"Like the Wheel that Keeps Travelers Traveling On"

At the Louvre in Paris

Hangin' out in Salamis, Cyprus

 Today's post title comes from "Like the Wheel" by The Tallest Man on Earth. I started with Tallest Man on Earth lyrics for the Title of this blog, so it is only fitting that I end with his lyrics too since he's my favorite! As hard as it is to believe, this post concludes my study abroad adventure. Those three 

months certainly flew by! Having arrived back in the States on December 18^th after a 17-hour flight journey, I have had time to adjust and unpack. The flight home seemed rather long, and I almost missed the second one due to a short layover in Heathrow and because Heathrow is ginormous, but luckily I got to the gate one minute before it closed after running through the airport.  (Phew!) My suitcase was overweight at 27.5 kilos, but luckily I read on Cyprus Airways’ website that students in Cyprus are allowed up to 30, so I argued my case and didn’t have to pay a cent- Woot! Because I can’t sleep on planes, I watched four movies on the second flight to pass the time, and I was looking forward to seeing my twin sister Cassie and little brother Cameron waiting for me at the gate.  Cameron just got his license in November while I was away, so it was a strange concept to imagine him driving me home!

Cliff jumping in Agia Napa, Cyprus

  Anyways, let’s start wrapping up the tale of Courtney in Cyprus. First of all, a study abroad experience is unique to each individual. I’d like to say that I’ve changed a lot or learned something profound about myself or had some life changing realization, but I’m not sure I can claim any of those things. It’s funny because most people expect me to say something to that effect, but an experience of this caliber is hard to describe to anyone who wasn’t there. I’ve tried to convey my adventures using this blog, but I feel as if even my words cannot fully describe what it was like to travel to so many places in such a short amount of time! I think if I can claim anything, it is that I’ve strengthened my definition of what makes me: Courtney Amanda Haines. I will explain what I mean by this in a second.

The Pyramids of Giza

The Map of my Travels

            With Global Learning Semesters, I truly saw the ‘World in One Semester’ by traveling to 15 countries: Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Vatican City, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Luxembourg, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands with GLS, and Egypt, London, and Ireland independently.  Highlights of

 course include seeing the Coliseum, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Berlin Wall, the Pyramids of Giza, Big Ben, and the canals of Amsterdam, but my favorite moments were the ones that paralleled with a certain trait that defines who I am. For me, studying abroad proved to be the most rewarding when I put my already existing traits into the experiences rather than waiting to see how an experience would ‘change’ me.

Astronomical Clock

Vienna State Opera House

The Cliffs of Moher

Scuba Diving in Paphos

I have a fascination with intricate clocks, so the Astronomical Tower in Prague was a special treat. I love the joy found in a simple bike ride, so renting a bike to ride around the river in Strasbourg made my day. I enjoy attending theatre events, so my trip to see ‘Il Barbiere di Siviglia’ at 

The Vienna State Opera House was perfection. The Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies, so The Sound of Music tour in Salzburg was a magical experience with snow included! I am obsessed with nature, so experiencing the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland was my favorite experience of all time! A good hike makes me happy, so traversing the Troodos Mountains in Cyprus was a highlight. I am independent, so I was able to plan a visit to the Cyprus Handicraft Service on my own. I’m always looking for the next adventure, so scuba diving in Paphos, Cyprus on my 21^st Birthday was better than any birthday I would’ve had at home. I like cultural experiences, so I will never forget trying escargot in Paris, halloumi cheese in Cyprus, Belgian waffles in Belgium, and Grill Cheese and Trdelnik in Prague. Dancing is fun, so I attended a Greek/Cypriot dance lesson, researched the cultural tradition, and wrote a paper and did a presentation on Cypriot Dance for my cultures class. I am an extreme budgeter, so keeping track of my expenses abroad in an excel spreadsheet became an amusing daily activity. As I predicted, food was the largest expense.

The Expenses Chart....haha

Goodbye, Cyprus!

            And last but not least, I am determined, which is how I ended up studying abroad in Cyprus in the first place! For those of you who have been following my blog since the beginning, you’ll know that I started learning about Cyprus 8 years ago in 7^th grade, and after researching the country, it became a dream to visit Cyprus someday. 8 years ago, I never would’ve thought that I would travel to Cyprus before graduating college let alone study there for 3 months in addition to traveling the world! The fact that I have fulfilled this dream makes me excited and inspired to see where else my goals and dreams will take me! Only time will tell, I suppose. Where will I be 8 years from today?! Perhaps there’s another blog in store for my next big adventure.

            One thing I have realized by studying abroad is how big the United States is! Cyprus is the size of Maryland, and traveling so easily between countries in Europe made me think about what I’m missing with so many unvisited states! I hope there are many road trips in the future to find adventures right here in the good ol’ US of A.

            This is the first blog I have ever done, and I am proud that I kept it up to date rather frequently. With over 1,300 page views to date, I must of course thank all of you for reading and being interested in my travels!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

-Courtney <3

"Well I'm Going Home, Back to the Place Where I Belong"

Look at all those pins!

Alrighty, so my semester abroad is coming to an end seeing as I leave tomorrow for Larnaca’s Airport at 6:45am for my 10am flight. Since I'm heading home, the lyrics for today's post are from "Home" by Daughtry.  I can’t believe this semester is already over; it feels like I just started this blog and adventure yesterday! Since leaving the United States on September 13^th, I have traveled to 15 countries including: Cyprus, Greece, Italy, The Vatican, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Luxembourg, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands with Global Learning Semesters, and Egypt, London, and Ireland independently. It has been a crazy semester of planning, trying different foods, meeting new people, traveling to so many countries, and having cool adventures. Looking at a map, it is bewildering to see how many places I managed to travel to over the course of my 3 months abroad.

            I have a few more Cyprus updates before I depart, so now it’s time for the updates!

Kyrenia Harbor

Kyrenia Mountains

 As a group we traveled to Northern Cyprus to visit Kyrenia, and I loved driving through the beautiful mountains. The weirdest part of the mountain range in the North is the section with the record breaking Turkish Flag painted on the mountain, which I have mentioned in previous posts. It’s a symbol 

to display Turkish pride, ownership, and to remind the Greeks who can see the flag from the South. I saw this flag everyday, and it’s a constant reminder of the Turkish Invasion of 1974 that divided the Island. Kyrenia is an adorable harbor town, and we visited St. Hilarion’s Castle, which was the best castle that I’ve been to in Cyprus in my opinion; it was pretty large and fun to explore.

            The other day I went for a run because it was 65 degrees and I needed a break from studying. I thought it was great weather to wear shorts and a t-shirt, but I got some funny looks because all the Cypriots were wearing scarves and coats. Their tolerance for cold is low since their summers are so warm I suppose, but I thought it was perfect weather. Haha. I guess I’ll have to get used to the cold again really soon. Traveling to Ireland and London was a helpful reminder since I had to wear layers there due to the cold weather. But actually, Cyprus has gotten pretty chilly in the early morning hours and at night, so it’s not always summertime here like most people think.

Group in the Troodos Mountains

Another trip we took was to the Troodos Mountains, which are so different to hike than the Appalachians back at home just based on the surroundings. I liked how different it was for a change, but I’m also looking forward to a good hike back home. Afterwards we visited the village Kakopetria, which is exactly the type of place you think of when you imagine an old village. 

Me and Anya on GLS Graduation Day :)

            After classes on Friday, December 14^th, there was a little Global Learning Semesters Graduation Ceremony where we got certificates and watched a video made by my roommate Lauren. We also went to dinner at the same place where we went during my first night in Cyprus. It was nice to look back at that first dinner and think how none of us knew each other back then, and to see how much we have come together as a group since that first night.

The Kiddos playin' B-Ball

Volunteering at PeacePlayers

            On Saturday I volunteered with PeacePlayers and got to keep score for 

the Junior Boys tournament. It was really exciting to observe the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot children playing basketball together. As I mentioned in a previous post, PeacePlayers "uses the game of basketball to allow 11-15 year-old Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot boys and girls to play together, learn together and build positive relationships that overcome generations of mistrust and formidable physical barriers to interaction." Volunteering with this organization was a really good way to end my time in Cyprus because seeing the children playing together makes you hope that The Cyprus Problem will one day find a solution that brings the island back together as one whole again.

Kristi and Me at the APOEL Football Game

 Later that day, we went to an APOEL Football game (aka Soccer). So much sport attending in one day, haha so unlike me! My friend Kristi likes sports a lot and wanted to go to a game, and I thought it would be fun to go too. The most interesting thing about the game was people watching the crowd. They chanted and sang in Greek during the entire game, and although I have no idea what they were saying, it was pretty cool to observe. The majority of the crowd was men and I swear we were the only ones in the stadium without cigarettes in our hands. I got tired of the smoke pretty quickly and they also didn’t have good food to eat either! What kind of sporting event doesn’t have good food?! Our team APOEL won the game 1-0, and I thought the game itself wasn’t that exciting considering they made some pretty obvious errors like missing the goal completely several times. I’m really glad we went though because Football is a large part of Cypriot culture.

            Yesterday we went to Meze one last time with a group of 17 to say goodbye to my roommate, Anya. (See my post entitled "All it Takes is a Little Faith, and a lot of Heart" from September 17^th to read about Meze). Both Anya and Lauren have left now, so it’s just me and I have the whole empty apartment to myself. It’s a little weird because it really means that it’s time for me to leave soon too.

Things I’m looking forward to back home:

1.    Seeing my family and friends

2.    Driving my car and being able to go wherever I want, whenever I want.

3.    Playing my Ukulele!

4.    Going back to work at ArtsQuest

5.    Starting another semester at Muhlenberg

6.    Rooming with Allie Wertheim again!

7.    Eating good ol’ American Food!!

8.   Hearing people speaking English

9.    Being able to flush toilet paper again

10. Being able to read all of the signs and menus

11. Not having to pay $5.30 for ONE load of laundry, and that’s was just washing.

12. Being able to use a dryer rather than air drying my clothes!

13. Using my cell phone that doesn’t require topping up

14. The fact that Non-smoking rules are strictly followed

Things I will miss after leaving Cyprus:

1.    Being an hour’s distance away from the mountains or the beach in any direction.

2.    Wearing shorts and t-shirts in December. (It actually did get chilly here towards the end though!)

3.    Grilled Halloumi cheese….yum

4.    Random trips to Zorba’s 24 hour Bakery

5.    Papaphilipou Ice Cream

6.    All of the people I have met here

7.    The beautiful blue Mediterranean Sea

8.   Being able to travel around Europe rather easily

 So, that's about it for the updates before I depart! It's already 1am here, and I have a few more goodbyes to say, so I'll wrap it up here. There will be one more  post when I  return home to complete my study abroad blog, so stay tuned for my final thoughts! 

Goodbye, Cyprus! It's been an adventure. :)

-Courtney <3

"Wave Goodbye, Wish Me Well..."

Hello again, Readers!

Please fasten your seat belts because the plane is about to depart! In less than 12 hours, I will be on a plane headed to Cyprus! With a total of two planes and a travel time of 14 hours and 45 minutes, I should arrive in Larnaca, Cyprus around 9pm on September 14th since Cyprus is 7 hours ahead of Bethlehem. From there I will take a taxi to Nicosia, the capital, where I am to find my apartment and meet my roommates Anya and Lauren. Let's hope this trip runs smoothly compared to my last international journey to Germany in High School. (My first flight was delayed two hours and my suitcase didn't make the transfer in time and therefore did not arrive in Germany when I did! It was delivered to my house a few days later.) Needless to say, I will be very pleased to see my suitcase greet me in Larnaca! I'm hoping I did not just jinx myself.....

Anyways, I'm super excited that departure day has finally come! I am all packed, ready to go, and looking forward to living/studying in Cyprus. I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited so the nerves hardly matter. For those of you that read my last post, I decided to give in to temptation and upgrade to an even bigger suitcase. My younger brother Cameron pointed out that the smaller one I was using weighed more empty, so it made sense to switch to the larger one that weighed less empty so that there will be more room to bring stuff back! I will not be surprised if my suitcase weighs more than the 51lbs limit though....I guess you'll have to check back to find out! haha.

In related news, yesterday I found out that I have been selected for Global Learning Semesters' Blog Scholarship, which means I have to send them a blog for their facebook page every ten days. I'm honored to be chosen and I can't wait to experience everything this program has to offer!

Well, I have to pack my computer away soon so I guess this post has to end somewhere. I could go on and on about how excited I am, but I think you get the point. I have requested that we stop at Cracker Barrel for my last meal before I go, and we're going to stop at Barnes and Nobles on the way so I can pick up a book to take with me that a friend recommended. I'm not sure what the Internet is like in Cyprus, so you'll just have to keep checking for updates! Today's post title is from Human by the Killers.

And if anyone would like to send letters here is my address:

Courtney Haines
c/o GLI Global Learning Institute
P.O. Box 27931
Engomi, Nicosia 2434
Cyprus


Thanks for reading everyone!

Till next time!
-Courtney <3