Peek into our lives {Setting}

All bundled up, Joshua and I laid on our one floor rug. We hugged each other while wrapped in Joshua's red sleeping bag that is as old as our relationship. More than trying to soak in the warmth from sharing a sleeping bag, we both soaked in the moment of quiet to talk. We commented on how we would have never guessed we would be living in Cyprus. We thought we would be in Italy or even somewhere else. Like many people, I didn't know anything about Cyprus and the first time I tried to write "Cyprus", I spelled it "Cypress". We didn't expect a lot of our new realities including the cold (maybe more on that in another blog). But mostly I couldn't imagine what Cyprus would look like.

When I read that Cyprus was a country in the middle of the Mediterranean, I pictured it to be like Costa Rica, Puerto Rico or somewhere tropical. A week before moving to Cyprus I found out there was a mountain range where it snowed enough to ski! We flew in at night and got up early the next morning to find a place to rent. As we drove around Limassol, my first impressions of Cyprus were terrible. Had I moved to a desert? Everything looked arid. There were hardly any trees. Hills were rocky. Any American would be surprised at the amount of litter, or I should call it "rubbish" in this part of the world. There was nothing green for it to hide under. The city of Limassol seemed poorly planned, for example, homes on one block and tractor store on the next. Parks were rocky with no grass but an occasional parched weed. I wondered if I would ever want to take a picture of Cyprus. Then we started to drive...

Cyprus landscape is unique. If only looking at a hill from below, it looks dry, rocky and barren. But as we climbed up, we were able to behold extensive views because there are so few trees. The views and sunsets here are breath taking. Behind our house is a mountain where we can see the Sea and Limassol on one side and the Troodos range (highest mountain range) on the other. We can see our village and house nestled among grape vineyards and olive groves. Near Mount Olympus, we stood where we could see both sides of the island's sea coast. The quaint villages with cobblestone paths, old door handles and ceilings with hanging grape vines are a photographers dream. Lets just say, I love this place and am grateful for the opportunity to live here.