When it comes to the official job description of "Mum" I don't think annual leave gets a mention. Nobody talks about it much but there are some mothers out there who allocate themselves a bit of time out and return (hopefully) refreshed and, in different ways, renewed. My old friend "Weed" as I like to call her is one such person. With a generous hearted husband who noticed some cheap tickets from Perth to Cyprus, she spotted the window of opportunity and without any hesitation she sent me an email entitled "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" I was delighted; there's nothing like some quality time with one of my oldest friends. Lisa, as she is known by everyone else, came for almost 2 weeks and experienced some of our life here in Cyprus; both the mundane and the interesting and, during family times, the LOUD. On one weekend, I also took some 'maternal annual leave' and we both flew to Crete. It was fantastic to experience a new place together with heaps of time on our hands. Walking, driving, bike-riding, beaches, shopping and eating....all glued together by a lot of great talking. The pictures say it all:
Encountered a massive hail storm en route to the
airport
The weather brought about some beautiful colours around Aphrodite's
Rock near Paphos airport in Cyprus
An early view of Crete
Good Morning Crete!
We can't stop taking photos...no kids to watch...new camera
The harbour in Chania
We soon realized that the town of Chania was pretty small, even for 3 days, so we bravely rented a car and drove ourselves to some pretty sights - all the while reminding ourselves "Keep Right, Keep Right". Despite there being some hesitation in opting out of car insurance, we did just fine and made a great team.
Yes Weed...it really is the Mediterranean.
"hey, stop that, this rock is my only privacy"
Back in Cyprus, it was great to take Weed to some of my favourite places and do some cooking with some of my favourite people.
Walking, talking and sitting in the beautifully natural Mahairas Forest
Menaka continues to watch over my cooking of her Prawn & Coriander dish
Hanging out in the kitchen...
Bringing together 2 artists (excluding myself). Afternoon Tea at Behnoosh's home.
Lunch at Bellapais Abbey
Visiting Ross at the World Vision office
An early morning bike ride discovering doors in the old town
Weed learned to play Backgammon with a qualified Turkish mentor!
Had to watch a football match!
A visit to the box shop in Kyrenia
And, on the last morning, tried a Frappe.
So, when you've tried a Frappe, you've really been to Cyprus. Weed, it was great to see you, thanks for coming! Graeme, thanks for minding the fort back home.
It's been a rapid change of seasons this year, and the days have been much cooler over recent weeks. We've started lighting the fire again at night and are no longer entertaining thoughts of final ocean swims for the season, but rather the approaching winter and the prospect of some time in the snow again. It has also been unseasonably wet over the last month, and the island is starting to look green again which makes a nice change after a long summer.
The weeks are passing quickly as our transition back to Australia in a few months time approaches, but life continues to be as full as ever here. However there is something about an approaching life transition that can prompt a more reflective mindset, and clear perspectives on our journey as a family here in Cyprus. It has not always been easy but we are very thankful for this season of our lives over the past four years. We know that we will miss many things about Cyprus and the community here but are at peace about the timing of the move back to Australia.
A few recent events for the family include:
Jessie marching with her school the American Academy for 'όχι day' or 'No Day', which is a national public holiday to commemorate a Second World War milestone when Greece said 'No' to Mussolini's request to annex Greek territory for the Axis powers. In saying no to Mussolini's request, Greek was drawn into the Second World War against the Italians and Germans. For the όχι day march, thousands of school children from all over Cyprus march in Nicosia through the centre of town and past the President and a large entourage of other dignitaries and Government officials.
Marchers from the American Academy
Anna has been doing tennis lessons for the last few months. She is still keen to be do anything with a ball, and keeps telling us she will be one of those players on the tv one day (as long as she doesn't have to wear a skirt!). Click here or see the movie box below to see her in action!
Jessie also performed in a high school talent show recently, and the house continues to ring out with songs from different musicals each day. The other focus for Jessie lately has been finishing various oboe and music theory exams. It's been a bit of slog at the end, but she's finished now so happy to take a break for a while. Click here or see the movie box below to watch a clip of her school talent show performance.
The kids also had a mid-term break recently, and enjoyed a quieter week off in Nicosia. I think Sarah was pretty happy to see them back at school after the holiday! She is away in Crete at the moment with a dear friend of hers from Australia, so they are enjoying a few days break from family and kids. No doubt Sarah will write on this in a future blog.
ps. completely unrelated to this particular blog, but if interested you may enjoy watching this film we just discovered that Jessie made of our summer holiday in the Balkans. We wanted to post it for the sake of posterity. Click here or press play in the box below to watch it.
A few weeks back I travelled to Pakistan again for meetings with staff, donors and to visit some projects. Travelling to Pakistan is always a fascinating experience. It can be a sensory overload at times, but the people you meet are unfailingly hospitable and welcoming. On this particular visit my sensory overload began at the airport, as I queued in customs with many hundreds of pilgrims returning from Mecca. All were returning from the Haj and were dressed in white (as is the custom). Many were also carrying large containers of holy water from Mecca. The arrivals hall was jammed to overflowing, with family and friends awaiting the pilgrims and covering them with flowers as they entered. Quite a spectacle and mass of humanity to navigate through for a slightly jetlagged Australian at 3am in the morning! After some time I was able to locate our driver among the crowds and made my way to the nominated guesthouse in Islamabad.
As I have written in a previous blog, Islamabad is a modern 'planned' city not dissimilar to Canberra in Australia. The city can feel sterile at times, especially with huge houses, walled compounds and highly visible security present in many neighbourhoods. It is sometimes said that Islamabad is 30km from Pakistan. The 'real' Pakistan starts in Rawalpindi, a large neighbouring city and urban sprawl located close to Islamabad. Travelling to Rawalpindi is a huge contrast from Islamabad. Confronting in some ways, but also energising and intriguing for the sheer mass of humanity, noise, colour and chaos that can be found there.
Non-formal education class in Rawalpindi
World Vision has projects in various parts of Pakistan, including a large urban program in Rawalpindi which is focused mainly on working with street children in areas of education, health and social development. One component of the program works to build pathways to mainstream street children into formal education. This aspect of the program has been highly successful, but is not without its challenges. On my recent visit, we spent time with several community organisations and also schools that World Vision is partnering with. In one school we visited, I met with students in a basic classroom and was able to hear some stories about where these children had come from, and what they aspire to do with their lives. They all expressed different goals, but the one thing in common was hope. Considering where many of these students have come from, and to see the extreme poverty all around, I was humbled and encouraged to hear their perspectives.
One question from a student will always stay with me though. At the end of our discussion, a young boy who must have only been about 8 years old stood up and said "Sir, do you have child labour in your country?" The question rocked me, both in its simplicity and also the way it provided such confronting clarity on the existence that many of these children face every day.
Downtown Rawalpindi
Some of the urban slums, where many residents are Afghan refugees
Already it is November again. Our annual weekend away somehow came together and we celebrated 19yrs of marriage. With only 3 months until we depart, we decided to enjoy a few parts of Cyprus that we had not yet seen. It's astonishing that we have lived on this small island for almost 4yrs and still have not seen everything.
Omodos village
So we set out for Omodos - a beautiful village in the wine growing region of Cyprus, nestled snugly under (or to the south of) the Troodos mountains.
We stayed in a traditional type cottage:
...and ate the best meze food in Cyprus we have ever come across, topped off by two local musicians after dinner playing the bazooki and guitar.
We managed to score some fairly cold weather but still enjoyed a bit of walking outdoors. As we hiked, we debated how we can get our kids to bushwalk more...
Ross had not yet seen the Kykkos monastery so we did the tourist thing for an hour.
On our final morning, we awoke to brilliant sunshine, but sadly had to be home and at work by 9am. It was a great time to stop, reflect and be thankful for all that is, in this current 'season'. And to all those who helped mind our kids - Menaka, Michelle, Justin, Helen, Chris and Lena. Thank you!
