Games, Ghost Towns, and Birthdays

After getting back to my apartment, I dropped off my bags and went to class…literally. Thursday, we went to the bar down the street to watch the big Barcelona vs. Milan football game to see who would go to the championship. While we were just sitting there enjoying the game a guy from Serbia was standing in front of the TV. First, let me just tell you, he was wearing very tight gray elastic sweatpants which he pulled up into capris and had the quintessential man purse which he kept holding close to him for the duration of the game. Anyways, my friend Alli asked him to move a step to the side so she could see. He moved, then looked at/studied us and goes, “Where are you from? You are girls, why are you here?” If I didn’t have any inhibitions you all know what I would have said/done, but I just kept watching the game. Good job Marie. This just goes to show you how Cypriot (or maybe Serbian) men and women act. I don’t think I could last here more than 1 semester with that. On Saturday we celebrated Mifflin with all of the UW-Madison people here. So much fun!
Sunday we took a taxi to the old city, then walked through the North side of Cyprus to the bus station and went to Famagusta! Famagusta is on the eastern coast of Cyprus. It used to be the most popular tourist area in Cyprus with hotels and restaurants next to a small village in another Venetian walled-in city. But when the Turks invaded the North, this was one of the towns they took over and have not touched it since. So now, part of it is a ghost town! It has fences all around this one area with Turkish soldiers watching. Apparently a few UN people have been let inside the fences and they said it was clear that the Cypriots who lived there had to leave immediately. There were clothes in closets and food on the table; mostly likely they were given 5 minutes to leave their homes (with the promise of being able to return).

We walked through the old part of the city (above) which was very nice with lots of shops, restaurants, and old ruins (right). Then, beach time!! We got to this beautiful beach with nice sand and blue water (actually when we went in it was clear! No joke, there was not even a bluish or dark tint; it was like being in a freezing cold bath). We were walking on this beautiful beach and I looked behind us and there were hotels lining the beach…all in ruins and haven’t been touched since 1974! It was SO bizarre!! This island just keeps getting more interesting/strange. We also met some people who were studying at a university on the north side who were from Istanbul and Russia. I love meeting so many people from all over the world! :)

Side note: after we left I realized my legs were BURNT! Since I didn’t have any aloe, one of my friend’s friends (well 60 year old Cypriot woman) advised her to put yogurt on it. I figured it couldn’t hurt and, I mean, when in Rome…so I put Greek yogurt all over my legs. I smelt like yogurt/cottage cheese for a while, but it helped! So if you are ever in dire need of sunburn relief, you know what to do!

Tuesday we had a “field trip”/class in old town for my European Cultures class. It was the same place where we had our very first tour of old town. Our professor, Evi (probably my favorite Cypriot ever), told us about the “Cyprus Problem” (Greek/Turkish division in the country)…information which the Greek Cypriots fail to mention to us. Before the British colonized Cyprus, everybody lived together in harmony. But once they settled they decided to make it more nationalistic because there were both Christians and Muslims living here. So they got textbooks, etc. sent from Greece for the Christians and from Turkey for the Muslims. Since there is a lot of tension and resentment between Greeks and Turks, the Cypriots eventually developed these feelings. In the ’60 the Greek Cypriots killed thousands of Turkish Cypriots (but fail to mention this in textbooks/recognize it). So while the Greek Cypriots think the invasion in ’74 was a barbaric invasion of their country, the Turkish Cypriots think it was a way to make peace and save the Turkish Cypriots. Anyways, enough of the history lessons, after classes we went to our last meze to celebrate Natalie’s birthday. Man, I am going to miss those ridiculously large meals that never end!!

Wednesday – went over to our neighbor’s apartment to celebrate his birthday. Sammy and all of his friends are Nigerian and they made some spicy Nigerian food! Delicious! I also met a girl, Susan, who was ½ American and ½ Syrian. Her dad worked for Conoco (I think) so she has lived all over the world – she said she was never in 1 place for more than 2 years! So, we were talking and it turns out her dad is from Minnesota! Whoa! That never happens. But it gets better – turns out her dad is from Forrest Lake!! And she had some uncles from Chisago! I almost died! This world just keeps getting smaller, I love it! :)


Tonight we are going to the International Spring Festival held in the outdoor amphitheater at the University! And tomorrow = Larnaca and the infamous Ayia Napa!