Today was our first day in Cyprus, and it was so cool to be immersed in this new culture. We started out our day with a tour of the new city, and one thing that stood out to me was that there are plants everywhere. All the houses and buildings had plants growing from every location possible and compared to Pittsburgh, it was so nice to have some more green in the city. We then went for our orientation and a tour of the University of Nicosia.

Later we took a tour of the old city, I was delighted to learn all about the history of the region from our very knowledgeable tour guide. I knew already about the divide through the island, but I got to learn about how the Turkish region technically is not recognized and does not have an official law, how Greek businesses and homes that were over there are either just left to erode or given to those from Turkey as the Greek Cypriots can no longer reside there, and how the Greek Cypriots are required to serve in the military, which for some of them means working as a guard for this border. It was also cool to see the different historic schools and churches. Another thing that stood out was how there were cats everywhere, and they were very chill. They would just wander in and around restaurants, and we even saw one that was in a tree.

I also got to sample a lot of traditional food. We went to a Greek restaurant for lunch that was delicious. Then, for dinner, we all had a traditional family style meal where I got the opportunity to try some new dishes like lamb, various cheeses, and their homemade yogurt and marmalade dessert.

I am looking forward to another busy day tomorrow!