Week 2: Back to the books!

Week 2 brought a more structured week as our classes began. I was excited to see what classes in Malta would be like and to see any differences or similarities to classes at Stranmillis. We picked up modules like Psychological Issues and their Influence on Educational Performance and Understanding Children with Learning Difficulties as these are relevant to a teacher’s daily role and so it is key that they have an understanding of them. However we could also choose modules like Sustainable Development and Climate Change Education and so we decided to pick up this class as this meant that as well as developing our abilities as a teacher we could learn new subject knowledge. I found this class particularly interesting as it was very geography based and took me back to my school days where geography was my favourite subject.

Beginning classes meant that I could get to know more Maltese people as I hadn’t had many other opportunities as no Maltese stay at the university residence as Malta is such a small island. They were really friendly and helpful in telling us about all the sites to see and helping us reach our next class! One of our classes only has 8 students in it so this should provide good opportunities in getting to know our classmates well and to learn more about the Maltese culture. Apart from Rachel and myself there are another 3 Primary Education Erasmus Students which is quite nice as we are all in the same boat. It is also interesting to learn about their different education systems and see the differences between theirs and ours, as I have learnt that there are even differences between Northern Ireland’s and Ireland’s education systems.

After all our classes we also made time to get to know our fellow residents more. We went with a group of girls to a local pub called Zmerc to chill out and get to know others better. To our amazement after ordering a round of drinks plates of food came out along with it. We were shocked as you would never find this happening in Northern Ireland, especially as it continued throughout the whole time we were there, by the time we had left 6 different types of Maltese style food had been brought out! My favourite was a pasta dish, which I was told later had rabbit in it! We had been told Sliema was the best place to go shopping, so after having forgotten to pack a few things and being a typical girl we decided to make the 2 bus journey there, thankfully being helped by Katie who is an Erasmus student here all year. Sliema is a beautiful town surrounded by the sea with lots of restaurants and tourist things to do, and of course not forgetting the shops!

Some of the residents who went to Zmerc

After a busy week, Sunday was spent relaxing, going to church, catching up with family and friends and reflecting on the different happenings the week had brought, an important element to remember as Mary-Frances Winters writes, “don’t become too preoccupied with what is happening around you pay more attention to what is going on within you.”

Beautiful views of Valletta from Sliema

Enjoying our cocktails

Appreciating the Maltese architecture on my Sunday walk