Barry's Visit to Cyprus!!!

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Long time since we have actively posted anything. I can attribute this to my hectic work load, coupled with university obligations. (Although I haven’t been that diligent with the uni either).
I have my last class this summer, allowing me to start afresh in Kyiv with a lot more time to acclimate to the new job and surroundings.

My brother, Barry just visited. This was a most pleasant surprise. Extremely animated and possessing astute social skills, it is no wonder he does well with his business. His business keeps him more than occupied and it’s a rarity that he can take the luxury of a few well-deserved days off. More so, it was his birthday. As he was only here for three days, we planned a military-like schedule that encompassed a trans-Cypriot road trip reminiscent of a Herculean quest.

I obviously don’t get to see my brother much, so this was an especially touching act on his part to come out and visit. Although time flew, it felt like we had spent weeks together. We had calculated his need to be at the airport well, but somehow, due to fatigue and an increasing need to eat entirely too much, we decided to have a quaint lunch in the sleepy mountain town of Kitharas. As the waitress brought out or 25 minute prep-time starter we realized that we should have left over an hour ago if we were to make his desired arrival time to catch his flight. We quickly paid the bill and proceeded to speed all the way to Larnaca. Still, we were somehow one of the slowest moving vehicles on the highway.

A Few Photos of Late

Frankenfoot- Not good-

My awesome students made me this amazing card. I look pouty?

Us in Atlanta over Xmas break.

My sis and I playing corn hole.

Ouch...

Although my doctor reportedly has photos of my "ankle" from the operation, I have yet to see them and am not entirely sure that I do want to see them. But, I did find this image which is a close proximity of what transpired with my once functioning limb.


- Yes, it snapped (I actually heard it).

2011 Update

I have been off kilter with our Halloumi days for awhile. You all know how it is- priorities. After school; planning and grading, writing curriculum- all the writing and time consumed with my Specialist coursework, and all the other subtle details of adulthood, like paying bills.

I will now provide an itemized list of some aspects I wish I would have written about and potentially might post in retrospect.

- CEESA Futsal tournament in Skopje Macedonia with my high school boys’ team
- Rocio’s infamous Art History Course’s informal learning trip to museums in Venice and Florence
- Christmas and my quiet return to my hometown of Atlanta after more than a two-year hiatus.
- How 27 hours in a plane, a “light nap”, and jet lag are not conducive elements in avoiding the severing of one’s ligaments…segue to…
- My operation and convalescence and not only lack of aerobic exercise, but a lack of movement in general
- Roci being awarder the coveted “Gandhi-Nightingale” award for spousal patience and overall exemplary sweetness

WawMUN

This year's Model United Nations conference was a great success. WawMUN, hosted by the Stefan Batory School in Warsaw, was a relatively small conference compared to what our delegates have experienced in the past. We were hoping the size would allow them to take a more active role in the proceedings, and it did. Most importantly, our students were both confident and pleased with their performances and they gained a lot of experience that should allow for future success in our upcoming models. In addition to the model, we were able to focus on some historical and cultural activities like visiting the Gestapo Headquarters Museum, the Uprising Museum, and site seeing in the refurbished "Old Town".

Unfortunately, flights out of Cyprus are often have horrific departure hours. Our direct flight with LOT left at 3:00 AM. It took me a couple of days to get back on track to only have the return flight kick me in the butt all over again as we arrived to Cyprus at four in the morning. Being overtly dedicated (dumb), I reported to work a few hours later to give four loopy lessons and then play two hours of football with the boys in

Monday training.

Beach Camping with the Squirrels!

No, there is not a lot camping in Cyprus. And there are very, very few places to camp as everything is very built up or is a public beach. The few remote places are a bit off the beaten track. Off the beaten track has an entirely different definition in Cyprus. As no one walks anywhere, this can be somewhere that you cannot park you car on top of. To reach this lovely spot you have to carefully manage a slippery slope rock and gravel. It’s a small horseshoe pitch of sand carved out by the ocean. Most ravines like this are filled with debris and refuse (this one not excluded). It’s only 50 minutes from the house and will be a great alternative to anything we might want to do in Nicosia on a Friday evening. We arrived shortly before nightfall, set up camp and enjoyed the stars. We had planned on being home relatively early the following morning, so we were not too upset about a cantankerous old woman who threatened to call the police because Humita was on a beach (trash whole). This is the truly unfortunate thing about Cyprus. There are a few who are extremely limited in foresight and personality. The lovely Cypriot couple in the trash pit adjacent to ours were enamored of all three of Humita’s meter-long ventures into the sea and did not think for a moment that they could catch mad cow disease by touching the same water from a distance of 100 meters. The old woman didn’t have mad cows- she was a mad cow. I took into great consideration her age and simply smiled and said we were leaving. (I had so wanted to show her what the “Aquatic Ostrich” was all about, but I am nice to elderly people- even this one). Also, for the non-linguists, “xenophobe” ξένος and φόβος – from the ancient Greek- fear of foreigners. She kept calling me English while yelling about Humita- “English” “English” “English”. I’m ‘merican Aunt B.!

TIST Convention Istanbul 2010

When our Mac had an accident last spring, I thought we had lost these photos. Fortunately they survived the hard drive lobotomy. I was able to find a few days over a break and skip out to Istanbul to meet up with some fellow TIST members. Our friend, guide, and nomination for “Nicest person from a former Ottoman region”, Atakan, ran us around the city from restaurant to food stall to football stadium. We had a great couple of days and the quick trip only helped to solidify my love affair with Istanbul. I absolutely love this city- history, architecture, food, people.

Vienna

Needless to say, we had a tremendous time in Vienna. It has wedged itself as one of the leaders of our top ten list. Culture, architecture, history, and modernity- it’s enchanting.
What we loved:
- Museums- almost too many, and all very well presented
- Ease- the layout, public transportation is very user-friendly
- Vibe- sporty people who are very laid back. No wonder it has the highest rated quality of living. Bikes everywhere!
- Green, green parks everywhere. Our apartment was a block from the Danube and between runs and picnics we took full advantage of the nature and the pleasant weather.
- Dog friendly. Viennese love their dogs almost as we do. There was a dog park, the hundezone a block from our place where Humi would frolic with her wiener friends. Humi also entered restaurants, cafes, shopping centers, and became an expert with the metro.

We will return to Vienna.

First Week in Vienna

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Nicosia- The Walled City

We like Nicosia. When most people think of Cypriot cities, and most are essentially towns, they overlook Nicosia. As Nicosia doesn’t have the beaches of boardwalk of Limassol or Paphos, it oozes in history. It is the last divided city on the planet. We love to walk through the city center. It’s divided nature resonates its abandonment. Everywhere you turn you are reminded of the conflict. The derelict and decaying buildings are testament to the people’s subconscious efforts to forget the past.

Luckily a few people are making an effort to restore some of the walled city. With Orthodox churches, Venetian walls, and Ottoman homes, its truly unique.

An unarmed post on the dead zone.

Humi's Winter Wonderland

One doesn't usually associate sun drenched Cyprus with snow, but every winter the Troodos is blanketed by a substantial downfall. Unfortunately school and university work have curtailed our usual weekend outings, but a while back we were able to spend an afternoon playing with Humi in the powder. 

As you can see from the photos, it was stunning. Being from the South, I can't really say I've ever actually taken a walk through a snow laden forest. We loved it, but Humi was probably more enthralled than we were- she couldn't stop running about.

Both a bit cold and Humi soaking wet, we made the journey home for some coffee and then a nice dinner.

Strong Start to the School Year

The school year has started off strong. We are implementing a number of new committees, meetings, and school-wide objectives so we have been very busy. We’ve been busy as well with our extra-curricular activities. We have taken the boy’s football team to Sofia for the CEESA Southern tournament at the Anglo American School. It went well, with the boys placing third. A number of our boys unfortunately had to pull out of the trip at the last moment and it looked like we might not have enough players to travel. Thanks to our friend Murray at AAS for accommodating us, making the trip happen. He was nice enough to set us up with some additional players from the American College in Sofia to complete our roster (and they were really solid players to boot!). I for one was very impressed with the AAS campus and faculty. They run a tight ship. Former ASF, Mexico City Director, Jim Leahy is currently in charge.

Rocio has had a great response to her Art History Club. Every Tuesday she has fifteen plus students discuss periods and pieces. Last week they went downtown to study the various architecture. It looks like their culminating trip to Spain will be a success.

Last week we returned from our trip to Berlin for the annual BerMUN at the JFK school. It was our first time participating in BerMUN and both directors and delegates were very pleased with the conference as a whole. Our students gained some valuable experience and were able to the capital of Germany at a very historic moment.