Life on the Home Front

Hello, Sarah here. Whilst Ross has travelled far and wide; apart from the odd trip across the Green Line, the other 5 Pipers haven't been anywhere.  A week of listening to Eurovision songs is about as International as we've got but boy do we know our 2011 Eurovision songs!  Not only did the kids have their own family voting scheme worked out, they also stayed up very late to watch the Final and now, several weeks later, are giving us countless performances from their favourite entries.  The pictures below are from a very spirited dance to Romania's song "I can't change the world".

Note that Sam's fascination with frocks continues unabated...

Only 2 and a bit weeks to go now until the summer holidays start here.  I previously thought that a whopping 12 week break with all 4 kids at home should just about drive me around the bend and became a tad fearful of school breaking up.  However,  not long ago I was rescued when the heavenly "Summer School" note emerged out of the kids' school bags.  So for 5 weeks, Jessie & Angus will spend mornings doing a school holiday programme and then in the afternoons hang out at the local pool with Sam, Anna & myself.


Despite the weather heating up rapidly (most days around 30 degrees), the kids are reluctant to go to swimming lessons.  For J & A, it's just hard work swimming laps, and for Sam he gets cold in the water and has a teacher with no kid skills.  (how I miss the Aussie style swim lessons!) This makes 2 afternoons a week a bit of a drag for Mum but I keep meeting interesting people at the pool so I don't mind so much.


The driving here continues to amaze and amuse.  I figure that if I don't laugh and marvel at the Cypriots' cheekiness on the road then I'll probably just ram into one of them on purpose SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY WERE ASKING FOR IT.  I mean, how far can a car poke it's nose onto a main road hoping to be let in?  The answer here from the average Nicosia driver seems to be "as far as I need to to make the oncoming traffic stop so that I can get where I'm going".  The weird thing is that too many people do stop and let them in thus perpetuating the problem and creating a lot of strange traffic scenarios.  In a funny sort of way, however, it all still seems to work and those people who stop to let people in must arrive at work feeling awfully generous.  I've tried it even myself.


The other strange traffic phenomenon that I'm still getting used to is sharing the narrow roads with MASSIVE bulldozers and excavators.  No flashing lights or bulldozer body guards to warn us of their presence.  Quite a wake up call resulting in my becoming a much more alert driver.

All is well here on the home front and we've been pleased this past weekend to have Ross around.  The kids had some friends around to play, we went to a friends' farewell gathering (Angus' best friend is heading back to USA), and then last night headed out for Doner Kebab in the Turkish side of the Old Town. We wanted to take a bit of a 'look around' walk, which the kids are never too keen on, so Ross told them they all had to count 40 cats before we would even think about buying them dinner.  Lucky they spotted a full litter at one point... Today we went to church and then were invited back for lunch with a family who live in a village outside Nicosia.


Monica is with us for 6 days out of 7 and fast becoming a very appreciated element.  She's great with Anna and always hard working and cheerful.  She had a birthday recently which we enjoyed making a big deal of.  It has been a huge adjustment for me, having her here, on many levels.  More about that some other blog.  For now.....Kala Nichta (good night).  No, I shouldn't have written that - it makes the Greek language look easy but it's NOT!  Twice a week I go to mind gym (alias Greek classes) and then have nobody to practice on except intolerant shop keepers.  I'm getting too old for this....

A week in the desert

I've (Ross) just returned from a week in the Jordanian desert, where I participated in a security training course run in co-operation with World Vision, the UN and the Jordanian military.  Security has become a significant issue for aid workers and NGOs, particularly as past approaches of 'community acceptance' as the primary strategy for security protection have been increasingly challenged in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.  Carrying a UN flag is no longer a signal of neutrality and impartiality, and in fact can actually have the opposite effect in some contexts.  This is, unfortunately, evidenced by the increasing number of attacks on the UN and also NGOs in various parts of the world.   

We spent a week in the desert being shot at, kidnapped and detained, harassed at hostile checkpoints and generally challenged in terms of how organisations can effectively manage their risks in complex operating environments.  We had about 30 participants on the course, drawn from countries all across the region.  There were some interesting cross-learning opportunities between participants and instructors, especially given some of the places where participants were from, and the daily risks and security issues they face eg. Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Iran, Bosnia and Georgia. All in all some remarkable people, and I feel privileged to be able to work with them. 

Downtown Amman

It was also good to spend some time in Amman, where World Vision has an office and program working primarily with Iraqi refugees.  Jordan is a relatively stable country in the Middle East, largely due to strong support from the broad population for the King Abdullah and royal family.  It's a country with enormous economic disparity though, and it's interesting to see how the current Middle East 'spring' is impacting even Jordan.  Whilst I was there, two very large protests occurred after Friday prayers in Amman, and these are a now a regular occurrence in various parts of the country.  World Vision and other NGOs in Jordan are preparing for a possible influx of refugees from Syria, where the political and social situation is highly volatile and may further deteriorate.  Syrian refugees are already arriving in the northern parts of Lebanon. World Vision has a number of long-term development projects in north Lebanon and has mobilised an emergency response to support the influx of refugees.


Managing the balance between effective long term development with a capability to respond quickly to emerging crises is one of the key challenges for World Vision and other NGOs working in this part of the world.  Lots of internal organisational issues as well as external challenges to manage in order to get this dynamic right.

Jogging with a passport

One of the quirks of Nicosia is the option to carry a passport when you go for a run.    Our house is close to one of the border crossings between the north and the south. This morning I went for a run that involved crossing the border near our house and then running along the 'green line' or UN buffer zone and into the old city in North Nicosia, before crossing back into the south at a different border point.  Somewhat surreal to jog up to a border checkpoint, have my passport and visa stamped, and then proceed across no man's land to the other side.  When you cross into the north, there is nothing subtle about the change of national focus.  Soon after the crossing you pass under an enormous sign stating 'happy and proud to be a Turk'.  

North Nicosia provides an interesting contrast to the southern part of the city where we live.  Many aspects of the architecture are similar.  For example the beautiful old framed doorways, stately limestone block houses and cobbled streets and squares in the old town.  There are a number of contrasts also, with a strong Turkish character to the food, cafes, shops and of course the mosques.   Houses along the green line remain derelict, largely unchanged from when the war finished in 1974.  The buffer zone has a eerie atmosphere, and it's hard to not think about the lives of the many families who used to live there.  

We've been reading a lot over the last few months about the history of the island, and the conflict over the past 50 years.  Of course each side has their own story and aportions blame to the other but the core fact is that the partition of the island has had tragic consequences for many people on both sides of the divide.  The conflict is long dormant, but the newspapers on both sides trade a war of words on a daily basis.  The current UN Special Envoy to Cyprus is none other than Alexander Downer(!).  His mandate is to work with leaders on both sides of the island and seek to broker some sort of resolution, with a push towards possible reunification.  It seems that this goal is a long way off.  Just quietly, I'm not sure that Downer, A. is the best man for the job to bring these two sides together.......!

You can see the emotion in signs at various war memorials

It's been interesting for us to meet more families from both sides of the island.  A number of students at the kid's school come are Turkish Cypriot, and they cross the border each day to go to school.  Certainly an eye opener for our kids to have school friends from such diverse backgrounds.  


Things are starting to warm up here, which means many more tourists around.  I flew in last weekend, and was amazed at the number of Russian and English charter flights on the tarmac at Larnaca.  We're feeling more settled now, although still working at building some community.  Sarah and I are taking a few Greek lessons each week, and we're also trying to get some more balance and normality into our lives by getting out for dinner together on a regular basis.  Small things about life here continue to surprise.  Even a trip to the local butchers last week.  When we asked for some lamb chops, the butcher went out the back and returned with a full carcass, asking which particular cuts we wanted.  Nothing like getting close to the source!


A few recent pics of the family are included below.

Anna's 2nd birthday

Eurovision awaits......

It's been a while since we posted a blog, but it would be remiss if we let the occasion of this weekend's Eurovision song contest pass without a mention.   Ross was travelling last week, but returned yesterday in plenty of time to prepare for the big event.  Suffice to say, Eurovision is a high point during the year, what with the dubious quality of many of the songs, the hype of the event and of course the intrigue and high drama of political alliances around the voting.  Hosted in Dusseldorf this year, the event promises to bring a certain German sophistication and 'edge' to the mix, along with the general high quality production values that the Germans are so well known for.  


In terms of winners tips, we both feel a certain loyalty to the local Cypriot entry San Aggelos S'Agapisa by Christos Mylordos, but alas think it may struggle against some heavy hitting acts coming from the Caucasus and the Balkans.  The smart money at the moment is on France or Russia, although I'm a particular fan of Dino Merlin's entry for Bosnia. The Caucasus states of Georgia, Azerbaijan or Armenia are long overdue for a victory, and Britain will of course be hoping to avoid their all too often nul points status.   For us, the most noteworthy part of the evening will be to see whether Greece and Turkey swap any points, a sure sign of a thawing in their relationship and a possible indicator of progress in Turkey's EU assessionist aspirations.   Any you thought the contest was about the music???


Hope you can carve out a spare 8 hours (!) or so to watch the event on TV this weekend, and be sure to toast the Cypriots when they take to the stage.  


ps. a clip of the Cypriot entry is included below: