Got this interesting statement from George, a Cypriot man i had a chat with today.
This nice fellow is one of my friend's Landlord and simply loves to talk. I was at his place when the Landlord came for rent and he was there for a good hour and half eventually chatting about various topics ranging from rich Arabs, property investment, work wages, Euro currency, his wife and North Cyprus. The entire discussion was very captivating.
North Cyprus, or the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as Turkey and the people over there call it, is Turkish occupied area of Cyprus island. There is line of control monitored by UN between the North and South parts of Cyprus since 1974. Since 2004, people are allowed to move to either side via some controlled points. George mentioned that before the border was opened, they had not seen or met the people from the other side for 30 years and used to think that they were poor, uneducated and generally backward compared to themselves (the Greek Cypriots). Once the border was opened, a lot of people went back to see their ancestor's or old houses on the northern side. They were mostly welcomed by the Turkish people cordially for coffee etc and to see their houses. The same happened for the Turkish visiting the South side. And in few meetings, people realized that the Turkish were as rich, educated and looked the same like the Greek Cypriots. so George said "We don't know whom to hate! When we had no contact with these people it was easy to blame them. But they too are good hardworking normal people. The politicians, army or whoever created this situation are crazy!"
Cyprus converted to the Euro this Jan 1st. My friend's monthly rent was 360 Pounds which after conversion should be 615 Euros. They requested George to round it off to 600 Euros as its easy to divide between 4 people. To everyone's surprise he easily agreed, only saying, "You round UP the rent. Who the bloody hell decreases rent to round it up?"
While discussing about work wages, George recounted an incident with his friend. This friend of his is a construction worker and earns about 60 Pound a day. The guy had gone to a night club where he met women wanting to "hire her services" for the night. After a few drinks and initial conversation, the women casually inquired about how much money the guy made. On hearing his reply, she was surprised and said she'd never work for anything less than 100 pounds a day!!!!! And for studying 4 years of Engineering and working for a Software firm, i don't even get 50 Pounds a day!!!!!
Lastly, George mentioned in passing that his wife is going out of station next week. I casually teased him that he'll be enjoying the bachelor life. He said "My wife generally spends 4-5 months some place else. The day after she leaves, i feel really nice. I enjoy my freedom. Then the culinary question arises. But the worst is the sleep. After sleeping next to a person every night for 20-30 years, its very lonely and difficult to sleep alone!"
This nice fellow is one of my friend's Landlord and simply loves to talk. I was at his place when the Landlord came for rent and he was there for a good hour and half eventually chatting about various topics ranging from rich Arabs, property investment, work wages, Euro currency, his wife and North Cyprus. The entire discussion was very captivating.
North Cyprus, or the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as Turkey and the people over there call it, is Turkish occupied area of Cyprus island. There is line of control monitored by UN between the North and South parts of Cyprus since 1974. Since 2004, people are allowed to move to either side via some controlled points. George mentioned that before the border was opened, they had not seen or met the people from the other side for 30 years and used to think that they were poor, uneducated and generally backward compared to themselves (the Greek Cypriots). Once the border was opened, a lot of people went back to see their ancestor's or old houses on the northern side. They were mostly welcomed by the Turkish people cordially for coffee etc and to see their houses. The same happened for the Turkish visiting the South side. And in few meetings, people realized that the Turkish were as rich, educated and looked the same like the Greek Cypriots. so George said "We don't know whom to hate! When we had no contact with these people it was easy to blame them. But they too are good hardworking normal people. The politicians, army or whoever created this situation are crazy!"
Cyprus converted to the Euro this Jan 1st. My friend's monthly rent was 360 Pounds which after conversion should be 615 Euros. They requested George to round it off to 600 Euros as its easy to divide between 4 people. To everyone's surprise he easily agreed, only saying, "You round UP the rent. Who the bloody hell decreases rent to round it up?"
While discussing about work wages, George recounted an incident with his friend. This friend of his is a construction worker and earns about 60 Pound a day. The guy had gone to a night club where he met women wanting to "hire her services" for the night. After a few drinks and initial conversation, the women casually inquired about how much money the guy made. On hearing his reply, she was surprised and said she'd never work for anything less than 100 pounds a day!!!!! And for studying 4 years of Engineering and working for a Software firm, i don't even get 50 Pounds a day!!!!!
Lastly, George mentioned in passing that his wife is going out of station next week. I casually teased him that he'll be enjoying the bachelor life. He said "My wife generally spends 4-5 months some place else. The day after she leaves, i feel really nice. I enjoy my freedom. Then the culinary question arises. But the worst is the sleep. After sleeping next to a person every night for 20-30 years, its very lonely and difficult to sleep alone!"
2 comments:
You write bloody good man. I loved every tidbit of yours here. Was hilarious too. Work not less than 100 pounds though.
Thanks!!!
I got a completely contrasting reply for this particular post from a friend. But it makes sense- whether a reader likes a blog or not is completely up to him.
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