Day 3 was the first full day and the start of our educational experience in Cyprus! After waking up and enjoying a great breakfast of eggs, meats, halloumi and fresh fruit, we drove out an hour to the University of Nicosia (UNIC), the school that is hosting us during our stay. While at UNIC we listened to an orientation presentation and got the chance to attend two introductory lectures taught by professors from the university. In the first lecture, we learned about the history of Cyprus going from thousands of years ago to the present day, with a background in religion and politics to enhance our understanding. I liked hearing about all of the countries that ruled over Cyprus and how those foreign influences impacted the culture on the island. Today, Cyprus has mostly Hellenic roots left from when Mycenaeans ruled over the country thousands of years ago, even though there were many other rulers that preceded them; it was interesting to see what the Cypriot people took as their own and what eventually faded away. 

After the class ended, we took a lunch break in the school cafeteria and had our second lecture, focusing on basic Greek phrases to help us navigate conversations. The professor was very helpful in giving us the information we needed and was willing to humor us in our requests for various English to Greek translations, so I came out of that experience appreciating the effort our coordinators and professors put in to make us all feel welcomed and heard. 

When we left UNIC, we met our amazing tour guide on the bus who told us about all of the history surrounding the founding of Limassol and she introduced the walking tour, which took us all around the town and allowed me and everyone else to see the nooks and crannies in the foundations of Limassol. Buried churches and ancient castles were right at my fingertips and it felt surreal to be so close to so much of Cyprus’ past. After the tour, everyone gathered to have a group welcome dinner at the restaurant Tavernaki, where we shared big plates and celebrated our first official day on the Plus3 Cyprus trip. What an amazing beginning!