First off, please be patient while I figure out this blogging thing...I never thought I would do this. Never say never I guess. I figured this would be the easiest way to keep in touch with people while I'm in Cyprus and now I won't have to bombard your email accounts with photos and boring commentary...you can just come to this site for your snooze material! (Jen - I tried to figure out the site you're using...but since you have to add friends and so on, I gave up. I thought this might be easier for family. Sorry! I hope you can view this site.)
So this is the beginning of Week 4 here in Cyprus (I arrived on the evening of Sept. 21). So far things are not too much different from home, I spend a lot of time staring and my computer and screwing off ("working") on the internet. I got quite a bit done the first week and a half, but have been on a downward slide since then. Part of it is waiting on the car but hopefully by Tuesday afternoon that will all fall into place. I have to be more patient :) things here don't work the same way, especially in government offices. So far I've worked on some GIS (= dorky...sorry Scott and Jill) analysis of population patterns and have starting filing requests for access to archives. That is the interesting part. I'll find references to different photograph/postcard collections in various publications, locate the entity that holds the collection, and try to get some information over the phone/internet regarding the collection after a bit of web searching (a whole other game). Then I am told that I need to write a formal letter requesting access, fair enough, but that I must also list all of the photos I would like to see in my request. Again, fair enough....if there were a directory of what the collection contains somewhere...but no, I have to guess what the collection may/may not contain and request items that way. Makes it a bit difficult to come up with matching photos (yay re-photography) of sites when you can never really find out what is in a particular collection.
Web research is also interesting...okay, I'm definitely spoiled with the ease of gaining access to information, as demonstrated in the last paragraph. But organizations should, at a minimum, at least post contact information right? Guess not. Maybe that's the big "F you." Yes, we have cool stuff that you would like to see but you will never find us. Insert evil laugh. So now I'm moving on to schmoozing...if I had a list of talents (or any talents...for those of you who will go there) rubbing elbows and introducing myself to people would never make the list. It's a very small island though, and someone knows someone that knows someone that can always get you what you need. Or their cousin's cousin works there...and so on. So eventually I'll find the things I need, just not quickly....again, patience.
And the car. Another of the Fulbright students (Matt) and I bought a car from the last Fulbright Scholar and it was quite a deal. The car is in great shape for being handed down several generations of Fulbright people, 10+ years old (some documents list the car as 1996, others as 1999), and in general, life on Cyprus, where traffic rules are mere suggestions and sidewalks are also car parks. So I was rather excited when we actually got to see the car. The previous owners have taken excellent care of the car, complete with service records. But getting a car insured, registered, and title transferred is a whole other thing. Many steps.
DAY 1 - Car saga
First you need a cover note from your insurance company...after you find an insurance company that doesn't require 3 years of residence on the island (related to migrant labor laws). We did find a nice agent who actually came to meet us where we live (CAARI - Cyprus American Archeological Research Institute) and went over all of our options. Insurance here is relatively cheap and we decided to go with the government-required minimum coverage since we only paid $2000(US) for the car and comprehensive coverage was ~$600(US) for a year. Not too bad, but the deductible is ~$300(US), again, not bad...but to possibly sink $900 into insurance for a car that was only $2000 didn't quite seem right. So our cost for the year is about $375...total, not per person. What a great deal!
DAY 2 - Car saga
We went to pick up the car at the Fulbright office and discovered it had a flat tire...not a big deal, tire changed...then the battery was dead. A very nice man who works at the Fulbright jumped the car for us (side note, Stelios often pretends to not know English so that he can avoid things...so we've been told). Yay!! Car in motion....excellent! So we decide that so far, we were getting things accomplished and moved on to getting the transfer of title done. I had already filled out the paperwork (which was supposed to be signed by the seller in front of a notary)...and had several people look it over as the forms are all in Greek. They were looking good, so we go off to find a notary. One person tells us at the end of the block, but we didn't see the office. So we ask in a print/copy shop...they tell us that only the government can sign it for us. So back to CAARI we go to get further instructions. They send us out again with more detailed instructions on how to find the notary, who was at the end of the block, we just didn't see it. Very nice man there, but chastises us a bit for not having the seller there and how can he know that it is her signature and so on. But signs the paperwork for us anyhow. We think he could tell by the registration number how old the car is and that it probably isn't worth too much money. And we had the title. Shady? Not at all. It's Cyprus. By this time it is 12:30, so we decide to quit for the day as we don't really know where the government office is to file the paperwork and pay the road taxes (and they close at 1:30-2). So Monday, the car saga will continue.
I'm sure this sounds a bit like whining...but I've been very good about not getting frustrated with the pace of things. I swear. It will all come together soon. Just trying to give you a bit of the life here...very laid back for the most part. I was starting to feel like I wasn't accomplishing anything, but I guess meeting people and getting requests in takes more time and effort than I'm used to. And now that I've explained all of the things I've been up to, it seems like a whole lot more has happened.
I'll start posting pictures here...and will grab a few of the car as well as the exterior and other spaces of the building where I live. I've been pretty horrible at taking my camera places. Plus, do you really want photos of the lectures I've attended? Didn't think so. I'll try to update weekly now...maybe...to prevent myself from rambling on as I've done here...and I didn't even talk about the wonderful fruit market I went to yesterday. Oh well, next time!
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