March 22, 2003

Our hasty departure from Zababdeh has left us with a bit of work to dig through before we can adopt a "vacation" mode - journal updates, writing and emailing mid-term exams, cleaning out email inboxes, all had to get out of the way this morning. Once we finished, though, we could settle down.

The Limassol Steam Bath.

Cyprus, being an old British colony, has its British quirks: using the pound, driving on the left side of the road, and - perhaps most advantageous - the pubs. An island with a population of 1/2 million, Cyprus sees a million tourists every year. 80% of them from Great Britain. When in the tourist areas, you can walk out your door and find a pub advertising steak and kidney pies, fish n' chips, and an assortment of ales.

We stopped by the "Ship Inn" to taste a little "local" flavor (meat pies and Woodpecker cider) and catch the match between Manchester United and Fulham. After lunch, Marthame went to the old Turkish bath for a sauna and massage while Elizabeth set out to go shoe shopping.

It's looking more like a vacation, though we're still getting cellphone text messages from back home. As one friend wrote, "here is the same nothing happend." Another tugged at us: "we are good hope u 2, life is normal here but the upnormal thing is not having u with us, we miss u much & looking 4wards 2 c u back soon." Us 2.