Crowds enjoying the sun

 The past 2 days has seen violent clashes in various arab villages and enclaves. An arab teen was killed when demonstrating against the demolition of a terrorist's home. Several were also injured. Then there were the clashes at Sheikh Jarrah 1km north of the ld City where again jewish settlers and arab occupants clashed over property rights. In and around the Old City has seen a marked increase of police presence. It's tense. You can feel it in the air. And of course, the weather has warmed up ... from 13 to 18 degrees during the day, so people come out by the droves to enjoy the sun and inevitably lead to violence and clashes.

I was told the almond trees have blossomed in the valleys so very soon the almond trees in Jerusalem will also blossom. Then the heat of summer will overcome us. And the thought of going to spend some weeks at our Jaffa house will enter my head ... and the other side would say No, there're infections over there. Yesterday the superior of Jaffa told me to go spend time there, which I'd love but 3 of the community are infected. I don't want to take the risk.

Selling bread

Well despite the warm daytime weather, the nights continue to be very chilling ... 4 degrees or lower. The MC sisters in Bethlehem asked for hot water bottles to keep their sick and elderly inmates warm during the night. Bethlehem is higher in altitude than Jerusalem so it's alot colder there. I think hot water bottles are a rarity these days as I couldn't find any shop selling it. People use electric heaters nowadays. Luckily one pharmacy sold it so I bought up the whole stock ... only 4. Hope it helps anyway.

Tomorrow will be midweek and also mid-month. Time flies. Soon it'll be Lent and Easter again. It's Yuan Xiao or Chap Go Meh which is the 15th and last day of the New Year celebrations. Let's hope the rest of the year of the tiger will go smoothly. 

Crowds

Soaking in the sun today

 The weather has been warming up this weekend. Up to 18 degrees. But the nights continue to be chilly. I caught a cold this morning at 4am despite having the heater aimed at my bed all night. Runny nose all days.

But the sun was very welcomed by the crowds and lots of people came out to the streets and parks to soak in the sun. Crowds were stacked at the cavea seats of Damascus Gate. Yesterday evening while coming home, I also found huge crowds at the cavea. People were just sitting and chatting and enjoying the warm weather instead of being stuck inside the house. You won't know that the pandemia is still around, Hardly anyone wore masks and distancing doesn't exist. The police were there but nothing was enforced. We've reached a stage whree everyone believes we just have to live with the virus and deal with it. Shops cannot continue to close as families have suffered financially and psychologically for the past 2 years.

Night time crowds

The Spring break is over and school has restarted. The libraries are getting crowded again and our schedule is back to normal. My problem is my body can't catch up. I've slowed down alot and no longer have the energy. Just walking to work is an ordeal. But I'll have to continue so the students get their books and references needed for their studies.

Meantime I might be due to meet my doc again. Overall I'm not feeling good and something is wrong. I'm keeping all the rules of Covid prevention but there's still other health problems to be addressed.

US$1 a piece online

Sunrise today

 My volunteers from Milan University arrived last night. Now we have 2 years of backlog work to cover. And they're here for 7 days. I told them its 24/7 work. No less. That means I have to work with them. So I'll be extremely busy from today till the following weekend. Just thinking about it makes me tired. When minute they stepped into the library, I brought one for a meeting with the director of Cultural Heritage regarding a 2 year project. Then it was a rundown of what needs to be done. I reached home at 7pm with swollen feet, sore throat and mental exhaustion. Tomorrow begins another full day's work.

Weekend fish market

It's this kind of workload that cause me to buy Tiger Balm plaster for my neck and shoulders ... at exorbitant prices. I just checked on AliExpress. They're selling 10 pieces for 33 shekels which is US$10, hence US$1 for each. That's a lot cheaper than the US$4 a piece sold at the pharmacies. Still US$1 a piece is exorbitant ... but when you need it, you need it.

The weather was a little warm but by mid-afternoon the sky became cloudy and grey and the cold came back. I wasn't totally prepared for how cold it became and so walking home was an ordeal. Noticeable more people are out in the streets, mainly because it's Friday night. Muslims go to the mosque in large numbers, and Jews in equally large numbers walk to the Wailing Wall to pray at the start of the Sabbath.

Well I'm going to have a good rest tonight (despite the cold that kept me awake last night) so I can face tomorrow's work headon.

Tiger Balm plaster .... US$4 a piece

Cold and wet this morning

 The rain continued all evening and morning. The temp dropped to 4 degrees from yesterday's 17 degrees. I was expecting the worse this morning when I had to go to the Convent of Ivrea for Mass. Timing myself to walk very slowly because of my breathing as well as the very slippery streets, I left my house 45 minutes prior to Mass ... a journey which normally takes 10 minutes for normal people. There were 2 moments when my breathing became laboured but I had time to stop and regain my breath. So I reached the convent in much better shape than the past days, but totally soaked by the rain.

The walk home as much better healthwise. By then my lungs were cleared and I could breathe properly. But the rain continued and I almost slipped 3 times on the dreaded Jerusalem stones that pave the City. I wish the Municipality could do away with this aesthetics and be more practical by paving all the streets with tar and bitumen. It would spare many people from slipping and breaking arms, legs and hips every winter.

Pine tree in the rain

As the weather chilled, so too the govt which announced it will tackle the rising cost of living. Remember Tel Aviv is not the most expensive to live in the world, pushing out Singapore and Hong Kong that came in 2nd and 3rd. I avoid buying anything unless I really need it and only after deciding what else I must sacrifice in order to get it. Prioritize. With the special diet that the hospital imposed because of my allergy to most kinds of proteins including red meat, I'm buying mostly veggies to eat. But the snow and heavy rains have destroyed crops so even veggies are expensive now.

And don't even ask about medicines. One piece (not box) of Tiger Balm medical plaster is 12 shekels or US$4. I need it badly so I have no choice but to buy it ... and so sacrifice on food. Good bye lunch and dinner.

Rain?

Ivrea convent chapel

Yesterday was amazingly warm ... 17 degrees. And like I always say, when it warms up so will the violence. Syria last night whether purposely or mistakenly, fired a missile into Israel. And Israel retaliated by bombing Syria's military sites. Right now fighter jets are flying overhead. No idea why.

There was a demonstration in front of a burger shop yesterday at Jaffa Street but I didn't understand what it was all about. And in the Old City there was an increase of police ... I guess they were expecting trouble though I'm not sure why. Lots of stop-and-search of young arab men and women. In fact the son of our doorman was arrested 2 night ago after he resisted being searched.

5.30am street

It's my turn to celebrate Mass at the Ivrea convent this week. Because of my difficulty in breathing, it takes me 30 minutes instead of 10 minutes to walk the 1km to the convent. It was difficult for me the last 2 days, but today was especially difficult. I almost fainted 3 times along the way because I could not breathe. The streets are very quiet at 5.30am when I start to walk out. The muslims are in the mosque praying so no one is about. It's cold too. I didn't think I'd make it to the convent this morning. All I could think about was if I collapsed in the street now ... When I reached the convent, Sr. Teresia quickly helped me to a seat in the sacristy. We had to start the Mass 5 mins late so I could recover. I really felt very very sick.

But by 10am I was back to normal. It happens everyday .... when the sun is up I feel so much better. Maybe there's a night devil torturing me and goes away only when the sun is up. Every night.

Anyway the forecast is rain now ... but it's not. The sky is a little cloudy but still sunny. Temp has dropped to 13 degrees. But no sign of rain.

Uneventful day

Narcissus for sale

 It's been very sunny today. But still the temp is around 8 degrees. Midweek showers are again predicted with a fall of 3 degrees from today. Winter is ending and the daffodils/narcissus are blooming profusely, tghe bedouin women sell them in bunches by the street ... though the almonds are still not even budding. Usually they would be the first to bloom before all the other flowers. It's been a short winter ... and though I dislike the cold and wet, I'm beginning to miss it.

Last night was a hectic night. I accompanied a student who was on his way to Spain. At midnight. In the cold. We walked 1km out to the American Colony Hotel to wait for the minivan-taxi to bring him to the airport. Then I walked home alone ... which was at 1.30am. I hardly slept as at 4am I had to prepare to go to the Sisters of Ivrea for Mass. Though they live 1km away northwards in an outlying village, I need at least half an hour to walk there because of my asthma. It's always a pleasant walk even in winter, passing through the Rockefeller Park ... but my breathing has become so laboured I almost faint along the way. Maybe its a sign to say I have to retire and go live in the infirmary. My whole body is breaking down. 

After Mass I came home to pack my stuff and go to work 1km away westwards and uphill. This takes me over 40 minutes to reach as I barely shuffle to work. I've been thinking lately that almost all the past 30 years I've not had one day of good health, one day without pain. It can be quite depressing.

After the silence

Cold crisp evening

 It's almost a week since I posted. I've not been feeling well. I thought I might have caught Covid as I was coughing alot with a sore throat. I could not walk over 200 meters nor climb stairs. Some students help me along but I just cannot breathe. I consTantly feel faint due to lack of oxygen. But the tests were negative and I really think it was due to the change in weather with the low temp. hitting us, together with dry air and a sandstorm 2 days back to add to my misery. There were moments of drizzle but the air nevertheless was very dry which hurts the throat when you breathe in. I've been drinking lemon and orange juice since and it has helped alleviate the pain. I just my heavy dosages of asthma medicine daily have pre-empted any Covid infection. Still it's not a joke when 100,000 infections a day are recorded. I wear the mask everywhere and clean my hands with alcohol swipes. Not taking any chance. Outside most people have stopped using the mask. Anyway I'm slowly recovering and hope to get back in shape relatively soon.

The govt will remove the Green Pass requirement for entering enclosed buildings on March 1st. That includes restaurants, shopping malls, gyms etc. But indoor events such as concerts still require the Green Pass. I'm not sure how this applies to church services though. Or libraries for that matter. Nothing has been said about it in the news.

Bethlehem: Roadside
coffee seller

I had gone to the MC convent in Bethlehem last week to bring medicines and clothes to the poor. In that Palestinian town, nobody wears the mask. And I read from the newspapers that Palestinian hospitals are 85% full and reaching crashing point in the next week. People crowd all over the place with no regard for hygiene - coughing and sneezing into others' faces. It's pretty scary. 

As the temp hovers between 1 and 8 degrees everyday, most people avoid going out and there's been a significant drop in violent clashes and terrorist attacks. Let's hope Mother Nature will keep this up.

New Year

Reunion dinner

 The Year of the Tiger crept in silently amidst lockdowns and social restrictions. There certainly wasn't a big celebration here as many chinese living here are isolated because of being infected or fear of being infected. We had a simple Mass on the last day of the Year of the Ox at the IHM convent. A special altar and lectern was made for the convent ... and since the chapel was too small to fit all of us, we celebrated the Mass in the living room. Only 6 of us - 3 sisters and 2 priests and an arab neighbour. After that we had a lovely Reunion dinner cooked by the sisters. They spent 10 hours preparing and cooking it because they had only one stove ... nevertheless high class restaurant standard food and presentation! 

On the 1st day of the New Year, I organised a lunch for over 10 asian religios living in Jerusalem. That included Vietnamese, Thai, Filipio, Indonesian, Hong Kong citizens. However all but 3 decided to come as many had come into contact with someone infected with the virus, and knowing that I'm not vaccinated they did not want to risk infecting me. So in the end only 4 of us were at lunch at the Mandarin restaurant. Ah Ling the owner cooked up a great lunch for us and we enjoyed it very much ... not least because we were the only people there. The restaurant is under renovation and therefore closed to the public. But Ah Ling opened up a private room just for us to use. Very kind of her.

Altar and lectern for Mass

And the rest of the 1st day was spent at work. The weather has warmed up a little ... 7 degrees maximum. And the sky continued to be gray and cloudy. The weekend will see heavy rains again ... and probably Chap Gho Meh (Yuan Xiao) will be cold and wet.

I'm getting much better though I had a couple of days bleeding. My memory is still not very good and once in a while people need to remind me what I am doing, where I am going etc. And the body is not as nimble as before ... reflexes are much slower. I realised that I cannot even type this blog without making mistakes ... not typos but I type a word when I intended another. The mind and the fingers are not coordinating.