Crowds

Soaking in the sun today

 The weather has been warming up this weekend. Up to 18 degrees. But the nights continue to be chilly. I caught a cold this morning at 4am despite having the heater aimed at my bed all night. Runny nose all days.

But the sun was very welcomed by the crowds and lots of people came out to the streets and parks to soak in the sun. Crowds were stacked at the cavea seats of Damascus Gate. Yesterday evening while coming home, I also found huge crowds at the cavea. People were just sitting and chatting and enjoying the warm weather instead of being stuck inside the house. You won't know that the pandemia is still around, Hardly anyone wore masks and distancing doesn't exist. The police were there but nothing was enforced. We've reached a stage whree everyone believes we just have to live with the virus and deal with it. Shops cannot continue to close as families have suffered financially and psychologically for the past 2 years.

Night time crowds

The Spring break is over and school has restarted. The libraries are getting crowded again and our schedule is back to normal. My problem is my body can't catch up. I've slowed down alot and no longer have the energy. Just walking to work is an ordeal. But I'll have to continue so the students get their books and references needed for their studies.

Meantime I might be due to meet my doc again. Overall I'm not feeling good and something is wrong. I'm keeping all the rules of Covid prevention but there's still other health problems to be addressed.

US$1 a piece online

Sunrise today

 My volunteers from Milan University arrived last night. Now we have 2 years of backlog work to cover. And they're here for 7 days. I told them its 24/7 work. No less. That means I have to work with them. So I'll be extremely busy from today till the following weekend. Just thinking about it makes me tired. When minute they stepped into the library, I brought one for a meeting with the director of Cultural Heritage regarding a 2 year project. Then it was a rundown of what needs to be done. I reached home at 7pm with swollen feet, sore throat and mental exhaustion. Tomorrow begins another full day's work.

Weekend fish market

It's this kind of workload that cause me to buy Tiger Balm plaster for my neck and shoulders ... at exorbitant prices. I just checked on AliExpress. They're selling 10 pieces for 33 shekels which is US$10, hence US$1 for each. That's a lot cheaper than the US$4 a piece sold at the pharmacies. Still US$1 a piece is exorbitant ... but when you need it, you need it.

The weather was a little warm but by mid-afternoon the sky became cloudy and grey and the cold came back. I wasn't totally prepared for how cold it became and so walking home was an ordeal. Noticeable more people are out in the streets, mainly because it's Friday night. Muslims go to the mosque in large numbers, and Jews in equally large numbers walk to the Wailing Wall to pray at the start of the Sabbath.

Well I'm going to have a good rest tonight (despite the cold that kept me awake last night) so I can face tomorrow's work headon.

Tiger Balm plaster .... US$4 a piece

Cold and wet this morning

 The rain continued all evening and morning. The temp dropped to 4 degrees from yesterday's 17 degrees. I was expecting the worse this morning when I had to go to the Convent of Ivrea for Mass. Timing myself to walk very slowly because of my breathing as well as the very slippery streets, I left my house 45 minutes prior to Mass ... a journey which normally takes 10 minutes for normal people. There were 2 moments when my breathing became laboured but I had time to stop and regain my breath. So I reached the convent in much better shape than the past days, but totally soaked by the rain.

The walk home as much better healthwise. By then my lungs were cleared and I could breathe properly. But the rain continued and I almost slipped 3 times on the dreaded Jerusalem stones that pave the City. I wish the Municipality could do away with this aesthetics and be more practical by paving all the streets with tar and bitumen. It would spare many people from slipping and breaking arms, legs and hips every winter.

Pine tree in the rain

As the weather chilled, so too the govt which announced it will tackle the rising cost of living. Remember Tel Aviv is not the most expensive to live in the world, pushing out Singapore and Hong Kong that came in 2nd and 3rd. I avoid buying anything unless I really need it and only after deciding what else I must sacrifice in order to get it. Prioritize. With the special diet that the hospital imposed because of my allergy to most kinds of proteins including red meat, I'm buying mostly veggies to eat. But the snow and heavy rains have destroyed crops so even veggies are expensive now.

And don't even ask about medicines. One piece (not box) of Tiger Balm medical plaster is 12 shekels or US$4. I need it badly so I have no choice but to buy it ... and so sacrifice on food. Good bye lunch and dinner.

Rain?

Ivrea convent chapel

Yesterday was amazingly warm ... 17 degrees. And like I always say, when it warms up so will the violence. Syria last night whether purposely or mistakenly, fired a missile into Israel. And Israel retaliated by bombing Syria's military sites. Right now fighter jets are flying overhead. No idea why.

There was a demonstration in front of a burger shop yesterday at Jaffa Street but I didn't understand what it was all about. And in the Old City there was an increase of police ... I guess they were expecting trouble though I'm not sure why. Lots of stop-and-search of young arab men and women. In fact the son of our doorman was arrested 2 night ago after he resisted being searched.

5.30am street

It's my turn to celebrate Mass at the Ivrea convent this week. Because of my difficulty in breathing, it takes me 30 minutes instead of 10 minutes to walk the 1km to the convent. It was difficult for me the last 2 days, but today was especially difficult. I almost fainted 3 times along the way because I could not breathe. The streets are very quiet at 5.30am when I start to walk out. The muslims are in the mosque praying so no one is about. It's cold too. I didn't think I'd make it to the convent this morning. All I could think about was if I collapsed in the street now ... When I reached the convent, Sr. Teresia quickly helped me to a seat in the sacristy. We had to start the Mass 5 mins late so I could recover. I really felt very very sick.

But by 10am I was back to normal. It happens everyday .... when the sun is up I feel so much better. Maybe there's a night devil torturing me and goes away only when the sun is up. Every night.

Anyway the forecast is rain now ... but it's not. The sky is a little cloudy but still sunny. Temp has dropped to 13 degrees. But no sign of rain.

Uneventful day

Narcissus for sale

 It's been very sunny today. But still the temp is around 8 degrees. Midweek showers are again predicted with a fall of 3 degrees from today. Winter is ending and the daffodils/narcissus are blooming profusely, tghe bedouin women sell them in bunches by the street ... though the almonds are still not even budding. Usually they would be the first to bloom before all the other flowers. It's been a short winter ... and though I dislike the cold and wet, I'm beginning to miss it.

Last night was a hectic night. I accompanied a student who was on his way to Spain. At midnight. In the cold. We walked 1km out to the American Colony Hotel to wait for the minivan-taxi to bring him to the airport. Then I walked home alone ... which was at 1.30am. I hardly slept as at 4am I had to prepare to go to the Sisters of Ivrea for Mass. Though they live 1km away northwards in an outlying village, I need at least half an hour to walk there because of my asthma. It's always a pleasant walk even in winter, passing through the Rockefeller Park ... but my breathing has become so laboured I almost faint along the way. Maybe its a sign to say I have to retire and go live in the infirmary. My whole body is breaking down. 

After Mass I came home to pack my stuff and go to work 1km away westwards and uphill. This takes me over 40 minutes to reach as I barely shuffle to work. I've been thinking lately that almost all the past 30 years I've not had one day of good health, one day without pain. It can be quite depressing.

After the silence

Cold crisp evening

 It's almost a week since I posted. I've not been feeling well. I thought I might have caught Covid as I was coughing alot with a sore throat. I could not walk over 200 meters nor climb stairs. Some students help me along but I just cannot breathe. I consTantly feel faint due to lack of oxygen. But the tests were negative and I really think it was due to the change in weather with the low temp. hitting us, together with dry air and a sandstorm 2 days back to add to my misery. There were moments of drizzle but the air nevertheless was very dry which hurts the throat when you breathe in. I've been drinking lemon and orange juice since and it has helped alleviate the pain. I just my heavy dosages of asthma medicine daily have pre-empted any Covid infection. Still it's not a joke when 100,000 infections a day are recorded. I wear the mask everywhere and clean my hands with alcohol swipes. Not taking any chance. Outside most people have stopped using the mask. Anyway I'm slowly recovering and hope to get back in shape relatively soon.

The govt will remove the Green Pass requirement for entering enclosed buildings on March 1st. That includes restaurants, shopping malls, gyms etc. But indoor events such as concerts still require the Green Pass. I'm not sure how this applies to church services though. Or libraries for that matter. Nothing has been said about it in the news.

Bethlehem: Roadside
coffee seller

I had gone to the MC convent in Bethlehem last week to bring medicines and clothes to the poor. In that Palestinian town, nobody wears the mask. And I read from the newspapers that Palestinian hospitals are 85% full and reaching crashing point in the next week. People crowd all over the place with no regard for hygiene - coughing and sneezing into others' faces. It's pretty scary. 

As the temp hovers between 1 and 8 degrees everyday, most people avoid going out and there's been a significant drop in violent clashes and terrorist attacks. Let's hope Mother Nature will keep this up.

New Year

Reunion dinner

 The Year of the Tiger crept in silently amidst lockdowns and social restrictions. There certainly wasn't a big celebration here as many chinese living here are isolated because of being infected or fear of being infected. We had a simple Mass on the last day of the Year of the Ox at the IHM convent. A special altar and lectern was made for the convent ... and since the chapel was too small to fit all of us, we celebrated the Mass in the living room. Only 6 of us - 3 sisters and 2 priests and an arab neighbour. After that we had a lovely Reunion dinner cooked by the sisters. They spent 10 hours preparing and cooking it because they had only one stove ... nevertheless high class restaurant standard food and presentation! 

On the 1st day of the New Year, I organised a lunch for over 10 asian religios living in Jerusalem. That included Vietnamese, Thai, Filipio, Indonesian, Hong Kong citizens. However all but 3 decided to come as many had come into contact with someone infected with the virus, and knowing that I'm not vaccinated they did not want to risk infecting me. So in the end only 4 of us were at lunch at the Mandarin restaurant. Ah Ling the owner cooked up a great lunch for us and we enjoyed it very much ... not least because we were the only people there. The restaurant is under renovation and therefore closed to the public. But Ah Ling opened up a private room just for us to use. Very kind of her.

Altar and lectern for Mass

And the rest of the 1st day was spent at work. The weather has warmed up a little ... 7 degrees maximum. And the sky continued to be gray and cloudy. The weekend will see heavy rains again ... and probably Chap Gho Meh (Yuan Xiao) will be cold and wet.

I'm getting much better though I had a couple of days bleeding. My memory is still not very good and once in a while people need to remind me what I am doing, where I am going etc. And the body is not as nimble as before ... reflexes are much slower. I realised that I cannot even type this blog without making mistakes ... not typos but I type a word when I intended another. The mind and the fingers are not coordinating.