Two and a half to go? Where has the time gone?!

Wow, I haven't updated my blog in weeks. Its hard for me to remember that I need to update it, because there is always so much going on.

A lot has happened since I last updated, but I will try to make this as short and sweet as possible :)

Two weekends ago (March 4th-6th), a group of us went to the North side of Cyprus, but this time we checked out Famagusta. We were told that this part of the island has amazing ruins and beaches and is absolutely beautiful. So, we hopped on a bus and after a little confusion made it there! We became the prime definition of tourists as we shot pictures of everything all around us. We saw remains of an ancient venetian royal palace and many churches. After walking a pretty far distance, we made our way to the beach where we spent the remainder of the day. The water was crystal clear and so calm. This is where we relaxed for a while as we soaked in the last of the sun. Once it started getting dark, we made our way back to Nicosia. We walked a lot faster this time because we all felt a little uncomfortable being on the turkish side at night, but we managed to make it back safely. My roommates and I then went and got some delicious sandwiches and crepes to end our day. The next day, sunday, was carnival. The carnival is a big celebration in Limasol held right before the beginning of lent. All participants go all out in costumes and dress to have one, big, massive street celebration. Being there and seeing the enthuasiam of all the people was really something; confetti was thrown everywhere and children sprayed us with silly string every chance they got. It was the most disorganized, but fun loving carnival I have ever seen. We met some people from the international european exchange program and spent the rest of the day with them before heading back. On monday, we had the day off for a greek national holdiday called "Green Monday." We weren't really sure of the meaning of this, but Colby, Zivilie, Ted, Ben and I spent the day downtown walking around, going to an observatory and eating great food!

Ancient remains of a castle in Famagusta

Beach!

Carnival!

The rest of week involved some school work and my internship. During history of art, we all made mini rose windows that all had a meaning behind them. Our professor went into detail about the power of words and how much of impact they do infact make upon us. She related the entire lecture back to beauty of art and it was truly amazing. I wish I could explain this particular lecture in more detail, but it is all written in my notes.

My mini rose window

"the power of words"

This past weekend, I had some quality "me" time, something I haven't had much of chance to do while being here. All the people in the "Semester in the Mediterranean" program went on thier trip to Greece and Italy and my other two roommates spent the weekend having a fantastic time in Israel. It was quiet, but really great. Instead of traveling, I met up with my new friend from Lithuana, Zivile, and went exploring on Saturday. We went back up to Famagusta to the Salamis ruins. These date way back to Roman period are truly breathtaking. Pictures do not do them justice. As soon as we walked into the ancient acropolis, Zivile and I both gasped for breath. She told me after that she felt as though she could "feel thier pressence there long ago". It was simply amazing. We did not want to leave, but we had a taxi cap waiting for us, so we went back into the city of Famagusta where we walked around more ruins and enjoyed a great picnic lunch. There were even two stray cats who kept coming up to us really trying to steal our meat. :)

So far this week, Monday and Tuesday, I haven't had any classes, so I spent most of my time looking for summer jobs and preparing for my big trip.  I leave tomorrow for the UK after my one class of the week! I was a little nervous to tell my internship that I would be missing a lot of days, but they instead gave me a marshmallow lolipop and told me to go and enjoy my travels! My aunt, Stephanie Cooke, has been on the news twice this week after writing her book, 'In Mortal Hands, A Cautionary History of The Nuclear Age'  about the new nuclear situation in Japan. I tried to find them live, but could only find one. I'm so proud of her and all my prayers go out to Japan.

Gift for missing six days of my internship?!

I've been looking forward to this for a really long time and I cannot believe how fast time is going by here. I realized that this past weekend was my last free weekend in Cyprus until May because of all the travel that is ahead of me. There are many times when my semester seems to be going by very slowly, but for the most part, the end is creeping up so very fast and makes me want to fully immerse myself and enjoy every opportunity I have been given.  I am so grateful and lucky that I get to see my family in England tomorrow and spend a week with all of them; it has been way too long since I spent some quality time there. After that, I meet up with 6 of my friends and we make away across to Scotland and Ireland. This has been an amazing semester so far; I couldn't ask for anything more. I am learning, opening up, growing and can already feel myself changing from a few short months abroad.



"I could tell you my adventures - beginning from this morning, but it's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then."
~Alice in Wonderland~