My New Life in Malta

It is not yet 6:00pm and the sky is dark. Thanks to the end of summer time, the sun is now setting early, and as we get closer to the end of the year it will get earlier and earlier still. At least this is countered by the fact that it is not cold. In my prior experience with such early darkness it is usually coupled with winter temperatures, so I will take comfort in the fact that I can still go and take a seaside walk right now.

This might be the shortest entry yet. Blame it on the dark night that was, until yesterday, late afternoon.

Good morning! First of all, a reminder to everyone in Malta, most of Europe and some other countries in the Northern Hemisphere, to put your clocks back an hour. It is that time of year when we get an extra hour to sleep! Of course, it is the same hour that was taken from us a few months back so actually, “they” owe it to us.

I am happy to inform that Google Earth has finally remembered Malta! They finally got around to photographing the eastern half of Malta, and now I can zoom down to a picture of my building. The funny thing is that they seem to have taken the pictures in the summer, while the other half was done in the winter, with the result that Malta seems to be half green and half vegetation-less. And unfortunately for our neighbours in Gozo, the island remains forgotten by Google, with the exception of the eastern edge around Mġarr. It looks like this is yet another instance of Gozo being left out by a big company. But for those of us in Malta, this is really neat. You can now zoom down to street level all over Malta and Comino. Those who would like, please e-mail me and I will send you a link that automatically zooms you in to my building.

And for my Maltese readers: last night we went to see the One-Act Play Festival at the Malta Amateur Dramatic Club in Santa Venera. This is done every year as a chance for new actors to try out and show off their acting abilities. I was quite impressed with the performances. They are playing again tonight (although it will be different plays and actors than last night) and I highly recommend it for the theatre-lovers. I used to participate in theatre many years ago, and last night I really got inspired to get into it again. I spoke with someone from MADC and will follow up about possible auditions. And I am writing it here so that I will not “chicken out” later, by having people remind me about it.

I meant to watch a film last night. Alas, I got lost in the streets of Paceville and could not find the theatre. I know, I could have asked people where it was, but I kept thinking it was just around the corner and when I finally looked at the time, I was too late for the film. At least I got to see all sorts of new streets with restaurants, bars and tourism offices. Paceville is the night-life area, which is popular with the youngsters on Friday nights. I had only walked through once when I visited last year and it was teeming with partying teenagers, so it was nice to see more quiet streets and people enjoying their meals. I somehow came back to the same point three times, so I am wondering if the streets make a circle there.

Anyway, I headed back home and on the way stopped by the pharmacy where I had booked a flu shot. It turns out they are giving them out already (thanks for letting me know!!) and they could do it on the spot. I love medical care here, it was just so carefree. The pharmacist warmed up the syringe by rubbing his hands around the tube, and absent-mindedly asked me if I had done this before as he jabbed my arm. I did not have to sign any silly forms or read all sorts of warnings. I know that it takes a couple of weeks to start working, but I hope it helps. Since arriving in Malta, I have already had a throat infection and a cold. For someone who is almost never ill, I think I have had my quota for the year.

On the way back to the flat, I stopped by a fruit vendor. Now, this is not my usual fruit vendor, but another one from whom I only bought once before. When it came time to pay, I asked if he had eggs (in Maltese!) and he did not. I did not have small change, and neither did he, so he told me that I could PAY HIM BACK ANOTHER TIME. We are only talking about 10 cents here, but I found the gesture so heartwarming! Here is a man who has seen me once before (if he remembers me at all) and he is telling me I can just bring him a coin another time. It might be a nice way to say that I can forget about it, but I was touched nonetheless.

On the way home, I was happy that there are still souch personal touches in the world. It made me realise that this vendor is a one-man operation with his little van, and not a big corporation. It made me want to go back to him next time… and make sure I bring an extra 10 cents.

As a post-script: later that night I told M that he can get his flu shot Friday or Saturday, and I then did an imitation of the pharmacist. I have managed to imitate the Maltese accent! This is a big deal because any time I try to do an accent in English, it winds up sounding stereotypical Indian. This happens even when I attempt to sound Scottish, Irish, or whatever. So I can now imitate a Maltese English accent… perhaps soon I will be fluent in Maltese as well!

Just about every day, the doorbell rings. Several times it has been neighbours claiming they forgot the key. I really did not know what to do. The good side of me wants to believe them, and the suspicious side in me does not. So I began to ignore the bell. I figured, what if there was nobody here in the middle of the day? Soon, when I (hopefully) get a job, there will be nobody to answer the door anyway. So I stopped answering. Next thing I knew, there was a note from the mailman saying there was a package for me but nobody had opened the door. I just cannot win! So I started answering again.

But it just never stops. Once it was an old lady saying that someone needed to check the electricity meter in the garage. (Again, do they expect somebody to be home in the middle of a weekeday morning?) Another time it was the gas man (we do not even have anything that uses gas). Then more people forgetting their keys. I really want to start ignoring the bell again, but now I am once more expecting a package in the mail so I have to catch the mailman when he comes. If he misses me twice, I have to go to a central post office which will be a bit of a pain to get to.

And so yesterday around 5:00pm, the bell rang again. It is the same bell for both the intercom and the front door, so as always I lifted the receiver… but heard nothing. Uh-oh, this means somebody is actually at the door of the flat! I opened up and see two old ladies, about a head shorter than me (and I am not exactly tall) holding a statue of the Virgin Mary. Oh boy, how will I get out of this one! The old lady on the left rattled off in Maltese. Once again I woud like to point out that I am now able to read Maltese newspaper articles with little problem, but when people speak to me unannounced, I just cannot always follow. (Thank you Patricia for all your comments regarding language learning, and I can attest to the fact that reading and listening are two entirely different learning areas). So I put on a big puzzled expression and I hoped this would be enough. But gosh darn it for bilingualism, the other lady stopped her and said “wait, maybe he is a foreigner… are you a foreigner?”

They went on to explain that they are from some organisation, whose name now escapes me, and they go around with the statue of  “the Madonna” and loan it to people. Before I could open my mouth she said that even people who do not share their religion sometimes take her in. Then she stopped me again and said that the family that was supposed to take it today is not home, so “the Madonna” was available for me.

Wow, these ladies should be in sales. I was almost expecting her to say something like “Wait, there’s more, act now and you get a complementary Baby Jesus!”

I really did not have the heart to be rude to these two diminutive old ladies. I felt bad that they were even carrying this heavy statue around. I was about to inform her that I am not a Christian and have a nice day, but, as if reading my mind, the one holding the statue asked if there was maybe a Maltese person living here who might be interested in hosting the statue. They were quite sweet, I did not know what to say. So I said I really did not know if HE would be interested. They were a bit surprised. Then they asked if maybe he would be here next Monday at the same time. JESUS (no pun intended), how was I going to get rid of them? As if in a film, I was saved by the ringing phone. I pointed out that it was ringing and that I had to go. As I closed the door, they said to tell my Maltese friend that they are from the society of… and I was polite and shut the door as I ran to answer. It was my uncle calling from overseas. “You have no idea what you just saved me from…”

M came home soon after and he found it hilarious. His reaction was “They are STILL doing that? You should have told them we are an interfaith homosexual couple.” Easier said than done, when two frail, tiny old ladies are at your door. Have I mentioned that the next door neighbours are Muslim? I wish I had a camera in the hallway…

Buongiorno, and happy Monday. I am back in Malta after a lovely few days away in neighbouring Sicily. For those living in Malta who have not gone over, I highly recommend it!

Getting there was a breeze. The catamaran is so smooth that you hardly feel it. There is also something to be said for being out in the open waters. I have little experience with ships, but it really seems like the way to travel! It made an airplane ride seem so… artificial. A funny moment on the ferry happened when they were showing the emergency video. It is very similar to that in an airplane, except when they tell you to hug your life jacket tightly before “JUMPING INTO THE SEA”!!!! Although we had been up at 4:15am, that sentence jolted me awake. Luckily, there was no need to jump. 

Going to Sicily by ship also lets you see very clearly just how close it is. There is only a short period where you cannot see any land after leaving Malta behind before Italy appears on the horizon. The port of Pozzallo is very simple. It appears that it is a small cargo port and that Virtu Ferries only goes there because it is the closest point to Malta. There was literally a tent for passport control and that was about it. We got a shared taxi who we thought was trying to rip us off, but he wound up being friendly, taking us to both the train and bus stations and making sure we had found the right bus before letting us go. Things like this would happen again and again over the next few days. Overall, Sicilians were friendly and very helpful in finding places, figuring out buses, even in restaurants to change this or that from your food.

It was funny to realise that after a short time in Malta, I have gotten used to driving on the other side. As the taxi went on the road I had a few moments of everything feeling “backwards” as it stuck to the right side of the road, and later that morning I had to think hard before deciding which way to look before crossing the street. Soon enough I adapted. 

The town of Ragusa was very pleasant. We stayed in the old town, which is built into a mountainside and streets are almost on top of each other. It is small and walkable, with well preserved architecture all around. The commune (local council) offers free walking tours of the old town, so we had a detailed visit through the winding streets. Our guide, once again, was very friendly and offered to show us another town the next time we go.

From then on to Taormina in the northeastern part of the island. Despite having a slight “tourist-trap” feel, because we were there in low season it was still pleasant to walk along the main street and the piazzas. There are stunning views from Taormina: on one side is Mount Etna, and on the other is Calabria, the Italian mainland. There is a Greek amphitheatre which has the Etna as a backdrop… an unbeatable view for a theatre!

We took an excursion to Etna, Europe’s most active volcano. We went as high up as they allow, around 2500 metres, and saw one of the craters exploding before our eyes. Normally you can get close enough to see the lava flows, but due to the explosive activity we had to stay back. Etna is always active, but the lava flows slowly and gives plenty of warning, so it is relatively safe. The city of Catania did get destroyed in the 1600’s, and as late as 2002 there was a big eruption, but there is normally plenty of time to evacuate. Walking along hardened lava was simply SURREAL. Everything was black and there are bits of steam coming out here and there. At some point it is hard to tell which way is up, down, or sideways. Almost like another planet. It is a unique experience.

Getting back to Malta was a bit of a challenge. Even though we had bought a train ticket, it turns out the train runs infrequently on Sundays and we would not make it to Pozzallo in time. Luckily M and I both speak Italian, and a conversation with a bus driver led to taking a slow coach (bus) that stopped in many towns along the way, stopped in Catania, running around between bus companies to figure out who went to Pozzallo on Sundays, and eventually another town-hopper got us to our destination. Pozzallo is a small, sleepy town, and on a Sunday afternoon even getting a sandwich was hard, but everything worked out in the end and we made our way down to the ferry dock.

This entry does not do Sicily justice. The views are beautiful, the architecture and archeology are amazing, the people are friendly, the food is tasty… the transportation system leaves much to be desired, but everything else more than makes up for it. One suggestion for the Maltese: take your car if you can.

I know I just had a hiatus from writing, but I will have to be absent for a few days again. M and I are taking advantage of Malta’s central location and hopping on the ferry to Sicily for a few days. In the old days, this used to take several hours, but now it takes only 90 minutes to travel from Malta to Pozzallo on the catamaran. I am very excited about this long-weekend getaway. I have a love affair with the Italian language that goes back many years, but in all of this time I was only able to make it to Italy once. Now that I live next door, I hope this is the first of many visits to come.

We plan to visit the towns of Ragusa and Taormina, and take an excursion to Mount Etna. Another stop here or there might happen, depending on the bus/train routes and schedules. A little adventure is about to start!

I will be back on Sunday night and will write about the trip. (Hmm, is that allowed, if the blog is supposed to be about life in Malta?)

One of the great things about Malta is that you can buy fresh fish. Currently, the lampuki is in season, and it is everywhere. The supermarket is selling it at low prices, and the restaurants seem to offer it everywhere. Even M’s mother has been making quite a lot of lampuki pie (and we have been the happy beneficiaries by taking a few home with us). I like to just bake it. It cooks very fast and has a nice taste of its own.

I recently found out that the lampuki is what is known in other countries as mahi-mahi. This fish swims from the Caribbean, all the way across the Atlantic Ocean and into the Mediterranean in order to breed… and be caught by Maltese fishermen. It is fascinating to know that the fish I am eating came from so far away. One of the wonders of the planet!

I had a request to talk about the Maltese weather. We are in the northern hemisphere, so autumn has just started. But it is a nice warm autumn, and it has been very pleasant lately. As I mentioned earlier, it is warm enough for something to have been planted in my little neighbouring valley. I am told that November and December stay relatively pleasant. Although today, all of a sudden the WIND started to blow with a vengeance. I have not been able to keep the windows open, because a mini storm blows right through the apartment and throws papers onto the floor. The flat is feeling a bit stuffy, so I think I will sit on the balcony for a bit to get some fresh air.

Malta seems to be going through a construction boom. I am told that real estate prices have been climbing steadily. About 20% of new houses are unoccupied, and there is a fear of a real estate bubble about to burst. However, construction does not seem to be slowing down. Up until last week, I could see six construction cranes out of my window. Now a seventh one plopped down next door (bringing with it the incessant noise of cutting into rock). An eighth one is just down the street, just out of view. The situation is similar all over the island. Driving down the main roads, I see cranes all over, and a construction site is never far.

M tells me that the pace of construction has not let up since he was a boy. Entire areas that were unspoiled are now entirely built up. Some villages have grown to the point where they run into each other, and a decision had to be made that from this street on it is one village, and on that side of the road it is the other village.

This is one of the ways in which Malta is a microcosm for many of the environmental problems that the world is facing, and here they can be more easily seen on a smaller scale. Living on an island reminds you that land is not infinite, and that nature areas need to be preserved if this is not going to turn into one big heap of concrete.

Similarly, there is a rubbish landfill that is growing ever bigger. Driving past it, one gets a sniff of the foul-smelling gasses that escape from it. The country’s waste has to go somewhere, and there seems to be more of it every day. I am surprised that recycling is not really big here. A small country like this, with limited space and few resources, should be a pioneer in the field. I only hope that this soon becomes a priority. Perhaps as the Maltese see that rubbish mountain growing ever bigger, someone will take action…

I have not written in a few days, and there has been a reason. All of a sudden I started getting tons of readers, and people started leaving lots of comments. I was cracking my head trying to figure out how this happened, but then some of the new readers alerted me to the fact that my little blog was featured on a Maltese website called Wired Temples. It seems to be a place where they showcase a Malta-related blog every day.

Things got even weirder. I got a phone call the next day from a friend, because apparently she works with the wife of somebody who had read my blog. Not only that, but they had all figured out who I was and had traced it back to me. Then I told M about all of this, and it turns out that the person running Wired Temples is an acquaintance of his, and the other day I had even met him briefly and had shaken his hand (though we did not talk as we were in a group).

Those who know me will be very amused by my reaction: I found it all totally overwhelming and a bit freaky… and couldn’t bring myself to write again for days. But I have now reconciled myself with the fact that this is a small country, and something like this was bound to happen. I have been encouraged by the comments people have been leaving welcoming me to the island.

And so, to make up for this absence, I will post a few different entries today.

Finally I have a question: does anyone know how I can comment on a comment? I am new at this and I could not figure it out.

Something quite unexpected happened over the weekend. The little blog has had its first visitors that are people I did not already know! At first I was absolutely stunned as to how this happened, but I guess there must be a way to look up all the Maltese blogs. I am quite flattered at having these new readers.

Ivan, thank you for the map tip. I actually found my tiny street on that website, which means it is accurate and up-to-date.

Kenneth, I will have to try to find that store, if nothing else as a challenge of finding a place in Malta.

G, you know the banana trick as well! The best is to buy them when they have been cut when they are yellow, but unfortunately that is only possible in the countries that grow bananas. Here we must settle with the green ones surviving the transit across the ocean.

Barbara, your guess is not entirely right, but I did live there for many years.

Thanks to my new and of course to my regular readers. I feel newly invigorated about keeping up the blog.