ahh... so today's day 2 of being 26 and i can't say it feels much different, but i do feel a sense of peace, so that's a good sign. i've spoken to many of you already and updated you about the happenings, so i'm a bit dry on the topic at the moment. overall though, life is good and it seems there's an end in sight to many of the negatives. my visa for one and how easy it is for me to extend it! we payed a visit to immigration yesterday and they were able to set us straight on all the varying bits of information we've been getting about me being here as an American, which is apparently not the same as being any other non-EU citizen (american passports go a long way!). all i need to do is fill out an application, pay $80 and i can extend my tourist visa for 1 year, and i can renew it every year after the same way...how about that?! and... and when we asked about getting me work papers, they told us, "oh, she can work illegaly." can you believe it?! this is immigration, we're talking. nutso... i guess "this is cyprus" afterall. that's what everyone kept telling me when i'd express my worries about it all... they'd just "this is cyprus" me to death and expect me to fear not... well, fear not now i am... we heard it straight from the horse's mouth, so!
oh, and paris got an automatic, so now i can start learning to master driving on the blasted other side of the road! and we've been apt. hunting, and i'm starting greek classes this month. it's all happening! oh, and paris might be getting a promotion, which would mean he'd be working 5 days instead of 6, and would transfer to larnaca where we'll soon be living, so that'd mean no more 40 min. commute to nicosia every day. what can i say? things are looking up! yeah, we decided on larnaca after all since nicosia is more expensive, it's inland whereas larnaca is on the beach, and we both have friends here so it makes more sense to just stay here and take it from there. plus, we recently went for drinks in this other city, limassol (or lemesos), and liked it more than the others, so if we decided to move again in the future, we were thinking we could move there. limassol seems to be the most happening of them all: cosmopolitan, nice shops and storefronts, on the beach, great nightlife, the most international (lots of russians and slavic peeps), and just what appears to be more of a thriving, hip, european city in my eyes.
ummm... what else... yesterday there was so much bursting in my mind, but time did not allow for me to get even a stitch of it down, so perhaps i'll just do a freewrite and babble and hope that the end result is worthy of reading. here goes: cooler days, september is my favorite season at home, and perhaps it will prove to be here too. i fed the cats leftover chinese this morning, they didn't like the curry... too spicy for the lil' wayfarer kitties that have now made this backyard their temporary residence (were nextdoor at the grandparents' when i arrived, but i guess we feed them more, or better quality grub, and so they've come to favor our side). they're so cute, should've taken their pic. there used to be 4 but now they are 3. :( guess the lil' one, clearly the runt, met its maker. i was nauseous, with a headache, achey, and dizzy this morning and slept until 1 p.m.... dreamt strange dreams about me being getting high and paranoid at the top of this amusement park ride... couldn't decipher what was actually firm ground and what was just air and thought i might fall and had to get this kid from highschool (who recently contacted me on facebook) to help me to safety. so strange.... i've had a lot of vivid and wild (!) dreams since i've been here...guess there's a lot going on en mi cabeza.
what else? what else? not much else, i guess. plenty of else actually, but again, am drawing a blank. oh, yeah, the wedding happened... here are pics:
us at reception.
JUST MARRIED...petals and rice explode into the air!
old orthodox priests, who came to the house for the pre-wedding ceremony, which consists of traditional cypriot music on violins, and a whole bunch of other rituals that i'll detail in pics...
circling the groom's waist 3 times (symbolic of the holy trinity).
dancing around w/bride's veil on silver plate w/strange ribbons...not sure what that represents. i think of red as the color of fertility however, so perhaps something tied to that.
at the church: the groom kisses the bible.
and here, i'll post some more pics from the past couple of weeks:
pouty- lipped paris at a place we really liked in limassol/lemesos.
at the miami-esque beach-front lounge, petting the sweetest local cat, with wonderful gal joanna from astoria, who was here visiting w/her bf: great couple, great cat, great food, great day!
our version of american gothic.
birthday brunch & the best sandwich in cyprus!
that'd be rosto (roast pork), unsmoked bacon, pickla (pickles in mustard sauce, halloumi (sheep's milk cheese), with tomato, done panini style. yummm!
2 comments:
the pic of you and paris at the reception is beautiful! reading all the little stories is kind of wild, hard to imagine, reinforces the fact that yr pretty much a world away! its funny though how youll get used to thngs there and theyll become like commonlpace but once you return here (and i hope that you do!) youll look back and be shocked by the differences. guess its all about the effect of the present moment or whatever.
lovely pic of you and paris...the wedding looks beautiful! you didn't tell me this stuff about the immigration! great news!!!!!! that makes things easier, right?? you'll find a job soon.
Love you!
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