Week 20: Goodbye Malta!

It's hard to believe that I have been living in Malta for 20 weeks and that my time there has come to an end. The experience has been so different to what I imagined it to be. Looking back to my first few weeks in Malta, I remember times were I was homesick and missed my friends, family and home comforts, however as time went on Malta became more like my home as I got accustomed to my surroundings and new life. I can definitely say that I have changed as a person during my Erasmus adventure, I have learnt so much during my time away and not only have I have grown and developed as a person but I have been able to experience and appreciate other cultures and ways of living, opening my eyes up to different ways of thinking that I have never been exposed to and of course the relaxed Mediterranean approach to life! Having the opportunity to study at another university and attend visits to an independent school has given me the opportunity to develop professionally also.

My last day at uni!

A traditional Maltese dinner

My parents came over for my final week so I embraced my last time of being a tour guide and showed them around all the main tourist spots, taking the opportunity to add in some of the places I hadn’t got around to doing yet! It was great to be reunited with my parents and I enjoyed spending my last week living in luxury and on holiday mode. Having visited many of the top tourist sites before it was strange to think that this could be my last time visiting them. Although I have enjoyed living in Malta (particularly appreciating the climate) I am glad to be returning home to Northern Ireland, especially to the beautiful landscape. One thing I have really missed in Malta is the countryside, Malta is a tiny island only 17 miles by 9 miles and as a result is very built up with only a small number of open spaces. I have definitely taken for granted our beautiful green fields and our lovely large sandy beaches, I will definitely be more appreciative of these when I return back home, if only we had a more pleasant climate to enjoy these.

Reunited with my parents!

Living in luxury

My 7th and last time at the Azure Window!

During the past week I have been able to reminisce and catch-up my parents with what I have gotten up to over the past 5 months. Reflecting upon this, it has been a life-changing journey and has inspired me to continue exploring and travelling the world. Throughout the experience I have met many interesting and different people and have made friends with people I would never have otherwise met. Their different backgrounds have opened my eyes up to the world. One of the main lessons I have learnt during this experience is to be confident in who you are and what you believe in, don’t be afraid of what life throws at you but rather embrace every experience you find yourself in and view it as an opportunity to learn something or somebody new! I can positively say that this is only the beginning of my discovery of the world.