Cyprus-Forum.com

[Kikapu]

Thanks for the compliments Lena.

Natty and I have a very special relationship, which is often on the "back burner" simmering at a very low heat, but the temperature is constantly rising.

It may even go as high as 99.9°C in the future.

Erm someone is having fun outside the forum...
Since you two talk a lot please tell her not to forget us and that we miss her a lot.

By the way does Miltiades knows about that??? Kidding

Don't jump to any conclusions my dear Lena, or else I will get in trouble with my Swiss girlfriend.

[LENA]

Thanks for the compliments Lena.

Natty and I have a very special relationship, which is often on the "back burner" simmering at a very low heat, but the temperature is constantly rising.

It may even go as high as 99.9°C in the future.

Erm someone is having fun outside the forum...
Since you two talk a lot please tell her not to forget us and that we miss her a lot.

By the way does Miltiades knows about that??? Kidding

Don't jump to any conclusions my dear Lena, or else I will get in trouble with my Swiss girlfriend.

You said it not me

[makazine]

Hey everyone, I will be going to work early today. Otherwise I would have asked more questions and commented on the posts. But thanks for the help y'all have lended me so far. I'll be on later in the evening central time.

[makazine]

and generally, how are minorities perceived?

When I say minorities, I mean black-americans or black people in general (non-caucasian).
Also, what kind of shoes are good to wear? And how safe is Nicosia?
Thanks for your help.

I think you will have fan in Nicosia it is a safe place just as it is in Texas
you need to live as close to the university as possible so you do not have to walk far. Buristack of good shoes is a must.

Is it better to live by myself or with a host family in Nicosia. Is it expensive to live near the C.C. campus?

[makazine]

(Any one can answer this) In your opinion, what are the best places to visit in Cyprus. What is a nice place to have fun, and are there clubs and stuff like that? What Kind of music do y'all listen to? Pop, hip-hop, rock, indie, classical? I know this is a weird question, but are there a lot of snakes in Nicosia?

You need to visit Protaras and Agia-Napa
Many pops in Ayia Napa have fan they have good people in general.
If you rend a car go to champion rental is the best there.
They have many archaeological places to see and deep history.
PS If you are from Texas relly ... they have Texas pops in Limassol you can find tequila there.

I think most of my time will probably be in classes and studying but if I do decide to travel within Cyprus, do you think it would be easy to adjust to the driving setup (on the left???)? How old do I have to be to rent a car and do i have to have a Cyprus drivers license?

[makazine]

Take this above advice to hart and do not go to the Northern Part as it is the illegal part of the country believe me you do not need to find out what i did.... that was not fan nor safe.

When you say "fan," what do you mean?

[makazine]

Makazine,
North or south, don't have too many worries. I'm regularly in north and south with family and friends, with locals and non-locals and I've not experienced any problems.

Some people are sensitive to the use of different words - TRNC, Greek and so on - but this is where being a non-native might help : just say you're confused as to what the right phrase to use is, what words the person you're just talking to uses.

As far as student population is concerned, my impression is that the universities in the north are probably more diverse than the south, with students from across Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, Eastern Europe as well as Turkey and northern Cyprus.

Crossing between south and north is no problem for US citizens. I'd encourage you to do so, the more interaction and learning the better. Igorance is the enemy of trust and the friend of fear. Being a student - especially an exchange/visiting student - is about overcoming ignorance.

the Western whip snake; large whip snake; leopard snake, ladder snake, grass snake, smooth snake, southern smooth snake, Montpelier snake, asp viper, nose-horned viper and the slow worm.

all the best

Great advice CopperLine I don't want to get bitten by a viper Is Cyprus College considered to be in North Cyprus but not in the occupied area? Is Nicosia a nice place to be?

I ask a lot of questions.

[makazine]

(Any one can answer this) In your opinion, what are the best places to visit in Cyprus. What is a nice place to have fun, and are there clubs and stuff like that? What Kind of music do y'all listen to? Pop, hip-hop, rock, indie, classical? I know this is a weird question, but are there a lot of snakes in Nicosia?

Magazine what are you interested most. Do you want to see archeological stuff, historical stuff, nice beaches and mountain views (by the way we dont have that much green but we do have lovely beaches), waterfalls, social places? Do you like crowded places or quite places?

By the way in the middle of the centre and your college is the Scorpios club which gets many black people. Also American embasy is very close to your college.

When are you coming here Magazine?

Hey Lena, I will probably be coming in the middle of September before the semester starts. I am interested in seeing everything Cyprus has to offer (if that is possible Bcos of school). Does it take a long time to get around Cyprus?

[Tim Drayton]

I am a white, British male so I may not be the best person to comment on racism in Cyprus, but perhaps I cam pass on a few observations. There is a large foreign workforce in the southern part of Cyprus, many of whom come from Sri Lanka or Bangladesh, so this is quite a cosmopolitan place and nobody is going to stand and stare at the sight of somebody with black skin walking along the street. Nicosia, in particular, has a huge Sri Lankan community. I don't think that Cyprus is an overtly racist kind of place, although there will always be exceptions to this generalisation. For example, I was travelling on a bus recently and the driver, annoyed at one Sri Lankan passenger for speaking too loudly on her mobile phone, called out "You are not in the jungle of Sri Lanka now". Cypriots for the most part are warm and hospitable, and I think even the incident I described can be ascribed to ignorance rather than prejudice. There are a lot of assylum seekers in Cyprus nowadays, and it is a fact that the few Africans living on the island tend to fall within this category. This group tends to be stereotyped as being freeloaders who are here to milk what they can out of the state, and people of African appearance may find themslves tarred with this brush.
I certainly wouldn't worry at all as far as safety is concerned. Crime levels are very low in Cyprus and the streets everywhere are safe to walk at all times.
I regularly use buses in Cyprus and have to report that, unfortunately, public transport in Cyprus is very poor in comparison to most European countries. Nicosia, however, has the best city bus network although there is no service after about 7 pm, and few buses on Saturday afternoons or Sundays. The bus services in Nicosia all depart from Solomos square and there is a small information kiosk from which you can obtain a timetable leaflet for the local Nicosia buses (in Greek and English). If you want to travel outside Nicosia, well there is quite a good service to Limassol (nine buses per day), although the last bus is at 5.30 pm in both directions, and there are no buses on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. The only other service out of Nicosia is to Larnaca, and I think this only runs four times a day with the last bus at about 4 o'clock.
Cyprus is a relaxed and friendly place, but life here is expensive.
Hope this helps.

[Kikapu]

I was selected out of a number of people in Houston by a company who wanted to diversify study abroad experiences for American students. One of the workers suggested I go to Cyprus. But that was not my original choice (I wanted to go to Switzerland). But I am glad I am going to Cyprus and Hopefully I have a great time.
.

Hi Makazine,

You have been getting a lot of good advice from everyone and that's a good thing.

Have you travelled outside the USA before and if so, where did you go.?

I just wanted to get same idea on what you have experienced abroad if you have travelled, and if not, what are your expectations.?

How long do you intend on being away and how old are you.?

You being from Houston, which is a very large city, and in the summer time to be very impersonal city, because of the extreme heat and humidity, where everyone has to be in a air condition car, house or mall. You don't see too many people walking around enjoying their surroundings, at least not in the summer anyway.

Cyprus will offer you a lot of good things, I'm sure, but in a way, I wished you were able to get your first choice, and was able to come to Switzerland instead. It would have solved some of your concerns from being able to adopt to your surroundings with greater ease. Transportation is the best in the world. You would not need a car at all. Personal safety is also the best. It is very Cosmopolitan with close to 40% or two million foreigners living here, including Blacks who are mostly from Africa. It is in the heart of Europe, and has a great deal to offer from places to see and things to do. The cost of living is only slightly higher than Cyprus (South). Temperatures are around 20°-28°C in the summer ( 68°-82°F ). Switzerland had 3 of the top 10 best cities to live in the world, in a recent poll results, which were Zurich, Bern, and Geneva. From it's lakes and rivers and mountains (which you don't have that many in Texas...it is flat as a pancake )

Cyprus is my birth country and was there in April this year and enjoyed it very much, so I'm not trying to discourage you from going there. Too bad we have a Political Problems in Cyprus at the moment and the last 40+ years, but if you do go there, do try to see and talk to as many people as you can, from both sides of the divide, but do not drive anywhere in a car, due to driving on the "wrong side" of the road. I had to remind myself constantly so that I did not cause an accident. Also the streets in cities are not in a "grid" system as they are in the States, so getting lost is very easy in any European City.

Hope you will have a good time in Cyprus.