Thursday 29 April 2010

Homesick.

I left Brooklyn on January 21st and on that day I didn't cry (despite all the tears streaming down my Auntie Debbie's face as I waited on the line for security). I'm a pretty tough cookie when it comes to saying goodbye's and unless there is an EXTREME circumstance I can do a pretty good job of holding myself together emotionally. Since I've been in Cyprus I've held my self together very well. I Skype my family all the time, Mommy and Daddy call/text me every day, I tweet my sister and my cousins religiously, and Facebook does a great job of maintaining all other relationships. So to be honest, I'm not homesick for lack of contact with the ones I love; I'm homesick due to lack of resources.

Top 5 Reasons Tracy is Ready to Travel BACK to Brooklyn
5. There is no TV in my apartment.
You can send me a link to every possible on-line TV episode streaming site but it won't make a difference. You know why? BECAUSE TV'S DON'T BUFFER!

4. There is no train down the block from my apartment.
To be fair, there are no trains in Cyprus because the island is too small but the bus system is so unreliable that I am forced to complain. I don't live in the center of the city. I live 90minutes away on foot, 30min away on the bus and 15minutes away by car. Taxi's are too expensive here and considering I like to go downtown on my own, it's ridiculous that I would have to spend $30 (22 euro) round trip. The bus is only $5 (2.60 euro) round trip but the last bus to Engomi leaves downtown at 5:30. That means if I want to have dinner some place cute I have to factor in the price of a taxi after my already over priced meal or walk off all my calories and be hungry by the time I get to my apartment.

3. Kori & Kayden (They are a resource of unconditional love)
The pictures say it all!













2.Turkey Bacon.
Everything in Cyprus is made with pork. Seriously. There are bacon bits in the french fries. The chicken wings are fried in bacon grease. I went to the supermarket and asked for turkey bacon and the butcher handed me a turkey leg. I looked for turkey bacon on my own and I found bacon made from every part of the pig possible (Back, Side, Thigh etc.). I have become so depressed that I have stopped purchasing eggs. What is a scrambled egg without the taste of turkey bacon to accompany it? My mom told me to order some offline but I'm not sure how that works and more than likely it won't get here until my last week. Blah. I wonder if absence can make the taste buds grow fonder...

And the number one reason Tracy is Ready to hop on a flight back to JFK?!

1. I NEED TO GET MY HAIR DONE BY A REAL STYLIST.
My first week in Cyprus I was in I was in Carrefour (the supermarket) on my way up the inclinator and I looked over my shoulder and had to do a double take. Seriously, I thought I had seen a mirage. It was a black woman with a Doobie! Living in Cyprus you realize that it’s not uncommon to see other brown faces on a daily basis but they’re usually African and most times I am uninspired by their hair maintenance. I knew by the bump of this woman’s ends that not only did she know where to get her hair done but she was American too. Not wanting to be a creep and run up on her, I stayed in the toiletry section nearby the inclinator in hopes that she would make her way upstairs so I could find out where to tame my mane at.

By God and all his good graces she came up and as soon as she got close I popped out of the aisle and asked her if she spoke English. I mean I felt like I knew she was from the states but I had to be sure. Considering how diverse Cyprus is, she could have been French or something! But as I suspected she was indeed an American and as soon as she heard my English she hit me with the “Gurl, where you from?” I introduced myself, told her I was here studying from the states and explained that I noticed that she had nicely maintained Black hair and I was hoping she could recommend a salon. She told me her name was Joyce, she’s from Philly and she was in Cyprus with her fiancĂ©e who played for one of the Cypriot basketball teams and their two daughters. Though she confessed to having done her own hair she recommended a hair salon to me and gave me her contact information so that we could stay in touch as well.

We were both so excited to have a Black female friend we didn’t know what to do with ourselves! Seriously, we spent like 30mins choppin it up in the supermarket. Unfortunately, due to drama with the team, Joyce and her family relocated to Israel two days after we met. But this is about my hair, not about my five-minute friendship.

Since Joyce's reccomendation, I have visited Nike's salon about four times. Her shop is all the way downtown (15euros away in a cab if the traffic is bad) and I just figured out how to take the bus there. I take it back, I have not mastered taking the bus to Nike's because the last time I went what was supposed to be a 1hr journey took 3hrs because I rode the wrong bus for 7minutes and had to walk back to the bus depot. That mishap was the straw that broke the camel's back for this semester. Anyways, my hair comes out alright when Nike does it. I've allowed her to perm it once and she set's it on tight rollers so it comes out extremely curly. I prefer having looser curls that I can pin-curl to make tighter if I feel like it but she doesn't own big rollers. Nike is affordable (She permed me for 21 euro and a roller set is 14euro) but her lack of customer service turned me off.

I planned to continue allowing her to do my hair but the day it took me three hours to get there she had the nerve to tell me she was too busy to wash my hair out properly and left my hair dirty so she could sew a weave into a Cypriot girl's head. Perfect way to lose a customer! The only way I'll ever go back before I leave is to see if she has some plantain to fry (Yes, I've bought plantain's from her salon before). The salon serves as a supermarket and a beauty supply, as well. Literally, you can buy bleaching cream, Guinness Stout beer, brown sugar and weave all while getting a deep conditioner.



I got my hair done at Toni & Guy out here in between one of my Nike visits but that wasn't magical either. They blow dried my hair and then flat ironed it bone straight. It looked nice but they don't use any black hair products so my hair felt and looked dry. For 25 euro I need my hair to feel LUXURIOUS when I leave. Not have me scurrying home to rub some grease into my scalp.

Lately, I've been doing my own hair. I'm typing this entry with fresh chignons on my dome. Last week I flat ironed it and wore it pin curled until I demolished it at the gym. I need a trim BADLY. I'm shedding like crazy and I know that when I get home I have no choice but to chop off what little bit of hair remains on my head. I'm okay with that though, short hair is in and it'll be easy to maintain because I live in the middle of my two favorite places to get my hair done. Thirty more days and I will have the hands of a real stylist in my head, luxuriating my tresses and styling them to perfection.

I Can't Wait.


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