Kalispera! My courses are officially over, and all I have left are finals. In three weeks, I will be home again, except I won’t be returning alone. The day after my last post, I rescued a kitten and she has been with me since. Her name is Venus and she’s only three months old. Venus was not the first kitty I came in contact with, but I decided to rescue her because when we found her, she was in the basement of a building being demolished, crying out for her mama who wasn’t around. With approximately 1.5 million stray cats, which is more than the human population on the island, rescues in Cyprus don’t have the resources to care for all the cats who need it, especially during the kitten season. However, many of the stray cats I have seen since arriving in Cyprus appear to be in good health as both locals and tourists look after them. That being said, I am excited to see Venus grow and she’s the best souvenir I could return with.

Before I leave, I have one more event with Let’s Make Cyprus Green. At the Greener Together Expo, we will be engaging with visitors about our Refill Cyprus campaign and encouraging them to become volunteers. I won’t be able to share more about this event with you all, but I am grateful that I have already been able to share so much of my semester with everyone. Each blog post encouraged me to learn more about Cyprus and appreciate my environment. I am leaving with more connections than I would have had without the Paulson International Study Fellowship. From connecting with local students to working with LMCG, I was able to develop a sense of place here in Nicosia and it became my home for 4 months. I hope you have enjoyed reading these blogs as much as I have enjoyed writing them. Yassas for now!