Hi everyone, Padistan here.
I want to thank you all for the great support we had recently with our Free Book offer The Tales of Padistan Bear “An Idea in the Making” and to tell you about the lovely week-end I had when my friend John Warner and his wife Ntina took me to Nicosia last Sunday to meet their family.
Meeting the family was a wonderful experience, we had dinner and afterwards picked fresh oranges and lemons from the many trees in the large garden. Whilst picking the oranges a mosquito bit me, as there are no mosquitoes in Bearvolia this scared me just a little. The bite was treated with vinegar and after assurances that all would be well after the initial itching ceased, we carried on picking. John said the insects were early this year as they are usually around only when the weather gets hot and today it was cold here in Nicosia only eleven degrees. I said eleven degrees is hot in Bearvolia cold was minus fifteen. At lunchtime the kitchen table creaked under the weight of all the many delicious Cypriot dishes on offer.
The kitchen was filled with the chatter and laughter of the family and everyone asking many questions. How I came to be in Cyprus? What was Bearvolia like? Were there grizzly bears in Bearvolia? I had a lovely time and the time passed by quickly.
When we left, John`s Godmother Victoria wrapped a large slice of her homemade cake and handed me a jar of honey saying, “As you are a bear you will love this. Everyone loves my honey it’s the best there is.”
I told her my mother always says the same about her Pine Cone honey in Bearvolia.
She smiled saying “All mothers are the same Padistan mou; we all make the best food for our children.”
Confused I asked Ntina why Victoria had called me Padistan mou, Ntina explained that `mou` is very often used as a term of endearment by Cypriot women and means mine, it is often said to those we love. I now felt very pleased and part of the family.
As we travelled back home I thought of the day when John and Ntina found me on the roadside in Nicosia, my first day in Cyprus. I got a lift that day in an old truck from the port in Limassol to the Capital City of Nicosia. The truck, driven by an old man with the largest moustache I have ever seen, was filled to bursting with boxes of various shapes and sizes from foreign parts. The old man said he was going to the capital Nicosia and if I wanted a ride to get up on the back of the truck. With no idea which direction to go I thought the capital a good place to start, so I climbed on the back and sat across two boxes whose journey, as the labels said, had begun in China. After a long, noisy journey the truck reached Nicosia. I climbed down from the truck, thanked the driver for his help, and started to walk. Nicosia was busy, so much traffic and noise, I was shivering with fear. After walking for some time in no particular direction, I found myself at the highway again. I sat wondering what to do when John and his wife Ntina stopped to help. They were wonderful, and after hearing my tale they told me not to worry and suggested they take me to their home in Paphos where they knew people who would help. By the time we arrived at their home in Paphos I was adopted by John and Ntina. I am a very lucky bear, Grateful for all I have and looking forward to exciting times ahead. Thank You for reading My Blog, Padistan.