An-American-in-Malta

                               Living in Malta:

                       The First Thanksgiving

 

                          This is what we did not have in Malta

 

It was OK.  It was better than I thought once the day was here.  I had anticipated being very tearful, being away from my kids and brother for the first time. Thanksgiving was always my favorite holiday. But turkeys are not readily available in Europe; they are mostly native to North America.

 

But is was...OK. Mr. S is here for a few days and that helped a lot, of course.  We had stuffed chicken breast (which seemed like a turkey to me), sweet potatoes (which Mr. S won't eat because they actually have nutritional value), cranberry juice--and SKYPE for dessert.

 

Yes, SKYPE.

          Living in Malta:  Some "First's"

 

1. I had my first haircut in Malta last week.  It turned out great.  P is now my hairdresser.  Her shop is right down  Manwel Dimech Street, where I live.  You know, the ugliest street in Sliema.
2. And the other day, we went to my first Maltese yoga class together.  On the way, we stopped off at a beautiful old building that is used for a nursing home.  P goes there every 4-6 weeks to cut her aunt's hair.  I met her aunt and several friends and got lots of Maltese kisses when we left.
3. I met my first American woman today!  K is here with her husband and young family. Got here about a month or so earlier than I did.  It was so wonderful to talk about things that only other American expats can understand.  Much more about K later.
4. My cat Egypt threw up for the first time in Malta.  I love it--it's so easy to clean off the tiles. No more carpets and spot remover and all that stuff.  Go ahead, Egypt, bring it on!
5. I got my first zit in Malta.  It's the size of Mt. Etna.  Tomorrow I'm going on the bus to get Mr. S from the airport, and I bet they charge me two fares--one for me and one for the zit. 

 

A special grazzi to A, my beautiful, Italian friend who just moved with her husband to Malta from Belgium.   A called me up to see if I was OK after reading my last post which was a bit depressing.  In fact, I 'd like to thank all the people who leave me comments--both funny and serious--on the blog.  A blog is nothing without its readers.

A Stranger in Malta

                        Living in Malta:

                 Rough Waters Ahead

 

 

                  The Scene Yesterday Along Tower Road in Sliema

 

I was walking along--being blown around by 40 MPH winds (not really that bad for someone who comes from Boston)--but then I saw this scene in front of me and thought:  Where the (excuse me) F---- am I?  What is this water doing where I am living?

 

Maybe you know, this was one of those unreality moments.

 

I think the honeymoon period of the settling into Malta is over.  I've been very sad lately--missing people--even dead people who I was glad had died--old relationships, my kids, my Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, my ability to turn out writing assignments quickly.

 

It seems like everything has changed.  I guess that's because it has.  I don't think the sadness or mild depression has so much to do with the nature of Malta; it's more about my entire life changing.

 

I met a great woman yesterday, working in a nature food shop, who seemed to know a lot about what foreigners go through.  It's like she was reading my mind:

                           Living in Malta:

                       The Super Siesta

 

 

Finally, finally, finally.  I get to take a nap in the afternoon and it's legal in Malta.  Not only acceptable, but considered essential.

 

The shops close at 1 PM and reopen at 4 PM.  Summer, winter, it doesn't matter.  After lunch, people take a nap.

 

Tony, the man across the street who shines my door knobs every day, says the two most precious hours of the day are (is?) the siesta.  "First there's chapter one of the day. Then the siesta. Then there's chapter two of the day.  I love and I need the siesta."

 

Tony, where have you been all my life?  I guess he's been in Malta.

                                   Living in Malta:

     The Best Thing that's Happened to Me So Far

 

 

See this place?  This is Cara's in Sliema.  It has thick hot chocolate, lots of other great chocolate desserts, good sandwiches, etc.  This is where I meet friends in Malta who live in Sliema.  Although Cara's is wonderful, it's not the best thing that happened to me in Malta so far.  This is:

 

I was on my way (walking--I don't have a car in Malta) to meet my friend Cindy at Cara's.  I got a phone call from one of my daughters in the US and needed to talk to her. So I was a little late starting out.  Then I got lost.  As always.  I tried calling Cindy on her mobile (that's cell phone for Americans), but a message came on that the number didn't exist.  Then it started pouring.

 

I approached a young woman and asked if I was going in the right direction to Cara's. She said yes, but that it was too far to walk there from where I was.  My sweat started mingling with the rain.

                       Living in Malta:

             The Worst Thing So Far

 

 

This has nothing to do with living in Malta; it could happen anywhere. But it happened and it upset me.

 

About a week after we moved to our place, an important piece of jewelry went missing after some workers were around.  Could I have misplaced it? Of course. Do I think I misplaced it? I don't think so.

 

There wasn't much I could do.  I told a few people and I got a few opinions: This could never happen; go to the police; it will probably show up.

 

Well, it hasn't shown up; I didn't go to the police--but yes, these things can happen anywhere.  If I find it, I will be the first one to tell whoever that I was a jerk.  But I especially felt bad because I was new here and...it happened.  At any rate, the jewelry is gone.  I'm moving on from the episode.  And as my mother would have said, "This should be the worst that should happen."  And she's right.

 

     The Maltese Have Great Knockers

 

  

 

 

 

    

This is what I'm talking about, for G-d sakes.  I love the Maltese doors with their brass knockers.  On my door, we have two delicate female hands. 

 

But right now the door really sticks and is really hard to close, but the landlord is going to have a carpenter come and fix the door. However, he warns me, this is Malta--and the carpenter may never come.

 

I've been here now just a little over three weeks.  A lot has happened, but I don't know how to tell you coherently. If I think too much how I'm going to write these posts to you, I will never write them. So I'm just going to list things for a while as The Best of Malta---and as The Worst of Malta.  This is my opinion only.  If anyone is offended by anything here, too bad. No, I really don't want to offend anyone; this is just  how I see things.

 

Since I'm an optimist (yeah, right), I'll start with the first Best of Malta:

       The Weather in Malta is Weird

 

 

                                     The occasional flood in Malta

 

But who's complaining? 

 

It's approaching winter in Malta.  Right now the sun is shining but there's thunder.  The other day when I had to walk 45 minutes to get the only cat litter in Malta that really clumps, there was full sun and a downpour at the same time.  I had to use an umbrella and wear sunglasses at the same time.

 

But it was warm--over 70 degrees.

 

The rain is call shita in Maltese (and it's pronounced just like that).  The Maltese don't like rain.  I don't either. But I go out in it.

 

A couple of Maltese people (they call themselves locals--so I will, too), told me they get depressed when the sky is grey and rainy.  Some don't go out unless they have to.  Gees, if I, coming from New Hampshire, hadn't  gone out when it rained, I would have almost never gone out.  But I did.

 

There are some sudden downpours which do lead to flooding in some areas, such as in the photo above.  But in general, it rains very, very little here.

 

So what's a little rain?  Ha ha, bring it on!!!

 

                       Living in Malta:

 

                          Got Litter?

 

 

See this stuff?  This is like gold to me.  After searching through about a dozen brands of litter that claim to be clumping, I finally found the above brand (actually the credit goes to the tenacious Mr. S.) that lives up to its reputation of being super-clumping.  And it works.  I never knew how much I loved those little hard pee clumps.

 

Here's the only problem: Only one pet shop in all of Malta seems to sell it, and it took me 45 minutes of walking (and getting lost, of course--add on another 20 minutes) to find this place.  I live in Sliema and the pet store is in Ta' Xbiex (pronounced Tah-Shbeesh).  Here's some info on this place where the cat litter is. If you don't care, skip this part:

 

Ta' Xbiex

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Ta' Xbiex

(Ta' Xbiex)

Coat of arms

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Motto: Sole illuminata marique amplecta

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Official name:
Ta' Xbiex

Inhabitants:
Ta' Ta' Xbiex

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Latitude:
35°53 '57" N

Longitude:
14°29 '53" E

Area:
0.3km²

Population total:
1,860

Population density:
6,371/km²

Borders:
Msida, Gżira

Patron saint:
St. John of the Cross

Day of festa:
Sunday before November 25

Mayor:
Antoinette Vassallo (MLP)

Website:
taxbiex.gov.mt

Ta' Xbiex ^[1] is a small town in southeastern Malta with a population of 1,846 (Nov 2005). It also has its own local council--and good cat litter.

The town is home of a number of foreign embassies, including the Embassies of Egypt, Italy, France and the British High Commission. The town also features a government housing estate and over the years it has also hosted a good amount of insurance companies, law firms and some IT and ship chandler service industries. It also services part of the Yacht Marina. Ta' Xbiex derives its name either from the name Tbexbix, meaning sunrise, (due to its geographical position) or else from the word Xbiek, meaning net, since this small town started off as a fishing village. It became a parish in 1969. The Parish Church dedicated to St John of the Cross is run by the Discalced Teresian Carmelite Monks.

 

....and continue here...

       The New American President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama

            

             A Proud American in Malta

 

You see?   America could do the right thing--and she did.   As an American stranger in the strange but friendly land of Malta, I feel lonely but very happy.

 

Are there any Americans in Malta reading this right now?  Please contact me and let's get together.  What the hell, you don't have to be American to love Obama.  Email me if you love Obama whether or not you're an American!