We live our lives forever taking leave - Rilke

Counter

Monday, 30 January 2012

Sunday, January 29/2012

Several people using the lobby this morning, including a woman with an East European accent who is interested in going to Choiokitia, a village near Larnaca that boasts the remains of a neolithic village. Very interesting and quite moving as the outlines of the little dwellings huddle together for comfort and safety. Turns out the woman and her husband are Canadians, originally from Hungary but now living in Mississauga. They've been visiting relatives in Hungary and are now in Cyprus for two weeks.

The Congolese merchant banker is ensconced in the far corner, voluble as ever but unhappy with the speed and quality of his connection. "There are too many people in the lobby using the wifi," he tells his unseen telephone partner. "The signal isn't good." But he stops short of asking the rest of us to shut down our computers.