So yesterday a bunch of us decided to go for a walk in a national park here in the city. However, after seeing some monstrous killer demon fish and some oddly deformed and gargantuan duck-aliens in the pond, we ran out of things to stare at like tourists. So, being the brilliant people that we are in a country that was invaded in a civil war of sorts only 30 years ago, we crossed a main road, meandered through what was a perfect movie-set minefield, and then debated where to go from there. Like in any good movie, for the action (or horror, whatever) to start, the group must split up, so we did.
The two boys, two other girls and I decided to go climb a mountain we could see in the distance. Not climb a trail, not take the road, but just go straight up the side of the mountain, picking our way up the loose soil through pricker bushes and ... oh yeah... abandoned gun turrets. After climbing down inside it to explore (because that's a brilliant idea) we ventured on.
When we got to a point where we couldn't climb any higher on the mountain, we decided to try the road to see if we could get to the very top. Now, to Joe, Alana and I, the barbed wire, razor wire, big gate blocking the road, military barracks and the giant "stop" sign seemed designed to indicate that maybe we should turn around at that point. Unfortunately, to the other two, it was a clear invitation to explore.
Long story short, when the soldier with the very big rifle came jogging towards us, we made a very hasty retreat back down the mountain, while I debated which of my companions to trip in order to make my getaway.
What makes this such a good story is the fact that I did NOT in fact get shot with the very big rifle, nor even thrown into a foreign prison. I've heard those aren't fun.
In today's news, my class schedule is all messed up, but the Cypriots in my photo class are a total riot, and after class we ended up just hanging out and chatting in the cafe for two hours.
The hardest part was finding the room. Seriously, this semester is going to be the easiest one I've ever had.
Oh, and one of my prof's said he could put me in touch with some NGO's in Cyprus, how cool is that? Tomorrow when I can get onto my email again, I'll send him one so he can forward it to them. Wish me luck! I'm not really sure what I'm hoping for yet...
I attempted to make tzaziki spread today... and oh man it's amazing :D
I've gotta cut down on my consumption though, because groceries here are expensive!
Oh yeah, and we went to the other side of the island a couple days ago-- the Turkish side.
A few years ago they declared themselves a separate country, but they aren't recognized by any country except Turkey. We had to show our passports, but they only stamp the visa. I now have a visa and stamps from a country that legally doesn't exist!
Happy birthday Dad and Grandmom!
It's been a wild couple of days. A couple of girls I hadn't met yet went with me to search out different spots around town, and we were supposed to meet up with the rest of the kids in our program at some restaurant. Sounds good, right?
We got sooooo horribly lost.
We even ended up at the wrong restaurant.
Luckily, we ended up at the place that has been labeled by a few magazines as having the best meze in Nicosia.
And oh my god was it amazing. SOOOOOO much food. We even had snails, and one of the girls screamed when she pulled it out of the shell (they're very ugly out of the shells). Meze is not one food, when you order meze, its the entire meal-- they bring out a ton of traditional food-- cold appetizers, hot appetizers, main dishes, deserts, coffee... just mountains of food. we had to pile platters on top of other platters and a little side-table because we couldn't fit it all. It was a good mistake. ... plus the waiters were really cute...
Speaking of the food, my roomie and I have been blaming it for the weird dreams we've all been having.
We went to Troodos the other day, the mountains, and had great Cyprus coffee, went exploring, got lost, went to the wine capital of the country, and of course got a few souvenires and a lot of great pictures. Since my camera is broken, basically everyone here is really sweet to me, handing me their cameras so I can take pictures, and then allowing me to upload them onto my computer. Unfortunately, the internet is slow and sketchy here, so it's hard to put them on facebook, and nearly impossible to put them on this site. I'll try again...eventually. Hey, I've been
We've gone out every night, except tonight because I'm just exhausted. I spent all day lazing about because no one had the energy to do anything.
So last night a whole bunch of us went out to a sports bar at 7 to watch the presidential inauguration. We were nearly the only ones there (usually the bars don't even open until 11 for the sports bars and 1am for some of the better clubs) but we made a lot of noise. There was much cheering for Obama, and much booing for Rick Warren, and the bartender sent us all a round of shots to celebrate, and then one of the kids announced that he had brought a ridiculous amount of American flags in his luggage, and later hung a full-sized one in one of our apartments. At midnight one of the girls on our trip turned 21, so basically, much celebrating... for some people, TOO much celebrating.
This morning we had a lecture, and everyone from our party looked like they'd stumbled out of bed and were half asleep.... so basically we looked like American college students.
...Except for Emily. One of my suitmates wakes up ridiculously early every morning, no matter how late we all go to bed the night before and get this-- she CLEANS. I know. I think I'm in love.
Also, I've met my new best friend, Josh. I told him I was adopting him. He said he was okay with that, which is good, because he probably didn't have a choice.
Today's mission is a cooking class! We're all excited.
So we went out last night, got a taxi downtown, went out to a sushi bar (yes, again, we sort of missed out on the whole Cyprus thing) and then went barhopping. I DID have local beer, which was actually really good, I'd recommend it if you're ever in the area.
However, two of us came home early (not wanting to spend all our money in one night-- drinking is EXPENSIVE here!) and then the third wandered in. Then an hour and a half later (four-thirty am) the last one came home... with three greek boys. They then were joined by some random girl no one knew and no one liked (she was very brash and ridiculous) and they stuck around and made a ton of noise until SIX AM!
So this morning when I woke up, I tested my camera by taking a bunch of pictures of the apartment, and it appears to work most of the time, but since I can't see anything in the viewing screen, I can't aim or set up my shots, so a lot of them look terrible, and none of them look all that good or artistic, so I'm very frustrated. However, by taking a million shots of the same things, I'm hoping I'll get a few good ones, and I can post them!
We've been eating most of our meals out on the balcony-- it's gorgeous (hope you're enjoying your negative-degree weather, it's supposed to get near 70 here today!).
On a depressing note, I have been told (we haven't watched the news or even seen a TV screen since we got here) that a plane crash landed in the Hudson River a few days ago, but luckily everyone survived. ...except the bird that caused the engine problem in the first place.
One of my suitmates was in the shower this morning, and even though this is supposed to be one of the three days we have running water (the next day isn't till Tuesday!) the water ran out mid-shower.
So we walked around the city today, and my camera officially kicked the bucket.
Also, uploading pictures to this site is not really working. I'll try again sometimes, but you'll have to check facebook if you want the whole mess, and until I can figure out how to get another camera, or steal pictures from everyone, I won't even HAVE any to post
Yes, I am alive, a little worse for wear, desperately need a shower, and completely exhausted, but I am now in my (currently heatless because we haven't figured that out yet) apartment with 2/3 of my new roomies.
The apartment is gorgeous, the city is cute (what I've seen so far) and at least most of my stuff made it here with me okay.
Unfortunately, my brand-new camera did not. Even though it was packed cushioned in a bag inside my carry-on on the top so it wouldn't get squished, something happened and cracked the viewing screen, so it still seems to take pictures (I'll test that theory tomorrow-- I don't have the heart to try it tonight) but I can't see what I'm taking a picture OF. Broke my heart and totally crushed my spirit.
24 1/2 hours after I got into the Larnaca airport, the shuttle to my apt came, so I'm here now. Most uncomfortable night ever. Long, boring, and the metal chairs were torture. The entire lower half of my body was alternately numb and in pain.
We all went to an orientation dinner tonight, so my first meal in Cyprus was.... (drum roll please) Pizza Hut pizza! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, authentic Cypriot cuisine.
We're also having a drought apparently. We have running water every other day, or something like that.
I do have a funny story to tell you, and then I am going to go pass out for at least a day and a half.
On the first flight of my million-hour-journey, there was a young male flight attendant, who made friends with a little girl a few rows ahead of me. When they came by with the drink carts, he called her "Princess" when he asked her what she wanted. When we landed, he came dashing up to say goodbye to "his princess," and she stood up on the seat, said "You need a really big hug," (proceeding then in giving him several) and informed him that she would take him home to Brazil with her and teach him Portuguese. It was absolutely adorable.
Alright, shower and bed for me, Goodnight!
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