Welcome to The Odyssey Live Chats! Our next chat is on Monday, March 6th - 9am PST/ 12 noon EST. Trekker Jasmine will be joined by students from Cyprus.

<Moderator> Welcome to the Odyssey Chats! In just a few minutes, we will be joined by Trekker Jasmine, and some youth from Cyprus.

<Moderator> Cyprus is an island in the Meditertanean Sea, between Greece and Turkey. People from Cyprus are called Cypriots. The island is disputed territory between Turkey and Greece - and is split into two parts - Turkish and Greek.

<Trekker Jasmine> Hey All! We are here today with 5 awesome Cypriot students...

<Trekker Jasmine> Leyla Duba - Age 14 from Northern Cyprus, Muge Akcay - Age 13 from Northern Cyprus, Mine Esencay - Age 16 from Northern Cyprus SOP, and Dogus Ertac - Age 16 from Northern Cyprus SOP Kaan Hurelli - Age 16 from Northern Cyprus SOP

<Moderator> SOP means the students are members of Seeds of Peace, a Middle Eastern youth peace organization. See our stories about Seeds of Peace in the Israel/Palestine part of our website.

<Mark (SPV HOUSTON TX. USA)> What are schools like over there in Cyprus?

<Mine> Hi everyone . Our religion is Muslim . We believe in God and Hz. Muhammed as the teacher of our religion .

<Kaan and Dogus> there are two kinds of schools. one type is normal public school and the other one is private school.kaan is enrolled in a public school but dogus is enrolled in a private school.

<Muge and Leyla> There are American schools here aswell as Turkish schools!!!There are only five years of elementry school here...

<Kaan and Dogus> we don't beleive in god ! :))

<Leyla and Muge> There is 5 years of high school!! we both go to private schools.And we believe in god

<Kaan and Dogus> in both of our schools the education is based on english since our schools are schools that prepares students for foreign countries

<David ST.PIUS V (Pasadena Texas U.S.A.)> What do you do in your spare time

<Mİne> I must say that although I do not have much spare time in my everyday life I am just trying to use it in the best way . I love playing tennis and...

<Muge> Well I go to my volleyball practices I play the guitar I play basketball but not like a proffesional and I usually go on the internet

<Kaan and Dogus> especially we spend our free time going out and having fun with friends. We go places like cinema, thearte, or when there are no girls we go and play some soccer

<Leyla> I usally go to the cinema at the weekends and I enjoy dancing!!!!My main hobby is netball.Me and Muge go to cheerleading practice after school!!!

<Thuy-Ngan St.Pius V (Pasadena,Tx)> What does the Seeds of Peace (SOP) program do?

<Mine> İ am in the clubs team. I also play the pıano and I am really a talent as my teacher says. Just Kısddıng! :)

<Kaan and Dogus> SOP (Seeds of Peace) programs brings together youth of different countries known as enemies, makes them to be together...

<Mine> Seeds of Peace tries to help the youths of countries that have problems with each other and it tries to make them meet and understand each other through their own experiences.

<Kaan and Dogus> and help them to know more about each other.

<Kaan and Dogus> Turkish ones live in north side and greek ones live in the south part. Greek part is more developed and is known by other countries where as Turkish side seems to be a part of the Greek side.

How is the Turkish side of the island different form the Greek side?

<Mine> At the camp I learned that we do not have many differences and in fact we have many similarities . I think the only difference is the parts of land that we are living on , separated . We even have many meals in common !

<Muge and Leyla> Well at first the religion the language and the culture is much much diffrent!!!But we kinda look like each other!!!We cant visit the other side though!

<Claire (Oceanport, NJ)> What do you think about Americans?

<Kaan and Dogus> The Turkish side is less developed, and smaller in surface area.

<Mine> Last summer at SOP I realised that the most impressing thing about Americans is their helpfulness and love for peace . With their help I was able to open another bright window in my life .

<Computer Teacher St. Pius V St. Pius V Pasadena TX USA> Our sixth grade had to go to lunch, but they said as they left that "This was reaaly fun."

<Muge> Ive been to America(Wichita falls Texas)and İ think Americans are really kewl so sweet really friendly and smart!!!

<Kaan and Dogus> We do not meet Americans everyday but we've met lots of them at the SOP camp. We think they are so friendly. If we manage to study in america we'll have the chance to be neighbours :))

<Leyla> Thanks to the sixth grade class for joining!!!!

<Dogus> Tutty-Frutty is my favorite one on Show TV (a private channel) :)

<Christian Woodring St. Pius (Pasadena Tx)> What are your favorite tv shows and movies?

<Leyla and Muge> We would lıke to ask you all a questıon.

<Mine> My favourite Tv program is a comedy called Tatlı Kaçıklar...

<Kaan> EMX, a kind of TV program is which there is so much action, like motorsports and so on ...

<Leyla and Muge> Has anybody ever visited Cyprus and if you have did you like it ??!!If you havent what do you imagine it to be like!!

<Connie (Oceanport, NJ)> No one in our school has ever visited Cyprus or Turkey or Greece. What is Cyprus like?

<Leyla and Muge> Its kinda like a tropical island its in the mediterranean sea...

<Kaan> It was said to be a green island of Medditerranean Sea but now, after the big fire on the mountains...

<Kaan> it became like an island of shadow...newly forming forests is a new hope for our GREEN country. our island is small and only production is based on citrus, especially orange and lemon.

<Janie St.Pius V (Pasadena,Tx)> What kind of music do you listen to?

<Muge and Leyla> We like Tarkan as a Turkish singer but as English ones we like Savage Garden Nirvana Backstreet Boys and Five last but not least Red Hot Chilli Peppers

<Dogus> Savage Garden - Truly madly deeply

<Mine> My favourite pop star is that handsome Latin guy , Ricky Martin who cheers everyone with saying his lively songs and with his incredible dance .

<Kaan> Guns & Roses - November Rain, Don't you Cry tonith :) and a Turkish group "Düs Sokagı Sakinleri" It means the "Settlers of Dream Street"

<Claire (oceanport, NJ)> What are some of your goals?

<Mine> I am trying hard to study in America . I want to study Genetics if possible . It will be great if I can go . Maybe you can welcome me , ha ?

<Muge> I want to be famous like a model or a movie star!!Well I think I wanna be both!!Im gonna study in America with my best friend Leyla and everybodys gonna like me and stuff!!!

<Kaan> My biggest goal is to study in the USA and to became an computer engineer.

<Leyla> I wanna be a lawyer but as I also like to sing I might end up doing that!!!

<Dogus> Mine is to became a computer scientist and after I finish my education in the USA, I want to return back to my country.

<Moderator> Well, our time is almost up. Thank you to Leyla, Muge, Mine, Dogus and Kaan for joining us today and answering all our questions.

<Leyla> I wanna be a lawyer but as I also like to sing I might end up doing that!!!

<Moderator> Thank you also to Trekker Jasmine for coordinating and to ALL the classrooms out there who participated in the Odyssey Live Chat. We hope you had as much fun as we did!

<Kaan and Dogus> It was so nıce of you all to come and chat wıth us! The Odyssey ıs awesome for hookıng us all up...

<Leyla and Muge> Thanks for chatting to us!!! And we enjoyed it, BYE!!

<Mıne> Thank You from Seeds of Peace and from Cyprus!!!