On the way to my house, you’ll pass an imposing, impressive church and the town’s only elementary school. You’ll know you’ve arrived at my place when you see the little tin mailbox marked “4.” Take a look at these photos so you’ll recognize it!
My house has a simple creamy stucco façade, or front, topped by one of the orange-tiled roofs seen throughout Pano Polemidia. Gracing the front entrance with welcome shade is an olive tree, with some of its olives already starting to darken.
Καλώς oρίσατε! Welcome! Why don’t you have a seat here in το σαλόνι, the living room, while I show you some traditional Cypriot hospitality? What would you like to drink? coffee? Lemonade? Soda? Luckily I’ve just returned from the neighborhood bakery with some pastries to offer you as well…
And off I bustle to the next room, η κουζίνα (the kitchen), busying myself with fetching you everything you could want and more.
Smiling, I remember how my 95-year-old landlord and four generations of his family, from children to great-grandchildren, all welcomed me into their home when I first arrived— with a tower of homemade sweet and savory treats. I had expected our meeting to be a formal discussion of the details of my rental contract, but instead I found myself welcomed into their home almost as if I were another member of their extended family. They were actually worried about whether or not I would like the rental house, and they were eager to do whatever was needed to help me feel more comfortable. Having lived anonymously for the last three years in a big, impersonal American apartment complex where hardly anyone knew my name, I could scarcely believe my good fortune at having found such personable, kind-hearted landlords.
