On The Cypriots

“Nasty people the Cypriots.” Sayeth the American man. He has been living here for the past four years. He runs a café on the Greek side of Nicosia.

“All these frozen yogurt places don’t sell real frozen yogurt.”

I smile and nod.

“The coffee is too strong and it’s expired anyway. I ship mine in from Switzerland.”

Since when did the Swiss become renowned for coffee?

I ask him why he stays if he dislikes the Cypriots so much. He explains that he is ramping down his business and is hoping to move back to California later this year.

That’s probably for the best.

Jess and I met very few Cypriots while in Cyprus. All of them were nice. There was the torrent of English, this American man and a Nigerian man.

The Nigerian man was a laugh.

“When you get bitten by mosquitos here. It’s for fun!”

Initially.

“I feel like a slave here.”

“Back home, in Nigeria, I could work when I wanted. If I wanted to take time off I could. Here I must work everyday just to survive.”

I asked him why he left Nigeria.

“I left because of the violence. It was too much. Too risky to keep living there.”

when: Monday, October 06, 2014