Tag Archives: Cyprus

by | April 9, 2016 · 7:20 AM

Cyprus – Reflections – by Samuel Bunting. The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy, at NorthStarReports.org and facebook.com/NorthStarReports

Cyprus – Reflections – by Samuel Bunting. The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy, at NorthStarReports.org and facebook.com/NorthStarReports

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I will be the first person to admit that going abroad was something that never appealed to me. Sure, I had listened to the energetic talks of my school’s study abroad office and the life-changing stories of upperclassmen who had gone abroad, but the idea never struck a chord with me. I liked my life living in the United States, I liked my routine, my car, my neighborhood, my Starbucks. As I was thinking about what I wanted to do during my undergraduate career, I made the decision that I would not be venturing far outside my zip code, and I was alright with that.

All that notwithstanding, the question becomes, how in the world did I wind up in the tiny Mediterranean island, Cyprus? I suppose I should give a little bit of background about myself; I am a biology student at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio and I am planning to attend medical school after finishing college. I am also involved in Phi Delta Epsilon, a fraternity for medical and pre-medical students. It was my membership in PDE that brought the idea of going abroad to my attention. I got an email from a company called Global Semesters, offering summer programs abroad in a wide range of things, two of which were health sciences and pre-med. Naturally, anything ‘pre-med’ piqued my interest, but the ‘abroad’ part brought the kibosh just as quick. But, something in my mind had been intrigued, and after checking in to Global Semesters and talking with my university’s study abroad office, I decided to request some more information about the program. I got all the documents I needed and then I called my dad, who has always been my sounding board for ideas. When I first broke the news that I was seriously considering going abroad, even though I had always been staunchly on the opposite side of the argument, he was shocked. But, he encouraged me, and the rest is history. I booked the trip, bought my tickets, and began to psych myself up for the journey!

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After a minor, weather-caused mixup during my departure, I made it safely to Cyprus, and we moved into our apartments. My roommates were three other young men from all over the United States, and of all different fields of study. We became fast friends, and soon the rest of the American students in the building came together to form a huge group. We had dinner parties, shared experiences and comforted each other’s homesickness. The first three weeks of the program were spent at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus. I elected to participate in the program that offered specialized classes on the delivery and management of the European healthcare system. Our teacher was a wonderful woman named Savoula, who had been working in the industry for over 30 years, and knew healthcare inside and out. She took the entire class to two hospitals so we could experience the system first hand.

Of course the trip was not all work and no fun, and each weekend the program coordinators had an excursion planned for us to a different town in Cyprus. My favorite was to a small seaside town with lots of character called Paphos. We spent the weekend by the sea, saw many archeological sites and enjoyed the great nightlife. The short time we spent in Paphos is one of my favorite memories from the entire trip, and I am so glad to have experienced it, and to have had such wonderful people to experience it with!

I think the biggest thing I took away from my trip to Cyprus was a theme of acceptance. Just because America does something one way does not mean it is right. I was guilty of this kind of thinking, I had never taken the time to really think about the way the rest of the world works. I think we in America have a sort of tunnel vision, a kind of top down approach where the United States is at the top of the food chain, and everywhere else in the world is forever in our shadow. No one is as sophisticated, high-tech, or efficient as America, so why should anyone care what the rest of the world is up to? Being in Cyprus forced me to abandon my narrow-minded thinking, and recognize that the United States is only a small portion of the entire world. Clearly, the rest of the world is doing just fine, and we could all learn something by experiencing and interacting with another culture.

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After being in Cyprus, I truly feel like I am a better citizen, student and friend. I had the opportunity to see how the European healthcare system works, and at this time of profound change in America’s health setting, that exposure was invaluable. Being able to compare the way two different countries go about solving the common problem of healthcare delivery was a unique perspective, and it helped me understand the reason things work the way they do in the States. As difficult as it was for me to get out of my comfort zone, I am so glad I did, and I firmly believe going abroad is applicable to any field of study.

Samuel Bunting is a student at University of Akron
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Please contact Professor Liang if you wish to write for The North Star Reports — HLIANG (at) css.edu

See also, our Facebook page with curated news articles at http://www.facebook.com/NorthStarReports
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The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy (http://NorthStarReports.org) is a student edited and student authored open access publication centered around the themes of global and historical connections. Our abiding philosophy is that those of us who are fortunate enough to receive an education and to travel our planet are ethically bound to share our knowledge with those who cannot afford to do so. Therefore, creating virtual and actual communities of learning between college and K-12 classes are integral to our mission. In five semesters we have published 200 articles covering all habitable continents and a variety of topics ranging from history and politics, food and popular culture, to global inequities to complex identities. These articles are read by K-12 and college students. Our student editors and writers come from all parts of the campus, from Nursing to Biology, Physical Therapy to Business, and remarkably, many of our student editors and writers have long graduated from college. We also have writers and editors from other colleges and universities. In addition to our main site, we also curate a Facebook page dedicated to annotated news articles selected by our student editors (http://www.facebook.com/NorthStarReports). This is done by an all volunteer staff. We have a frugal cash budget, and we donate much of our time and talent to this project. We are sponsored by St. Scholastica’s Department of History and Politics and by the scholarly Middle Ground Journal: World History and Global Studies (http://theMiddleGroundJournal.org).

For a brief summary, please see the American Historical Association’s Perspectives on History, at: http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/2013/1305/Opening-The-Middle-Ground-Journal.cfm

Hong-Ming Liang, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, The North Star Reports; Chief Editor, The Middle Ground Journal; Associate Professor of History and Politics, The College of St. Scholastica.

Kathryn Marquis Hirsch, Managing Editor, The North Star Reports.

(c) 2012-present The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy http://NorthStarReports.org ISSN: 2377-908X The NSR is sponsored and published by Professor Hong-Ming Liang, NSR Student Editors and Writers, The Department of History and Politics of The College of St. Scholastica, and the scholarly Middle Ground Journal. See Masthead for our not-for-profit educational open- access policy. K-12 teachers, if you are using these reports for your classes, please contact editor-in-chief Professor Liang at HLIANG (at) css.edu

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by | September 9, 2015 · 3:01 AM

Nicosia- The Last Divided Capital — The North Star Reports – by Karn Pederstuen. Sponsored by The College of St. Scholastica and The Middle Ground Journal

Nicosia- The Last Divided Capital — The North Star Reports – by Karn Pederstuen. Sponsored by The College of St. Scholastica and The Middle Ground Journal

This summer I had the opportunity to study abroad in Cyprus. For those who haven’t heard of this country, here are a few facts. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, has over 300 days of sunshine a year, and holds a rich cultural history. Although the majority of the island celebrates its Greek heritage, the northern section of the island has Turkish roots. During the majority of my two months in Cyprus, I stayed in the capital, Nicosia. Nicosia is the only divided capital city in the world. It is where those with Greek heritage and those with Turkish heritage are divided due to the Turkish invasion of 1974.

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[Above is a picture of the border between the North and the South including a booth with the United Nations flag. The booth is to be manned by the UN at all times.]
When I made the decision to study there, I did some research on the border called the Green Line that separates the country of Cyprus. I also read about the Turkish invasion, but it wasn’t until I actually got to Cyprus that I learned in depth about the invasion and its impact. At the beginning of my Cyprus trip, I took a tour of what was called the old city (the older and more historic area of Nicosia). During that tour, our guide told us about the invasion. The Turkish army invaded Cyprus causing many to lose their lives and northern Cypriots to flee to the south, abandoning their homes and all of their possessions. After the invasion, a border was put in place to separate the North and the South. It remained closed for some forty years until reopening in 2003.

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[The above picture is the Northern side of Cyprus taken just after crossing the line.]

During the tour of the old city, I had the opportunity to see the border of the Green Line as well as the United Nations buffer zone that separates Cyprus from the Turkish occupied area. Also in the old city is a border crossing zone where one can cross from Cyprus over to the Turkish side of the island. Although Turkey considers its position in Cyprus to be legitimate, the rest of the world considers it an illegal occupation. Therefore, when crossing over, one enters an illegal area. In this occupied area the laws of Cyprus and the help of the US embassy do not apply. Although the thought of entering this occupied area may seem a bit unnerving, I had the chance to cross over many times while in Cyprus.

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[We got to enter this Turkish mosque located in the Northern side of Nicosia.]

The first time a group of friends and I crossed the line we were all a bit unsure of what to expect. After all, it’s not every day that one passes through a United Nations buffer zone to enter an area illegally occupied by the Turkish army. We entered the North at the Ledra street crossing where we showed our passports on the Southern side, walked a few yards through the buffer zone, and then had our passports scanned again by the Northern officers. After learning about the invasion and being warned about even taking pictures in the military area, I was surprised by how relaxed the crossing was. The Turkish officers were very friendly and were even joking with us as we checked in and out. Once we successfully crossed the Green Line, we got to enjoy the best of both worlds so to speak. On the Turkish side of the island, we found great food, souvenirs, and sites. The North also uses Turkish Lira instead of the Euro, so purchases were less expensive. Although most of my summer was spent in Cyprus, crossing the Green Line gave me the benefit of taking a trip to “Turkey” in a few short minutes.
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Please contact Professor Liang if you wish to write for The North Star Reports — HLIANG (at) css.edu

See also, our Facebook page with curated news articles at http://www.facebook.com/NorthStarReports
–
The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy, The College of St. Scholastica and the scholarly Middle Ground Journal’s online learning community and outreach program with undergraduate and K-12 classes around the world. For a brief summary, please see the American Historical Association’s Perspectives on History, at:

http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/2013/1305/Opening-The-Middle-Ground-Journal.cfm

The North Star Reports publishes edited essays from our students, particularly from those who are currently stationed, or will soon be stationed abroad. Students have reported from Mongolia, Southern China, Shanghai, Norway, northeastern China, Micronesia, The Netherlands, Tanzania, Ireland, England, Finland, Russia, and Haiti. We also have students developing reviews of books, documentaries, and films, and analysis of current events from around the world. We will post their dispatches, and report on their interactions with the North Star Reports students and teachers. We thank The Department of History and Politics and the School of Arts and Letters of The College of St. Scholastica for their generous financial support for The North Star Reports and The Middle Ground Journal.

Hong-Ming Liang, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief, The North Star Reports; Chief Editor, The Middle Ground Journal; Associate Professor of History and Politics, The College of St. Scholastica.

Kathryn Marquis Hirsch, Managing Editor, The North Star Reports.

(c) 2012-present The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy http://NorthStarReports.org ISSN: 2377-908X The NSR is sponsored by The College of St. Scholastica and the scholarly Middle Ground Journal. See Masthead for our not-for-profit educational open- access policy. K-12 teachers, if you are using these reports for your classes, please contact editor-in-chief Professor Liang at HLIANG (at) css.edu

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