My New Life in Malta

It has been a while since I have commented on a quirky aspect of Maltese culture. So today I will focus on women cleaning their doorways.

Every day I notice Maltese women (usually on the older end) busily scrubbing away at their front doors. Then they will mop and sweep the pavement outside the door. They do this with the intensity of an antique collector polishing away at silver. I notice this a lot in my neighbourhood, because there are still many houses left which have not yet been torn down to make blocks of flats. Well we have those too, including where I live, but at least there is still a balance in this area.

Now, I am always a bit puzzled by this practice. I am a very clean person, and I do make an effort to keep the *inside* of my home clean. I can be a bit messy, but never dirty. I find it only natural to keep one’s home clean. But it had never occurred to me to aggressively wipe down the *outside* of my home. In fact, outside of Malta I do not think I have ever seen anyone washing his or her front door. Outside doors and walls do not seem to me to be things that need cleaning. They just sort of exist, and sometimes get rained on.

And as for the pavement, well I suppose that is a bit more reasonable. Though the instant they finish, hundreds of people will walk right on it. Again, public streets are not something I ever thought of expending my energy on cleaning and scrubbing. And I do wonder how environmentally conscious it is to be spreading all those cleaning materials on the road. Do they leak into the ground? Do they pollute the little vegetation around? Does anyone here care?

I need some language help from my Maltese readers.

I have just finished reading “Il-Għar Tax-Xelter” by Trevor Żahra. Do not laugh, it may be a children’s book, but I have to start somewhere before I can build up to more complicated novels. The problem is, I cannot find the word “għawwietaq” in any dictionary and even M does not know what it means. This word is central to a plot twist, and now I am left hanging.

So… min jista’ jgħidli xi tfisser din il-kelma mbierka? Grazzi minn qabel għall-għajnuna taghkom.

Yesterday Malta received the much awaited official confirmation that it will adopt the euro on 1 January 2008. (For those interested in the details, there are a few more technical steps to go through, but yesterday’s was the announcement that really counted). So, now it’s €-Day minus 7 months and 2 weeks. Although the dual-display of prices is not mandatory until 1 July, an overwhelming amount of the receipts I have come across are already listing the totals in both liri and euros. And I wrote liri, not Maltese liri, because that would be superfluous. People here are always going through the extra trouble of adding that extra word in, when it should be pretty obvious considering that we are in Malta, and that the Italian lira ceased to exist over five years ago so there is no longer any possibility of confusion. But I digress.

As I keep mentioning, I am very excited about the euro changeover. It is a fascinating process to watch. Whenever I get a receipt, I take a moment to make a mental note of the euro total and thus start getting used to how much things will cost. It really is not so hard, considering I have gotten used to liri amounts since I arrived here. Now it will be like the entire country has gone abroad and has to get used to the exchange rate.

The current euro coins and notes do not show Malta, but this will now be rectified. The new euro coins will have to inflate Malta to the same size as Corsica in order for it to be possible to mint the island onto the metal. The new notes will also include Malta, but I have not yet been able to find an example of what it will look like. Cyprus will join Malta in adopting the common currency in January (at least the Republic of Cyprus, from what I understand the northern part will continue to use the New Turkish Lira) but I am not sure how they will work the much bigger island onto the money considering it is very far east and not actually in Europe. France’s overseas departments do show up on euro notes in little boxes, so I am sure that they will come up with a solution.

On completely unrelated news, there is a new traffic scheme to enter Valletta, the capital city. The streets of the capital are very narrow, and main thoroughfare Republic Street is even pedestrian-only for much of its length. Until now, a car needed a special license in order to be allowed to enter the city at all. The car owner paid Lm20/€46.59 per year for this privilege. Now, there is a complex new system called Controlled Vehicle Access, or CVA. I find it a bit troubling, it not scary. Let me illustrate…

Every car that enters Valletta will now have a picture of its number plate taken, and again upon exiting. A computer program then tallies up how long the car was in Valletta and charges the owner accordingly. (At least, I assume it is a computer, for I cannot imagine how many people it would take to do this manually). The first half hour is free, and then the charges start. The goal is to allow people to come into the city for small errands, but to prevent them from taking up a parking space all day. In the meantime, it is hoped that less cars will circulate around the historical streets of the capital.

Is anyone else troubled by this? There is now a record of exactly when you came in and out of Valletta, and how long you were there! It gets even creepier: Valletta residents are exempt from payment. But in order for the car to qualify as a resident, it has to spend 15 nights out of every month parked in Valletta, and a night is defined as at least two consecutive hours between the hours of 1:00am and 5:00am. So if you live in the capital, someone is keeping track of your whereabouts EVERY SINGLE NIGHT! Pardon the cliché, but this is a case of Big Brother is Watching.

I never thought the topic of Eurovision could become too much, but then I had never experienced Eurovision in Malta. The country is having a national case of sour grapes, blaming the fact that too many neighbouring countries vote for each other and that poor little Malta is all alone. Oh, pleeeease! No one was saying this when Malta sent Chiara and received second place, two years ago. Yes, there is a lot of block voting and yes, it is very unfair. But face the facts: if you send somebody with great talent and a good song, you will do well. If you send someone with mediocre talent and a bad song, you will not win. Now, stop blaming others and move on. Just this morning I overheard two people whining about the Eastern Europeans taking over the voting. Oh, boo-hoo, grow up!

Hey, I really think Latvia deserved to win, and my second choice Romania really disappointed me with their live performance, but I am not making a big fuss about it. Now, let’s move on, PLEASE.

Tonight my theatre group will be performing at the Manoel again, so I have another show that is a bit more pressing in my mind. This time, the president of the Republic of Malta will be attending! It is unusual for him to attend a theatre performance, particularly an unusual play like this with a director who is not known in Malta and a cast made up of one famous actor and about twenty “unknown” ones. The national anthem will be played as he comes in and out of the theatre, and we will have to stand on stage, as is the protocol for such an occasion. This adds a twist of excitement to the experience. Less than a year in Malta and not only is it my second play at the Manoel, Malta’s national theatre, but the president is coming to watch!

Yesterday was a monumental evening on the Maltese Islands, as the Eurovision semi-final played out in Helsinki.

(For those unfamiliar with what Eurovision is or why it is such a big deal in Malta, see my earlier entry).

Eurovision fever has been strong lately. Not only were they playing the Maltese song everywhere (and let us hope that will now STOP, PLEASE!). The topic of conversation seemed to come up constantly. I found myself discussing who would win, or mostly whether Malta would win, with people of all ages. My neighbours, who often play very loud music, started playing the different Eurovision songs exclusively. Ads for the contest were everywhere. There was no way to miss it.

Unless you have dress rehearsal for a play, and the director keeps you there until 11pm, and you barely make it home to see the final results. GRRRRR!!! But nothing will keep me from watching the final on Saturday night.

As I said earlier, this competition is often scoffed or mocked in some countries, but in Malta it is Big. It is Serious. It is almost a matter of National Pride. Despite this, I have not kept my feelings hidden on how I think that the Maltese entry was bad. The singer is Olivia Lewis, who is well known in Malta and therefore people seem to like her despite the fact that her song “Vertigo” was bad. To start with, her voice is horrible! That really should be enough of a comment. You see, she has tried to make it to the Eurovision something like eleven times before, and perhaps there is a reason she did not make it.

Two years ago, Malta sent Chiara. She dazzled everyone with her amazing voice. In fact, there she was on stage, all by herself, with no band, no fancy lights, no wild dancers… and she brought down the house in cheers and applause. She came in second place, and genuinely deserved the top spot. That was talent. You cannot even compare her to Olivia. And yet, when I have mentioned this fact, some people have been offended. They have reacted as if I were insulting Malta, or making fun of a national cultural icon. No, people, I am just being a realist. From the very first Maltasong semi-final back in February, my vote went to the band that I thought could beat all the others in Helsinki, not the one I thought was cute, nor the singer I knew from years past. (In my case, I did not know Olivia at all, so I was a good impartial judge). 

Wake up, Maltese! Nobody in Europe has heard of Olivia. Nobody knows, nor cares, how many times she has tried before. This is a tough cut-throat competition where there can only be one winner. She is up against some of the best singers in Europe, many of which are also total unknowns and have to rely on their actual talent and stage presence. AND, everyone is voting for their neighbours. So Malta better have a damn good product if there is going to be any chance of winning.

Last night, the representatives of 28 countries battled it out, and only the top 10 will move on to the final on Saturday, where a total of 24 bands will sing their hearts out to make their countries proud. Last year there were many good songs and there was real suspense. The fact that some crazy hard-rock band whose members dress up like monsters won the contest is still beyond me, but that is beside the point. As things stand this year, and with a real dearth of good songs, I think there are only two remaining groups who have a good song, and a chance to win:

Latvia and Romania.

In fact, I am torn about which one I will vote for, and will leave it up to how well their live performances are. But that is my prediction, or at least my preference for the Eurovision final in Helsinki 2007. Enjoy the show!

Yet another silence, and yet another accident. I wanted to log on many days ago and update the blog but… the last day in Madrid , I began having pain in the eye that I had injured last month. To make a long story short, upon returning to Malta I wound back at St. Luke’s Hospital. And there the saga begins again.

Once again, M drove me to the casualty department. This time I was calmer, as it was not so urgent. And this time it was during the day, so there was a bit of a wait. I once more had to pay Lm 15 (€35, US$50) (they requested Lm30 but I pointed out that the last time I was paid half that amount, and upon some checking, I was proven right). Up we went to the ophthalmic unit to be told that the cut in my eye, the corneal abrasion, had not healed properly. In fact the eyelid had stuck to the cornea while I slept, and ripped off the scar. Are you cringing yet? It gets better. The doctor on duty went on to say that the only way to “trick” the body into healing properly this time was to CUT IT AGAIN so as to stimulate the cells to migrate and fix the injury. A couple of anesthetic drops in the eye, and he then indeed proceeded to CUT INTO MY EYE.

If you think that sounds bad, imagine what it is like to be able to see it from the inside, while being told “it is very very important that you do NOT move!!!” He then told me to take some Panadol in case of pain, prescribed an ointment for the eye and sent me home. Oh, if only it were that simple.

The hospital pharmacy did not have the ointment. The very uncheerful pharmacist dryly told me “out of stock” and slipped the prescription back to me as if he was telling me that they were out of my favourite ice-cream flavour. What to do?! It was 6:55pm, and pharmacies in Malta close at 7:00pm! What does one do at night, you ask? Well, you go to St. Luke’s Hospital pharmacy…

We ran out, M up ahead with me stumbling behind with half the world covered by an eyepatch until we reached the nearest pharmacy. “We don’t have it in stock, but I should have some tomorrow…” This reminded me of my other medical oddyssey a few months back, when we had to visit seven pharmacies and still were not able to find the medicine. Why do I get prescribed such difficult drugs?

The next day I could not open the eye without incurring great pain. As a result, it was very difficult to open the good eye. I had an appointment to get a haircut just across the street from the flat, and since we know how hard those are to come by in Malta, I stumbled half-blindly across the road and into the barber chair. I then trusted the stylist blindly and stumbled back home. That was the last of my outings that week. The pain got so bad that when M came home, we went off to a private clinic to get a second opinion.

A very nice doctor reiterated that the procedure was the proper one, but that the eye should really be patched. It was a great relief to have the eye covered, and it allowed me to open the good eye.  He then said that I should see him every day at St. Luke’s to keep changing the patch, which is when I pointed out that while the Maltese get free healthcare, I am charged every single time, and it was beginning to add up. Well, there are still kind people in the world. He told me to go back to St. Luke’s the next day, avoid the registration desk, and go straight up to see him. He did me this favour several times over the week, which is something he really did not have to do. It is good to know that there are still those willing to help out selflessly during a time of need.

The pain got very strong that night, and I wound up taking a lot of painkillers. In addition, I was not able to read, write, use the internet, watch television, or pretty much anything that required seeing. So the next few days were a combination of physical pain and psychological boredom. I listened to the television at times, and did a lot of lying down and thinking. And thinking. And thinking. And never did I appreciate my eyesight so much!

Eventually the pain subsided, and I made an appointment with a specialist. He confirmed that the eye is healing, but it will take a long time. It will be a few weeks until I can see properly and I will have to use a combination of eye drops and ointment for ONE WHOLE YEAR. It sounded horrible at first, but then I calmed down. Once my vision has healed, I will only be preventing a future recurrence. Already it is becoming a bit of a routine, and I am finally mastering the ability to self-apply eye drops. Though M still has to apply the ointment into my eye at night, and that will take me a longer time to master.

Aaaaand the ointment I am supposed to use is not available in Malta. At all. Ever. I am currently using a temporary subsitution while we try to find it on the Continent, and wondering once again why I get stuck with such complicated medications???

Final thoughts on this matter? I am very thankful that there is no permanet damage, and await patiently for my vision to return to normal. I am very thankful for having a second eye, and now marvel at nature’s wisdom in having two. I am very puzzled as to why it takes so long for this type of injury to heal, and am baffled at nature in this respect. Without medicine, I might have lost part of my sight. I realise that the eyes are delicate, but how did people not go blind all the time before?

Mostly, I marvel once again at the European model of free or low-cost healthcare. As I sat in St. Luke’s over the course of last week seeing dozens of Maltese receiving free healthcare, I thought of the millions in my native country who have no access to the most basic medical care. I thought of many of my friends in the prosperous United States who have access to good medical care but cannot afford it. And then I thought of the people I have met in Europe who complain about the “inefficient” health services. Just next to me, a young Maltese man was complaining that it took him an hour to get piece of paper (it did not, it took about ten minutes). People do not know how good they have it.