Flying into Cyprus, I was alone. No other Pitt student selected to study in Nicosia, and passport control even told me I was the only American on the flight when I arrived. Honestly, it was a little frightening. I had never traveled out of the country alone, and I thought I may have been dropped in a foreign country and left to figure out the city by myself. Thankfully, my worries were quickly quelled. My program did a fantastic job of introducing us to Nicosia and giving us time to get to know the others in our program. Aside from our city, our program has taken us to every major city in Cyprus, including those on the other side of the Green line. Cyprus is an extremely dynamic and diverse nation, and I greatly feel that our program has done justice to the rich history of this beautiful nation. These educational experiences have included guided tours, lectures, dinners, and multi-day weekend trips. I did feel living on an island for five months may feel isolating and boring, but there is always plenty to do and explore in Cyprus. Certainly, there will be more for me to uncover when I visit back in the future!
Another blessing is how kind all of the students in my program and those at the University of Nicosia have been. The students here hail from all parts of the world and have been very inviting to share their own experiences and ask about mine. Just hearing from students about their childhoods and learning more about their own cultural traditions has been eye-opening. It has also been really fun learning about each other's college experiences and exploring what tools university systems around the world use. These interactions occur all the time: between classes, over coffee on breaks, or even casually on the city bus.
My last unfounded worry was about academics. Professors here do not have office hours and I was worried that maybe that was a reflection of their willingness to help. That could not have been further from the truth. Just like at Pitt, professors are very engaged and always more than happy to help you. In fact, all of my professors have offered to get coffee and explain materials to students if they needed help. Professors here are very aware of the American professional system and a few have even offered to write letters of recommendation to students in my program applying to Ph.D. and other graduate-level schools.
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