October Update

For those who avidly follow my blog, I apologize for the lapse in posting over the last two weeks. I have been extremely busy so I have a lot to catch you up on. Here are some of the highlights:

One of my everyday activities, when I am not walking around the Old City, has been finding more sources and reading them. I have created a large bibliography of sources I still need to find, so I will be scouring the local libraries over the next few weeks.

On October 7^th, everyone involved in Fulbright in Cyprus were invited to the residence of the U.S. Ambassador. It is a well-fortified home within the U.S. Embassy compound, but within the 2 inch square iron bars there is a beautiful courtyard area where we at and visited with others. While I was there, I had the opportunity to meet with the people from USAID (US-funded aid organization) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Each of these organizations have funded many of the Nicosia Master Plan projects and continue to support bi-communal projects in Cyprus.

On October 8^th, I met with the Nicosia Master Plan leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Ali Guralp. He has been involved in the project for a very long time and is passionate about the positive development of Nicosia. I look forward to working with him more in the future.

I was connected to an organization called Peace Players International recently because of my love for basketball and interest in working with the younger generation of Cypriots. This is a bi-communal organization that coaches small teams of 11-15 year old boys and girls in villages in the Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot communities. They are brought together multiple times during the year to participate in basketball tournaments and other events, where they make friends with their peers on the other side of the division and have fun doing it. I have offered my help in any way they think they may need it and I plan to attend some practices in the near future to see what it is like. Peace Players also operates in Northern Ireland where I plan to continue my activity in the organization as part of my Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship.

Two days ago, I moved out of Rachel and Nikos’ apartment and into the University of Cyprus hostel in the old city. I have my own single-room on the upper floor with a balcony! The hostel is beautiful as you can see from the pictures I posted when I stayed here last year. Unfortunately, bathrooms must be shared, showers work when they choose and sometimes don’t give me warm water, and I don’t have internet (No Skype = Big Problem). The price is right though and the other people that live here are involved in academics somehow and are from all over the world so it makes for an interesting place to stay. I continue to watch for apartments and will look into other forms of internet connection.