Day 7 - Giving back

After a week of looking inward, it is time now time to take a look outward and find a place that needs your help. Nicosia Dog Shelter became my place, from the first week we arrived. I've never seen a shelter with so many beautiful, peaceful dogs. Pet ownership is not like back home. These dogs do not wear designer labels, eat gourmet foods or heaven forbid, even sleep indoors most homes. No, these animals are disposable here. Many are hunters dogs who are later left abandoned in the fields, or worse yet, the streets. Others are pets gone wrong - also just left to roam the streets. A few actually are brought in by their fickle owners who have half a heart.

The dogs live outside their pens most of the daytime hours, lazing in the shade, sharing their old bathtubs of water and vying for the attention of the few that come to visit. There are no pack issues here...everyone just finds a way to get along and wait for a new forever home. Many never get one. Having arrived with two large dogs I didn't expect to make room for one more, but pregnancy and nesting got the best of me and we took our Kimo home when he was just a little runt on the verge of starvation. He is our Cyprus poodle and the best thing we ever did. We still help out the shelter - even if its just to go show up and give some belly rubs, but it never feels like its enough. If I ever get that big "break" in life, I promise everyone right here and now...I am going to adopt them all.

So, today's theme was to give back...and once you start doing it, go and give back some more!

Day 6 - Water

I was warned that we would be water rationed while living here and I must admit I was concerned. We get water pumped in to the house twice a week so being aware of water usage has already been second nature. But I was signed on for this No Impact Experiment which meant being even more cognizant of my actions all week. I found out that I can take a shower without the constant stream of water, and realized how wasteful it was to keep it running the whole time. Try it next time, get in and get wet - and then turn it off while you're sudsing up. You'll see how much time and water you waste when its not on. Really pay attention to the water you use in the kitchen sink too. Can some of it be re-used for watering plants or other things. And please, please, please do not let your water run when you're brushing your teeth...you'll spend more time brushing and less time rinsing away all that good flouride :)

Day One - Consumption

(A gorgeous ring I found in my Mom's "junk jewelry" bin!)

Day one. I lay awake thinking a lot about this experiment last night and how we will be applying many of its principles beyond this one week trial. We have been living abroad for almost two years and although shopping is alive and well in much of the world, it certainly is different experience from home. While in Finland we found out if you didn't bring your own shopping bag they would charge you for one - Genius!! I still have the few I ended up buying when I found myself without my own. No one seemed to have overflowing baskets at the supermarket - they bought what they needed for the day. We definitely got our fair share of stares when we walked around with a weeks worth of food in our carts, but we were in the learning curve and soon found it was better to only buy what you needed, when you needed it. Shopping malls both there and here in Cyprus are also quite different. Yes, there are sales and gorgeous shoes to tempt you around every corner but both of these countries are now on the Euro and the exchange rate is never in our favor. I learned to live and get by with the shoes I already had, sans a gorgeous pair of boots I picked up on sale in Germany. That was a huge step for me in the beginning of this new life. If we were desperate for something warmer (we came to Finland via Hawaii) we found that some perfectly wonderful winter wear were overflowing in many of the thrift stores. I had to buy a warmer winter rain coat that I picked up for 3 Euro and I love it. The thrift stores here are harder to find, but they are out there. What's interesting here is that you hardly ever find the locals in them, mostly foreigners. I've been told that it is considered an embarrassment to be seen in these stores by the locals. So I’d have to say that living overseas has definitely changed our consumer habits for the better and I believe these will be life-changing habits. Now, on the other hand, we definitely are guilty of online purchases. There are some things I just couldn’t find here that could compare in quality. Number one being the organic baby formula we buy in bulk (I was unable to produce enough milk after two months of trying everything possible). I did try a brand that was imported from France but it was a digestive disaster. The other big online purchase were the hybrid diapers I bought, but now that we are using cloth inserts much of the time, I wrestle with telling myself it was a win-win situation. And that’s the point of this whole rambling blub I’ve got going here…if we absolutely had to live off the land we found ourselves on could we survive? Of course we could, so many have come before us, but would we want to and how do you convince others to do the same when modern convenience rules the purchasing industry. I’m finding that this little experiment I’ve stumbled upon across the seas is a lot bigger and more meaningful to me than ever before. I will continue to weigh and consider almost everything I do from this day forward. To the Beaven’s – thank you for forging the way!