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Seeing Cyprus

Lorraine Engleman
July 12, 2016
Another field trip over and done! How weird that there aren’t any more excursions to look forward to and I’m headed home in five days. As a member of the first group they’ve taken to Cyprus, I feel like I have the authority to definitely recommend it to the next group. I really liked Cyprus, maybe even more than Greece. Neither were on my list of future places to go, but I’d head back to Cyprus if I had the chance. Here’s what you need to know about our trip to Cyprus: -Cyprus is a divided island, with the Turkish Cypriots living in the North and Greek Cypriots living in the South. There’s a buffer zone controlled by the British that separates the two sides, and you have to get your passport checked (twice) if you want to cross, which is kind of a drag. -The South still uses the Euro, but the currency in the North is the Turkish Lira (₺). $1=2.89TL, so the exchange rate works in our favor even more than it did in Bosnia. -The temperature varied from about 98 to 101°F, so needless to say nobody got cold. -When we arrived in Kyrenia, we made our way down to the sea for some night swimming to wash off all that sweat. The water was nice, and we had the whole inlet to ourselves. -On the way back from swimming, we noticed some spotlights and followed them to an outdoor concert. We got in for free and caught the tail end of a song done in Turkish; it was pretty cool. -Our official beach trip was the next day when we got to Boğaz. Our hotel was just across the road from the Mediterranean, and we spent our free time alternating between the sea and the hotel’s pool. The sea was neat, but it was also trashy with very little sand… I spent most of my time trying not to get tangled in rope or stick my foot in a bucket. -If Bosnia was home to all the stray dogs, then Cyprus somehow got all the stray cats. We had five join us for dinner one evening. -Besides meetings, we also took a few guided city walks and toured some castles. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a real castle before, so that was pretty cool for me. The views weren’t bad, either. Did I mention I can’t believe I’m leaving this week? I’ve still got a few ideas left for posts, though… you can’t get rid of me that easily! Stay tuned for my Freiburg Bucket List and what it’s like returning after the program. Auf Wiedersehen, Lorraine

Lorraine Engleman

<p>Hey! My name&#39;s Lorraine, and I&#39;m a 20-year-old junior at Indiana University Southeast. I&#39;m an Elementary Education major and substitute teacher at North Harrison Community Schools. Check out my blog as I spend eight kid-free weeks in Freiburg, Germany!</p>

Destination:
Term:
2016 Summer 1, 2016 Summer 2
Home University:
Indiana University
Major:
Education
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