Rest of the week

View from Aericon
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I spent the rest of the week doing random things.  Wednesday there is no clinic but there is a lecture at noon...It was a talk on neurologic manifestions of Celiac disease..a researcher from the U.K. came to present his work..and it was really good for me since I had never seen such cases as he was describing...  I was lucky to also meet a young biology researcher, Koulla, a Greek Cypriot (about my age) who is dying to do basic science research on the island but cannot find a good lab...she was telling me how she'd love to work at CING (the institute) but in Cyprus it is impossible to get a job without knowing someone/having connections..and it is impossible not to get the job when you know someone....I felt really bad for her..she said she affiliated with a new organization on the island whose mission is to pilot a program to start basic research in Cyprus..but that things are moving very slowly...It was amazing to see someone so driven about a cause that hardly anyone on the island is receptive to..however she refuses to give up...

Greek dance class!
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In the evening Letizia's Cypriot friend Demetris planned a dinner for some of us to go to an Armenian restaurant..one of his favorites...I must say I was not too crazy about the food..but the company was good :) ...in Cyprus the custom is that if you invite someone to dinner..you pay for it..we were all surprised with Demetris and George (other Cypriot friend) picked up the tab..and there was nothing we could do about it!  Afterward we went over to a coffee shop for frappes (iced coffee) and fresh juices (my favorite)..I had the mixed strawberry apple and kiwi juice...During the week, most youngsters here head to cafes in the evening..to chill with friends, chat, and play backgammon (which is called Tavla in Cyprus, Tavli is the Turkish name for it)...you wouldn't believe how much people play it here...it's game after game of throwing dice and moving checker pieces around trying to get all of your pieces on your side..im sill working on figuring out how to play..can you tell?  Even at Cyprus College..where I go to check my e-mail mid day..when you walk into the student lounge/cafeteria...it's crowded with students playing in between classes.  Oh ya..and it's also a big cloud of smoke!.. Almost everyone I've met here smokes and they're aloud to smoke anywhere indoors, inlcuding in the college buildings...

dinner at Armenaki
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On Thursday evening I went to a Greek dance class with George (pronounced Yorgos) and Alejandra came along with me...The class was for Beckiba (a greek style of dancing..performed as an individual rather than in groups)  The instructor was awesome and his students are very dedicated...in this type of dance it's all about the rhythm...at first it looks like they're just floating around and then all of a sudden they catch a subtle beat with a snap, clap or hitting the ground with their foot...maybe I'll find a Beckiba class in nyc this summer :)

chillin at the flat
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On Friday, as I was walking to work, a random car slowed down next to me to offer me a ride to wherever I was going, but I passed, thinking that was so weird.  Later I found out that it is a very common thing in Cyprus, people stop and offer each other rides all the time...something so not customary in the U.S.!

I went to clinic and worked with a another physician who focuses on Epilepsy..  I saw patients with him all morning and in the afternoon I decided to go for some sight seeing....my first stop was the Cyprus museum...I got there at three and unforunately it was closed (for no reason at all because it was supposed to be open till five)..anyway, I walked around the area and came upon the venetian walls...the old city is engulfed inside the 'venetian walls', which are about 10 feet high...there are 5 bastions (outpouchings) of the walls through which you can enter the old city...there I stumbled upon Aericon..a cafe described in my rough guide that has panoramic views of the city...I stopped to take pictures..and plan on coming back for lunch with the roommates.

around old Strovolos
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I got back around 6 and the sun was still out...I had seen that my roommate Merry had moved the couch on to the balcony, so I decided to chill out with my book for a while.  I love being under the sun here.  Just as it gets too hot to stand it anymore, a cool breeze sweeps by causing a quick chill, and the sun comes right back to warm you up..

As the sun was setting, the roommates came home and we were catching each other up on our days...Letizia's hard drive had crashed and she had just returned from the paying the computer guy 150 euros for doing nothing!  She had lost all her documents/music/photos..we decided to go to the coffee shop to get on the net so she could download all her programs again..and I could do some gchatting with people at home :)

Around 11, Katerina (Russian girl who's been living here for 19 years) and Demitris came to pick us up because they wanted to go to a rock bar pronto! It was a chill place playing random rock bands..and we were just hangin out.. I got to know Katerina quite a bit...I always love asking people how and why they ever ended up in Cyprus..her mom had decided to move here when she was young...Katerina left to go back to Moscow at 18 or so..and decided island life was for her..here she doesn't have to worry about safety (thought to be one of the safest cities to live in) and the weather is unbeatable...and she plans to stay here forever...

at the end of the night, Letizia and I chatted a bit (her in English, I in french of course!) and then crashed...