Writer's Block

I've gotten the worst case of writer's block at the worst possible time.  I have so much to say and the trip is coming to an end.  I have seven word documents pulled up, and everything is half written.  Somethings are just so hard to find the right words for.  I'm kind of unhappy with everything I've got right now.  I might be pulling an all-nighter just from blogging.

In other news, here's a picture to brighten your day:

While I'm Away

I've been craving sweet tea all weekend long.  I've found all sorts of lemon tea, peach tea, green tea,  but it's not the same.   I've decided that I would make that a part of my first meal back home.  

Here's a couple of happenings that I miss back home. 

My poor kitty

I received an excited message from my brother about a week into this trip.  He just bought and is now reading Through My Eyes  co-written by Tim Tebow.  WHYYY?  I probably would not be the first to admit that I am so tired of Tebow, and now his book is at our house.    If I was at home this would have been prevented.    

Also my beautiful cat Callie now has an ugly shaved patch on her back.  She had to undergo surgery for an infection caused by a tick bite. I guess nobody love Callie as much as I do and doesn't check her as throughly as I do for bugs.   Now she sitting at the house with ugly bald spot.  Not cute.  Maybe I should find her a friend here. 

Goes to show, you take the girl out of Tennessee, but you can't take the Tennessee out of the girl. 

Crossfades, Chinese, and Children's Books

"You have to fall in love with the process of training to become a better player" 

Blake Griffin 

Yes, Mom I know that you hate it when I mention athletes, but this popped up at the top of my Facebook newsfeed on Thursday, and it just screamed use me for blogging purposes.  I think he has a point here that goes along well with my Cyprus trip. 

Wednesday could be considered as busy or not busy as you would like to call it.  It was overall productive, and maybe one of my favorite days here. 

 I spent the bulk of the day watching confectionary footage and editing the documentary.   We seemed to be fixated on the part where the baker puts together baklava, putting a layer of dough and a brush on butter on top, over, and over and over.  Seriously there is 23 minutes of baklava dough layering.  For editing's sake to make the process shorter, we put crossfades in to smooth the transitions where there is time-laspe, and there are lots of crossfades.   

As silly as it is, Wednesday the thought finally occurred to me that I was making a documentary in Cyprus. 

Me being cool 2007 style. 

I mean, how weird is that.  If you would have told me that four years ago,  I wouldn't believe you. I probably would have laughed in your face.

This month has certainly been a crossfade, an important transition period in my life.   I feel that I've grown in tremendous strides as a person from week-to-week as I've been here.  Seriously, go back and read some of the first blogs.  Cyprus is some life training, becoming a better player, so to speak.

Here's another example from Wednesday:  We all wanted Chinese food for dinner.  Little did we know the lengths that we would go through to get Chinese food.

 We found the delivery number of the restaurant.  Called the first time to check the prices, but had no menu.  So, we finally decided to drive to the restaurant to pick up menus,  and of course the first time we saw it we drove passed it, turned around to go to it, and drove past it again, and then turned around a second time, and finally made it.  We  got our menus went back.  It took us around another 30 minutes to decide what everybody wanted to eat, wrote it down and ordered.   The delivery man then called us 30 minutes later to say that he was lost, so then we had to give him directions,  and then after the 2-hour process was complete I was eating my much beloved sweet-and-sour chicken.

  My point here is it's all about the process.  Trying to figure out how to get the Chinese food is one of my favorite odd memories from the trip.  If the process wasn't so lengthy, well I might not remember it one month from now.

Me in Cyprus, still being cool. 

Finally children's book. If you know me well enough, I've been saying for the past three years I'm going to write a children's book.  I have some ideas and character names all picked out.  When I told some of my friends they thought it was  something like every other idea I have, kinda silly.  So then I decided to take the challenge and prove myself.

Then I did something really crazy, I actually started writing my book.  Yes, I spent three years saying I was going to write a book, but I never actually wrote anything.  It's kinda like another favorite thing of mine, tanning.  I adore my tan, but I spend hours in the sun to get this tan.  I can say I want to write a children's book, but I just can't sit around and wait for it to just happen.  You need to put some time into it, nothing is going to happen or change in an instant.

I am no NBA all-star, and I don't mean to preach.  Most days I get frustrated and mad that things don't go my way, but Blake's got it right.  This is just training, how are you supposed to grow into a better person ("player") if you don't enjoy life, have no goals, or don't do anything at all.  Life is the process and love it.

 I'm pretty sure you've been asking the question the whole time why base this whole blog off of a Blake Griffin quote?   Well, one of my memories of my last night in Nashville was playing a NBA2K on Xbox with my brother.  Of coarse I was Blake Griffin.

Check these out:

Blake Griffin talks about doing a reality TV show
The list of Chinese restaurants in Nicosia, the portal that started the infamous quest.
Where in the world did I pick out names for characters in my book?  I won't tell you which ones, but I'm using two from this list.

How to Avoid Difficulties: Another Cypriot Life Lesson

 "It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare,  it is because we do not dare that things are difficult" - Seneca

Well friends, if you have been keeping up with my blog and the crew's blogs,  you've probably figured out the theme to this trip is learning about love and simplicity.  Once again, a single statement threw me for a spin. 

Monday, we went to film a confectionary, and afterward stopped by restaurant to interview the owner, Mattheous.  I had the privilege of drilling him with questions, my favorite past time.  He was talking about the measures he makes while preparing traditional Cypriot food, and I asked him a follow-up question,  what was the most difficult thing about preparing traditional food?  

The response went like this: Nothing is difficult.  I enjoy what I do, and therefore nothing is difficult. 

I've been reflecting on this "nothing is difficult" statement for a while now.   How many people would have answered that?  

One of my side projects is that I'm an amateur/struggling artist.  Hand me some colorful acrylic paint and a canvas, and I could paint all day long.   I'll easily answer as fast as a can,  the most difficult part,  I lack pure artistic talent. 

Ask my mom about my artistic escapades, they usually end in a frustrated mess.   I paint, and paint over, and paint over again usually until I ruin the canvas.  I didn't realize how many canvases I threw out, until I ventured into the garage to find my suitcase for this trip, sitting beside the suitcase was a garbage bag full of my frustrated artwork.   Believe me I've created more trash then masterpieces. 

I guess I just get caught up on creating the perfect masterpiece that I forget why I started painting in the first place, because I enjoy it.  Simple as that.  I'm pretty sure that applies to a lot of other things in life as well. 

Mattheos also revealed in his interview that his regulars nicknamed him "the smiling chef."  It goes to show that if you truly enjoy what you are doing, that it shows.   I came to Cyprus and now I'm relearning what I forgot, that love is the glue that sticks simplicity and life together.

Check these out:
These people have America's dream jobs.
Peyton Manning talks about the hardest part of being a QB
Mark Zuckerberg's advice "just do what you love"
and my favorite Lauren Conrad on pursuing her dreams.  

Cyprus 101: Ch. 1 Prehistorical Cyprus

I've been in Cyprus for quite some time now, and I was honestly just struck with the question. "What do I really know about Cyprus?" I decided to combine my interest in history and my remarkable Google skills, and bring to you the history of Cyprus.

While researching I discovered that condensing 90 centuries of Cypriot history into one blog post would be pretty overwhelming, so I putting it into 3 or 4 chapters.

Ch. 1 Prehistorical Cyprus

DISCLAIMER: I am no prehistorical expert.  I try my hardest, and some terms might just be butchered.  This is an amateur travel blog after all.  (All dates are in BC). 

The first know human civilization on Cyprus was a group of hunters and gathers believed to have come form Eurasia on rafts.  In prehistorical times Cyprus was famous for being inhabited by dwarf animals like pygmy hippos and dwarf elephants,  both of which are extinct today.  Archeologist have uncovered water wells in Cyprus that are believed to be some of the oldest in the world dating between 9,000-10,500 years ago.  They've also found the remains of a 8-month-old cat (go figure) dating back 9,500 years ago.  

8,500 to 7,000 is known as the Epipaleolithic Era.  Archeologist have found no evidence that would suggest human activity besides small communities settled near the coasts. 

The Stone Age lasts from 7,000 to 3,900. Like any typical Stone Age society, Cypriots hunted, made lots of pots and decorated ceramic art.  

After a giant earthquake hit Cyprus in 3,800 it transitioned into the Chalcolithic period.  During this time Cypriots discovered copper on the island.  

The Bronze Age (2,500-1,050) was when Cyprus became gained awareness on the map. During the Age Cypriots began trading copper to other civilizations across the Mediterranean.  Settlements begin to break away from the coasts, and steer inward, now covering the whole island.  Mycenaeans arrive as merchants and progressively Hellenize the island sharing the Greek language, religion and ways of life. 

In the Iron Age from 1,050 to 525 Cyprus gains a great wealth from increasing the copper trade routes. The Phoenicians invade, and the island is split into 10 kingdoms. Archeologists find writings with the first traces that show the first traces communities speaking Greek language on the island, and Cypriots introduce the safety pin into everyday fashion.

Next Up: Ancient Cyprus!  

Works Cited:  Cyprus Brief Historical Survey , The History of Cyprus in 90 Centuries 
and Prehistoric Cyprus

Love Stinks

Biologist claim that smells create the best memories.   If this statement is true, then I will never be able to forget our latest adventure.

Gross!! 

I can honestly say that I didn't really pay to much attention to the halloumi making process. I couldn't endure the sour milk smell.  I can also say that I will never look at cheese of milk the same way again.

So what did I learn?

While not paying attention to the halloumi process, I spent some time in the house's courtyard.  I couldn't help but notice how everyone in the surrounding houses made there way out to take a peek.  I lost track of who was coming from what house, how many people there were, who was related to who and who was our bus driver for even that matter.  My two favorite characters were the little girl so excited to play that she probably tripped and fell about 50 times, and the other little boy who later came out in his roller blades to show off.

Neighbors, extended family, whatever they were, I learned that a sense of community and love had no boundaries of a language barrier.

Of coarse they were the most hospitable people in the world too.  The second we walked in they were already gathering chairs outside to make sure everybody had one.  During the longer stages of the cheese making process, the brought us juice, two different types of bread and halloumi.  They didn't even mind if I munched on their freshly picked olives either.  The doors of their house were wide open, and I find it no coincidence that Aphrodite's statue was sitting outside a window.

I can't tell you how many times I remember being told in Sunday School, and have later in life even taught kids in Sunday school to love your neighbor as yourself.   I've learned that Cypriots have the biggest hearts in the world and truly understand what it means to love your neighbor.  So now when I smell sour milk,  I think love.

Add to water to make instant sour milk soup, a Cypriot speciality.

Check these out:   What in the world is halloumi, and halloumi recipes 

In UT news:  Tobais Harris  and Scotty Hopson are headed for the NBA draft Thursday. 

Pet Sitting Cyprus Style

I'm one of those people who always asks for a pet, cat/dog/guinea pig/bunny/ hamster/ etc. You name it I've wanted it.  I even have my names picked out for puppies that I don't even have yet.  

My soft heart for animals has lead me to meet a new friend Spike. 

Spike lives in the apartment building next to mine.  My first spotting of Spike was was about a week ago when I was a an orange cat hanging out of an open window. We was propped up on the ledge and it looked like he was about to jump.  I was concerned.    

Spike roams around into any apartment with an open door looking for some love.  After leaving the others apartment Spike came with me and he showed me his food bowl outside of the door of his home.   Apparently, his owners are on vacation. 

 Spike has run out of cans of tuna that sit outside the door, but he still has some dry food left.   The other day I brought him a few slices of turkey. 

Spike is a good cat.  He just wants some attention and loving.  He likes to play with key chains, like any other cat.  The only problem is that sometimes he leaves surprises in some places, but then again this is the apartments next to mine.  I wonder what my sweet kitty at home, Callie thinks. 

Last Weekend All in Detail

I was asked to write everything in detail, so here it goes. I have a whole week to catch up on.

Friday was a busy day. I woke up early and got on the bus and rode for a long time.  Our first stop was The Kolossi Castle.  The "Castle" is technically a fortress built in the 16th century under the Byzantine Empire.  It's claim to fame is that its where Richard the Lionheart married Princess Berengaria, and crowned her Queen of England in 1191. Queen Berengaria lived in Cyprus her whole life, and was still ruled as queen even though she never stepped foot in England.  

We were only given 20 minutes to fully explore the castle, but that was just enough time to run up what felt like 7 flights of tiny spiral staircases to make it to the top.

Stop two was the Kourion Baths and complex and Amphitheater. The baths and complex were once home to a rich family, and is known for the mosaics that decorate the floor.  

Keep in mind that these mosaics date back around late 4th century to early 5th century.   I like to relate back to my "what is gorgeous" question from before, and say for some things beauty really is timeless.   Honestly, there was more of a history lesson that went along with this, but  I got a little distracted.  This was my first glimpse of  the beach.  

If you look real close there is a teeny tiny horse ranch around center left 

Right beside the bath house/ complex was the amphitheater.  It kinda reminded me of UT's amphitheater except, much bigger.   This amphitheater was built in the 2nd century, and in the 3rd century the Romans gave it a face lift.  There's even a lion's den in it.

The amphitheater is still used today for traditional cultural events, and seats 2000 people.  This thing
is huge, and just to get a good idea of how big it is check it on Google Earth. 

To get to our next destination in Pafos we drove over some huge, curvy mountain sides, and got to Petra tou Romiou also known as Aphrodite's Rock.  It's famous for being the birthplace of Aphrodite.
There's really not much to do here, but take pictures, but this is my new favorite place on Earth.

See look how blue the water is!!  After a quick picture opt everybody got back on the bus and headed to Paphos for a two-hour lunch break.  (Tia the following part is for you,)  While in Paphos we ran into a group of party promoters, nether of them were Cypriot,  but one was British who had a copy of the David Beckham tattoo, and then one was Romanian.   We then quickly made a tour of the House of Dionysus,  the greek good of wine.  It was full of  more  mosaics, and over run by feral cats. By this time everybody was all sweaty and tired, so loaded up the bus one last time drove over more curvy roads and mountain sides, and made it back to our hotel in Limassol.  

Saturday was, to use an adjective invented by Jenelle "tantastic!"  In the morning we went to beach. The water was crystal blue and none of that gross seaweed stuff floating around in it.  That day it was unnaturally windy, so there was sand flying everywhere.  It was all up in everyone's faces, ears and eyes.  This wasn't pretty sand either it was clumpy and hard.   After lunch, I decided enough of the sand and headed to hang out by the pool with my one of my lovely roomies Lindsey, and we stayed for pretty much the rest of the day.   This is when I got the time zones confused and just wanted to call my Mom to say hey, but I didn't realize it was 5:30 in the morning there.

That night a group of us headed out to a place called Rio Bravo, which we were told by the hotel was the best Mexican food place around.  On the way the cab ride there I witnessed a kitten running out in the road and being run over,  it made me really sad.   After arriving at Rio Bravo we were the only people at the restaurant, but yet we were fussed at for not having a reservation.   This Cypriot "mexican" restaurant was decorated more like an old western saloon, and decorated with American license plates, mostly from New York, and one was from Rutherford County Tennessee.  They also played country music too.  The menu ideas was all the right mexican stuff though.

Sunday we left Limassol, and one the way back we made a quick stop to Lefkara, a village known for it's lace.  There were so many lace and silver shops I really regret not buying anything for myself.  I'm still waiting for my special souvenir to pop out and I'll be like ohhh, I need that.

This was the picture perfect village. I was so fascinated by it.  All of the houses were decorated with bright colors and adorned with flowers.   It reminded me a lot of my old Barbie doll house.  Most houses had doors wide open, and sometimes we would walk over to see a garden, and find that we wandered into somebody's backyard.  The school house didn't even really look like a school.  It wasn't made of brick and had about ten beautiful rose bushes growing out in the front lawn.  If there was no play ground beside I wouldn't have even been able to tell it was a school.

Monday was "Flood Day" a national holiday in Cyprus celebrating the 50 days after Easter, the descent of the Holy Spirit into the Apostles, and Noah's arc and the great flood.  Traditionally Cypriots head to the beaches, but considering it was Flood Day the sky was cloudy and it even rained!  It's not like I was heading anywhere anyways, everything, I mean everything was closed even the 24/7 kiosks.  I took this time to catch-up on my summer reading and finished Water For Elephants.   

"You Need To Stop Writing About Tom Brady"

Thanks Mom,  just trying to give it a little something everybody could relate back to.  I went back and changed Tom Brady to Sam Bradford in that one post,  just for you.   That's not all that different though.

<3 <3 <3

Summer Lovin'

I would have never thought that a traditional Cypriot bread baker who still uses a hot coal furnace in 100 degree weather who makes a 300 euro per week could have ever impacted my life.

In short: when asked if the assistant was a good assistant she replied, "to bake bread you must have love, and she doesn't have it yet."

That one statement reminded me of something I forgot.  Putting love into what I do.  I think everybody could benefit from that statement.

The more I think about it,  I believe there is a difference between loving what you do.  I do think people should love what they do, and that is important.  The thought of putting love into what I do has never even crossed my mind.  Yes I do love writing, learning and telling stories.  Now I'm challenged with that idea of how do I put my love into what I do.

We did go with the intention of filming part of the documentary we're working on, however the majority of our footage is unusable, and guess what I'm glad. Why?  Because now we can go in with the mentality of putting some love into it.

 After all Cyprus is the birthplace of Aphrodite the goddess of love.


Check these out:

More about the history of Cyprus including Aphrodite 
Good Food in Cyprus
Our group blog to read more about making bread with love

"What Does Gorgeous Mean?"

gor·geous [gawr-juhs] –adjective

1. splendid or sumptuous in appearance, coloring, etc. ; magnificent 

2.  informal. extremely good, enjoyable, or pleasant 

(In case anybody is wondering, this is my third draft. I've been fighting with Blogger all day to make sure this would get posted just right). 

This one question sent me on a tailspin making me rethink everything I've ever said was out-of-context.  I'm not going to lie, ask any of my friends.  They will tell you this is a top-100 word in my vocabulary. Now every time I say it, I'm consistently thinking did I say that right?  

On the second shopping spree in the Old City we discovered that the shopkeepers and store owners were extremely friendly. If we showed interest in anything they would start talking and began teaching us useful Greek phrases.  In return for my lesson in Greek the shopkeeper asked me, "What does gorgeous mean? Like people pick up things and say ohhh this is gorgeous." 

I told him it meant beautiful 

Now that I've been asked to explain it, I'm completely rethinking, how I define and use a that favorite term of mine.  Examples in of gorgeous in my context: "How gorgeous is that Tiffany's ring?" or "Sam Bradford is so gorgeous!" I realized that maybe I'm too flexible with gorgeous. I can't just let it fly like that anymore!  

I know one could look at this and be like this is just a word, and it someways it is just that. Let me state my case words can be powerful tools. 

It also got me thinking how the what is gorgeous question can very from culture to culture. I would never be caught with an "Evil Eye" charm that is a staple of Cypriot culture. I would refer to a Mercedes as gorgeous, and here they drive around Mercedes' like it's nothing special.  There are thousands of them, including buses, trucks and cabs. 

But then again, isn't that why I came to Cyprus. My eyes are opened, and I'm continuing to see more insight into the little things that I love so dearly. 

Check these out: 

Commonly used Greek phrases

Greek Evil Eye jewelry that is everywhere and what it symbolizes to culture. 

My sweet little crush on Sam Bradford, the St. Louis Rams QB. See how he's doing during the lockout.

In UT News: MIKE HAMILTON RESIGNS

Even Cyprus Loves Edward

My friend Mackenzie has been so excited about the new Breaking Dawn trailer that was just released.  We already have plans to go at midnight.   This was one of the first things I saw at the mall, and the first picture I took on my camera.

Today I was just scrolling through my pictures from my last trip abroad about two years ago, and this came up as the first picture I took in Italy. 

Don't get me wrong here. I'm not a crazed Twilight fan.  I'm a social critic trying to grasp the idea on how did Robert Pattinson make it into all these cultures. 

Check These Out: 

  Breaking Dawn movie due out Nov. 18. 

My summer reading Water For Elephants, which just so happens to be a Robert Pattinson movie. 

Where Did The Weekend Go?

 I am lagging a little bit on blog posts, but here is a little something to keep you updated.  I'm pretty sure me recounting my days is pretty boring, but here it goes.

Friday
I headed over to "The Mall" in the morning with my lovely roommates. The shear size of the mall, put Wal-Mart to shame, but not the prices. The Mall has everything the imagination can hold, and I'm saving more details because it  deserves its own blog post.  Friday night resembled a Ke$ha song. Enough said.

Saturday
The whole group woke up early for a tour of down town Nicosia.  The locals refer to it as Lefkosia, or "Old City." The Northern part of the city is occupied by the Turkey, and the two sides of the city are separated by a buffer zone guarded with a UN armed soldiers.  I haven't ventured that far yet.  Once again this situation and my experiences in the city deserve there own post.  We also visited an archaelogical museum. My favorite thing on display was the jewelry of the royal family (of coarse). I fell in love with a bracelet that was clearly the predecessor of a David Yurman.  It was made out of pure gold, and I wondered how it could still be so shiny.  The closer I looked at it I realized it was wrapped in gold foil that was peeling off, and I got a tiny glimpse of the tarnished second skin.  It still was beautiful.

Check out my pictures from the Old City.

Sunday 
Oreintation day, aka playing sudoku on my phone day.  (Don't worry Mom, I listened to).  We were informed don't be an idiot.  They then preceded to tell us a story of a former student who went missing. Why? He was drunk and headed back to his apartment one night when he stumbled upon a garbage truck.  He then got the idea to steal it and drive it around Rome.  The real crime of the day was feeding us awful pizza, again. There are two options here: the pizza with the slices of ham on it, or pieces of corn.  I will never look at pizza the same way again.  We then got all fancied up (in our color coordinated dresses) and headed to a nice dinner.  I then completely forgot about how weird lunch was.

All caught up on three days. I promise I will never write anything this boring ever again.


Check These Out:
More about the displays on the Cyprus Museum and their Department of Antiquities.
Here's one for you Mom, The Public Library System of Cyprus.  I thought of you when we passed it, and took a picture for you.  They can go inside and look at the books, but they just can't borrow them.
Also my favorite website to play sodoku online. 

Jet Lagged Philosophies

" You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction your choose. You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you will be the guy who'll decide where you'll go. "  Oh The Places You'll Go   - Dr. Seuss

After about 24 hours of flights and layover,  90 pounds of luggage, weeks of preparation and months of anticipation, I am finally in Cyprus.

Cyprus?  Nine times out of 10 I get that question.

I want to travel, and I want to learn.  Cyprus is the cross roads of culture, "where East meets West" , I can't seem to think of a better place.  I would be lying if I didn't mention that getting an amazing tan was a huge factor.  

My main motivation is that I really want to answer the question: "How big is the world?"  

I'm constantly playing with the concept in head.  I came to college with an idea that it's a big world, but only to find out that it seemed smaller.  People seemed more connected and have more in common then ever before. 

I'm a history nerd, so I'm keeping in mind an article I read for a Western Civ. paper, "A World Not Neatly Divided."   In summary, it suggests not stereotyping cultures. It is almost impossible too, because there are more unique differences within a culture.  Think about how different accents there are in America.  I'm coming in open-minded and ready to learn.

It also asks to appreciate the similarities between cultures.  Sometimes I feel like we as people can be focused about what is different that we forget about the common bonding point.  Listening to the radio on the bus ride to the apartments I learned that Cypriots still love the Backstreet Boys too! I can only imagine that there are girls that remind me of my friends and I when we still argue over which boy is the cutest. 

You may take philosophical thoughts lightly, or even find them silly.  I understand that mentioning tanning, Backstreet Boys and a cliche Dr. Seuss quote may discredit me, but I've come to find that the little things that make up life are the greatest.   This is my mindset and I'm ready to go exploring.

What to check out:
 My favorite Sky Mall finds:  Dumbledore's Wand,  The Dream Chair Lounger and the 6-foot-tall Easter Island Statue