Tram adventure

An absolute wild goose chase yesterday. Had to renew my passport so I was told to go to Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv. Travelled about 70 plus km to get there. Went by bus, then switched to taxi from Tel Aviv. Taxi driver didn't know the place so I dropped off and walked around and asked alot of people till finally I found the building. Got inside the building after security check, but couldn't enter the elevator section because entry is only by electronic security card which employees have. Walked around and found the information counter. They told me the office was closed. It moved 10 days ago to another place and they don't know where. Totally flustered and annoyed. They found an old security guard who had their phone number. Called them up and they told me they moved to Modiin which is 40 km back from where I came. Now I really got furious. I didn't have enough money to travel all that journey. Anyway to make the long story short, I was very tired, cold and angry over the long distances I had to travel from city to city only for nothing.

Then at night I had a high fever, a bad headache and a very severe diarrhea. The worst in all these months. Absolute horror of 24 hours. This morning I was just to weak and tired to function. I also hurt my right shoulder pretty badly. I can't move my right side without pain. Didn't sleep a wink.

Anyway to cheer up, here's a picture of 3 packs of Chinese New Year cookies that arrived a few days ago from my family. The group that help bring it over is a lively young company who came to visit Fr Val (not me, to be on the record). They are having a great time learning about the land and the Bible. And eating alot of local food - Singaporean style. Like for St Peter's fish, they put Turkish salad on it .... de gustibus non est disputandum.

The infamous dish of fish and Turkish salad

The general strike in Israel is not abating ... everything is affected some way or other.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/general-strike-in-israel-to-continue-after-last-ditch-negotiations-fail-1.412041  That may well explain  my running up and down the country for nothing yesterday. Nothing seems to work.

And I had a pretty big adventure yesterday evening - I took my first tram ride on the Light Rail. The ticketing machine was not working so a group of us lining up had to run across the tracks to buy the tickets on the other platform. The tram came and I missed it. But anyway I got on the next one. Must have looked totally petrified and lost because an american girl and another (looks asian) came up to me separately to ask if I needed help. What a laugh ... I managed to get to my destination safely for a meeting. And back.

Arbor Day

A lone anemone

Yellow and purple flowers

Wild cyclamen

Tu B'Shvat or Arbor Day is celebrated today. The almond trees are in full bloom and the fields are carpetted with brilliant wild flowers. Spring is on ... and the earth is not holding back. The splash of colours is amazing. My friend Ami went out to the fields with his friends on a picnic the whole day just to enjoy the wild flowers. Great way to spend a day.  Tel Aviv feted its ancient trees in a new book.  http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/tel-aviv-fetes-its-221-000-trees-on-tu-bishvat-1.411605  I wonder if they'd thought about how many trees were required to be felled and processed to produce the paper to print this book about trees worth saving. The irony of it all.

A field of wild anemones

The weather is wonderfully warm - 15 degrees or so. The air is crispy and the perfume of wild flowers is very hynoptic.

Work goes on as usual. The daily routine. A general strike was effective this morning - affecting many public institutions including the airport.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-s-national-labor-court-to-decide-fate-of-general-strike-1.411751  Hope it won't last through the week. Luckily the flowers don't go on strike.

Yuen Xiu Festival

Chinese fried noodles arab style

So its the 15th day of the Lunar New Year - Yuen Xiu or Chap Go Meh. The Singapore group of 7 youths are celebrating it with Val at mandarin Restaurant. I'm staying home because of severe diarrhea. That's because I had some chinese noodles for lunch with the group .... not that there was anything wrong with the noodles. The rest ate it and feel fine. Its my system's intolerance for oil that's causing all the diarrhea and cramps. Too bad for me.

Salmon waffle, Belgian waffle

Yesterday the group arrived to visit Val. Had brunch at the Waffle bar in Hillel Street. Really large portions and they enjoyed it very much. Its amazing how many varieties of waffles they can come up with.

And talking about food, thanks to my family for sending up Chinese New Year goodies. The pineapple tarts were delicious but were so smashed up I had to use a spoon to eat it!!!! Oh well, you can't have it all.

Now back to the weather - deliciously bright and sunny but cold. We're hoping Europe would share some of its snow with us. The rains for the past week has raised the level of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River ... but still insufficient. We need more rain and a couple of days of snow. Students throughout the country are still slogging for exams.

The lightbulb in my bathroom has blown again. Because the roof is so high - 20 feet high - its not possible for me to change the bulb alone. I need a super high ladder. But asking for help is a daily trial. The arab worker will say "today" but he means tomorrow. And this drags on for 5 days now. I'm using the bathroom by candlelight. It's as bad as eating pineapple tarts with a spoon!!!

Of Spring and hibernation

Flowering clover

The weather has been holding out pretty well these last 2 days. Sunny, crispy and nippy. This has caused a sudden burst of life from the plants that have been sleeping in the cold. Clover especially has been prolifically flowering along every field, crack and slope.

Almond trees have also begun blossoming. An amazing sight - a bare tree weighed down by pinkish-white flowers. That's a sure sign of Spring.

Silhoutte of protesters in a setting sun

Taking advantage of this weather, a small group of Syrian supporters staged a protest against President Bashar Assad. They waved the Syrian flag and chanted slogans calling for Assad to go. Palestinians gathered around the protest at Damascus Gate ... mainly out of curiosity. Police were also present but they had nothing to fear. There was and is no desire nor will from the Palestinians to do the same with Israel as they have lost unity, vision and hope. A cowed people "walking in its sleep, searching for its own awakening" - to quote Khalil Gibran.  The Arab Spring has been more of a Palestinian Winter Hibernation.

The arrival hall's lights and columns

Meantime an early errand to the airport to pick up some friends of a friend brought my attention to some details of the arrival hall at the airport ... like the delicate lights surrounding the mellow yellow of the ceiling, shimmering like fairy lights. And the columns of the hall resembling the papyrus/lotus columns of ancient Egyptian Temples. It was rather delightful to notice these things.

Well that moment of awe at the architectural beauty ended almost just as quickly when swarms of tourists came out into the hall, causing alot of chatting, rattling luggages, barking dogs (dogs are allowed in Israel's airport) and ceaseless ringing of cell phones. And the cash machines cling ... as tourist dollars roll in. There may be no Arab Spring in Israel, but the Palestinian Winter hibernation is bringing in big money. Better rich but restricted rather than free but poor. Practical sense rules.

Crispy day

This morning at Safra Square

The weather has gone bright and sunny, the air very crispy. People have gone outdoors again to enjoy the weather. Military presence was heightened as muslims crowds came to the Mosque to pray. Well, we won't expect a fiasco like Egypt saw yesterday during the football match. Absolutely appalling. It's the talk of town ... how could it possibly happen? Eveyrone is talking of a conspiracy.

And Friday 3rd saw a series of amazing events in the arab villages:  What a nightmare for the poor Israeli soldier who was left behind in an arab village after a night raid. The real heroes are the two arab village elders who acted honorably by saving his life and escorting him to the security wall back to his platoon. That was how the two men who had their village raided acted to their enemy who raided them.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-suspends-officer-after-soldier-left-behind-in-west-bank-1.410938  But of course you'll never find any news report thanking them let alone praising them. Meantime a french activist was wounded by Israeli soldiers during a West Bank demonstration in an arab village.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-french-woman-wounded-by-idf-gas-grenade-in-west-bank-demonstration-1.410945  And an entire arab village has gone on hunger strike to raise world awareness of their plight being surrounded by Jewish settlements.  http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/twilight-zone-this-is-no-life-1.410809

I have this urge to visit Samaria again ... it's been a long time since I was there - partly due to the blockade and security wall. Jacob's well, Tomb of John the Baptist, ancient Shechem .... perhaps I might just do that one of these days.

Bad day

Feb. 2nd started off badly. The first news I received was the death of Theresa Lau. She was our collaborator ad good friend, working in our Bible Centre office and escorting pilgrim groups to the Holyland till sickness rendered this impossible. She returned to Australia to be with her family and for cure and recuperation. Only a fews weeks back her father died. Do say a prayer for Theresa. I'm sure she's in heaven. R.I.P.

The whole night I had terrible pain in my left thumb. Couldn't even sleep. It was dreadfully swollen and stiff. Arthritis. Don't know how it came about though I do have arthritis in my other fingers, but these didn't swell up last night. Will have to check what went wrong.

An israeli friend invited me to his house yesterday evening. Had a nice chat, tea with hyssop leaves and tried my first nargile. That's the arabic water pipe. Not bad. Most people here can't believe that after 20 years here, I never tried a nargile. Well it's true. And it wasn't as bad as I thought. nice apple flavour.

The weather switched back to sunny and bright with temp. of 16 degrees. But by evening a freezing wind blew back and the skies got dark again. Had to boil water and put the hot water bottle back in the canary cage.

Well I'm glad today is passing off. We'll remember Theresa in our prayers.

February 1st

How quickly time flies. January is gone. Everyone is remarking about it.

There was lightening and thunder this morning, and the dark rain clouds continued to envelope the city the whole day. It rained and rained. In fact the papers say this is the wettest January on record.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/january-rainfall-breaks-all-time-israeli-record-with-29-wet-days-1.410386   Which is good ... if you're staying home studying. I had to stay home because the diarrhea and cramps have not abated. Its quite a trial. Ate a little white cheese and wheat biscuits for lunch. And the elbow tendonitis really acted up today as well. Thought I got it back into place but somehow today it must have recurred. Yes, everyone is blaming the weather for the bouts of ill health everyone else is suffering ... but I'm not convinced.

Unnamed streets in Jaffa can now be named after arabs. This is interesting. No doubt it's going to cause a stir in certain circles. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/tel-aviv-votes-to-name-jaffa-streets-after-arabs-1.410296  

Nothing remarkable today ... the usual work, study, read routine. Let's see what Feb. 2nd brings.