Day 407

I always used to begin my blogs with the number of days/weeks/months that I have been in Cyprus. It doesn't really seem practical to do that anymore now that it's been 407 days, so I won't.

But I do feel like it is time for an update. As most of you know, Barb and I were back in the US for the majority of August. So returning to Cyprus sort of felt like "Take 2 – Moving to Cyprus" but this time knowing what to expect. So, it has been 2 weeks since we've been back and year 2 is in full swing. Thinking back to this time last year, I realize how much has changed. To me, my knowledge of Greek doesn't seem to be one of them, but I've been told otherwise by the people around me, though they're probably just trying to be nice. Last week I started yet another new Greek class, this one at the University of Cyprus. I took a placement test and something must've gone terrible wrong because it placed me in Intermediate level, which clearly is a bit of a stretch, being that as far as I'm concerned the other people in my class already speak Greek!! It is a 3 hour class, twice a week and taught entirely in Greek (read: goes right over my head). Although frustrating, I've already paid for it through May so the only thing I can do is just go to class and hope something sinks in. It can't hurt, right? Oh did I mention that Barb and I are moving to Athens next year? So, obviously there is some real motivation to learn this stupid language!

In Year One, Barb and I and did a lot of exploring around the island. One region that we hadn't gotten around to exploring was the Karpaz peninsula, so we decided to go over the weekend. We packed sleeping bags, a tent, and some coolers and headed out, without much of a plan. Driving along the coast with the top down was beautiful. There are wild donkeys everywhere. We stopped at various deserted beaches along the way and just sort of went wherever looked interesting. At one point we saw a sign that said "alternative route" to some harbor and old church so we took it. It wasn't a paved road, but it looked like a fairly decent dirt road. It turned out to actually be a hard packed sand road – in most places. Some sections weren't so hard packed and in one particularly deep sand part we got stuck (picture driving a small car on a beach). We tried everything to get the car out of the sand but the tires were just spinning and digging the car deeper and deeper into the sand. It was 95 degrees out, middle of the day in the hot sun and Barb and I were lying on the ground using our hands and arms to try to move as much sand away from the tires as possible so the tires could get some treading. Then one of us would get in the car and the other would push as hard as we could, but still…nothing. Of course our South phones don't work there and even our North phone had sketchy service but I managed to call a Turkish Cypriot friend who was going to make some phone calls to people with 4-wheel drive vehicles. But while we were waiting, a pick-up truck came along from the other direction and 3 guys got out, realized we were stuck and immediately started helping us. Barb was speaking to them in Turkish, because after all, we were in the north (although later we realized they were actually Greek Cypriots!), and I was just standing there with mud dripping down my face (sweat + sand/dirt). The guys (who no doubt thought we were really weird – 2 Americans with Greek Cypriot license plates, but speaking Turkish) took rope out of their truck, tied it to the front of our car and after a few tries, pulled the car our of the sand! Luckily, just a mile down the road was a beautiful beach and we parked and ran straight into the sea.

I have to honestly say that for the first time I can see why the Greek Cypriots say that they lost the best beaches of the island in 1974. While I have fallen in love with the beaches on the east coast (Nissi, Cape Grecko, Fig Tree), I now have a new love – the beaches on the Karpaz. The water is just as beautiful (beautiful turquoise water where you can see straight to the bottom even when your feet can't touch) but the beaches are huge, sandy and deserted. The weather was beautiful. Now that we've been here a full year, Barb and I decided that September is officially our favorite month because the air is still very warm (90's) during the day (instead of 100's like July/August), the water is very warm, although still refreshing, and the night air is perfect for sitting outside and eating dinner, without being too hot or too chilly. It was perfect weather for camping, especially being right on the beach. For more pictures from the trip, click here.

Cypresians

Some people have asked me how the concert was on Saturday. It was an interesting experience, as this is the first concert I've attended in Cyprus (they don't exactly get many big names here!) Well, I was worried that we were going to miss something because the ticket said it was from 7 pm - 12 am, and we didn't get there until almost 9. But, in true cypriot fashion, when we arrived at 9, the place was empty! See, Cypriots can't go anywhere until 1) at least 2 hours have passed since the "start" time; 2) the sun has gone down; 3) they've woken up from their nap; and 4) their kids have woken up from their naps.

You might be wondering what 4 has to do with anything, seeing as that typically in the US, children under 10 don't attend rap concerts, especially ones that go until almost 3 am. But here, sure enough the kids were on their dad's shoulders, wide awake. (I take comfort in thinking that either they didn't speak english or that they were just too young to understand that every other word was a swear word, or talking about drugs or sex.)
Anyway, the only thing we missed by arriving at 9 was an opening singer or two, that we'd never heard of anyway. The other "headliner" was Julian Marley (son of Bob, but with nowhere near the talent). Unfortunately we had to listen to him for almost 2 hours! Clearly he was told to stall because Akon and 50 weren't there yet. Really, how often does an opening act do an encore…especially when the crowd didn't even want one?! Apparently someone must've filled 50 and Akon in on Cypriot culture because they didn't arrive until at least 11 pm! Needless to say the concert didn't end at midnight, but in true Cypriot fashion, it was a good 2-3 hours later!

50 Cent was wearing a DC hat, so Barb and I felt at home. I doubt anyone else in the place even realized it (why would they?) But I have to say the funniest part of the night was when Akon asked the crowd "what do they call people from Cyprus…Cypresians??" And, "what language do ya'll speak? Cyprite?" When the crowd yelled "Greek!" he responded with "Oh, so you were part of the Roman Empire! How many gladiators do we have in the house?!" But the huge gold Cyprus shaped medallion (bling) around his neck assured us that he really does love Cyprus.

bored in budapest

It is my second night in Budapest and I just bought an internet card from the front desk so I decided to take a break from my Greek homework and check my email and write a quick blog, even though I don't have a lot to say about the city so far.

I flew out of Larnaca at 4 am sunday on Malev airlines. The trip was fine, with the exception of the vomiting girl next to me and the obnoxiously loud Cypriot (surprise) kids in front and behind me. Also, I normally don't complain about airplane food (why is it that no matter what they give you on a plane always seems to taste good at that moment…boredom maybe?) but this one was a unique situation. Maybe it was that it was 5 am, but 2 hotdogs a tomato, some nasty white sauce, and a stale chocolate chip muffin with a side of jam just didn't appeal to me at the time. Oh well.

So I got in yesterday morning (6 am) and luckily was able to check in to my room early. My room, (and the entire hotel actually) is really nice. (Thank you to my fellow American taxpayers.) I've already used the pool and gym twice. My room has a kitchen in it so today I walked down the street to a small grocery store and bought some groceries so I can save my per diem money for when Barb's here in a few days. (I could only buy things with pictures on the package since Hungarian bares absolutely no resemblance to any language I've even seen!) Yesterday I walked to a fruit market and bought some fresh fruit. Seemed easy enough, until the guy asked me (I think) what I wanted. I guess the blank look on my face made it obvious that I didn't speak Hungarian. I asked the guy if he spoke English. He shook his head no and asked me "Sprechen sie Deutsch?" I shook my head no, and decided I would just point to the fruit that I wanted. I pointed at the raspberries, he asked me something that of course I didn't understand, but I thought he was just confirming that it was raspberries that I wanted so I nodded. Next thing I know he's scooping enough berries to feed the entire country of cyprus into a plastic bag. Apparently he asked if I wanted a kilo! Fortunately I love raspberries. Unfortunately, he put the bananas on top of that bag, which I didn't realize until I got back to the hotel. Luckily, I like raspberry jam.

It is nice to be in a real city again. I don't look like a foreigner (foreignator ) here like I do in cyprus because it is a real European city where people look diverse and being taller than 5' and blonde isn't weird. People are driving on the right side of the road and the left side of the car (it actually looks really weird to me now!), I can flush toilet paper, and I even went to a (gasp) mall today!
Oh, and about the training, the actual reason why I'm here…After only one day, I won't comment on how incredibly boring it was. I'll give it another day or two before I say that…oops

suicide happens you fucking idiots!

Oh my god, I hate the media so fucking much. Just because you don't understand something doesn't give you the right to make up stories. Be responsible journalists for christ's sake. This isn't a high school creative writing class. This is real life. I understand that suicide is "unheard of" in cyprus..that cypriots just can't imagine anyone "doing this to their families" and all that other shit. But it fucking happens you assholes, get your heads out of your asses. And STOP making things up. This is sad enough as it is without adding all of this false bullshit to the situation!!!!

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, my colleague, Col. Tom Mooney, who had been reported missing since Thursday was found dead on Monday. He killed himself. He slit his own throat. He was not murdered. He did not work for the CIA. He was not beaten. He was not poisoned. He was not a victim of Iranian intellegence. He was not "working on the issue of nuclear smuggling." He was not connected to anything regarding Lebanon. He was not murdered by greek cypriots because he spoke fluent turkish. (These are all real allegations from the Cypriot papers over the past 3 days, by the way) AGGGGHHHHH!!! What is wrong with the world????????????????????

In true Cypriot fashion

I'm feeling guilty for not having written any updates to everyone lately. No, I haven't forgotten about you. In true Cypriot fashion, when it gets hot out, things just sort of slow down a bit. It used to be that I wanted to write and tell all of you at home about the funny, odd things that have happened to us here. But odd things are the norm now – we're kind of getting used to the freakish Cypriot ways; I don't remember what "normal" is anymore (if I ever knew). But even though I've become used to things here, it doesn't stop me from just stopping in my tracks - honestly at least once a day - to look around and appreciate how beautiful the place that we are living really is. Even after 10 months, I still appreciate every palm tree and every brightly colored flower or tree that I walk by. And even after spending so much time on the beach, I still am absolutely amazed by the clear blue, turquoise water. Saturday we went to a friend's house in northern cyprus. It was amazing - she has a dream house. It is literally right on the sea. We could even see the mountains in Turkey from her deck, which hangs out over the clearest water and most amazing view of the sunset. Barb and I felt like we were in a fairy tale.

As for day to day life, my "new" job is going well. It isn't anything that I would want to do for the rest of my life, but I don't hate it, it keeps me busy, and I have a good work environment, complete with Pilates class three times a week, Greek class twice a week, and the best part – Barb working upstairs. I miss Anda, of course, but I'm lucky that even though we don't work together anymore, we still see each other for our weekly sticky toffee coffee date at Bennigans. Some things will just never change.

Last night Barb and I went to a play. Only in Cyprus can you go watch Shakespeare in an amphitheater that is more than 1800 years older than Shakespeare himself. We actually sat in the same amphitheatre that was used in the 2nd century BC (overlooking the Mediterranean). It was beautiful, and by the time the play started it had "cooled down" to only about 90 degrees (it was 105 during the day)! Yeah, we are in the midst of a heat wave. Not that Cyprus doesn't normally get this hot. It's just that it doesn't usually get this hot YET. We've been spending every spare minute at a beach or in a pool- luckily there are a lot of both in Cyprus!

Last week my friend Emily came to visit us. It was a short, but fun and crazy visit. She got in Thursday night (4 hours late, thanks to Cyprus Scareways) and left Tuesday morning. But in those 4 days we had enough fun and laughs (and drinks) for a month-long vacation! I took Emily to that restaurant that I worked at for one hour (see 10/2/06 blog) and, apparently they haven't had much luck in their hiring since I left because in true Cypriot fashion, the waiter tried to fit too many plates on a table smaller than my night stand, resulting in one falling and crashing and again, in true cypriot fashion, never came to clean it up and then charged us for another sandwich as the stray cats sat on emily's feet, eating her lunch, thinking they were in kitty heaven. But anyway, yeah, we squeezed a lot into 4 days. We went shopping, swimming, parasailing, dancing, drinking (sex on the beach, sangria, pina colada, wine and zivania - all on the beach!), and taught the Cypriot-owned Japanese restaurant manager how to do a tequila shot with a LIME instead of a lemon (Note: They don't have limes in Cyprus and frankly don't know the difference between a lemon and a lime. When you order a "classic" margarita, it is lemon flavored. They serve tequila shots with a salt and a lemon, etc.) Being that we sat at the same table as the restaurant manager, we ended up talking with him throughout dinner and we got treated us like VIPs (he bought us a second bottle of wine, sushi, an amazing garlic shrimp dish that we didn't order, a birthday dessert for me, even though we told him my birthday wasn't until July, and then of course the shots which, when we complained to him about the cyprus "lemon issue," he called his buddy at the fruitaria - in true cypriot fashion - and had limes delivered to the restaurant for us - at 11:30 PM!!) We spent the night clubbing in Agia Napa and the next day we gave Emily a true feel of Northern Cyprus as we waited for an hour at the checkpoint for reasons we will never fully understand (in true turkish cypriot fashion) before going to the ancient ruins of Salamis, which was a lot of fun, and worth the wait. Overall, I think she had a good time. I know I did.
In other news, Barb and my 5-year anniversary is approaching. We were planning on going on vacation somewhere but then I found out I have to go to Budapest for a USAID training July 16th-20th so we just decided that Barb would join me half way through the week and then we'll stay the weekend. It isn't somewhere we would've thought of on our own to visit, but everyone says it is a beautiful city so now we're looking forward to it. Plus, we are taking a three week vacation in August...
Here is a (very rough) timeline of upcoming events:
July 5: I turn the big two-eight. (That doesn't have such a dramatic ring to it)
July 15-22: Budapest
July 28: Akon and 50 Cent are coming to Cyprus (for anyone who knows anything about Akon and 50 Cent OR Cyprus...you'll understand why this is huge).
August 10 (ish): Arrive in US (NJ)
August 20: Arrive in DC
August 22: CHAOS in DC (It does still exist, right? So, if you live in the DC area, you better be there! This is a lot of advanced notice!)
August 23: Leave DC
August 31st (ish): Leave US

Barb and I hope to see as many of you as possible during our 3 weeks in the states. I will be writing again before then though...

4 Days at the Embassy

I survived my first week of my new job at USAID. OK, so it was a short week because we had Monday off, but whatever. I still survived. So, my first impressions of the job are pretty mixed. Some of what I expected, some not. As I expected, it is a very different atmosphere than my old job. Some differences were inevitable because now I'm working in an embassy environment, (e.g. not allowed to use instant message or skype, cameras watching my every move, having to allow 5 extra minutes in the morning so my car can be checked for bombs every day before entering the parking lot, working in an office that's windows don't open, hearing "duck and cover" alarms being tested once a week, and getting my very own gas mask).
But in some ways it's not all that different. For example, I was worried that working in the embassy was going to ruin any chance I have of learning Greek. But actually, the office that I work in is full of Cypriots who are always speaking Greek. My office mate is an American who is married to a Cypriot so she speaks Greek. Same story with my boss. Then there are two other Americans and five Cypriots. Soon we'll also have a Turkish Cypriot, so there will be quite a mix here. As for the work…well, I guess I'm not sure yet. I'm still pretty unclear about what I'm actually going to be doing. I've been doing a lot of reading about the agency in general and about the projects that I'll be working on. I went to a meeting at the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Thursday morning. That might've been interesting if I hadn't been half asleep from getting only 3.5 hours of sleep. See, Paul Okenfold was in Cyprus Wednesday night, so I of course couldn't pass that up. It felt so good to go out and really dance to good music- something we haven't really done in Cyprus thus far. Anyway, back to the job. Basically, the whole existence of USAID in Cyprus is to promote peace, cooperation, and bicommunality between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots, so that will be at the root of all the projects that I'll be working on. So needless to say, it isn't going to be an easy job! Oh, and just in case I don't feel challenged enough by this job, I've also decided to continue at the Unit for Rehabilitation for Victims of Torture as a volunteer psychologist. So I'll be counseling torture victims in my "free" time! Hopefully it will at least keep me from getting too bored, or from missing my old office. I'm already missing my daily coffee talks with Anda, but we're managing to find times outside of work, like at the gym or at coffee shops.
I think I'll be taking a lunch time Pilates class with my boss and coworker three times a week. I went Friday for the first time and although its not yoga, I think I'll convince myself to like it. Plus it's right down the street from the embassy. And this way I can still go to the gym after work. Barb and I see a lot more of each other with me being at the embassy. We can have lunch together or visit each other's offices. Her office has a really good coffee maker (not fair - Barb doesn't even drink coffee!) so I go up there when I don't feel like Nescafe. Well, I guess this is enough of my boring update, considering I've only been there for four days. I'm sure I'll have more to say soon...

Pictures

Check out Jim's blog for pictures from when he came to visit me in Cyprus. Also, you can see mine here.

The hardest decision

I want to start by saying a few things about my last blog. In it I mentioned a hardcore Greek class that I was going to take 5 days a week. Well, call it fate, but it was full. So, I'm forced to have a life. Well, actually, not really. Instead, I hired a private tutor who I'll meet with twice a week. And only for an hour each time. So, while it won't be as intensive and I probably won't get any better at greek, at least I can say I tried.

The other part of my last blog that I wanted to clarify is that just because Barb and I are thinking about what country we will go to next, that doesn't mean that we aren't coming back to DC for a while first. I realize now that the way I phrased it, I made it sound like we are going straight from Cyprus to some other far away land. But the truth is, we will be back in DC for most likely a year or so. So no more hate mail, ok??

OK, now on to what is really on my mind and what has been the only thing on my mind for several days now. First, to start with a timeline…

September: I applied for a job at the Unit for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture.

November: I applied for a job at USAID.

Later in November: I got the job at URVT (and went to Athens for training, etc. If you read my blogs, you know all this).

December: USAID called me for an interview.

December and January: I worked at URVT.

Jan 31: USAID offered me the job.

This is one of the hardest decisions I've had to make in a very long time. It is a classic head versus heart argument. There are so many sides to this coin. I've done so many 180s in the past 3 days I'm dizzy. I decide to stay. Then I decide to go. I have lists 10 pages long of pros and cons of each decision. I don't want to totally bore you, so I'll tell you just a few of them. I've always said that the most important things to me is that when I wake up in the morning, I want to get out of bed and go to work. And right now I have that. Over the past 3 months at the Unit for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture (URVT), I've worked with some great people and have made one exceptionally good friend. It is pretty much just the two of us in our office so we have plenty of opportunity to drink coffee every morning and talk about everything. You don't find this kind of friend every day, or at every job, so I feel very fortunate. I also really like the work that this place does. I like that people who have been through so much (torture, etc) in their life come to us and leave with results. In terms of the work environment, I like that it is small and there's no bureaucracy. I've had some opportunities that I've never had before (I did my first media interview last week). I also like that while living in Cyprus, I'm working with Cypriots, in a "Cypriot work environment" (those Cypriots and Americans living in Cyprus know what I mean by this).

Now for the pros of working at USAID: One, job security. While URVT guarantees that I have a job for one year, and after that it is dependant on grants, funding, work permits, etc., USAID isn't going anywhere. Having some government experience under my belt will also most likely be a useful thing in my future, especially if my future involves traveling country to country with an embassy employee (which it does). In addition, it is a lot more money, good benefits, and it would be nice to work in the embassy with Barb – we'd get all the same holidays and get to eat lunch together and stuff like that.


There's a famous Buddhist saying that goes "If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it will change. And if you're in a good situation, don't worry it will change." That's what I love about Buddhist teachings. They are constant reminders that nothing is permanent. It doesn't matter if something is good or bad, it will change. Because everything does. I have a tendency (like most human beings) to grasp onto things that are pleasurable instead of just letting them happen. Once I remind myself that nothing in this world is permanent, everything just makes more sense. So that's your (t)zen teaching for today. Now, for my decision…I have decided to take the USAID job. (Poll: who thought that is what I'd do?) Anyway, I'm already missing Anda, even though she's still just next door. I haven't told the rest of the crew yet. I hear that paperwork, security clearances and whatever else these crazy government jobs require before starting all take quite a while so I will probably have at least another month where I am now.

People who know me well know that I hate making decisions. I doubt myself too much. But at the end of the day, I would rather regret something that I did rather than something I didn't do. And I really do trust that any decision can be the right decision if you go at it with the right attitude.

And to leave you with a piece of not-so- zen advice, I've also been told this: "When choosing between two evils, always choose the one you haven't tried yet." Optimistic, I know.

Magissa! (Magic)!

That was my line. Yes, I've really broken through with my acting career. I have speaking lines now! In Greek! Jack (in the beanstalk), Little Red Riding Hood (played by my friend Mina), Puss n Boots (played by my friend Diana), and Cinderella (yours truly) all came to life out of storybooks in this morning's episode of Kokkino Leoforeo (the Red Bus – as you may remember from my Elefantaki debut). Fortunately I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures for you to see just yet. But if you are in Cyprus, just tune into PIK next Monday at 3 PM (or just wait for Christiana to give me the DVD).

Other news. Remember a few months ago when I had more free time than I knew what to do with? Well, that's all about to change. Tomorrow morning I am going to the University of Cyprus to sign my life away. OK, really to sign up for a Greek class that will be every night from 6-9 PM. That means that I will have to go straight from work to class. And if you're anything like the people I've already told this to, you're going to ask me, "What about the gym? What about yoga?" I know, I know! You think I haven't thought about this? My answer is that there just needs to be more hours in the day. So I will make more! I'm going to have to start getting up earlier to go to the gym before work or else get to work early enough that I can leave early and go to the gym or go do yoga before Greek. It will be an adjustment, but it will be worth it if I actually stick to it and finally learn some ELLINIKA!!

Speaking of Greek, I might be glad that I'm taking this class because Barb and I MIGHT be going to Athens next. Yeah, I know, 5 months into this tour and we have to start thinking about the next one. But that's life. I'm pushing for Athens because 1) I won't feel like attempting to learn this impossible language is a total waste of time and 2) I might have a job there (the mother org of the one I'm working at now). But the other two places Barb put in for are Rome and the Hague. I guess I'd be happy with any of those. I've never been to any of them except Athens for a week for work, but I've been to Amsterdam and loved it (and its only 35 miles from the Hague) and I hear Rome is wonderful too. And to be honest, we're not even guaranteed that we'll get one of these three. SO...I should just shut up until I actually know something. Till then...

It's 1 am and I'm not the least bit tired. I guess it wasn't such a good idea for me to go out last night until 5 and sleep until noon today. That didn't really help the whole getting over jetlag thing. Oh well. I have to get up for work in 6 hours. First day back to the job that I had for 2 weeks before leaving for 3! Is that weird? Today is also the 5 month anniversary of us moving to cyprus. In a way that's disappointing considering how much I'm really looking forward to Emily coming to visit in June. That's in 6 months! It didn't seem so far away until I realized that I haven't even lived here for that long yet...
But wow, 5 months. Is that it? So much has happened, thinking back. We lived in that apartment by the embassy for a month with nothing except what we brought in our suitcases and what the embassy loaned to us. Then we moved to this house and lived for another month and a half without the majority of our belongings. That seems so long ago. I was so lost. So frustrated at not being able to find a job, but also terrified that I'd actually find a job. But then I started working at TNE. Even though it was just for a few hours a day, it was a real turning point for me. And while it was short lived (because a few weeks after working there, I was called about my current job and told I was leaving for Athens in a few days), it was so much fun. I'm never going to forget those few weeks of working across from eleni – we laughed so much. I don't even remember what we laughed about, but we were always laughing. I'm so lucky to have met her. She's really been there for me through everything and I trust her with my life. And through her I met two other people who I really consider my friends. One who is selfless, generous, kind and would do anything for a friend. She's also the one who can always make me laugh, even at the most unexpected times. In fact, right now she is performing stand-up comedy. I would've gone but 1) it's in greek, and 2) I had this crazy idea that I'd be asleep by now. Oh well. And then there is her girlfriend, who is brutally honest, stubborn and hard headed. But she is sincere and I wouldn't want her any other way. It is rare to find people who speak their minds no matter what and this girl is the queen of that. I feel very lucky to have these people in my life, especially in such a short period of time.
But still, looking back on what I wrote on Day 1, do I really feel that different? Not really. But I'm trying. I'm trying to clear my head. Make space. Notice my thoughts. Understand that they are just thoughts. I'm surrounding myself with people I love being myself with. I'm staying in touch with people that I care about and missing some of those people that I've unfortunately lost touch with. But this is life. And I'm just gonna keep living it. Day by day. Moment by moment.