Rain

Heavy showers

 Last night a storm broke over the country and it's still raining today. Heavily. And temperatures have dipped to single figures. At times, gruepel and sleet were falling instead of rain. That usually is the start of snow. There's no thunder and lightening though. However the weather forecast says it'll only rain for the next 3 days. I'm trying to keep as warm as possible. As the sun sets at 5.30pm the sky continues to be bright red ... a sure sign of more rain tonight. Everyone is happy despite the inconvenience of slippery roads. We need the rain badly. The level of the River Jordan has dropped drastically after last year's 28 yr high. Well one thing for sure, some of us find this weather perfect for sleeping.

The rain hasn't stopped thousands of right-wingers to demonstrate at the PM's office yesterday night. They're afraid the govt will stop validating their settlements in arab lands, or stop expanding jewish occupation. It's a dreadful tragedy which no foreign country wants to get involved in.

Rain all day

The diet that I must keep in preparation for my hospital appointment on Monday is weakening me. I'm allowed to eat only eggs or fish and a little rice or pasta. And that's one meal a day ... it should be several light meals but no one is cooking for me. And the medication is strong. I almost fainted yesterday on my way home. My legs felt like jelly and the 1 km walk home was beyond me.

Infections today have jumped to 40,000 yesterday. The prediction according to a newspaper report is 2 million in the next 2 weeks. Awful scary.

Well it's still raining heavily and I have medication at 7pm. So I'll try to sleep early. Haven't decided what to do tomorrow but one day at a time ... no use rushing too much into the future when it's raining and offers a great opportunity to sleep.

What's happening?

Morning scene

 Infections have risen to 36 in our main monastery, and an ambulance came yesterday but I'm nit sure for who or why. The situation is out of control in the country, and the govt. hopes all this will lead to herd immunity. 

Meantime crowds continue to swarm the City. No distancing. The minimum they do is wear a mask .... but mostly for foreigner workers and people living outside Jerusalem. Locals especially the men refuse to wear the mask ... and probably they're the carriers. Kids' omicron wards are being opened as cases rise unprecedentedly. 

Clashes continue quietly throughout the country, news being overtaken by Omicron. There was a car ramming yesterday, the driver was shot dead by soldiers. Raids and arrests were made in arab villages, one elderly arab died of a heart attack. Clashes occurred in the desert as jewish groups planned to re-forest the desert but bedouins say it's taking over their land. An arab family will soon be evicted from their house in the troubled Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood and we expect more clashes there.

So much turmoil, people are unsure of what to do, who to turn to. I need some time out to let things settle down. I must go for my hospital appointment on Monday but with all this chaos and covid, I'm not sure who's driving me there and who'll stay with me. Who's healthy enough to bring me there and not get me infected during the 90 minute ride.

Infections

Friday market

 Infections in our main monastery where I work has shot up to over 30. And there is at least one case in the place where I stay. I am wearing the mask even at home, as soon as I walk out of my room. Constant hand-washing is also necessary for me. I give up on alcohol gels. I think I'm developing an allergy to it.

Any walk through Damascus Gate will show you why Omicron is spreading so fast. Hawkers peddling their goods and crowds jostling without wearing masks. Weekends are even worse. I avoid gong through that area. Instead I take a long detour, half a km, to Herod's Gate to get home. It's less crowded and I feel safer.

A good friend, Fr. Romeo has just decided to go for the Covid test. He said I'll have to go to hospital soon and he doesn't want me to be infected before I get there. We sit next to each other during meals. I wish others who be just as considerate. There are some who have clearly been exposed to infected persons but refuse to be tested nor stay in isolation. 

There was an earthquake this morning in Cyprus but it was felt here. People woke up at 5.30am finding furniture shaking. A timely reminder that we're due to a massive and direct one anytime.

One catastrophe after another ... what a way to start the New Year. And the Chinese New Year is also round the corner. I doubt we'll be able to celebrate it here with this pandemic. I'm not vaccinated so I can't mix with crowds and enter restaurants. I'll spend it quietly alone.

Shadows

Shadows

 It's been 5 days since my last update on the blog. I was busy but not that busy ... the delay is due to an outbreak of corona in our main monastery. Today 23 are tested positive now. Since I lost my wifi connection in my house, I have to do all my online work in my office which is situated in the main monastery. But with the infection, I'm forbidden to enter that place. They are afraid I might catch the virus because I'm not vaccinated. Everyone there goes about in masks now.

Israel has reopened its borders and airport. Corona infections are way over 16,000 and the govt has given up controlling it. More serious cases needing hospitalisation are flooding hospitals. Experts are warning of a crash in the medical system. People like me who need non-corona treatment are put on the waiting list for 2 months. Well I hope they won't cancel my appointment for next week. I can't wait anymore.

Silhouette

Sunrise is late and sunset is early. That's winter. The shadows cast by the sun when the winter skies are crisp and clear, are amazing. Last week I saw the shadow of a bare tree on the wall of the Notre Dame Centre. Many people were there photographing it. Little marvels.

The weather is cold, as it should be. I turn on my 2 small heaters in order to stay warm. And a thick blanket in the night as I've been shivering the past few nights. I'm self-isolating before my hospital appointment so as not to catch the common flu as well. I must not compromise my health status now, otherwise my appointment will be postponed for another 2 months.

Cold dark days

5pm ... cold and dark

 It's Wednesday ... 5th day of the New Year. Corona infections here have blown out to over 11,000 yesterday. I don't know what the new national policy and strategy will be but for me, I'm taking no chances. By now everyone knows me with a mask, and with the cold I'm also with a beanie and scarf and thick hoodies. When I came out of the library once with the beanie and scarf and mask, everyone said they forgot how I looked. What a great laugh!

Being winter, the sky gets very dark by 5pm. I was struck how much the seasons have changed. The trees are all bare of leaves. Less birds are flying and singing during the day. All they do is scavenge for food to keep warm. I bought a kilo of pigeon feed and toss out a handful each morning for the turtledoves and sparrows that gather in our courtyard. Some 40 birds would wait eagerly along the walls ... and swarm down as soon as I walk away. The poor things need the food to keep warm. 

Anyway the walk home is always interesting in this dark and cold season. Everyone is wrapped up but still are out and about, the youths usually going to Mamilla Mall. Yes despite the rise of infections there is no crowd control, no distancing and especially no mask-wearing. Perhaps herd immunity is closer than we expect.

Mass at Nablus MC

Yesterday I had to go to Nablus to deliver donated clothes, blankets and aid to the MC sisters. Though its about 65km away from Jerusalem, there is only one road connecting the 2 cities ... and it winds around lots of mountains. So it actually takes 90 mins to 2 hrs to reach there. I started at 8am and came home only at 1pm, utterly exhausted from the ride. Anyway with the indian govt freezing the MC account in Calcutta, the missions all around the world are now facing financial difficulties to serve the poorest of the poor. Please help donate to your local MC mission. They need your kindness.

Holy Name

Fresh veggies from the village

 Yesterday I tried posting a blog but it could not be done. My blog blocked me from posting. So I'm going to try again today. 

Yesterday was cold and drizzly ... and today was still cold but it stopped drizzling. I've been having breathing problems for the past 2 days so I couldn't walk up to work. Our doorman drove me up to my office in his golf cart ... which was a good thing because the streets are very slippery from the drizzle. Once in my office, I had the heater turned on. My bones are aching because of the cold. The weather report says that the next 2 days will see more rain. That's good because we need the rain, but its a personal inconvenience for me.

One thing I noted was the amount of fresh vegetables being sold by the villagers and bedouins in the streets. They are exceptionally large and plentiful. That's a good sign because it means they are not expensive, unlike the processed foods which have shot up in prices. As I'm allergic to preservatives, I avoid processed foods and therefore safe on money. Fresh vegetables are my staple and I see this winter will provide me with cheap abundant food.

Despite the rising corona infection ... over 6000 yesterday ... Israel has just decided to reopen the airport and allow tourists to enter the country. It's plan is to head for herd immunity. Well that rules me out. Today being the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, we invoke it to cast off the evil of this pandemic and allows us poor folk to live in peace and under the Holy Name's protection.

New Year

Cold, wet New Year's eve

 It's the first day of 2022, and we celebrate the solemnity of the Mother of God. I presided the Konkani Mass at our parish for several hundred konkanis. It was a nice start to the new year. It started with a 20 minute eucharistic adoration. Then Mass was celebrtaed. With the Omicron infection rising to 5000 a day, everyone had masks on, even me. 

It rained all night and this morning was freezing cold. I thought of going to walk around East Jerusalem but the roads are slippery so I decided not to. It would have been a little different from the routine ... I even thought of going to Bethany to visit the garden and pet shop. But I forgot to bring my passport and there's a checkpoint  between Jerusalem and Bethany. 

Delicious dinner at the Barakat
home

Last night the Barakat family, whom I've known for well over a decade, invited me over for a New Year's Eve dinner. There was warak dawali (stuffed grape leaves) which I like very much, other stuffed veggies, roasted lamb and beef and a host of arab salads. I loved it. Their 2 sons have grown up. I remember them as little boys whom their mother brought to work as they had no babysitter. We had a nice family time, chatting and enjoying the meal. It's been 3 decades since I had New Year / Christmas dinner with a family. Usually I'm alone at home during this festivity as everyone here goes home.

Well 2022 has started. Let's see how it goes.