Happy New Year

Fai Chun at my door

Yesterday was New Year's Eve and I was extremely busy with all the bureaucratic redcap of getting invoices paid, bank transfers etc... for books ordered by the libraries. It was traumatic as each time I need lawyers to help me out. Yes ... it is that complicated and thank God your system is alot less stressful. Yesterday was a full 4 hours of waiting and phone calls before things worked out.

Reunion dinner

In the evening we had the Reunion Dinner at Mandarin Restaurant as we always do every year. There were 16 of us from Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, Canada and China. It was good to be able to share the dinner and celebrate the New Year. Ah Ling slow-boiled chicken soup, and we had the usual noodles and rice, dumplings, lots of veggies. We all enjoyed it and especially when we could all meet up at least once a year. Usually our timetables are uncoordinated and we are seldom all together for monthly meetings. Anyway I was feeling unwell and very tired so luckily we ended early and I went home to sleep.

My altar

Morning came with a beautiful golden sunshine ... and lovely start to the New Year. Well the rest of Israel went on as usual. It was difficult for me to tell my jewish friends it's the year of the pig/boar as it's an unclean animal. But most of my jewish friends accepted it and laughed, without getting offended. I had to get back to more bank bureaucracy and paperwork which ended at 1pm ... another 4 hours. And there were any bills to be paid ... which is a no-no on the 1st day of the year ... but I had to get them done. Managed to stop by the asian restaurant "Thailandi" to order 4 noodle takeaways. My arab friend was working there as well as the thai cook this morning so it was good to see them ... and they gave me a bigger share with an extra Springroll. They are always so generous to me. Well I gave 2 packs to our library staff for lunch and another 2 packs to our Curia staff. They all enjoyed it.

I was hoping to rest in the afternoon but more calls to work. So here I am at 8.45pm in my office. Exhausted. Am going home to sleep.

Nablus day off

Nablus knaffeh is the country's best

The last Sunday of the Chinese Lunar year ... and we're all looking forward t our Reunion Dinner on Monday evening. I think there'll be 16 or 17 of us ... the largest group so far in these recent years.

This morning I had to travel back to Nablus in Samaria to celebrate Mass for the MC sisters. The ride was surprisingly smooth ... only one hour to reach there. Usually the traffic at the border from Israel to Palestine is clogged and would take hours to pass. And the road was relatively empty. I had to bring 5 bags of used clothes and 8 boxes of canned food to the sisters for distribution among the poor in the neighbouring cities of Jenin, Zebabdeh, Tubas and Ramallah. It was heavy work loading them and unloading the donations.

Curry, rice and
chutney lunch

After Mass the sisters cooked a lovely curry lunch with chicken and beef and veggies ... plus their fabulous mango chutney. It's really very good and when I had my previous operations and lost my appetite, it was the chutney with rice that kept me going. And by the way ... any one coming to the Holy Land? Please bring green/unripe mangoes so the sisters can make more chutney. It's very difficult to buy unripe mangoes here. Then the sisters bought knaffeh, an arab dessert made from several types of cheese steamed in honey or sugar. Nablus is famous for the best knaffeh in the country. It was fantastic but because of the pistachios which I think I'm allergic to, I could dare eat more than one.

Locally there was an attempted stabbing in Hebron. And Israel went ahead to build a high metal fence to cut off Gaza infiltrators. Other than that, it was a quiet Sunday. Let's hope it remains so for the rest of the week.

Presentation feast

Crowds outside Damascus Gate

It's the feast of the Presentation ... and the Church celebrates religious and consecrated persons. Jerusalem based religious gathered at our St. Saviour monastery with our bishops and they had a small prayer service in our courtyard before proceeding to the parish church for solemn Mass. I would have preferred it to be celebrated at the ancient Temple steps south of the Temple Mount where it actually took place: where Mary brought the baby Jesus to be offered in the Temple and where Simeon and Anna met them and prophesied to them.

The weather continues to be bright and shiny ... which means summer will be nice and hot. But the winds are still cold. Almond trees are blooming wildly ... and it's a spectacular sight. More people are out today ... Sabbath ... because of the weather and the Old City was very crowded with local jews and arabs. Tourists though are lessening ... which is typical of February. There were no extraordinary security measures. What a relief!!

Inside Damascus
Gate

I am sure the air in Jerusalem is very polluted because once I'm out of the City, my wheezing and coughing stops. Maybe it's time for me to move out.

No remarkable news from the northern or southern border. That's good news. It would make celebrating the Chinese New Year a lot more joyful. As usual the chinese religious and priests will gather for a reunion dinner but this year we won't celebrate a Mass on the New Year as most of us are too busy with work. For some it will be the first New Year away from home.

Tomorrow I have to go back to Nablus to celebrate Mass as the nuns there have no priest. The parish priest is away on retreat and the nuns didn't have Mass almost all week. Also I have a lot of canned food and clothes donated by many people for the poor. They amount to over 15 boxes and sacks. I'll need someone to help me carry them.

Nablus day out

Crusader church in El Bireh

This morning I had early Mass in the Empty Tomb. Then I had to go to Nablus in Samaria to celebrate Mass for the M. Teresa's convent. Thats a long way north ... like and hour and a half of car ride through wilderness. But before reaching Nablus, just after crossing the border to Palestine ... I decided to stop by at the Crusader church ruins at the village of El Bireh. That's the place which recalls Mary and Joseph meeting and discovering that they lost the boy Jesus. Almost everyone has forgotten about this church which is a terrible pity. I make it a point to go there on my way to Nablus and say a prayer among the ruins.

Fresh air in Nablus

At Nablus I celebrated the Mass and had a simple lunch there before going home. All in all it took 5 hours for the trip there. And I am exhausted. My back is sore from all the sitting. But the air was fresh and I had no trouble breathing up in the Samaria mountains. It was a good outing. I probably will be back there next week as I have a lot of clothes donated by the parishioners of Jaffa and a whole load of food donated by a protestant church, which I have to give the sisters there.

I managed to come home early as well so I could rest a bit. Haven't had time to check the news .... after a nice day out I guess I'm not ready for bad news. One think though that bothered me from yesterday: Israel has the highest use of pesticide in its products in the world ... fruit, veggies .... That explains my asthma and allergies with food here.   https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5455284,00.html?fbclid=IwAR2aWP8LQ8VVJn-wWtBoHqsrbQvuyz3Ar0Tu36Ylh3uG5ZqyRpFth1_9m_M

Weekend soon

More almond blooms

The weather continued to be warm but it rained last night. That washed away the dust from the air and I felt much better as I didn't have a coughing fit. I could breathe freely and walk a distance without wheezing. Let's hope this holds up for the rest of the week. I'm not taking extra medication for my wheezing.

Work continues and today it was drama ... the library fire alarm sounded 3 times. I was out and the fire alarm automatically sends a message to my phone. I had to call the workers to go check. It turned out it was the elevator workers fixing the elevator doors and welding the frames. That set off the fire alarm. Thank goodness it wasn't a fire.

The Palestinian govt. and the President had resigned in order to prepare for a general election ... It's a frightening thought when there's no govt .... Palestine is already quite lawless with a govt. Imagine without one ..... Let's just hope tomorrow will not find our borders reeling in violence now that there's no govt, to control the situation.

Also the tension on the northern border is brewing. Honestly we don't want a war but israel has a right to defend its borders if Syria tries anything funny.

Internally Tel Aviv was blocked by massive demonstration by ethiopic jews. They have been discriminated by white jews and racially profiled by police. Enough is enough and they took to the streets in the thousands. Scuffles broke out and the police arrested 11 ethiopians. That's classic implosion.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5455682,00.html

Almond blossoms

Sunny morning

The weather has turned bright and shiny again ... but still very cold. I saw almond trees flowering ... which is a good sign. It means Spring is round the corner. And it is!!! The Chinese New Year is next week ... the first day of Spring. Always trust the almond blossoms. In hebrew they're called shaked meaning "wakeful/watchful" because it awaits Spring. It's the first plant to flower even before Spring comes .... usually on the last week of winter when snow is still around.

Almond blossoms

Yesterday and today have been extremely busy. One good news ... I think. I don't have to change my medication. To lessen my wheezing when I go out, I must wear a face mask. Then I must be careful about what I eat. I need to monitor my food to see if I have developed new allergies.

The day before 2 synagogues were vandalised. One in Jerusalem had it's Torah scrolls destroyed. Within 24 hours 3 arabs were arrested. Police say it wasn't a hate crime but an attempted robbery. Now when jews burnt our churches, no one has been arrested and it's past 7 years now. Double standards. Up in the north, a 2nd synagogue had water filled into it. The rabbi and community say it's an attack by ultra-orthodox jews. Another case of jewish implosion. The ultra-orthodox hate all non ultra-orthodox jews, deeming them heretics and even justified to be killed. So they attack conservative, reform and progressive synagogues. Hate for one's neighbour is a big thing around here.   https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Break-in-at-Jerusalem-synagogue-579025?fbclid=IwAR3-VZI1tpgPNKJLkciUr6ISgRwQ84BFLJJmocS9Mdmx_lh5e90ppz0QP8M
and
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Second-synagogue-vandalized-in-Netanya-579087?fbclid=IwAR19BGutBacv1Q_S2gOFw84WhDohq2-OR5UxbAAqct1K04XZoWY5Byk3D30

Winter is back

Hail in the Suq

It was sunny but very cold this morning .... then cloudy, and it drizzled .... then it showered heavily and started to hail. Unbelievable .... all in 3 hours. People in the open were running for cover as ice balls came hurling down, striking everyone and everything. The noise of the hail striking the zinc roofs and glass panes was very loud. Many had the secret wish that the hail would continue for another few hours ... so snow would form. Fat hopes. There was snow up in the Golan Heights though and the ski resorts are packed.

I was caught in the cold and hailstorm. Wasn't prepared for this sudden change in weather. Now I'm staying in my room with heaters on and dry clothes and hot water to drink. I don't want to be ill again. As it is, I have great difficult even in climbing a flight of steps. I wheeze and suffocate as air fails to enter my lungs. My chest and heart hurt very much. It's moments like that that I feel like giving up and just die.

Armenian church

I managed this morning to visit the Armenian Orthodox cathedral and join in morning prayers. It was a nice change from my routine. Then it was a visit to the doctor but because of the crowd, I couldn't wait so I guess I'll go back tomorrow. Too many people are getting sick.

Yesterday was Robert Burns day ... I don't really find him interesting but a colleague of mine who studied english lit. in Uni. enjoys his poetry very much. There's been lots of fb posts on Burns ... but still I don't resonate with his works.

The killing of an innocent arab farmer tending his olive trees is raising tensions. Non of the jewish settler suspects have been held or questioned. They seem to go against the law with impunity.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/germany-says-palestinian-mans-killers-must-be-held-to-account/

And an arab youth was arrested at Damascus Gate for carrying a knife ...  https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/17-year-old-arrested-at-Damascus-Gate-armed-with-knife-578800