Today was our first day at the University of Nicosia. To start off, we learned a lot about the history of Cyprus and how it came to be where it is today. One main talking point Dr. Solomon talked about was the British takeover of Cyprus from 1878 to 1960. This was actually the second time the British took over,the first starting with Richard the Lion, during the 1191–1192 year. Throughout this year, the power changed three times. The 1878 British rule started when they took over from the Ottomans, who ruled for around 300 years. Many empires and rulers wanted to take over Cyprus, mainly due to its location, which was close to Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. When the British reign began again for the second time, the Cypriots were welcoming of the British colonists. They had more similar political views compared to the Ottomans, their previous rulers. Britain’s main purpose in gaining control over the island was to, in fact, keep Russians out of the Mediterranean all together. Cyprus had high hopes, but instead of living up to their expectations, Britain imposed heavy taxes on the country. Then, in 1955, there was a strike since Greek Cypriots wanted to unite with Greece and the British would not let them leave their control. After a long anti-British campaign, Cyprus gained independence from the British Empire in 1960.
 
Listening to the information from Dr. Solomon kept me very informed about the history and much more. I was surprised to hear about how many different rulers there were. Some of these rulers included Egypt, the Persians, the Ottomans, the Byzantines, and the British. It made me think a lot about how relevant Cyprus is to the surrounding countries, not just the surrounding island. There was also much to learn about the island itself. Cyprus happens to be one of the safest places to be, which made me feel a lot more comfortable about walking about the town. Not everyone has the same political values, and I found it very interesting how the country is able to stay as aligned as it seemed with the difference in political views. Overall, I retained a lot of new information about the countries past and present, and I was very happy with the knowledge I was able to learn.
 
Our next lecture was a surviving Greek crash course. This may have been one of the favorite lectures, as we as a class were very engaged. Along with learning some words and phrases, we also learned about the language itself. For starters, many Cypriots don’t actually speak the Greek language, but it is more common for them to speak a language called Cypriot Greek, which resembles ancient Greek. In the Indo-European language, Greek happens to be the longest documented language in its history. After learning about some history, we began learning and proving words, such as introductions and even how to order coffee. My favorite word learned was probably 24, which in Greek is ikositessera, but I pronounce it like “ekoseaitresa.” I enjoyed this since it’s my number and I can learn to say it when we do role calls.