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Published: July 22nd 2010
Maltese winos!
Here, wine is cheaper than water - you can get a bottle for 3Euro!Well, the sun is just as strong and the sky is just as clear as the last time I wrote! Everyday, I wake up sweating. What was I thinking coming here in the middle of the summer!? And to cap it all off, Blake has been giving me updates on the weather in Morocco which is usually a daily high of a staggering 50 degrees! Eeeep.
So my Maltese life is becoming more and more routine now. My days are beginning to blend together and my familiarity of the island is getting better. In Malta, despite the insane heat, the summer is packed with festivals and events which I have been doing my best to take advantage of. During my first week on the island, Andrew and I were so keen to hit the beach every afternoon to soak up the sun. More and more, we do our best to avoid the rays in the middle of the day as the temperatures climb to their highs of 45 and more as the summer wears on. Instead of lounging by the sea, we have been joining in the summer festivities. As a strong Roman Catholic nation, each village in Malta celebrates
International Food Night
The Canadians w/ our poutine :) the patron saint of their local parish once a summer with a 'festa'. It's been a tradition for centuries and we were lucky enough to live just down the street from one of the more rowdy festas this week! In Msida, where we live, there is a harbour and so apart from the usual street food, music, drinking, etc., there is a competition for young men who take turns charging up a greased mast pole that lies at a 45 angle over the harbour. Whoever makes it to the end without falling off wins! Wildly entertaining and hilarious. The other fantastic part of the the festas are the fireworks. Unlike Canada, the fireworks here are ridiculously dangerous and extremely comical with whirling explosions over the crowd and balls of fire wobbling along cables. Strange stuff!
The other festival that we have been able to take advantage of is the Malta Arts Festival. Last week, my friend Alim and I went to see a Maltese outdoor play that was absolutely amazing. It was set in an old mental hospital and the whole play was outside with the audience standing and moving along with the actors and the musicians from set
International Food Night
We had all of the exchange students at our house for international drinks and food! to set through the buildings' courtyards. Last night, we attended a ballet in the beautiful Floriana gardens at an outdoor stage. The company was from Paris and the dancing was sublime. I was in heaven watching the dancers move, set in front of a bright moon with just a light breeze. It was a gorgeous night. Next up, we'll be hitting up another outdoor production - a Midsummer's Night Dream straight from the Globe Theatre in London! Very excited for that.
Apart from the arts, the next best thing in Malta has been the food. With my daily fix of gelato and iced coffee, I'm feeling really spoiled. So far my favourite eating experience was at this tiny wine & tapas bar in tucked away down a back street in Valetta. The restaurant only had about 5 tables but a wide selection of wine and a wonderful tapas selection. We ate octopus, mussles, crusty Maltese bread with a variety of dips, etc., etc. The atmosphere was just as good as the food - with limestone walls and a vaulted limestone ceiling. It was like we were in a wine cellar! Other favourite eats have been homemade ravioli with ricotta
Megalithic Temples
We visited these temples on the island of GOZO next to Malta... They are even older than the pyramids! cheese and Maltese salad (olives, sundried tomatoes, goat cheese, balsamic). We also had a night of traditional Maltese rabbit which consisted of a large bowl of unnamed rabbit parts. Not great for the med student... I could help but recognize the anatomical features of the brown chunks - I even found the head! But, when in Rome... Anyway, unfortunately, despite all of this talk about how a Mediterranean diet is the key to longevity and a beach-ready physique, I'm not seeing many positive changes (except that all of the results of my Jillian Micheals death workouts are slowly fading away!).
Last weekend, our whole exchange group went over by boat to the tiny island of Comino. All of 3.5 km2! It was a fabulous day - a highlight in the swimming department for sure. We took a large boat on Sunday morning to this tiny bay called Blue Lagoon. It was the definition of paradise. The sand at the bottom is so white that the water appears to be varying shades of eclectic blue contrasted by the towering white limestone cliffs that create this perfect cove to swim about in. Unfortunately, like all things this beautiful, it is a
Our exchange group
The whole crew in the Citadel in Victoria on the island of GOZO hot spot for tourists and was packed with holiday makers on their yachts. Usually, I'm put off by droves of people, but the beauty of the lagoon definitely outweighted the negatives of picking past people lazing in their bikinis. As soon as we got there, Andrew and I jumped in the water and started to explore the area by swimming around the many small islands in the area. The water is so clear that you can see way down to the bottom even 20m deep. There were lots of fish and rock formations underwater to explore and so I spent the day swimming about the area. I was REALLY wrinkly when I finally got out 4 hours later! The best part of the day was when Andrew and I found the most perfect cliff jumping spot. It was an outcropping rock with a cove underneath and deep, deep water to jump into. Don't worry Mom- we checked the depth first then scaled the cliff to get up to the point. It was easily 40ft and I of course made Andrew go first. He didn't give me much confidence as the came to the surface with this massive grin on his
Victoria, Gozo
In the captial 'city' of Gozo, Malta's sister island that only has a population of 40,000 face shouting up to me that it was "REALLY, REALLY HIGH!". Deep breath, heart pounding and off I went. As soon as my foot left the edge I could see actually how high we were and instantly regretted it! Too late! It was definitely a thrill that we repeated all afternoon 😊
Clinically, my placement has been going well. I am still finding it challenging with the language barrier but it's definitely not as hard as in Rwanda and I am learning as much as I can (although, my afternoon medical reading sessions have pretty much dried up!) and I'm still loving Pediatrics. When everything is different, you can always count on kids being kids regardless of nationality or culture. The words are different but the playing is all the same!
I can't believe that I only have less than two weeks left. It's been flying by. Except for the last couple of days, we have all been really sick. Lots of sleepless nights combined with ridiculously hot days have been a bit challenging. I know I can't complain because all negatives should be voided by the fact that, regardless, I'm in MALTA! But it has been hard
Cars in Malta are tiny...
True to their size, Malta & Gozo are full of tiny cars like this one! Although they are small, there are many - most families have multiple cars and the drivers here are CRAZY. to be feverish in 40degree weather. I'm hoping I'll get better soon...
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