Our first full day! I slept like a baby after our long day(s?). We woke up nicely for our first breakfast! It was delicious with many fresh fruits and halloumi cheese native to the Mediterranean. Was refreshing and filling to nourish us for the day.
The bus picked us up and we headed over to Nicosia and the University of Nicosia where we had our orientation where we got lots of initial information about our trip as a whole. Then we began our lecture on the history of Cyprus. It was definitely a crash course but got me very excited to see all of our site visits. The history of Cyprus started very early in about 50 B.C which is a very very long time ago so it’s crazy that a small nation has such a rich history. Cyprus also changed hands many times over the years and finally gaining its independence in only 1960 which is not long ago. With it changing hands so many times, I found it interesting that most times, whoever took it over didn’t stay in Cyprus they just kept moving on to conquer more. I found that interesting as it left Cyprus itself under a rule that wasn’t even there to make decisions, causing lots of political unrest. I also was fascinated by the fact that the nation is still divided internally yet not actually two nations. It was interesting to learn about the politics of Cyprus seeing that the percentage of Greeks and Turks was represented respectively.
After our lecture we went and took a lunch break where I got a veggie burrito which was delicious but massive! Then we went back up for our intro to Greek lecture which was very interactive and informative. We learned about every word and phrase to get us around the island and learned to count up to 24 and successfully did it as a group which was rewarding. Then we headed out took some pictures and also met some american students from all over the country studying abroad at the University of Nicosia. After we headed back on the bus and once we returned back to Limossol, we took a walking tour of the local area of where we were saying. It made it much easier to conceptualize where we were in reference to everything and truly learn the history of the town as well.
We went back for a little break before we headed to dinner together. It was a traditional Meze dinner where the food just kept on coming. It was all so fresh and delicious. Then the main course of many local meats came out but I’m vegetarian so I got some special treatment with a veggie burger instead. It was interesting hearing everyone compare the ones they’ve never tried before and their thoughts. It was nice to be all together for dinner and close out the day all together. We walked around the town a bit after and then hit the hay to get ready for the next day!