Feast

Church leaders at anglican
cathedral

 Today is the feast of the Holy Cross. For us here it's a big feast as it actually happened here. Locally there are 3 feasts of the Holy Cross which are not celebrated anywheastere else. There's the finding of the Cross by St. Helena; the recovering of the Cross by Emperor Heraclius from the Persians who stole it; and the miraculous appearance of the Cross in the sky of Jerusalem. Luckily our liturgical calendar is different form the Orthodox churches, so we celebrated the feasts on different days. Otherwise the Holy Sepulchre would be packed.

There's alot of tensions going on around the borders. Shootings from both sides, and this morning 3 killed from both sides as well. Israel has started a massive crackdown on illegal palestinian weapon smuggling. And many attempted terrorist attacks have been thwarted. Of course this is in light of the upcoming jewish feastdays next week which will last some 20 days. Newspapers are saying Israel is on a record terror alert like ever before.

Israeli mooncakes

Last night there was a memorial service for Queen Elizabeth II at the Anglican St. George Cathedral in Jerusalem. All the religious leaders were there to sign the book of condolences. Not many laity though ... Britain is not well liked after it's administration for 40 years in this land led to the lost of palestinian lands and the establishment of the israeli state ... after the famous bombing of the King David hotel and killing the british governor. Well an era has passed. 

Full moon

Full moon

 I'm still recuperating from the anaphylactic shock ... not easy when the whole corridor is filled with dust. I have to stay in my office during the daytime to escape asthma attacks from the minuscule specks of paint and cement. This morning was particularly difficult as I just couldn't cough up the dust accumulated in my throat. I was dizzy due to the lack of oxygen.

Anyway it's autumn and the nights get chilly. The full moon is starting to wane and the sense of winter coming is exciting. it means Christmas, and rain and snow. On the other hand, I'll miss the hot sunny summers especially the week I spent in our house in Jaffa. It has been a very hot summer with heatwaves.

And talking about full moon, chinese migrant workers in Tel Aviv are making moon cakes and selling them for US$6. I was surprised when Chinese Catholic workers came for Mass bringing moon cakes last week! It's northern style meaning filled with nuts and dried fruit, unlike the southern type with lotus paste. In fact in Tel Aviv they're making dough-sticks (you tiao) and beancurd (Dou hua). I just need to find out where they're selling it.

Violence seems to be picking around the country again ... with lots of fear and prejudice arising. I just read that a jewish preschool this morning was faced with parents protesting that arab caregivers were hired. Now news say the coming Jewish holidays may be marred by arab extremists. There is a lot of tension. Let's hope nothing will happen.

Anaphylactic shock

4000 people under a full moon

 Last Friday I had to go to Jaffa to concelebrate the Konkani feast of Montifest which is the birth of the Virgin Mary. it's a very big feast for them. And it didn't fail to surprise. Some 4000 people gathered in the football pitch of our school. The Mass lasted 3 hours as the preacher gave a one hour homily. There was supposed to be a meal after the Mass but because it ended past 10pm almost everyone left immediately. It was the Sabbath and only a few private buses were running to bring people back to the center of town.

However the Mass was outdoors and a cool breeze was blowing , and a full moon was shining overhead. A very beautiful sight. 

However when I got back to our house in Jaffa that night, I was very hungry. They offered me a piece of smoked salmon to make a sandwich, but I didn't know it contained allergens. I had an anaphylactic shock as a result. My eyes, throat and tongue swelled. I couldn't breathe. I was slipping into unconsciousness. I had to use my EpiPen for a jab of antihistamine and adrenalin but the entire night was dreadful. For the next 48 hours I suffered the effects. Today I still am wheezing, and breathing is very painful. And the renovations at home is not helpful. I was told to move to Jaffa because the renovation of the corridor will only be worse and I definitely will be very sick. The entire weekend was just medically horrible. I've not felt so sick in recent years. Now I'm very afraid of eating anything. I'm just sticking to brown rice and boiled veggies. It's scary to suffer an anaphylactic shock.

Busy busy

Distributing donations

 It's been 5 days since I posted a blog. The renovation work has been very stressful. 36 tiles had to be removed and the floor repaved because they cracked. Meantime I was trying my best to clean up the shelves as much as possible. But with work continuing in the other 9 rooms as well as the corridor, the dust continues to dirty the room, and its a vicious cycle. I cough constantly despite wearing the mask. It's a harrowing experience.

Besides that I still have a heavy workload in the libraries, especially with the payments for magazine subscriptions. Then I had to help 2 sisters renew their visas. Then over 10 requests for student sponsorships. Then the MC sisters came to collect over 20 bags of clothes, food and medicines yesterday. I was totally exhausted every night and had no time to update my blog.

Meantime the weather has changed. Nights are chilly at 16 degrees and today I even had to wear a hoodie jacket at 5.30am when I went to the Ivrea convent for Mass. Everyone else was also wearing something to cover from the chill. Winter is coming. I hope it rains alot this time. Last winter was too dry.

And today is the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. St Anne's Church next door will celebrate a solemn Mass at 10am with the French ambassador in attendance. I believe the Belgium and other francophone ambassadors will also be there. It's the traditional place of Mary's birth. Tomorrow the Indian communities will celebrate the feast because its the weekend and they have a day off. I have 2 indian Masses to celebrate tomorrow so I'll be very busy this weekend.

More work

Sunrise at Palm Plaza

 Just when my room looked as if the ceiling was done and the painting of the walls was complete, another problem arose. 36 tiles on the floor were either broken or dislodged. Since all the furniture are already moved out, the workers said it's best to repair the tiles as well. So now it'll take another 5 days of work and my stay in the sisters' convent is extended ... rather reluctantly. Nevertheless since it's only the flooring that's being repaired, I started cleaning my bookshelves that were not removed during the ceiling repairs. The dust and chunks of cement were in every shelf and inside every book. I had to clean them one by one, so it took me 3 hours just to do 4 rows of shelves. And since I can't use the toilet in my room to get water, I have to draw water in a pail from the terrace every few minutes because the water got dirty very quickly.

The muezzin sings the call to prayer at 5am now instead of 3.30am which means we're in autumn. Soon it'll be the Mooncake festival and jewish Sukkot .... both marking mid-Autumn. That's in 2 weeks' time. And before we know it, 2022 will be over. Daylight is shorter and the nights are getting longer.

I just read that the Gaza military executed 5 gazans, 2 allegedly for spying for Israel. It is such a dastardly move to scare the people into submission, for it knows the people are dissatisfied and disillusioned with the enclave's administration.

One good news is that new Covid infections have fallen to below 100 per day. Still I'm not about to stop using my mask. I know I'm high risk so I have to responsible for my own health.

Weekend

Bedouin hawkers in
the morning

 Though the heatwave has now lowered to a constant 33 degrees during the day, it feels stifling hot ... so hot that I cannot wear the mask when out in the streets. I simply cannot breathe. So despite the widespread covid infection and large crowds on Fridays in the Old City, I walk home in the sweltering heat without a mask. And it scares me. Just 3 weeks ago an employee in our financial department was positive with covid ... and I'm there everyday to settle transfer payments of the numerous books that the libraries order weekly.

Hawkers that throng Damascus Gate plying their trade on the huge muslim and jewish crowds visiting the Old City start to move into the shade or simply stop working by noon as the sun is too relentless. Their vegetables and fruit from the villages wilt and spoil, and they make a huge loss.

There were clashes in Hebron and a soldier was stabbed. Israel stepped up air strikes into Syria and Russia has told Iran to leave those sites ... which is a big shift in policy. In fact Aleppo airport was struck too ... considerable damage as it's suspected of trafficking arms. Tension all around.

Back to school ... as the teachers' strike was narrowly avoided when the govt agreed to increase wages. So kids returned to school today. A good start for a new academic year.

School starts

Antar our watch-cat

 The past 3 days saw the heatwave reducing to 33 degrees at daytime. Nevertheless the heat is overpowering. I've stayed mostly in my room for the past days, also because of the renovation works. I needed to check on the work in progress. However the dust and heat were simply too much. And my temporary room in the sisters' convent doesn't have good wifi reception. That's why I couldn't update my blog regularly.

Up in the northern border we hear of Israel bombing Syria twice. Raids in Palestine by Israeli soldiers have also resulted in riots and deaths. This summer has seen unrest in pockets of areas but didn't upset the rest of the summer spirit.

Rockefeller Park

And ... the summer holidays are over. Today Sept.1st all schools resume. Suddenly the streets are packed with cars and kids walking to school at 6am. My daily walk to the Ivrea convent to celebrate Mass is a lovely half hour walk. The air is fresh and crisp and a cool wind blows. Rockefeller Park which is along the way to the convent is always a lovely walk, with the smell of the ancient olive trees wafting through the cool air. But today the streets were noisy with school kids. Another school year begins ....