I don’t normally write Christmas circulars, but 2010 has been so unusual that I felt that it warranted this exception.
In November 2009 Sean accepted a job at a hedge fund which is based in Limassol, Cyprus. This was very welcome as he’d been looking for work for a while and our financial future was beginning to look somewhat flaky, but of course it was going to be a huge upheaval. I had minor (Sean might disagree over that description) hysterics over the prospect of uprooting the girls, leaving my job, leaving our family and friends behind, leaving my beloved house and the county of my birth.
This time last year Sean was racing round getting visas, work permits and even flying to South Africa to renew his passport which otherwise could have taken four months. We weren’t even sure if he’d get home for Christmas, but fortunately he did. Sean was then set to begin his new job in mid January.
Because of my aforementioned hysterics Sean travelled to Cyprus alone and left me and the girls behind to follow when I was ready (on the understanding that that was sometime, not never). Elizabeth started primary school at the beginning of January and I was particularly reluctant to uproot her so early in her education, so top of my priority list was to find her a good school in Cyprus. I flew over to spend a few days with Sean at the beginning of February, determined almost not to like what I saw, but of course I was seduced by the 14 degree temperature (remember what is was like in the UK then?) and a picnic on the beach. We found a property we liked to rent and I visited three schools. I found what I believe to a real gem called the Red Dragon Private School. Like the other fee paying schools on the island it broadly follows the UK curriculum (although Greek is compulsory) which enables students to slot in and out of schools here and back home without great disadvantage.
So as soon as I returned to the UK I handed in my notice at work and began the exhausting task of organising a complete removal 2000 miles away. It was physically and emotionally draining, especially as I was temporarily a single parent, but Sean’s family and my fantastic neighbour Ruth between them kept me almost sane. Thankfully finding a tenant for the house was easy. In fact the first three people who viewed it were fighting over it! But then there was finding the right removal firm, organising the transport of two live tortoises (not remotely straightforward unless one is prepared to pay someone over £600 for the privilege of doing it for you), selling two cars, getting first passports for the girls, renewing my own passport, letters, emails and phone calls here there and everywhere and worst of all sorting out my accumulated STUFF. At the same time I was also finishing off clearing my mum’s bungalow for her own tenant to move in. Undying thanks go here to my mum’s friend Jilly for helping beyond the call of duty, and often in the snow. You wouldn’t believe how many lists I made and how many mountains of things there were “to keep”, “for auction”, “for charity” and “for the tip”.So, a mere eight tense and increasingly sleepless weeks later, on March 19th, I, Elizabeth, Eleanor and two tortoises arrived in Cyprus.
Three days later Elizabeth settled in uncomplainingly at her new school but found that she had a lot of catching up to do, not really having got much beyond the Play Doh and sand-playing phase of things in her UK reception class. Here it was daily homework, real books to read and a spelling test every Friday. We both worked really hard to bring her up to speed. Initially Elizabeth found it difficult to make friends with her peers, arriving late in the academic year, but now she’s in Year 1 with a different set of classmates she’s completely found her feet. It seems to be a constant round of parties and play dates! I’ve also got involved with the school as the parent class rep and go in to help other children with their reading. Although the school uses English as its language of teaching, English isn’t the first language for many of the pupils. In Elizabeth’s class of just 10 her friends have parents from England, South Africa, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Israel, Poland, Cyprus and France. And because of the small class sizes and staff:pupil ratio the school seamlessly integrates children with autism and other learning difficulties.
To start with we were living in a company apartment that Sean had initially been sharing with another company employee. This was fun as it was right on the sea front with its own private pool and beach. The girls enjoyed going up and down in the lift and sharing a bed and I enjoyed the fact that the flat was serviced. It certainly felt like we were on holiday for the first few weeks. Meanwhile the tortoises were already living in our new house so we visited them regularly which gave me a chance to see where our furniture would fit and to try out the pool.
Our container arrived just after the Easter bank holiday. Amazingly everything arrived intact. The only mishap was a small but crucial piece of wood which enables the top of the dresser to rest on the bottom getting thrown out with all the packaging. It was great to be able to settle into our new home but I have to confess that the novelty of unpacking soon wore off and we were surrounded by boxes for some time! It just goes to show what a small percentage of one’s belongings are actually essential.
So what of life in Cyprus? Sean has felt at home since he arrived, not having strong emotional ties to the UK, and having already relocated from South Africa, which the atmosphere here, the climate and the proximity to the sea remind him of. Despite my best efforts I love it here too and think it’s the best thing that could have happened to us as a family. Of course I miss England (particularly the seasons and its flora and fauna) and being close to family, but Cyprus is a fantastic place to bring up children and the country is in most parts very beautiful and amazingly varied for a small island. Other things I like are the seasonality of fresh produce (although I miss Tesco deliveries!) and the unclogged roads (tho Cypriot driving leaves something to be desired) and although the intense heat of the high summer doesn’t really agree with me who could argue with 25 degrees in December?! And absolutely the best thing is all the amazing new friends I’ve made through the school and Eleanor’s playgroup. None of that British reserve here. Sean also has a good bunch of workmates. He plays 5-a-side football once a week and has invited colleagues round for supper.
Not only are the girls both very happy here with so much space in and out to play in, and no television to distract them, but the tortoises too are in their element. I’m not sure if Largo has quite got his technique right yet but one day we may have some Andantinos! We have also adopted two cats, half of a litter born to one of the large homeless feline population – a black and a tortoiseshell and white.
We haven’t been inundated with visitors. Sean’s parents came during July but it really was too hot to do a great deal with them. Ruth our Ardleigh neighbour has just visited. So I’m hoping that a few more of our friends and family will find their way to Cyprus in 2011. At the moment we have an enormous villa but are looking to slightly downsize and certainly down-price shortly. Cyprus isn’t a cheap place to live and we’ve been hit with particularly high electricity bills, which, combined with pool maintenance, rent, school fees etc hasn’t left much slack. The girls and I went home for a brief week in August largely to see my mum who had had a stroke. She’s doing OK but because her right arm has been affected she can no longer enjoy writing and painting as she did, and basic tasks are much more difficult.
I’m still doing a little bit of remote literature searching for Ipswich Hospital but the main project in 2011 will be The House on the Hill. This is the only playgroup in Limassol for English speaking children and their mothers to meet and play. For personal reasons the lady who has been running the playgroup is moving from her home where the group is held. Rather than let it fold a small group of us are funding the rental on the property and are looking to expand the use of the premises as a business venture. Watch this space, as they say! Eleanor simply adores the place and treats it like a second home. In fact we had her birthday party there at the weekend. She has grown up so much in the last year, moving from baby to toddler (or perhaps teenager?!). If she can emulate Elizabeth’s sweet nature as she tries to copy everything else her big sister does she won’t go far wrong.
If you read this before Christmas, which I hope you do, please don’t worry about sending us a Christmas card, but we would very much like to hear from you and perhaps in 2011 I’ll also get better at keeping in touch with our friends.
