But I would walk 500 miles
2566 miles. That is the distance between Nicole Savvas and her boyfriend Efthimios Dimitriou.
Long distance relationships have become more and more common in the last few years, maybe because Social Media makes them easier, or because flight tickets prices have gone cheaper.
Facetime dates, international calls, scheduled visits or sending parcels to each other are a few of the keys that Nicole gives me for a successful relationship. That and keeping herself busy so she doesn’t think much about it.
And sacrifice. Distance takes a toll and you need to know what you are renouncing to while living in another country.
Even though studies say this kind of relationship leads couples to greater intimacy, she tells me that sometimes she just gets mad not because the other has done something wrong. She gets mad at the miles that separate them.
And it is not only that. Nicole is originally from Cape Town in South Africa. She moved to Cyprus to study her degree and there met Efthimios.
Even though her father is Cypriot, Nicole was raised in South Africa and sometimes feels the cultural differences between them make things interesting. And awkward.
Family traditions and behaviour change from the African country to the Mediterranean, and while she enjoys it, and wouldn’t call it cultural shock she knows that they’re different.
2566 separates them now, while Nicole studies for a year in Preston. And 2566 miles will separate them in a year, when Nicole goes back to Cyprus and Efthimios comes to Liverpool for university.
But she still insists, with a few tips, it is worth it.
