The Adventures of Laura Drumm

Dear Friends and Family,

Call me crazy – oh, and so many of you have – but I actually do love exploring alone. Without a companion, my traveler self shifts into a puzzlement: in countless conversations, people have indirectly or directly commented, “Really? By yourself? A woman traveling by herself? Why???” No matter which explanation I use, amusingly, people remain unconvinced. However, I have long since discovered that traveling alone sends a visual cue of accessibility and allows me a free pass in questioning people about whatever interests me, to learn from them - while some people have questions for and want to learn from me.

Cyprus was especially good for encounters that yielded me bits and pieces of information that allowed me to piece together an understanding. Although the island appears an epitome of peace and prosperity, there remains a matter of very real dispute. In 1974, Turkey invaded and continues to occupy, despite toothless international condemnation, 36% of the island: war crimes were committed (on both sides, I believe), refugee status and property rights remain very real issues, and almost every Cypriot I met was eager to tell me about, or at the very least elude to, the 1974 illegal occupation by Turkey. However, other conversations included:

** When asked, “Why are all taxis in Cyprus Mercedes brand cars?”

A Cypriot taxi driver informed me, “Mercedes are good cars, they go, and they don’t need so many repairs. But I have 3 American cars: a 1948 Plymouth, a 1952 Chrysler, and a DeSoto.” He proceeded to tell me about fixing up his cars – he uses his British passport to visit Istanbul with friends (“Istanbul isn’t that bad” – he assured me), buys parts, and returns them to Cyprus in a suitcase. He drives his cars in… “what is the word?” classic car rallies and keeps a sheaf of classic car pictures plus EBay part print-outs in his taxi’s glove compartment. I admired each picture before paying an exorbitant rate (taxis in Cyprus are both Mercedes brand and exorbitantly priced) before climbing out at my destination.

** In very rusty English, another taxi driver asked me “Is it true there are do not pass areas in New York?”

I imagined so, “New York’s traffic is terrible and they try new ways to make their traffic better.”

“No, no.” he protested. “Places in New York where people do not go.”

“Ah. Yes, I am sorry to say there are places in New York where people do not go.”

“Why?” he asked. “Is it the black people?”

I dug deep to give an intelligent reply, “I think it is about poor people: people do not have money, do not go to school and do not have jobs - but they do have guns. This is bad.”

“The black people have guns?” he asked again.

“There are many people with guns: there are many white people with guns and people from Vietnam or Mexico… and some black people.”

“Oh! White people too. That is very bad.”

** Speaking of New York, a lady at the hair salon where I bravely faced my phobia of foreign haircuts, asked if I, like herself, was from New York.

“No, Seattle.”

“Well, I thought you were from New York. You talk fast like a New Yorker.”

She went on to explain that her husband is Cypriot and that in order to please themselves, and their families, they move back and forth between Cyprus and New York. “Cyprus is better for the kids,” she explained.

** Just before departing, I had to journey into the bowels of an airport office in order to pay a fee. Apparently other passengers very much object to this detour but for me, it was an adventure that afforded me a kindly proffered cup of coffee, allowed me to compliment the lady on the sandbottle decorating her desk (a common souvenir from Petra, Jordan) and suggest the book Married to a Bedouin.

“Are you single?” the lady asked. I nodded.

“You have time to read. I have four boys! I don’t have time to read!” This lead into an interesting, albeit troubling discussion regarding raising kids in this age of electronics. The lady’s youngest son spends a lot of time on his PlayStation… and “he even plays it with his teacher! So, ok, he and his teacher have a good relationship and his teacher can influence him in his studies. But those games are violent and they look so real… and isn’t there something wrong with playing video games with one’s teacher?”

** Noting my long-time fixation on this very computer, another lady asked me if I liked Facebook.

Although I was finishing a blog entry at that particular moment, I have undeniably taken to FB and sheepishly replied, “Yes.”

“Me, too.” She agreed. “My husband – he prefers video games – but I like Facebook.”

** A fierce argument broke out during the 2 hour mini-bus ride to Nicosia. Sitting just to the side of the line of fire, in the front seat, of course I couldn’t understand a word – but I didn’t really need to. The man behind the driver was upset because the mini-bus was running later than he needed; the driver was upset because that is just how it goes with mini-buses. After a good 15 minutes of arguing, we had arrived in the outskirts of Nicosia and the driver dropped the man off at a roundabout so that he could get a private taxi. Soon the other passengers were dropped off as well and the driver, worried that the argument had upset me, told me that the male passenger, a Romanian, had accused her of not liking Romanians.

I made the right noises. And she went on to explain that they had a Cypriot pensioner who worked in the front office who wasn’t at all mindful when he organized the mini-buses. “I work for 18 hours a day… and I shouldn’t be yelled at by passengers. Crazy Cypriots!” she scoffed.

“You aren’t from Cyprus?” I asked.

“NO!” She nearly exploded in response, flexing her black-painted nails. “I am from Russia. I have been here for 25 years and I won’t get a passport from here.”

** “Yes,” a museum security officer said. “Maybe 10% of the population is foreigners.”

“Is that good or bad?” I asked.

“Well, for me it is good. I like many people. But for older Cypriots, immigrants is not good.”

** “The economy is ok here – it is just winter. I am lucky to have a job in the winter.” One lady told me. Another man told me, “Government workers make 3 times the wages and pensions that private workers get. The economy in Cyprus is good but the government has to stop this.”

** In rapid, nearly incomprehensible English, a leather jacket clad, techno-listening, aging Cypriot taxi driver coughed, asked me where I was from, proceeded to tell me that I was “very sweet” and asked for my number. On another day, I greeted an African man in a mosque with the Arabic greeting of, “Salaam Allecombe.” He smiled at me, asked where I was from, asked for my number, asked me if I were Muslim, smiled and then asked me for my number again.

Living in Saudi Arabia, I often feel that the attention I receive stems from not-so-healthy sexual repression. I still sometimes feel that I am regarded (to quote my earlier self in India), “as an absolutely free, 4-course meal (complete with all-you-can-drink beer!) walking down the street, an open invitation – irregardless of quality, available and free.” In Cyprus, it felt nice to back in a country where yes, I get attention but with a little bit of subtlety behind the assumption that I’m free and readily available.

** After teaching me to say, “Kalli-mera” (good morning), one man abruptly transitioned into inquiring, “Have you heard about the lawsuit in America?”

“No.” I admitted, instantly curious. “What lawsuit?”

“A lawyer in America is suing Turkey for money for property.”

Curiosity piqued – what possible jurisdiction could that fall under? I checked Google and found that a recent legal precedent allows lawsuits against international commercial entities. Commercial entities are key as no country, including the United States recognizes the Turkish declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC); however, the TRNC operates in the States as business entity, on business visas. In a 2010 class action suit titled Greek Cypriots, et al. v. TRNC and HSBC Bank USA, one Telemachos Fiouris and other Cypriots are suing the commercial establishment of the TRNC for denial of access to and enjoyment of land and property held in the north, and HSBC, the only known bank to clear money through this entity, for “knowingly aiding, assisting, supporting and benefiting from the fraudulent property schemes.”

The suit baldly walks through the sordid history of the invasion, the gaps in even the legitimacy the commercial existence of the TRNC, and is reportedly seeking compensation in the billions while the American attorney behind the case builds on his record of pushing lawsuits against entities that would “hide behind their flag and country.”

** The night before my departure, the restaurant host who better resembled Michangelo’s David than the law student that he made the mistake admitting to me that he is, couldn’t quite summon the English needed to answer the question that I put to him,

“Why is Turkey still in Cyprus? What is the basis for their argument?”

“Listen to me,” he admonished and then he gave me a very good run down of the history of Turkey’s occupation – that by then I had heard and read several times, with very little variation.

I stared into his gorgeous eyes and thanked him. “But here’s what I know about law: that to make a good case, you have to understand the other side’s argument and you have to argue – very well – against them. So what is Turkey’s argument?”

Although he did admit that there had been attacks on Cypriot Muslims in the past, he told me that, “This is about politics – not about religion. In my opinion, they have no good argument.”

** The curly-haired lady at the comfy Starbucks that I frequented while in Nicosia, answered my, “And how are you?” with, “I’m always the same.”

I didn’t find that a good answer. “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope tomorrow will be better!”

“No! You misunderstand me. I’m always the same because I’m always good.”

“Oh, I am glad to hear that you are always good! And yet I still hope that tomorrow will better – even better than today!”

We smiled at each other.

Not that I don't adore traveling with others but I will say that in Cyprus, I found good reasons for exploring alone.

Love,
Laura