I have arrived!

Greetings from Cyprus!

I would have posted earlier, but when "Blogspot" came up on my newly-connected computer in Nicosia, the instructions were in Greek. As my language skills (as well as my reading of the Greek alphabet) are still limited, I had some difficulty logging in and finding the "English" button, but now I'm ready to share my first impressions.

So much of what I had been told is absolutely true: the Cypriots are kind, polite, generous, helpful, and welcoming--and the traffic is horrendous. Nicosia is a modern town with all the amenities and quite a few reminders of the States--McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, TGIFridays, IKEA and so on. Ah, globalization. We, Americans, are not sending out our best representations of food or culture! However, I am curious about the Cypriot version of french fries and pizza!

My visit to the University of Cyprus, as I prepare to teach my first class Monday, went smoothly. The faculty and administrators have had many visiting professors before, so they have taken care of all the details. One student, Kristiana, who works in the English Studies Office, has enrolled in my class. Another student, Plutarchos, works in the Fulbright Commission Office. Although he will not be in my class, he is a wonderful resource about the students and campus. I am pleased that my office and classroom are on the older campus. I even found the library to be inviting and cozy, especially the familiar texts in the American Studies section of the shelves. I saw Whitman, Melville, Twain, Dickinson, Stowe, etc., but not many Freeman, Jewett, Chopin, Stoddard, or Davis. In the American art section, however, the Georgia O'Keeffe text, written by my dissertation director, Charles Eldredge, jumped off the shelf! How impressive to find something so familiar so far from Lawrence, KS.

My next challenge (besides learning to drive on the left side of the road) will be to load photos onto this website. Stay tuned.