Here we are finally in Northern Cyprus! The whole family was waiting for this event, and we have a large family – 7 people. It was unforgettable to see the island from the height of the plane! It is still -12 degrees here, and here – green fields. The views from the window of the landed plane simply knocked me down – large trees of mimosas blooming everywhere! And what a scent! The air in Northern Cyprus is very tasty and always mixed with a variety of flowers, and in different areas of the city the scents are also different.
A funny incident happened to us already at the exit of the plane, as soon as our feet touched the ground, our youngest 4-year-old son sat on his knees, and then leaning on his hands, pressed his lips right to the asphalt, kissing the ground. It was so unexpected that no one thought or had time to stop him in his desire, as we later said, “to kiss the holy ground”.
Olga Shestakova and Daria met us at the airport on time. The thing is that they had to come for our rather large family in two cars. Of course, it couldn’t be done without sincere hugs! For more than a year we communicated with Ilya Vladimirovich and the managers – Olga, Lyubov Vladimirovna, Sergey, Elena, Aizhan, who completely free of charge, without regard to the cost of their time and effort, consulted us on all the questions that arose.
We were greeted by blooming bright scarlet poppies, swaying in the warm spring breeze of Northern Cyprus. On the way from the airport, we never ceased to be amazed by the diversity of plants – cacti taller than a man, which, as Olga explained to us, are also edible.
The weather pleased us from the very first minutes of our stay on the new Earth! +22+24 at the very beginning of April – Isn’t this paradise!
Of course, just three months ago we didn’t even think that we would find ourselves in the cherished warm country – our common dream – so quickly! After all, our new apartments are still under construction, and the house will be ready to accept new residents only in 2 years, but Ilya suggested that we move much earlier, as soon as he found out that we had already sold all our real estate in Russia. And, you know, we are an ordinary family – middle class with good salaries by Russian standards, but not so rich as to be able to immediately buy real estate in another country. We chose Northern Cyprus after considering many countries for moving from Russia. The list even included the islands of Vanuatu. For some reason, my husband and I were attracted to island states.
And if during all the time of our preparations we more than once heard the opinion of acquaintances like: “how easy everything is for you!” Of course, it is not easy, but we all perceived any emerging difficulty as another task that we need to think about how to solve and solve immediately. And not at any of these moments did we feel that they turned away from us or abandoned us, so to speak, to the mercy of fate! Ilya, Olga, Lyubov Vladimirovna were always with us. And even before our arrival, employees Elena and Kirill (who deserves a special huge thank you) took care of us in resolving everyday issues. The guy speaks English so well that he easily served as our translators in the first days.
And this is despite the fact that in our family I myself speak English fluently, but, you know, you move to live in another country not every day, and here the locals have their own speech rate and an unusual accent. And to show where to buy, for example, SIM cards for a phone, someone also needs help. And to talk with the owner of the rental apartment or to draw up documents at a real estate agency?
I will also tell you a little about how we liked the taste of everything that we have already managed to try here in the first three days. It is not for nothing that everyone says and writes that the products in Northern Cyprus are wonderfully delicious. It is so! We buy cucumbers here every day, 1.5 kg each, and they are delicious just like that, without cooking, all the dairy products are amazing, the potatoes are beyond praise, and the chicken is something – the taste is incomparable. In general, while we are getting used to it, we are infinitely grateful to fate and the Assistance Program for such a chance to radically change our lives. But the main thing that all future immigrants should take into account is that you will not bring your things here, and not even your money, you will bring your state of mind here! If you are sincerely grateful to the country where you come from, love its people and are happy with everything there, the same will happen here!
And now we have been living in Northern Cyprus for a whole week! The children still have a lot of impressions every day. We are currently living in Famagusta – for now we are renting a place to live, which, by the way, the Assistance Program team helped us find for us. We were offered several options and we were able to choose the most suitable one for our family from the video, and the team members also recommended a good area. Do I need to tell you that the Mediterranean Sea is one of the most beautiful? It attracts the eye with its turquoise color. And you don’t need to use any filters for photos – simple photos turn out amazingly beautiful.
There is rarely a day when we don’t go on business with the Assistance Program manager Elena, who charges everyone who is around her with her positivity and it feels like she never gets tired. By the way, she also took us to the sea for the first time here, when we were on business at the tax service. And she even told us that the Queen of Great Britain and the famous Bridget Bardot once rested on the beach near Voroshi, on the white, it should be noted, natural sand.
When we went on foot to another beach, located on the opposite side from Vorosha, towards the city of Iskele, we kept coming across languid young barbers and hairdressers, and, by the way, here they are mostly men, who were sitting, basking in the warm rays of the sun right on the street near their establishments. Next to them, you could often see small racks for drying clothes, thickly hung with towels. It felt like the barbers were guarding the towels, and the street dogs, lounging nearby on the pavement, were guarding the barbers. In the private sector, putting your phone deep in your bag was useless. By the way, the owners here do not bother that someone is photographing their exotic plants, but smile affably and it is clear that they are pleased that their work was appreciated by foreigners. And so we reached the cherished place with the children. The beach was not crowded on a weekday, but far out to sea a huge cargo ship was sailing beautifully. Our children were happily running along the sea, and my eldest daughter and I were sitting on the warm sand, burying our feet in it, watching them.
Feeling that someone had gently touched me from behind, I turned around abruptly and shuddered – a large white fluffy muzzle was looking me straight in the eyes – a curious dog had come close to us. And then, demonstratively in front of us, she began to bathe in the sand. Just as she had appeared, she also unexpectedly ran away with another dog, who was trying to run and play along the sea with our children. It is unusual to see homeless animals so kind, you could even say relaxed. So much for “a dog’s life”! Even dogs have different lives here!
And we headed back. On the way, compassionate motorists wanted to give us a ride a couple of times, seeing that the woman had been walking for a long time with three children, to which I had to answer them briefly: “It’s okay.” Then the drivers, with a sense of accomplishment, stepped on the gas and drove away. And we were already approaching a street stall selling delicious freshly made dough balls filled with sweet syrup. I noticed that my middle son was already reacting calmly to the fact that we were jokingly calling him Aslan (which is Lev in Turkish). But what struck me most was that on that day, when he, listening to me freely communicate in English with the sellers of Famagusta, constantly emphasized to me the value of knowing foreign languages, saying: “Mom, just imagine, I’ll soon be speaking five languages at once!” Yes, Northern Cyprus is like that, it favors those who have invested enough time in those competencies that will definitely be appreciated here.
