Covered in Culture

Pandemonium 

Trying to Immerse...failing

I have never experienced Mardi Gras, but this weekend has brought me as close to it as ever. In Cyprus they celebrate Carnivale. A day of huge partying, parades, and of course, food. It took place in Limassol a city we have visited in the past but never like this. The streets were packed with people in full costumes, including ourselves. Confetti rained from the sky and children ran between legs spraying silly string every direction. We gathered in the street to watch the procession, unaware it would take three hours! Even after three hours the parade continued but we just couldn't stand on our feet any more and made our way towards the bus. I would say this was my first full out cultural experience. We got to see so many different groups of people celebrating together in a way I would never see at home. People went all out with full costumes and massive floats. Each group had its own theme and some a choreographed dance. Randomly of course we would jump in and join the groups each trying to find the matching group to our costumes. For example myself and another group member dressed as ninja and jumped into the "asian" group for a few minutes. It was nice to see how inclusive others were of us foreigners. No one gave us any trouble and most just welcomed us with open arms as we joined their processions. We can't speak greek, we certainly can't communicate as we normally would, but smiles, hands in the air, and laughter was all the invite we needed. It was are first chance to immerse in the culture and we ran into it with no inhibitions. The day before carnivale was a different adventure. I got to go to the deserted city of Famagusta on the occupied north side. The city looks like something out of "Inception", they literally could have filmed the movie there. It was the oddest thing I've ever witnessed. To be on a beautiful Mediterranean beach surrounded by deserted skyscrapers. The day was hazy creating an effect on the sky none of us will forget. It looked as if there was no horizon line in the ocean and that the boats on the water were floating in the sky. The whole day was just a surreal blur of reality and past history. We also went to the ruins of the city and got to see ancient structures. The most surprising part was the 80 foot drop I got to stand at the top of with NO HANDRAIL blocking me from the drop! Sometimes the standards here are a little baffling. I'm growing, learning, adapting, and as always changing. I will never be the same person as I was the day before on this trip. And this I think, is the greatest gift of all.