february?

Can you believe it's already February?  Better yet, can you believe it's February and I only have 14 days to reach my goal of mailing out "Christmas" cards "on time"?  Scary thought...

I'm currently hiding from a chicken pot pie that I'm terrified to make.  While doing so, I thought I would share a few little quirks about Cyprus, since I haven't shared much lately besides "immigration sucks."  And just for the record, we really are happy here!  There are just days, but you get those no matter where you are.

Cypriots love coffee.  And smoking.  I think it's a toss up between which they love more.  That said, this island has some of the biggest coffee shops I have ever seen, and I'm an American!  People come to the coffee shops and sit for hours on end talking, working, and more often than not, playing card games.  It's really fun to watch.

Parking makes no sense.  There are "rules" about where you can and can not park, but no one follows them.  The most customary parking lots are the sidewalks, which are small enough to begin with.  No matter how busy the road, there will always be a car just parked on the side or up on the curb.  It's hilarious, until you nearly crash into said parked car.

This is the rainiest, coldest winter Cyprus has experienced in almost 100 years.  There has been steady rain for the last week with bursts of sunlight, but never long enough for anything to really dry out.  Most people have been taking advantage of this and are weekending in the mountains to play in the snow.  We haven't done this yet.  We are very well aware of what snow feels like, thank you very much.

Shops are rarely open.  No, seriously.  Local businesses close every day for a two hour lunch break at about one.  The post office is only open until 1:30 every day.  On Wednesdays EVERYTHING (but the coffee shops) closes by three.  No milk?  Tough.  You have to wait until Thursday.  Most places close early on Saturday as well and absolutely nothing is open on Sunday.  It gets kind of chaotic keeping track of everything and I almost always forget that the markets are closed on Wednesday afternoon.  (Today I remembered and walked to the market in the morning...ten points for me!)

Cars are essential.  People laugh at you when you tell them you walk around town.

I know there's more, but I think I've avoided the pie long enough.  Happy February!!