Last day of Hannuka

The enormous Christmas tree
at the La Salle College in the
Old City (New Gate)

It's the last day of Hanukka. Many jews are celebrating with dinners and wine. For christians it's a day before Christmas Eve. The streets in the Christian Quarter are all decked with lights. Shops are blaring carols in arabic. Parties are being held in churches and schools. It's festive and you can feel the people are happier than at previous Christmas when we were clouded by war. The cold weather - today was only 8 degrees during the day - has dissuaded people from violence and anyway the police presence was relatively heavy ... mainly to protect the jews going to the Wailing Wall for Hannuka.

Auntie Yvonne's famous chiffon cake

Today has been very tiring for me. Had been running up and down the Old City to work and then to visit groups that have come to celebrate Christmas here in Bethlehem. So many groups. I've covered almost 10 kms today ... walking so much my poor feet are hurting so bad. The neuroma is killing me. Thank goodness the asthma isn't playing up. But I was mostly breathless due to all the walking up and down the hills that the Old City is built on.

Thanks to everyone for your gifts. Received everything and appreciate it very much. Yvonne's chiffon cake arrived and was finished off within one hour. Tomorrow at midnight I'll be at Shepherds' Field to celebrate Mass. Will remember all of you during Mass.

3 days to Christmas

Chrismukkah

The skies really got dark yesterday afternoon as forecasted. Temperature fell to 12 degrees at 3pm. I quickly kept the canaries indoors as they're very fragile in cold weather. Mr. Bird will of course stay in my room during the night; and the finches stay outdoors ... they nestle 2 in each nest that's lined with cotton and jut so they're very warm. What a Chrismukkah we're having this year! Now if only it'll snow ... that would be perfect!!!

But thanks to the cold and eventually wet weather, we're not seeing any violence in the City or the neighbouring villages. In fact the country seems rather peaceful. Nice way to celebrate Christmas. I remember the 1st two Intifadas that took place just before and after Christmas ... it was a terrible time and Hamas forbade christians in the Territories to celebrate Christmas or ring church bells. Absolutely awful time. It was a foretaste of what the christians in Syria and Iraq are experiencing now.

Santa got stomped!!!!!

On the funny side, I saw an inflatable Santa Claus quite deflated in front of the Scouts' Christmas Store. It was so miserable looking. Then passed Sr. Regina ... definitely not the smallest person I know. I managed to convince her to stand next to poor Santa to get a pic ... and she couldn't stop laughing. In fact lots of people stopped to watch and laughed as well.

I've been doing some thinking this morning as I went to the supermarket to buy food for the birds. I've worked so very hard these past 3 years. I never had any summer holidays and anytime I had to rest was always a visit to the doctor or Emergency Room. This week - Christmas - I'm going to spend some time for myself. I think I deserve it.

Christmukkah

The Friday market at Musrara
functions as usual

It's Chrismukkah ... that's the word around town. "Chrismukkah" is when Christmas and Hannukah coincide. Most jews of american and european origin are more caught up by Christmas than by Hanukkah ... so there's a subtle movement to "judaize" Christmas hence allowing the euro-american jews enjoy Christmas while not losing the spirit of Judaism ... "within limits"! That's the other catchword.

The rest of East Jerusalem continues life as usual ... it's predominantly muslim so the spirit of Christmas is rarely seen. "Rarely" because there are some shops that display christmas trees and decorations. For the most part it's christian shops but there are also shops run by young arab muslims who have studied in christian schools that have imbibed the christmas spirit in them. It's a little refreshing to see some christmas joy in that quarter. By the way, the rabbis have ruled that christmas trees are idols and hence it's forbidden for a jew to put up one. Ultra-orthodox jews would even close their eyes and spit when they walk pass a christmas tree. So much for the Chrismukkah spirit ... I wonder why they don't think of the Hannukiah (hannukah candelabra) as an idol. It's as ubiquitous and bright as the christmas tree during the 8 days of Hannukah.

A christian shop with a
christmas tree

Weatherwise it's very cold. The forecast is rain for the next 3 days but on Christmas eve the rains should stop but temperatures will fall to 8 degrees. Christmas will be very very cold. That'll be nice ... like the old days 25 years ago when it felt like Christmas. It hasn't been like this for the past 15 years with the drought and weather change. A hot Christmas just doesn't feel like it.

School has closed for the Christmas holidays. That means I have lots of work to do when the students are gone. Moving hundreds of books from one section to another. Christmas isn't much of a holiday for me.

Exhausting Friday

Ponchky or sufganiot on
sale everywhere

Today was exhausting as I had to go for a checkup. That meant waking up at 3am, cleaning the cages, feeding the birds, watering the plants besides preparing myself to leave at 5am. Then it was a 70 km journey in the cold dark winter night to Ramat Gan. Everything completed by 9am. Result is I'm sensitive to certain types and amounts of vegetable (legume, nut) proteins so I have to be careful with what I eat. Tricky because no peanut or sunflower oil allowed ... but I don't know what food is cooked in what oil. Anyway before I got home, I decided to go to Thai House and buy a Char Kway Teow takeaway. I think I deserve this little treat for Christmas. No peanut or sunflower oil used! And because  it's now Hanukkah and sufganiot (ponchsky) is the daily delight of this season - a holeless doughnut filled with jam or cream, the temptation to taste all the flavours is overwhelming. I ate one that was baked in the oven and not fried in oil. Safe bet.

Well it was tiring today not only because it was an early start to the day ... but also because yesterday I had a long working day, ending my last class at 4.30pm. Then it was more work in the night till 10pm with groups. It was accumulated fatigue. I fell asleep on the way home today ... Moshe my taxi friend drove me home and he let me sleep for the whole hour ride. On the bright side, last night was the end of my prednesone course. Glad it's all over. Tomorrow ends my Telfast (anti-histamine) course. My asthma and bronchitis is almost all gone but the side-effects (like I said in earlier blogs) like headaches, giddiness and depression are lingering. I don't want to go back to Emergency Ward again. It's 4 times now this year.

The very big baby waiting for adoption

Well my short detour to Thai House passed through a pet shop where people drop off unwanted puppies in front of the shop, waiting for adoption by some passerby. Amazingly cute puppies! There was one huge baby only 6 weeks old but was 3 times larger than the other pups that were 3 months old! People around wowing at it say it's a type of east-european shepherd dog. Well if it's such a massive baby now, I can only imagine how enormous it will get when it's an adult. But it was very adorable and bright. Then an idea began twinkling in my mind ... what if I wanted to get myself a Christmas present ... like .....

1st Day of Hanukkah

Dinner tonight

2nd last day of my prednesone course ... thank goodness. The depression side-effect was awful yesterday and worse today ... as I expected. Happens everytime I take prednesone. And my Telfast course (anti-histamine) is in its 4th day. Ruining my stomach. But the desired effect is good ... no more asthma or bronchitis or allergic swellings and itching. Now it's just left to get my neuroma pain solved.

The last 2 evenings was nice because I had warm fresh food free of fear of allergies. Was at Mandarin's where Ah Ling cooked up white rice and beef/broccoli yesterday, rice and prawns/spinach today. Tomorrow she'll boil chicken herbal soup and Friday it's dumplings.

Last night was the 1st night of Hannukah - the jewish feast of re-dedicating the Temple after it was purified from the abominations committed in it by the Syrian Greeks (Seleucids). It's all written in the Books of the Maccabbees ... read it!

A large Hanukah cadelabra
at Jaffa Gate

However military presence was very very heavy everywhere. There was no usual festive spirit in the streets as in previous years. People are feeling nervous and tense. The recent violence and growing unease between arabs and jews are very palpable. When I got home from Mandarin's yesterday night, there was a large force of soldiers and police at the 3rd Station. All side streets were closed off and guarded by police. As I entered my room, the fighting started. Explosions directly outside my window - arabs firing fireworks at soldiers and soldiers responding with stun grenades and tear gas. It went on for almost an hour. I was lucky I got home safely before it started. Tonight however is very calm. Not a police or soldier in sight. But large groups of arab youths are wandering through the Old City ... like vigilantes. Jews returning from the Wailing Wall for Hanukkah prayers feel threatened but there's no military to protect them. We'll see how the next days develope.  Hanukkah lasts for 8 days ... which ends on our Christmas Day.

Cold but sunny

Now we learn that as the Sydney siege was in progress, in Belgium another hostage case occurred but very quickly resolved. And today over 100 children were killed by the Taliban in a Pakistan school. One thing I know ... the world has no will, neither political, religious nor moral, to end this madness.

A baby pilgrim gets dandled
by Sr. Hyacinta

Back here we have no violence, thanks to the cold weather. At 1.30 pm it was 13 degrees. And the nights get very much colder. But the sun is bright and shiny ... and we've seen an influx of pre-Christmas tourists and pilgrims. Quite a lot actually. The mornings are simply packed at our place. But as the evening approaches and the sun sets by 3.30 pm, the streets become empty again as everyone rushes home to stay warm indoors. Most of the groups are asians and slavs but we had 2 groups of american students today. Then there are the small family groups and individuals.

Healthwise nothing has changed much. Let's see if I can pull through this week. Christmas for me is going to be hectic as I have major renovations to do in the library ... and looks like I'll be doing it alone.

A little hope

My first narcissus in bloom

So the Sydney siege is over. Good job. It's sad that fanaticism has spread so far from the Middle East ... to the farthest continent. But that's what christians and other minorities are facing daily here in the Middle East. OK so the Sydney attacker maybe a lone wolf and not an organised group, possibly for personal reasons and not national ... but all the attacks we suffered here in Israel this year are all by lone wolves with personal reasons. It seems to be a trend outside of Syria and Iraq to have lone wolves acting.

I'm still dizzy with medication ... and with class at 4am, work throughout the day and final class ending at 4.30pm ... I'm definitely not in good shape. I hate Mondays. Drained. And the prednesone side-effects are kicking in ... with major depression, swollen fingers. And the antihistamine is pretty strong too and makes me sleepy all the time. I'm a wreck right now. I just need to go back to hospital and stay there for a week ... get away from class and work and phones and birds and people and computers .... everything. Except my flowers ... my first narcissus bloomed today. That made me very very happy. It's a little hope pushing out of a mess of misery.

So foggy today it's hard to see the
buildings on the Mt. of Olives

The weather has been terribly foggy today. No clear vision from 1 km. It never really rained but the dewfall was heavy. And the temperature at daytime was between 8 degrees to 12 degrees. Typical winter weather ... but something we haven't had for over a decade.  And the sun trying to shine through the gloomy grey clouds is also very inspirational ... a little hope shining through.