Week 13: Back to reality!

After saying goodbye to all my visitors and with tutors now starting to hand out assignment details it was definitely time to get stuck back into reality. With the sun beaming it has been quite hard to get motivated to make a start on assignments with my natural feeling wanting to stay outside and make the most of the sunshine as we rarely see it in Northern Ireland, however I have to keep reminding myself that I’m in Malta and that if it’s not sunny tomorrow, no doubt it will be the next day.

Missing these guys!!

We had our first day of placement this week, were Rachel and myself were placed in the same class which was quite unusual and different to what I am used to back home. We were put in a Year 3 class of children who were 7 or 8 years old, the equivalent to Primary 4 in Northern Ireland. This is my favourite age group to work with as I find that children are starting to become more independent however still need direction and help from you. The classroom and timetable are quite similar to one you would find at home however Maltese is also taught, through which Rachel and myself had little input and became more like the pupils in the class. We have now learnt some Maltese vocabulary and the difference between some singular and plural words. For example, ice-cream is gelat in Maltese and the plural is gelati. I found it interesting to note that the whole year group is split according to ability for Maltese lessons. The teacher explained that this is because there are a lot of international children who have little or no Maltese compared to children who have been brought up in Malta and have been emerged in the language since they were born.

Gelati

Gelat

After having visited Sicily over the Easter holidays I have definitely taken for granted that Maltese people are bi-lingual and speak English so well. In Northern Ireland the majority of the teacher’s time is spent teaching either Mathematics and Numeracy or Language and Literacy, I observed in the Maltese classroom that there is a large emphasis placed on these too however they also have Maltese amongst their core subjects. Gordon (2007) makes the argument that children learn second languages more easily when they are younger as they are still learning their first language resulting in it being more natural for them compared to when adults learn a second language. This raises the question of placing a higher emphasis on second language learning in the primary Northern Ireland Curriculum, especially as our world continues to become more globalised. After living in the University Residence amongst lots of international students who all speak English it has certainly made me wish I had more opportunities in learning a second language at a younger age, whilst also wishing I had put more effort and work in when learning French at Secondary School.

Week 12: 21st Birthday Celebrations!!

To help me celebrate my 21st birthday some of my friends joined Clodagh, Rachel and myself in renting out an apartment for the week. I was really excited to show them all about the country I had been living in for the past couple of months. Having visitors come over has been really good for me as it has made me put in the effort to actually research what’s available to do in Malta and to see if there are any specific events going on. This has led me to do lots of exciting things that I might not have done otherwise, as we went scuba diving on one of the days they were over. I had heard some scary stories about how scuba diving could affect your ears and was a bit nervous about doing it however there is a wise saying which says “if you never try you will never know.” I agree with this quote as although at times I felt out of my comfort zone I am so glad that I went ahead with going as I have found something new that I really enjoyed and would definitely do again, putting scuba diving in The Great Barrier Reef high up on my bucket list! 

Reunited!!

Midnight swim in the pool

To celebrate my birthday we got a boat tour around Comino, surrounding caves and the Blue Lagoon. I can easily say it’s been one of the best birthdays ever being able to swim about the Mediterranean Sea and chill out on our own private deck of the boat! I felt like a lady of leisure as I looked out to the impressive clear blue waters, having never seen anything like it before. Our boat also anchored in the Crystal Lagoon where they gave us snorkels so that we could see lots of different fish and coral in the water and swim over to a nearby cave. It is clear to say I have definitely gained an appreciation for the beautiful underwater world. In fitting with the marine theme we went out for dinner at a restaurant in the aquarium to finish the day off. 

Group photo!

Some of the caves we visited

The Blue Lagoon

Making the brave jump in

21!!

Dinning out

I am so glad that I have been able to make the adventure out to Malta as it has opened up lots of doors and opportunities that I wouldn’t have even considered doing back home. I am definitely growing as a person and have learnt so much from the experience already. With the end point in sight I am going to make the most of the rest of my time here in Malta, embracing and learning from each experience I encounter, as Euripides writes “experience, travel – these are education in themselves.”  

Trip to Popeye Villiage

Touring about Gozo

At the Azure Window

Week 11: Malta livin'

I found returning to Malta quite hard as I had such a fun and busy time catching up on what I had missed. However the weather made up for it as it is now starting to really heat up, meaning there will be lots more visits to the beach this term which of course is also an excuse for some ice-cream!

One of my friends, Clodagh also made the trip out to visit me which also made the process of getting settled back into Maltese life a lot easier! I am really excited as Rachel and myself have lots of visitors coming out throughout the rest of time we have left in Malta which should take away any home sickness we have. Once again I embraced the role of a tour guide and showed Clodagh around some of the sites Malta has to offer. First on her list to see was St Paul’s island. Using my previous knowledge from the hike we did around St Paul’s Island we walked around several bays to get amazing views. This made me appreciate the effort Ray (the organiser of the hikes) puts in by offering to take all the residents around areas of the island they probably wouldn't have found out about otherwise.

St Paul's Island

The Grand Master's Palace in Valletta

Couldn't go without a trip to Fontenalla and
tasting their famous cakes!

First time trying macaroons!

An impressive flower shaped ice-cream

One of my highlights of Clodagh being here was when we were in Gozo. We had rented out bikes and cycled to the Azure Window were we got taken out in a boat around the window and through caves in the surrounding area. As Clodagh studies geography and we both did it together at A-Level it was cool to relive our school memories and learn more. We also made the brave decision to jump into the water beside the Azure Window and swim about in it, although not for too long as I had no idea what was in the water and feared a shark coming in and circling me, which wasn't too far-fetched as I researched whether or not sharks could be found in the waters around Malta when I got home and came across this article (http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140609/local/shark-circles-fishing-boat-off-gozo.522631) which shows a video of a large shark circling a boat 5 miles of the coast of Gozo, despite comments saying that sharks rarely come into shore I don’t think I’ll be as quick to jump into unknown water again!

Tired after a long day cycling

Enjoying sunsets and views in Gozo

Swimming beside the Azure Window, no sharks can be
seen, thankfully!!

Week 10: Home Sweet Home

After having just arrived back from Sicily the day before I felt like a jetsetter heading to the airport to go home as this would mean I had been in 3 different islands in 3 days. After having been away for over 2 months I was looking forward to getting home and being reunited with my family and friends again. It was a jammed packed week fitting in time to see everyone and I was glad I made the trip home as my boyfriend Chris was being baptised and I also got to celebrate (a bit early but nevertheless) my dad, sister in-law and my own birthday with my family which I really enjoyed.

Portstewart sunset

Home Sweet Home

Margaret Elizabeth Sangster writes that “There’s nothing half so pleasant as coming home again.” I agree with her as although I have enjoyed living in Malta there’s something to be said about coming home and being surrounded in familiarity and home comforts. Being home made me appreciate Northern Ireland much more with its natural beauty, although this was helped by the warm weather I had when at home, a rarity in NI. This meant I was able to go on Chris’ motorbike, something I have never done before which scared me at first however after a bit of time I got used to it and enjoyed amazing views around Donegal, one of my favourite places.

First time for everything!

Donegal

Blain (2012) states that “true friendship isn't about being inseparable it's being separated and nothing changes.” Catching up with my friends was definitely a top priority of mine when I was at home. My friends have been so good in keeping up contact with me when I have been away, however I still missed them lots and catching up with them face to face and having our normal laughter and fun was so good. As I was at home for Easter Sunday I enjoyed the traditional trip to Portstewart, meeting lots of old faces, including catching up with some of my classmates from Stranmillis who hadn’t gone on Erasmus and had just finished teaching practice and I made sure not to forget an ice-cream from Morelli’s!

Road Trip!

Amazing friends

Excited for Morelli's

Exploring Dunree Fort

I enjoyed some quality time with my family also, as although I appreciate skype a lot it’s just not the same as being face to face. It was great being back to my mum’s cooking and washing too which I will appreciate much more after having to do it for myself. I particularly enjoyed going out for Sunday lunch with my whole family and enjoying the biggest Sunday dinner I have had in a long time! My attempt at Sunday lunch in Malta didn’t quite compare! I can truly say “The love of a family is life’s greatest blessing.” I am so thankful for the amazing family I have and the support they have provided me whilst being away in Malta.

Reunited with Rosie!

Family!

Time to say goodbye!

Week 9: Easter Holidays!

This week began the start of our 2 week Easter Holiday. We decided to make the most of where Malta is situated and go to Sicily as it is less than 100km away. Having originally planned to go on a Friday to Monday we were a bit disappointed when our ferry was cancelled due to bad weather. Originally we thought they were being a bit over cautious and thought to ourselves that if we were in Ireland it would have gone ahead as we are used to bad weather. Instead we re-arranged to go on the Tuesday to Friday, and we were glad the ferry had been cancelled as our sailing over was rough enough! It felt like we were on a speedboat rather than a large ferry! After two hours of rocky sailing we eventually arrived in Pozzallo, where we got a bus to Catania.

Didn't take us long to get our first ice-cream!

Our own balcony!

My favourite pit-stop!

Having been travelling since 3:30am we were glad to arrive at our hostel and enjoyed chilling out and catching some sun on our own private balcony! We then decided to head to the beach to do some more sunbathing and napping! I can’t say Catania is the most beautiful city, in fact parts of it are quite rough and dirty and I wasn’t overly impressed with it, feeling uncomfortable at times when men would honk their horns or say ‘nice’ things to you.

The highlight of my trip was definitely seeing Mount Etna. Having studied volcanoes in my A-Level geography course, I found it really interesting and couldn’t believe I was actually standing on an active Volcano, the tallest one in Europe. We had booked a tour which picked us up at our hostel and included another woman and her daughter who were from London. We travelled about different parts of the volcano, stopping at different points of interest like where the lava flow had stopped just a couple of hundred meters away from a nearby village and formed a large wall, we got to walk around a crater called Silvestri formed from an eruption in 1892. We also got the opportunity to walk through a lava flow tube and managed to make it the whole way to the end! We passed a house which had been destroyed by a lava flow before making time to stop off at one of the many vineyards situated on the fertile soils of Mount Etna. Etna is known for its speciality in producing high quality wines and we got to taste some of these in the winery we stopped at along with different types of cheeses and other delicacies. Nearing the end of the tour our last stop was at Alcantara River where the force of the river managed to break through the strong basalt wall built up by a lava flow to form a beautiful gorge.

Lava flow wall

House destroyed by lava flow

Cute man who made sculptures out of the basalt volcanic rock

Just chilling on a volcano

Amazing views

The crater from 1892

At the end of the lava flow tube

At the vineyard

Wine tasting

All in all I would definitely recommend anybody staying in Malta to make the journey to Sicily, even if only for a day trip to explore Mount Etna. It was an amazing opportunity that I really enjoyed and I can now tick off ‘visit a volcano’ on my bucket list!