Change is never simple. You leave behind all that is easy and comfortable to embark in a new adventure into the unknown. However, when you decide to board that plane and start a new page of your life, you want to live this new experience at its fullest. You are prepared, or at least you think you are, for all its ups and downs. So, what happens when the world around you looks like an internet page that is stuck on buffering? What happens when even the smallest things become huge obstacles put on your way? You learn to adapt. You learn to think outside of the box in order to not let this glooming cloud overshadow your life.

Moving to Cyprus has been a real challenge from the very beginning, with delayed flights, restrictions popping out from every corner and annoying tests that are still making my nose itchy, but it is all part of this new and strange reality we are living in, right? So, you keep going because there is no way you will let this spoil your excitement for all there is to come. The first month or so has been a haze of getting accustomed to the new city and its peculiarity, new job and colleagues and getting to know my new companions in this adventure. The initial impact with the city has been positive, coming from a city in southern Italy I feel like not much has changed, even though I still have to get used to the fact that you will only see cars speeding down the streets and (almost) no one likes to walk! My life between the job and the house is starting to fall into an harmonic rhythm filled with long walks to get to work rewarded with delicious sweets you will always find at the office, days spent laughing to the silliest things with my roomies and learning something new from everyone around me.

A great kick-off start to this adventure am I right? Of course it is! But can I honestly say that nothing is missing from the way I have been living and experiencing everything? I think not. You can sense it from the atmosphere around you that life seems to be on pause. I believe that when you live in a foreign country it is essential to be immersed in its culture, hear the stories of what surrounds you from the local people, try the typical food or engage in new activities that you wouldn’t normally do and all in order to enrich yourself and learn something new to add to your personal baggage of experiences. So, when communication is hindered by face masks and social distancing and traveling around the country is made difficult by restrictions, you feel like you have been deprived of a fundamental part of your journey. But don’t let this fool you, I won’t let this pandemic rain on my parade for too long! I am committed to make every moment count while I am here, even if I have to find alternative ways to do it!