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Grocery Shopping in Malta
"Shopping in Gozo is a different experience altogether. Food shopping here takes place, at the very least, every two days and in many cases, daily, which has the advantage of making the shopping experience short and sweet..."
Steven Holmes, our first guest author, compares grocery shopping in Gozo/Malta vs shopping in the UK. Which place does Steven and his wife prefer to shop? Find out here:
Time Zone Crisis in Malta
Did you ever wake up in the middle of the night by a thought?
Last night I woke up, wondering how I was going to have my regular nightly chats with my daughter R. Malta--like most of Europe--is six hours ahead of the US, EST. When it's noon in New York City,it's 6 PM in Malta. Of course I know this. I've been in Malta before and I know the time difference.
But this time the time difference is...different.
My daughter and I often talk around 10 or even 11 PM for a half hour or more. It suddenly hit me: how are we going to do that? When it's 10 PM for her, it will be 4 AM for me. You know what I mean, right?
I know we'll talk. But when?
If she can wait until 11 PM to talk, then it will be 5 AM for me. That's not too bad, because I can get up then--it's not much earlier than I get up now. But the whole thing will be different. It will be the end of her day and the beginning of mine.
So that just leaves the question: I know we'll talk. But when?
The Path to Malta
I'm working on two major things now to get to Malta--the health insurance issue and getting a bank account established in Malta.
Regarding the health insurance: The forms for the private Maltese health insurance (I'm going with a European one called Atlas) are like writing college essays. You don't have a list where you check off whether or not you have this or that. You have to write about five different essays on why you've been to any doctor in the past five years. And then you have to get references from the doctors you've seen. (Imagine how easy that is). And in the end, this is so Atlas makes sure that it doesn't cover you for any pre-existing conditions. Several times you are warned in the application that if you lie about any pre-existing conditions, you will lose your coverage. That's if you get it in the first place.
Caring for the Cats of Malta
This photo is from a site called vegan-info.com
THE SHAREMALTA FOUNDATION – supporting Youth Animal Welfare Education in our schools The ShareMalta Foundation is a charity founded June 2006, to provide education and support to the younger generation by teaching respect for all living beings including animals, whilst also learning valuable life skills to become good citizens (now part of the curriculum). ShareMalta has no sanctuary as we devote our time to education and research on specific projects; our priority in 2008 being a cat neutering project in Rabat working with young people as they are the parents and leaders of tomorrow. To read the rest, go to www.sharemalta.com. |
Ah...Malta. Finally, a place where I can take a nap in the afternoon and it's considered normal...
The Mediterranean Lifestyle
I know I'll be complaining about things once I get there, but this is what I love so far:
The Euro in Malta
This photo is from the website: www.moneymatterstome.co.uk/
Who says things don't get better in the world? Malta is now using the Euro as its official currency. Until last year, Malta was using the Maltese lira (Lm). So if you went from Europe to Malta, you had to change everything over. And if--as an American--you went to Germany, let's say, and then on to Malta, you would have to convert to Euros and then to Maltese liri.
I think Malta did a great campaign (I wasn't there at the time) helping everyone convert to the Euro. I'm sure there were some problems in the transition, but it looked like there was a lot of education and practice beforehand.
Good going, Malta!
The new Mater Dei Hospital in Malta "is one of the ever-biggest projects undertaken in Malta. It is like a small village built around a chapel and surrounded with all amenities including restaurants and shops."
Read all about it at: Blokrete, Limited, Construction
Believe it or not, health insurance--or the lack thereof--is the reason many people are leaving America. It's my reason.
Among the world's nations, Malta is rated very high for health care. In fact, it is rated 5th. The US, by the way, is rated 37th. See the research below:
Ranking of World Health
June 30, 2007 in News by gorgiamus
The World Health Organization issued figures on June 20, 2000, that rank health care systems around the world for the first time. They indicate that European health systems are generally performing best and that the United States is lagging behind, largely because of unequal distribution of health care services...
According to the report, the five top nations for health care were France, Italy, San Marino, Andorra and Malta.
Read the rest of the article on this blog:
Now, what about the health insurance? Which do you want first--the good news or the bad? Let me be optimistic for a change:
"In the 90's"
(no, not the temperature)
I heard something the other day that really scared me.
I work part-time with an organization that helps people age 70 and older achieve a life-long dream. Naturally, there are people facing serious illnesses who want to go somewhere or do something they never had the chance to when they were leading busy (and healthy) lives.
I was talking to the son of a woman who is a cancer patient. I've been working on fulfilling a dream request for her; it doesn't matter what it is, really.
But, after weeks of getting this project together, it may not happen at all.
