It has been nearly a week since me and harry landed in Cyprus and living with granny in a little village just outside Nicosia city centre has taught me a few things; when granny says sit, you sit. When granny says eat, you eat. And when the bus timetable says the bus leaves at 7.40am it really means 8.20am. But when the sun’s up and it’s shining down on your skin, waiting 40 minutes for the bus on a Monday morning doesn’t seem so bad.
So what have we done since we left England? Well, we got a champagne breakfast on our British Airways flight, which at 8.30am was a little early for fizzy alcohol, but we accepted the green glass bottles and toasted to what we hope will be a happy adventure, if not its going to be the most expensive holiday to Cyprus we have ever had!
For those of you who think its all sunshine and kebabs here, you’ll be pleased to know we brought the rain with us to Cyprus. Our first night it rained Cyprus style with a thunderstorm over Nicosia. Considering they haven’t had a drop of rain for 6 months, it was much needed. But don’t feel too sorry for us, since then it’s been blue skies and sunshine everyday with temperatures averaging 25 degrees. As for the kebabs, there has been a distinct lack of them since our arrival. But Granny has been feeding us up, at every possible opportunity so don’t fear we wont be going hungry here.
Living with Granny in the village has probably been the biggest culture shock for me. Going from the big bright lights of London and regular Wagamama trips to the sunshine island where buses are infrequent, friends are far away and internet is a luxury has taken some getting used to. However a week has passed, me and harry are in one piece and we are slowly making progress.
After viewing countless houses, we are one step closer to having our first home together. There haven’t been tears or tantrums but it has been hard. Our dream flat was too far from the city to walk so after pros and cons lists were written we had to erase it from our memory. Location it seems is more important. The ability to walk everywhere is paramount and while harry was at an interview, I went for my first solo walk in Nicosia. I got some rather strange looks; the locals think this is the start of winter, so walking round in denim shorts, a vest and flip flops seems ridiculous to them. However I found our potential new home. Tucked away down a little side street, which has pavements I might add (pavements are an after thought here in Cyprus and they are few and far between). 5 minutes walk from the centre of town is a flat, freshly painted, with a new floor and a very high-tech solar panel water heating, pump activated device in the basement, which will soon be ours.
Jobs have been a different story. With language as a personal obstacle harry has had more success. With three interviews under his belt it looks like he is going to be the money-maker for a while. I had my first and only interview on Monday and found common ground with the director of the company who just so happened to go to Southampton Solent University. Dressed like a city worker in heels, a pencil skirt and a blouse I don’t think I’ve ever looked that smart in my life. The job is a marketing position, dealing with one of their international clients, based in Birmingham of all places, assisting them with the intellectual property rights for images of sports stars. I think my chances are slim considering I have no relevant experience and all the other applicants are from top international university’s. But now I have done one interview in this foreign land I feel a bit more confident about the next. Harry has all sorts of job possibilities from private financial investigator to graphic designer and even store manager of either Early Learning Centre or Adidas. I think his 6 month old half sister is hoping Early Learning Centre want him and she can have all the toys she could ever hope for.
So a week has flown by and writing this has made me realise how much we have done. Life here is different. Day to day people are up at the crack of dawn. We have been up at 7am everyday and granny burns olives every morning to bring us good luck. While we have no jobs and nowhere to live, we are happy. I think it's the vitamin D.
And one last thing.
I have made a friend.
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