FYI [for your information]

Now we live on the other side of Europe, it's understandable that you may worry about us from time to time. I worry about us sometimes. However I can assure you we are both still in one piece. To be bold, Cyprus is probably one of the safest places to live [obviously a statement that is unfounded and not official at all]. Harry and I routinely joke about the reason for police in Cyprus, because they seem to be some what redundant most of the time. But seriously, the rate of crime is unbelievably low.

Living in London, the news is routinely filled with horrendous news about robberies, murders, kidnappings, shootings etc etc, here the news is filled with features about a tree that fell down in a women's garden thanks to the wind, and the flooding in Limassol thanks to a little too much rain in one day. The only violence we have seen on the news since moving here, is that of student protests in London, murders, shootings at christmas in England and other micellaneous crimes from around the world.

And if you needed a little more convincing of our safety here, in the Cyprus Weekly newspaper this week there is a article entitled "Murders down in 2010". Il let the picture tell you rest. 

image from the Cyprus Weekly Dec 31st 2010

induction day.

I get ridiculously nervous. It's a fact. About interviews, about meetings, about university presentations, and about induction days apparently. Honestly, I woke up this morning thinking I was going to be sick I was so nervous. I don't know why I get so nervous; there is no rational explanation for it. But it put me off my frosties this morning.

Today was technically my first day of work; although I didn't do much work. The aim of today was to listen, observe and ask questions. I have been to my new office twice already, for my first interview with HR and the International Business Development Manager, and for my second interview with the General Manager. And while I have survived two rounds of interviews, and have been offered the job, I still felt nervous today. Moving to another country has not been easy, and its fair to say my new unfamiliar surroundings, my lack of the lingo and (until now) my lack of employment possibilities have all knocked my confidence a little.

image from gettyimages.com

So this morning, with hair, make-up and my new ZARA trousers, I headed off to work. After a couple of hours with my manager, where he went through general information about the company, and a lot of explanations about various credit reports, industry reports, background checks, KYC, databases and computer systems, it was upstairs to the main office. For those of you that went to Solent University, imagine the group area upstairs in the library, but nicer. Big glass windows, huge communal desks and some very comfortable leather office chairs.

An afternoon of observations later and my head was about to explode with information. I am now part of the International team, along with my manager and two other girls. They promise me I will understand everything in no time once I start, and I hope they are right. While our team is small, that's not the whole office. There is a Local team that deal with business in Cyprus, at the desk next to us, and other teams dotted about the floor. I was only there for a few hours today, but I already feel a bit more comfortable about it, and a bit more confident in my capability to do the job. And I have found a Cypriot who drinks PG tips. She seems like a girl after my own heart.

Roll on Monday.

christmas day

For some reason I get this default feeling on christmas eve; like the excitement you get when your a kid and you know "santa" is coming, but the adult version. Despite the knowledge that santa isn't real, the excitement is still there; about presents of course, but more and more I just look forward to a lazy day eating chocolate and cake, pudding and potatoes, roast turkey, stuffing, and sausages wrapped in bacon all covered in gravy! 

But given our current location for christmas 2010, an English feast was never a possibility (unless cooked by Harry and I and i'm not sure our kitchen could handle such a challenge). I'm not going to lie, being that it's my first christmas away from home, I was a little bit sad about the whole day. Yeh we had a baby christmas tree and tinsel round the Tv, and yeh Harry and I exchanged gifts (with neither of us sticking to the €20 limit we set ourselves), and yeh we had a box of ferrero rocher to devour, but I was very dubious about what our Cypriot christmas had to offer. 

Waking up to blazing sunshine and blue sky, it felt more like spring not christmas. We did the present opening bit in our pyjamas; I got some expensive MAC lip balm and Body Shop moisturisers and Harry got the entire contents of the art shop, some chocolate money (from Marks & Spencers) and a little toy truck. Christmas was going well so far. A quick Skype session with Harry's mother - still in her pyjamas but already sporting festive earrings - did make me a tad emotional, as did the phone call home to father Finerty (the pictures of the christmas dinner Harry's mum posted on my facebook later didn't help my christmas spirit much either). 

Anyway, our christmas day was not all doom and gloom. After a bowl of frosties and some christmas songs courtesy of youtube, it was off to YaYa's to get the Cypriot christmas party started. Smelling like mango Body Shop moisturiser my belly was certainly looking forward to the feast ahead. While the men set up the barbecue and set about making fire, Harry and I took the dog for a walk. Thanks to the unseasonably warm weather we have been experiencing of late, I returned from said walk with a rather nice lashing of sun, which later became a golden tan. A tan on christmas day is definitely a first! 

Now to the important bit. The food. So a traditional Cypriot christmas dinner is souvla, potatoes, salad, dolmades (vine leaves), Cypriot stuffing and chicken. Souvla is a Cypriot dish; large pieces of pork or lamb that are slow cooked over hot coals like any other barbecue. Except a Cypriot barbecue is an genius piece of machinery. The souvla is cooked on skewers that slowly turn thanks to a clever little electric mechanism attached to the barbecue. The result is some of the tastiest meat you will ever eat! mmmmhhhhhhhh. Obviously while we were waiting for the souvla to cook, there were various snacks floating around, meze style; barbecued hallumi, tomato, home made bread, traditional Cypriot sausage and the obligatory nuts. By the time we sat down to eat - in the garden at a huge table for 15 people - I had probably eaten numerous handfuls of nuts, a couple of sausages, half a slab of hallumi, 3 slices of bread and 2 tomatoes. Just lining the stomach (or something like that).

And I still found room for my dinner and Auntie Maria's home-made cheesecake. After a military style clean-up, there were some very heated games of tavli and a lot of slouching on the sofa in front of the Tv. 

Under strict instructions, Harry documented the day as much as possible - some photographs appear cold and blue because of Harry's new blue filter for his camera, not because it actually was cold! 

So while our first christmas in Cyprus (and our first christmas living together) was very enjoyable, it doesn't really feel like christmas has just happened - mainly because I am so used to an English christmas and what happened on Saturday was definitely not an English christmas. While in tradition, we had an extremely lazy boxing day with more eating and film watching, the festive period has flashed before our eyes. And so today, Harry is back at work, and I am preparing for my first day at work next week. But there is still time to celebrate the New Year - something me and Harry are never particularly bothered about. However we have a plan (sort of - it isn't set in stone). This year we are heading to Limassol after Harry finishes work on Friday, and spending New Years Eve by the beach with some of Harry's boat friends. It will be our first night out since we got here and I think we very much deserve it. We have worked (in various ways) very hard over the last 2 months to establish as much of a home here as we can and I think we have achieved quite a lot. New Year, new country, new jobs, new lifestyle, new possibilities (oh how emotional). I'm sure there will be a New Years Eve blog post for your enjoyment this time next week. 

We hope you all enjoyed your christmas, whether you spent the day in your pyjamas and christmas earrings (not mentioning any names Alexia) or ate enough turkey and watched enough trashy tv to last you until next year, we hope it was a Happy one. 

Christmas morning

Present time

Harry's paints/paintbrushes. I cant get into mine!

more presents...

MAC lip balm.

Mini truck and M&S chocolate money

Body Shop body butter = super soft skin

Standard pile of wrapping paper

Already drawing on his mini truck

YaYa

YaYa what are you doing?

getting supplies from the shed obviously.

olives marinating

christmas tree oh christmas tree

dolmades (vine leaves)

Potato preparation

Souvla

YaYa overseeing lunch

Christakis (harry's dad) making fire

christmas day sunshine

Souvla

more Souvla

Men cooking meat

im not sure if thats meant to happen!?!?

sorting out a souvla emergency

Picola

Harry playing with his new filter

Lunch is nearly ready...

and the table for 15 is set

and now we eat

salad, potatos, chicken, pork souvla and dolmades mmmmh

Picola sits by Harry waiting for his leftovers

Christmas with the Kakoullis family.

(Happy Christmas)

Καλά Χριστούγεννα!

image from the internet

Christmas Eve

Ok, so our christmas tree doesn't quite look like this, and there certainly aren't that many presents under it, we do now have two trees. The first, our very ingenious and creative hand drawn number, and the second, a donation from Harry's step-mum, a little green tree complete with red baubles. In an effort to inject a flavour of English christmas traditions into our new Cyprus surroundings, we watched Home Alone last night. I have also attempted to fill our home with christmas treats; nuts, clementines, turkish delight, toblerone and ferrero rocher all adorn our coffee table now and I have been playing christmas music off youtube since this morning (much to Harry's disgust).

While you are all shivering and scoring brussel sprouts, it has been another, apparently unseasonally, sunny day. As I headed into town to do some christmas eve shopping, I barely needed a cardigan let alone a coat. The sun must have gone to my head; I don't know why I thought town on christmas eve would be a good idea, and after about 15 minutes, I gave in and headed home. 

As the sun goes down on christmas eve, I am finally feeling excited about christmas tomorrow, and what santa will bring! It's our first christmas living together, its our first christmas in Cyprus and its my first christmas away from home.

it's tradition.

Apparently in Cyprus it is tradition to give someone a plant when they have been unwell. According to Harry it is something to do with a plant bringing the bearer good health. So as Harry returned to work - feeling much better than previous days - he came home complete with a rather large plant. While Harry isn't much of a plant person, I am rather thrilled at the new addition to our living room. Since we moved into our first home I have been rather keen on the idea of a cactus. And while I still haven't found the right one, for now the plant has satisfied my craving for foliage.

Chicken Soup

So the storms have subsided and im sorry to say the sun has returned - no snow and freezing temperatures for us. This week may have been quiet on the blog front but there is lot for you to catch up on. 

On Wednesday I had a 2nd interview for a place called Info Credit Group Cyprus; an international company who deal with providing financial credit information for clients. I ended up there in the first place thanks to a friend of Harry's stepmum, who kindly offered to forward my CV onto the HR department. A few weeks later, after interview one, I was invited for a 2nd. For some reason 2nd interviews make me more nervous than the first, I don't know why considering, they must like something about you to want to see you again! 

The 2nd interview, with one of the managing directors, went well - although you can never really tell what they're actually thinking - and a day later I got a phone call offering me the job (so it did go well).

You are now looking at (ok your not looking at, but just imagine me sitting opposite you please) the new International Sales & Customer Support Agent for Info Credit Group Cyprus. I'm not going to lie; I'm a little nervous as I don't have the business degree they were after, or background experience in business, but as Harry keeps saying - "well they must like something about you". With an induction on the 29th December, and my first proper day on the 3rd January, I have some time to prep. And now I can go about applying for a Temporary Residents Permit (just a formality, as a EU national and now with an employment contract it should be easy peasy, so don't get your hopes up that they will decline me and send me packing).

Other developments this week: while I have been stressing about not working, Harry has been stressing at work, and it seems working 7 days a week has taken it's toll. What started as a cold turned into an ear infection and something called Oxia Merilanthia (some weird throat infection or to use technical terminology,  lumps in your throat). Being a man, the excruciating pain he was in still didn't warrant a trip to the hospital. Waking up about fifteen times in the night in fits of pain didn't make him see the light either. Several days of nagging, increasing pain, and an ever fluctuating temperature broke him and finally at 5.30am on Saturday morning it was off to the hospital. After seven hours of blood test, heart checks and x-rays he was discharged with a diagnosis and an array of medicines to consume at a variety of intervals throughout the day. Some serious ear cleaning at the ear specialist yesterday seems to have done the world of good and last night he actually slept - which meant I slept!! YIPPPEEEEE.

In his hour of need I have made umpteen cups of tea, checked his temperature more times than I can recount, and even set my hand to making him home-made Cypriot chicken soup (yes I'm slowly becoming a Cypriot) which apparently cures everything. For my first attempt I have to say I did a good job. And the patient seemed to approve so I passed that test with flying colours.

As christmas draws ever closer, we finally put up our tree yesterday. While it is more humble than we are used to, it still provided us with those necessary festive feelings we have been lacking. Christmas here doesn't have as much fuss surrounding it as christmas in England, and Santa doesn't arrive til New Years Eve apparently.....(maybe he gets lost somewhere over Turkey and it takes him a few days to find us...?). I dont know if its the lack of cold or fairy lights but I just can't quite believe its christmas on Saturday. There are only a handful of street decorations here, a few people have decorated the outside of their houses and I haven't even had as much as a whiff of a mince pie. So christmas will be a little different this year. But different isn't always bad. I am looking forward to experiencing christmas Cyprus style (and anyway everyone says Easter is the big one here so we better save some energy for that, knowing the Kakoullis clan its going to be rowdy).

So as I write this the sun is shining, the soup is heating up and Harry is pulling silly faces at me from the sofa - I think he is feeling much better today somehow - maybe its the mystical powers of my soup.

Winter's here!

While England has been buried in snow, we have been bathing in sunshine. That's all over now. Yes, you will be pleased to hear winter has finally caught up with us. One of the perks of moving to Cyprus is the weather; drier, hotter and sunnier are all words that my brain enjoys hearing. And while rain isn't my cup of tea, the arrival of colder days is something I'm actually pleased about. I have, up until now been a little confused and decidedly un-christmasy with the unusually high temperatures in our part of the world. But as December 25th quickly approaches, it's actually quite nice that the climate has aligned itself with winter.

So, my flip flops have finally been relegated to the wardrobe, and my scarves are coming out of hibernation. Sunshine is still a daily feature, but so is thunder and lightening; a weather system which scares me to my inner core, and something Harry finds hilarious. So admittedly, squealing as thunder booms and lightening cracks is rather uncharacteristic, but to me it is a natural reaction. Thunderstorms scare me to my inner core. For Harry, however its a picture opportunity, although standing on the roof of our building taking photographs of a storm probably isn't the smartest idea now is it! 

So don't worry, winter has hit us. And if the weather man got it right, there will be snow on the mountains by tomorrow morning. Anyone for skiing!? 

Nicosia at Night

Photography by Harry Kakoullis

i Love fruit

In a car park, by the city walls in Nicosia, every Wednesday, there is a fruit market. People from the villages, trek into the city with their produce; tomatoes, peppers, nuts, beans, pears, figs, olives, honey, cheese, olive oil and herbs, all lovingly grown or handmade under the Mediterranean sun. It might be this that makes the fruit and vegetables taste so good here, or it might be the "picked this morning, still covered in soil" freshness factor. I don't know. But when you see a little old lady laying out her herbs and jars of marinated olives you cant just walk by. The refreshing smell of mint and rocket literally hits you in the face like an airways chewing gum exploding in your mouth. 

Potatoes are still covered in dirt, cucumbers are teeny tiny and there isn't a chemically preserved pepper in sight. You can touch and try everything, the market is a bit like a wine tasting with vegetables. And when honey comes in a jar with no fancy frills, just a home-made label and a bit of beeswax inside, you dont need to try before you buy. You just know it is going to be good (but if they insist you dip your pinkie into a jar, well it would be rude not to wouldn't it!)  

I'm not going to lie. I think I'm as fascinated with the market, as the market people are with me. We do stick out a bit like a sore thumb; mostly because we're not old, tanned or wrinkly, and we're not shouting. But why go to a supermarket, to buy imported fruit and vegetables for double the price when the market is on our doorstep. And we are making friends. At the end of the day the shouting intensifies, and the war begins between stalls - the aim of the game is to offer the lowest prices, "one bag €1" seems to be the norm. Competition is rife and they will shout and scream over everyone to get your attention. Even if they dont say words. Last week one man took to shouting ahhhhhhhhhhh la la la la la la over everyone else (which me and Harry found hilarious) - comedy value aside, he remembered our pasty English faces this week. Maybe we'll be on first name terms by christmas. 

So what does €15 at the fruit market get you? The short answer is a lot. The long answer is; 5 tomatoes, 2 cucumbers, a bag of potatoes, 2 cabbages, a bunch of rocket, a bunch of coriander, a bunch of mint, 2 courgettes, 4 peppers, 4 apples, 8 clementines, a couple of pears and a jar of honey so big it will last us til next christmas.