The Golden Rule
We had a meeting this morning for about 3 hours but before, we were all definitely dreading it. Luckily, our speaker was Greek & he had an excellent sense of humor which kept us entertained for the duration of our orientation speech. The slides and lecture was about the city’s history, what to be careful about but mostly, we got lectured on “The Golden Rule: Don’t be an idiot.” I can’t quite put my finger on it what makes it so funny when a person with a foreign accent says “Idiot” or “stupid.” The way they say it gives it a nice little twist. We were told many stories about previous students from America who were plain morons. We are supposed to ask ourselves two questions, “Am I an idiot?” and, “Would I do this in the States?” And if we say no, then we do not do that thing. We were also told it’s a bad idea if we lose our passports or get in a car wreck.
A good amount of our talk was about Northern Cyprus where the Turks reside. I feel like I’m beating a dead horse with this topic, seeing as it’s been in my past two posts; however, it’s so interesting. Our speaker is obviously biased and does not like what has happened, as most, if not all, Cypriots would agree. Apparently the Northern side of the country is completely stuck in the 70’s and the people are radical and “weird” (seeing as they are muslims and dress very different) as our speaker put it. That part of the country is completely messed up economically having prices that range from 2 euro to 10 euro for the same product. The conflict between the Greeks & Turks was originally over politics but is now forming into religious reasons seeing as the Muslim & Christian mindset differs so much.
We have the afternoon free and tonight we are going to a welcome dinner at 8 pm. We were told the younger Cypriot crowd eats between 9 – 11 pm & then gets a coffee from 11 pm – 1 am and then clubs until 3 am. If we show up to a restaurant around 6 pm, either no one will be joining you for dinner or the restaurant won’t be open. It’s just a different lifestyle. Also, the stores close from 2 – 5 pm for their siesta time. When we asked our tour guide why they closed early, she said in a matter-of-fact tone, “because the owners need time for their family!” Such a different way of thinking from Americans because we make more time for ourselves and our work and getting ahead instead of concentrating on what is really important, family & friends. I’ve researched cultures and been taught in several classes about siestas and stores closing early but experiencing it first hand is very cool, for lack of a better word. I think I’m going to get a frappe, I’ve been advised to go get one. I see so many Cypriots carrying them around & apparently they are very yummy :).
Lindsey