Ahhh, Cyprus.
It's really quite amazing here. After many hours on multiple planes, we finally landed in Larnaca (
Λάρνακα) on Friday. It was, as we expected, very warm and very Greek (at least, since we are in the southern half of the island). After packing our suitcases into a few rental cars borrowed by the
PKAP (Pyla-Koutsopetria, our project) staff, the nine Messiah students (four guys: Matt, Nick, Kyle and Alex; five girls: Caitlin, Melissa, Becky, Rachel, and myself) packed into three different cabs and set off for the hotel. It really is a shame that you weren't in the cab, Mom and Dad; you never would have complained about my driving ever again! To summarize the drive, let's just say we were pushing 90mph and weaving in and out of traffic on lanes and city streets that were narrow, at best. White-knuckled, I arrive at the quite amazing hotel that I will be calling 'home' for the next few weeks.
Our hotel,
Petrou Bros. Travel Apts, is pretty nice. The five of us girls share a three bedroom apartment which has a full bathroom and small kitchen/dining area. We each have a balcony as well, which overlooks the city streets below. This is a blessing in disguise, of course, since it can get quite noisy, especially on the weekends. There will be a festival in a week or so which will last about a week, which we've been warned about. It WILL be noisy. Noisy is probably an understatement. The nice thing, though, is that, so far, I've been tired that very little will wake me up. It's a great feeling just falling into bed and not being kept up by anything. *Ah, this is the life.*
Another cool thing about our hotel is that the roof is accessible. We've had a few socials up there already; it's a great place to just sit and chat. You can see a good distance and there are even some plastic lounge chairs for our use. Good deal!
So what have I been up to, besides, of course, sleeping? Well, you'll be happily suprised to learn that I've tried to not nap all the time, although today after church I couldn't help but take a few hours long nap. We've been on the move a lot, though. Friday we had a small tour of our surroundings by our professor, David Pettegrew. After dinner, the undergrads (there are ten of us, Messiah students and a guy from UPitt, Justin) went out to explore, in search of fruit. I was so excited...I was on the search for a mango! Unfortunately, we didn't manage to find a place that sold fruit, but I did find some comfort food...a Mars bar and some orange soda! So delicious! Of course, we stopped by a bakery and picked up some dessert, too. Many of my comrades bought baklava, but, being a detester of nut products, I took a nut-free apple baklava, which I named applikava (although, Nick likes to call them all sugaklava because they are *VERY* sweet...almost too sweet for me....almost).
Yesterday wasn't too busy, at least, not that I can remember. I've been trying to keep up with my journal, but there is so much to write down that I often fall asleep before I can finish an entry. I've been keeping tabs though, so I know what to write when I get back to it. I figure I'll catch up on that when I'm done writing to you!
I do remember that we did a scavanger hunt for a good portion of yesterday. We recieved a certain amount of points for taking pictures of various things. I'm not sure how well this was thought through, since we probably looked a bit sketchy taking pictures of multiple ATMs, public buildings, post office boxes, and churches/mosques. It was a good opportunity to orientate myself to the city. I know where a few things are, the important things (bakery, market place, beach, internet cafe), but I never quite know where the hotel is. Luckily, I don't need to go far for anything, and if I do, I always go with a buddy (see parents, I am responsible). With all that said, Larnaca (or Larnaka if you are Turkish) is a very safe city. Not that I will, but if I had to go somewhere on my own, during the daytime of course, I would feel very comfortable doing so. Luckily, there is always someone willing to go out for something. It's a great deal.
How is the food, you ask? Why, thanks for asking! Our eating schedule is a bit different from what it is back home, due to our work schedule. We eat breakfast in our rooms (food that PKAP buys us- kelloggs cornflakes, yum!) and are out usually between 8 and 9. Lunch is on our own, but typically around 2 or so, earlier depending on what day of the week it is. Dinner is provided by PKAP and prepared by "the cook", Dalton; this is usually around 7 or 8. Yesterday, however, we went out for dinner. I had chicken souvlaki (pretty much chicken kabobs, but you can put it in a pita with tomatoes and cucumbers and onions; I kept the onions out; and then there is a sauce, which was DELICIOUS). Tonight dinner is here at the hotel, but later around 8. It's surprisingly easy to eat at such an odd schedule; I might have a snack here and there, but usually there is so much food that I'm stuffed. As horrible as it sounds, I didn't have time for breakfast today and even though I woke up at 7:30, I haven't eaten (although that might be a lie, I had a little applikava a little while ago) and it's already 4:12pm. I have a mango upstairs that is calling my name though, so I might have that in a while, before dinner at 8.
Today, being S
unday, a group of us went to church. We went to Ayios Lazarus (The Church of Lazarus) for an Eastern Orthodox service. It was a really neat combination of formal/informal practices. It lasted maybe around 2 hours, although we weren't there for the very beginning. People came and left as needed, although a large group arrived towards the middle, during the preparation for the eucharist. People walked around the inside venerating each of the icons, and children participated, too. It was amazing seeing little children that had, more than likely, just learned to walk, kissing the feet of Jesus on the icon.
Since I am on a friend's computer (I decided not to bring my laptop in order to reduce my stress) I am going to get going. My mango is ripening by the minute, I'm sure.
I'll try to check in in a few days! Much love from the Middle East!
=)
[pictures (from top to bottom): a panoramic shot of Larnaca, taken from the roof; the first "official" roof social for PKAP, (l-r) Nick, Matt, Kyle, Alex; Ayois Lazarus.]
