New moon, new missal

Full moon

 First Sunday of Advent. And it started with a big change in the italian Missal. It's small changes, unlike the english revision ... but the eucharistic prayers  were quite extensive. Like the english revision, the italian version is a direct translation from the latin. As a result it sounds very stilted and not at all sonorous. It will take some time to get used to it. Officially it takes effect on the first week of Easter, but the Custody decided to start on the 1st Sunday of Advent so everyone gets used to it I'll stick to english.

The full moon is out. Very bright on a cloudless cold night. Well it was very cold during the day too ... between 6 to 12 degrees. I stayed home all day ... cleaning my room slowly as the pain in my right foot is excruciating. At 4pm I decided to go to the money changer as I am all out of shekels. The shekel is very low ... only 3.3 shekels to a US dollar. I bought some food for some of our students who are working so hard to finish their thesis and return home, they don't even eat daily meals. I do what I can to make life less stressful for them ... and that they don't get sick.

Chrysanthemums galore

The cold weather has been good for chrysanthemums. Those in the garden of the MC convent are so profuse they toppled over with heavy and profuse blooms. The sisters cut them and put them in their chapel but there were still many left so they gave them to me. I put them on our little Madonna statue in our refectory. They look fabulous.

Tensions are rising at our eastern border as Iran vowed to bomb Israel if it\s confirmed that Israel assassinated one of its top nuclear scientist. Eilat and Haifa have been mentioned as possible targets. Frightening. I guess the country will be put on red alert for the next days.

Advent eve

Musrara market

 Another cold drizzly day. Temp was no higher than 12 degrees. I had an emergency errand to run early at 8am ... some documentation of a 13th century manuscript. Once done, I rushed home in the cold drizzle, but first a short visit to the MC sisters to give them a sew-on clasp for their humeral veil and to the bakery to buy bread at the Musrara open market. 

At the open market, there were crowds of indian, african and ethiopian migrant workers shopping for cheap products and food, and arab minibus drivers yelling "Tel Aviv" for those who want to go back. These migrant workers usually come to Jerusalem on Saturdays for Mass and then do their shopping. It's a good break from work and the secular environment of Tel Aviv.

Afternoon was still dark and cold, and I had to finish my weekly assignment. I decided to work in my office as the aircon serves also as a heater. Happily I finished it by 4.30pm. I shared with 3 students some sufganiot (jam filled doughnuts) that I had bought from the bakery. It's nice to eat something sweet with hot tea on a dark drizzly afternoon. The students are stressed from writing their thesis as well.

My classmate from 30 yrs back in college died last night. It's very sad for all of us classmates who updated each other regarding her health. After university she studied theology and became a lay missionary ... and a very successful one too. I prayed for her all night and offered all my acute pain in the tooth and foot for her peaceful passing.

Tonight begins Advent. A strange Advent ... under covid restrictions. My Advent wreath is broken in pieces after 10 years. I might just go buy a new one ... something new under very strange circumstances. 

Cold weekend

Winter sky at 4.20pm

It's Black Friday ... and the govt. allowed some shopping malls to reopen. Of course those that were not allowed were very upset and some have opened in defiance. Queues in front of every opened shop. But I noticed only 2 along Ben Yehuda Mall offered Black Friday discounts. All the rest kept to normal prices. It must because they want to recuperate their losses. I had rushed out at the last minute 4.20pm to buy ink. But I was too late. Sabbath had started and almost all shops were closed except a couple of restaurants.

Along the way I saw a beggar huddling under a blanket in front of a Shopping Mall. It's very cold. Today the highest was 12 degrees and the lowest tonight will be 6 degrees. I hope he stays warm.

Beggar by the street

It's been a very hectic day for me, doing work and helping the Chinese sisters settle the bureaucratic process of being gazetted with the govt. Managed to finalize some things. But I'm very dizzy from exhaustion and hunger. And my plantar fasciitis and broken tooth are aching very bad. I'm not sure if I'll be able to walk home safely.

Palestinians have no more public transport as the govt. stopped them. Infection rates have soared. Israel is mulling closing the borders. As a result today we had no workers. Not sure how long this will last. If only people would be less care-less and be public minded in wearing the mask and washing their hands. Distancing is impossible in the small arab enclaves and streets. If this continues, it will badly affect our Christmas celebrations.

Storm

Palm Plaza cold and wet

What a storm! From yesterday rains had begun to fall heavily along the coast and the north. Thunder and lightening and lots of rain. Coastal cities like Tel Aviv were inundated, some places so bad that police had to rescue children from a kindergarten. Underground carparks were flooded ... and these flood waters flowed down to the southern deserts which are low-lying. Many desert roads were closed die to landslips and fallen boulders. 

Here in the central mountains things were less dramatic. We had rain all night, a heavy shower and very strong winds. Temps. fell to 6 degrees last night and today highest temp. was 9 degrees. Winter is back with a vengeance.

MC convent
chrysanthemums

Like several cold spells that we've had previously, winter plants are enjoying this weather. The chrysanthemums from the MC convent are blooming so profusely the sisters had to trim them off as they got top-heavy. And these were planted only in pots! They placed some in their chapel and gave me the rest. Marigolds too are flourishing with huge blooms with deep colours. It's amazing how nature reacts to climate change.

Tomorrow is Black Friday and I think many shops will be packed with people queuing outside for their turn to enter and shop. Normal shops are limited to 4 people at any one time. I think many will prefer to shop online ... but it lacks the thrill touching the products and choosing and comparing. Well, we're in the corona era ... habits and lifestyles must change. We'll just have to get used to it.

The northern border is very tense as yesterday Syria accused Israel of bombing several sites. We're not sure if there'll be retaliations but we'll have to be ready for anything.

Still cold

Sunrise today

 It's midweek. The temp. continue to be under 19 degrees. But the sun is up and very bright. So it doesn't feel so cold. In fact it is quite pleasant. The forecast is for rain today and tomorrow ... probably the coastal region will get wet but up in the central mountains we seldom get any rain.

Yesterday morning Mass on our way back to the monastery, we could smell a horrible  stench ... like burnt tires during the Intifada days. We discovered a fuse had burnt right through on the switch box ... quite badly burnt. It's time we had an electrical overhaul. The house is just too old ... almost 100 years now since it was rebuilt in 1927 after the great earthquake that destroyed most of Israel.

Narrow alley

Yesterday I went home through the alleys instead of the main road outside the City Walls. It occurred to me that the corona infection rate is rocketing in this section of the City ... 1 in 3 are infected. In the whole neighborhood of East Jerusalem there are 2000 infections a day. I was scared. The alleys are narrow and sometimes you have no way to keep distancing when people walk pass. Everyone put their masks on and turn away towards the walls to avoid contact. Good thing I'm chinese ... they see me and think "Corona carrier" ... the kids actually shout aloud and run away. That helps in distancing.

After an afternoon meeting yesterday discussing the rewiring overhaul of the house, I decided to go to out East Jerusalem again. Extra caution going there with double masks and gloves. I had to buy a small heater for one of our african students who's suffering from the cold, and also buy stationary for the libraries. I took a little detour to the only christian shop in that area which sells christ, as decorations. I try to help out that family every year by buying a couple of cheap things to give away to other poor families. It's the Christmas spirit ... and this year we really need it more than ever. 

Even colder

Dark rain clouds all day

And the new week begins ... with a very cold snap. Last night was 7 degrees and today at satire it was no higher than 17 degrees. The sky was dark from yesterday and there was a slight drizzle. In the western coastal cities, there were floods, storms and emergency rescues. Very dramatic. A sewage system broke in the north-east of the country and raw sewage burst into the Mediterranean Sea. Govt has been warning people not to enter the sea all along the coast because of the contamination. Yuck.

Corona infection rates have risen to 8,000+. The govt is again warning of tightening restrictions while shop owners have disregarded all caution and opened their shops even if they're non-essential. It's appalling. Yesterday I went to East Jerusalem to buy stationary for the library ... and all the main road, shops were open. Maybe one out of every 15 shops were closed. Though people wore masks, there was no social distancing. It was quite scary!

Empty plaza due to cold

I've been testing my work momentum and have found a workable system to fit my studies and work. As long as I finish each week's assignment by Friday every week, I should have time for my normal routine during the weekends. So today Monday, I have to start reading and collecting material for my weekly written assignment for next week. Sounds like chasing after the train, but it's exciting. So many new things to learn. I get up early each night at 2am to study. That's the only time I'm free from obligations.

My plantar fasciitis and broken tooth are both making life difficult. Both are very painful. I'll just have to live with it till they go away. The cold is not helping one bit as muscles and ligaments tend to tighten more. I'll have to keep my room warm.

Cold

Crowded Jaffa street today

 It is cold! Last night was just 9 degrees! That kind of temp. should come only at the end of December and in January. It rained today in Tel Aviv and the coastal cities, but up in the Judean mountains, we only had a drizzle. Still it was cold ... 12 degrees during the day. I've had my heater on all night to keep warm.

Outside the City was busting like there was no lockdown. The only difference is most people are wearing the mask. People who take off the mask when the area is devoid of people will put them on when you walk pass them. Even the rebellious youths put the mask back on after taking them off to snap photos. And the police are everywhere. In East Jerusalem they don't bother catching people without masks ... but in the jewish western part, they are strict. Today being Sabbath, local jews come to visit the Old City in groups with a guide. And migrant workers come too ... to attend Mass and enjoy the open air.

Migrant workers at Palm Plaza

Today Ah Ling of Mandarin restaurant cooked up a huge load of food for me ... again. She did it for the last 2 weeks. Half a dozen mantou and gigantic meat bao, one huge chives you bin, a plate of scrambled eggs with fresh chives, 2 fried fish and a plate of fried noodles. She said she was afraid I had no food to eat during this time of relaxed lockdown.But with so much food, I usually share it with the students or M. Teresa's sisters. Billy and Linda of Mian restaurant are also very good to me. Every 2 weeks they boil medicinal soup for me.  

Tomorrow is the last Sunday of the Liturgical year. 2020 is almost over. Let's hope things will get better by Christmas. Tourists are not likely to come back by then, but at least if we could only celebrate Mass together. Infection rates continue to be around 500 a day so that's good news for us. May Advent bring good news to all ... by vanquishing this pandemic.