“You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place” – Miram Adney
Words can not describe how thankful I am to have been blessed with the opportunity to be in Cyprus. Each and everyday I wake up without stress, worries or cares and all my days are filled with an adventure. I learned that friendship comes in many different colors, ages, cultures, religions and locations. I learned that a smile can be the greatest gift to everyone and I learned that kindness is the key to living a good life. Europe is shaping me into a better person and I can not wait to see the person I will become by the end of my study abroad experience.
(Buffavento Castle: 3116 ft above sea level)
This week we dedicated our time to exploring 2 of the 3 castles located in Northern Cyprus. The first castle we visited was the Saint Hilarion Castle located in the Kyrenia Mountain ranges. This castle is 725 meters (2,378 ft) above sea level and its said to have been the inspiration for the castle in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs movie.
(St. Hilarion Castle)
(Veronica, Joey Myself)
(Myself, Miguel, Veronica)
(Bethany,Joey, Miguel, Myself, Veronica, Aaron)
(Myself, Miguel, Joey)
(Top of Saint Hilarion Castle: 725 meters above sea level!)
There is so many rooms to explore, so many stairs to climb and an amazing view to see from every direction. Once you reach the top you will be surrounded by crazy wind speeds and a sign saying you have reached the highest point of the castle (725 meters). I am terrified of heights so once I reached the top I just sat in pretzel style and took my photo :).
This week I also got introduced to a new genre of music called future soul. My new friend Lukas from Lithuania got the opportunity to DJ at Square ( A bar in Nicosia) and it was an awesome experience. One of his goals for the night was to open my mind to new music and you have done that successfully! Thanks for being one of my favorite people that I met in Cyprus and I look forward to your future shows and to go on many adventures with you.
(Lukas and I)
Oh yeah I’m also a new DJ in training! Get ready for Stephan aka DJ Epic to blow your speakers in the future!
(Lukas and I)
Our last adventure of the week was a trip to the Buffavento Castle. This castle is 930 meters above sea level and is the tallest Castle out of the three located in Northern Cyprus. The Buffavento Castle is also featured in the video game, Assassins Creed: Bloodlines.
(Buffavento Castle)
Once you reach the top of the Buffavento Castle you will feel like you are the king of the world because you can literally see everything from all directions!
(Miguel and I)
(Miguel, Luara, Tiffany, Abbey, Myself and Caleb) 
(Karolis, Dainora, Augustas, Myself)
Also I want to give a special shout out to my new friends Karolis and Dainora. I only known them for a few days, but I felt like I have known them longer. I enjoyed comparing the U.S to Lithuania and I also enjoyed our rooftop wine session about life. You taught me a lot culturally in the last week and you will be greatly missed when you leave on Sunday! Hopefully I will see you both again in the future! Thanks Augustas for introducing me to them 🙂
P.S. I’m traveling to Italy next week so get ready for an epic blog post!
ALBRIGHT ELCDC 