A Matter of Choice

It was our three year anniversary of moving to Cyprus on 24th November. Many people have said they can't believe its been that long and although in some ways it seems hard to believe I feel like we've been here forever.  It feels like a lifetime ago that we lived in the UK.  My parents have UK tv channels and it seems 'foreign' to me to see adverts in English or watch the local Kent or London news. I'm vaguely interested at times but it just doesn't feel relevant to me any more. It may seem a long time ago but I remember our first couple of days so clearly.  Our shipping was due to arrive about a week after we did so we had huge problems in packing our final suitcases.  Although our apartment came furnished we had nothing except the basics and we also needed a cot, steriliser and various other baby paraphernalia. We had brought Leo a seat on the plane even though at 6 months he could have gone on our laps, but at £35 a ticket it was wor...

Today you can find me over at VegemiteVix - a brilliant blog written by an expat Kiwi living in the UK. She is running a new series of guest posts called 'Moving Stories' I'll let her explain in her own words... I've  decided to start a new series here on the blog, called Moving Stories. In it I’m going to feature interviews with some of my favourite expats, and I’m going to share a series of posts on how to Move Worlds Without Losing Your Mind. Keep an eye out for it if expat life could be in your future, or if you just want to dream about the possibilities. To see my story, and others in the series pop ove r to VegemiteVix.com

Today is our 'Cyprus Anniversary', we have now been in Cyprus 2 years!   Last year I looked at the difference a year makes  and how much it felt like home.  It wasn't the easiest of years and I had always been looking forward to this second year, actually in some ways this year has been even harder due to Aaron losing his job and money being somewhat tight but in terms of feeling like home this year has been an improvement. My parents moved out in March and now it seems like they've always been here, it seems like I've known my friends here forever and now I've even got a job!   Aaron is now on the committee for the Famagusta Eightball Pool Championships as Vice Chairman and is Captain of his team 'All the Kings Men' who play for the King's Sword Pub in Agia Napa.  Aaron has been playing pool for years but this is the first time he's been Captain! I'm now writing for Daxi, a local magazine and also enjoy getting involved with the...

In the months leading up to our move to Cyprus I spent a lot of time online trying to find out information on all kinds of Cyprus related things and I tried to get an idea of what 'real life' would be like when we arrived. Our apartment was due to be ready the same week Leo was due so it was a big thing to be doing with a small baby - arriving in a country where we knew nothing and no-one. I often used a very helpful website - Eastern Cyprus Forum   and it was on here that I stalked met my first 'Cyprus' friend, Kelly. I was a bit worried she would think I was a nutter (until I met her that is!!!) as I saw a post she had written in which she said she lived in Derynia and that she was expecting a baby in May just a few days before I was and so I emailed her and said 'Hi, me too!'  We became 'facebook friends' and over the months 'spoke' to each other quite a bit. Kelly had her baby ( her 4th) 8 weeks early, (Leo was 2 weeks late)  and I...

This weeks Gallery prompt from  Tara  is  Creatures.  This is Ellie our dog that we had to sadly find a new home for last October just before we moved, being mainly black she did not do well in the heat, especially as she always insisted on sunbathing until you could hardly touch her coat! Ellie came to us from a dog disliking  friend of mine who had been persuaded to re-home her by her kids in a moment of weakness, it turned out that the kids were also non-fussed about her and eventually they all decided she had to go. I have grown up with dogs and AJ had always wanted one so she was a welcome addition to our family in 2003. She is a lovely friendly mad thing, always nicknamed "The Puppy" despite being about 10 years old due to her excitement and energy for everything. I've been asked since if I know how she is doing in her new home, she has gone to a friend of a friend up in Cambridge, apart from hearing that she settled in well I have...