Thanksgiving in Malta!

This particular trip has been very different from the other ones we have taken this semester. I went with two girls from the program, and we had a lovely time. We have continually surprised ourselves with the lack of disasters and trouble on this trip. It’s been absolutely lovely.

Our flight left at 9am Thanksgiving day from Frankfurt so we were forced to take a train from Freiburg the night before. We left Freiburg at 12:05am, and arrived at the airport at 3:30am. Horrible, but I did manage to sleep poorly for a few hours on the train, in the airport AND on the flight. Not entirely desirable, but it could have been MUCH worse. We took a cab to the hotel, which was all right. It certainly was considerably fancier than what IES takes us to… but the guidebook says that it’s the most luxurious hotel in Malta. I seriously question this. It was lovely though, after our arrival, we went out to the pool and lounged for an hour or so. We were exhausted from a night without real sleep so it was so nice to relax. We walked into town around 6 without any idea of how to spend the time until dinner. We were getting a little cranky until Cassie suggests we see a movie. Normally I would have shot that down immediately, I mean come on. Who goes to Malta and goes to a movie theater? Embarrassing. But this was exactly what we needed. We saw Couples Reunion or something. It was actually pretty funny, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was an incredibly long day.

We slept in the next morning and awoke to a beautifully sunny day. We obviously decided to head to the beach. We had to go to the other side of the island for a great beach, so we did. We hopped on a Malta Bus, and headed over. I ADORE THE MALTA BUSES! It’s great. They’re really old buses that are somehow still running? So cool.

At this point I was surprised to realize that people were joking with us again, instead of the straight-faced German approach. Our confusion was laughed at here, as opposed to a mild…

distaste at our general inadequacies in Germany. Anyway! It was about a 45 minute ride which was extremely cheap and bouncy, but my adoration for the buses made it stellar. The beach itself was nice, and I was determined to swim. Only when we got arrived, there were lots of signs explaining what to do if a jellyfish stings you. I was confident that this wouldn’t be a big deal but holy buckets. They were everywhere. I had to pass on the whole swimming with jellyfish thing. I really didn’t want to ‘immediately seek medical attention’ in Malta.

We went to Mdina for dinner, which was really quite lovely. It’s a medieval walled city, which is frequently called the Silent City. When they say silent? They mean silent. Cassie’s clicking heels was the only sound. It echoed. It was a little eerie, as we hardly saw anyone. We found out after the fact that the city only has 300 inhabitants. No wonder it’s silent!

On Saturday we decided to do an organized tour of Gozo, which is the second largest island of Malta. We were relieved that we did the tour as it would have been almost impossible to navigate on our own. While small in size, the roads weren’t great and it’s very rural. We took a ferry over and then got on a coach for the tour. I feel comfortable saying we canvassed most of the island. We started out at Ggantica or Ggantia or something. Apparently they originally thought an extinct race of giants lived there. DUMB. It’s now understood to be two Neolithic temples that were constructed around 3000 BCE. Then we went to the Azure Window, which was

absolutely stunning. We got into this rickety old 6 person boat to see it from the water. I thought we were going to die. It was an incredibly windy day and we were a few feet from the rocks. While it was beautiful, I struggled to enjoy it cause I had zero confidence in the boat. I don’t know what I was thinking. They also took us to the old Citadel in Vittoria, which had a beautiful view of the entire island. We got to taste some island cheeses, wines, and liqueurs which were nice, but nothing to write home about. The ferry ride back to the island of Malta was beautiful as the sun set while we were on board. After dinner on this evening, we split a slice of Apple Pie in honor of Thanksgiving.

We had about half a day to sightsee before we headed to the airport so we made reservations to see the Hypogeum. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and UNESCO is trying to it preserve for future generations. It’s meticulously regulated, and it’s ‘micro climate’ is carefully controlled. For example only 10 visitors are allowed in per hour to protect the paintings from CO₂ damage and sequential lighting only dimly lights up the area you’re looking at to protect the area from any damages incurred by lighting. Actually this made it VERY creepy. The Hypogeum is an underground temple slash burial site, where 5000 people are estimated to be buried. There were some wall painting and they claimed that it was the first place where an underground chamber is sculpted to appear as if it is above ground. That was neat, although there were some weird things they told us about. So, they would initially put bodies on the upper level so that the air would help it decompose a little, and then when other bodies needed the space the remains were put en masse into deeper chambers and covered by dirt, which would become the new floor. Ew.

Malta surprised me. It was not what I was expecting at all. It was very… brown. Sort of how I picture Morocco? The island itself was fairly barren. Silly side note, the Maltese used to grow olives for olive oil, but then the British came and ripped up all the olive trees in order to grow Cotton, which obviously didn’t grow here. So now… they have nothing. Uh… OOPS! Anyway, and I was also surprised to see how poor the island was. Perhaps I was expecting something more like Sardinia, but… no. I mean even the tourist areas aren’t super nice, which makes me wonder what the rural living situation is like. I think Malta is the poorest, most underdeveloped place I have ever been. I guess this doesn’t say much since I have spent most of my time abroad in Western Europe.

Something strange about Malta:

-There are cats everywhere. They lurk, and will surprise you when you least expect it. I don’t think they’re strays, because they appear glossy and well taken care of.

Something glorious about Malta

-Malta is an ex-British Colony, and since no one really speaks Maltese elsewhere in the world, practically everyone speaks English. Almost every sign was in English. Lovely. This also meant that there was British TV! I spend some time watching Two and a Half Men as well as some World Cup ski races. It was nice, and it made me think of Dad.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I decided that a quick list of things I am thankful for is necessary. After all, I didn’t have to do it at dinner!!

- A spectacular fall in Europe. I can’t believe how lucky I have been to travel to all of these places. Switzerland, Germany, Latvia, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Malta, and soon Austria and Switzerland. Wow. It’s pretty darn incredible.

- An amazing family. This stands on it’s own for me, but truly. The continual love and support is phenomenal.

-Fantastic friends whom have stepped up when I’ve needed them most, many times without me even having to ask.

It sure seems funny to say, but I have been incredibly blessed. Even though I miss dad every day, and can’t really believe he’s gone, he was the best dad anyone could ask for. And now I have the BEST guardian angel ever.

I hope that everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving, and had an extra few bites of turkey and cranberries for me. I’m hoping to subtly con mom into making a pseudo thanksgiving dinner once we’re back stateside. You know… next time she asks what I want for dinner, I’ll ask for turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy and just… whip out some cranberries, whip cream, and graham crackers.

OH! And now that it’s officially past thanksgiving… HAPPY HOLIDAYS!