Running Out of Island
It has been several days since I sat down and updated this. With rehearsals every day, I find myself busier and with less mental clarity to sit down and write, but at least it is an exciting and energising experience!
Yesterday was a public holiday in Malta, so M and I decided to go out and explore. We opened up the map on the kitchen table and came to the realisation that I have now visited almost all the major places in Malta. People keep warning me that every few months they feel the need to go abroad for a few days, as they begin to feel the smallness of the country closing in… and I had my first taste of that!
So, we decided to go and see the Mosta dome, which I had not properly visited, and then on to explore out-of-the-way places.
The Mosta dome is the third largest in the world, but it is even more impressive because it was built when Mosta was a small rural village, and the villagers decided to build something magnificent. It was done slowly, at a time before electric cranes, using a system of donkeys and ramps. The result is quite a sight! I stared up at the dome and looked at all the little details all around the church. During World War II, a bomb fell through the dome but did not explode (which some consider a miracle) and the patched-up hole can be seen today.
From then, on to Żebbiegħ (which M congratulated me for pronouncing correctly) and on to Bidnija. These are rural areas out “in the middle of nowhere” and they actually convey that feeling. They are located in such a way that all you see is nature, and for a moment you feel transported to the countryside. However, as with these things in Malta, the countryside then comes to an abrupt stop at a turn of the road when it rejoins the village proper.
Then, near Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq (which, I am proud to say, I can also pronounce) we found a side road with actual farm houses. There were horses, cows and chickens. We then discovered a trail that goes up a hillside in what seems to be the Victoria Lines, and decided we would come back another time and climb it.
Thus, we turned the negative feeling of running out of places to see with the positive feeling that there are always things to discover. M had never been to any of these hidden places, and so we will just have to continue exploring these hidden gems.
On the language front, I am making great progress. Although the play I am rehearsing will be in English, the very large cast speaks lots of Maltese to each other and thus I am able to get some practice. My strategy is still trying that people not find out I am a foreigner (because then they will speak only English to me) but some have found out and I have managed to get them to speak Maltese to me anyway, at least in a group setting. Speaking practice is just what I need, so I am now improving at a very fast pace.
In other news, I have to leave the country again and come back in. Until I get a job and thus a residence permit, I have to keep leaving. I am always worried that they will hassle me and ask me why I keep coming in and out, but I have been lucky so far. The cheapest thing I could find was the ferry to Sicily, and so I will be up early tomorrow morning to make the sea crossing. It should be a bit of an adventure!
