An-American-in-Malta

Upsetting News from Malta

 

                                      Expat Working in Malta

Will I Be Able to Work in Malta--or Not?

 

I feel sorry for anyone associating with me now--Mr. S. and especially my two girls.  And myself.

 

My daughters (who I feel are my two best friends) and I had a really good weekend.  We just hung out.  B decided to clean out R's fridge and throw out stuff that was old.  Some of the things I'm donating to a school of archaeology because the eat-by dates were from BCE  (before common eating). 

 

In fact, there were some things things that were so hard to scrape off from that fridge that we actually drew blood from it.

 

Anyway, today it's Monday morning and I tried very hard--according to very  strict instructions--to not wake up or disturb daughter R who had to get up early and go to work. 

 

So this is a Monday--the best day of the week, of course, for people who work--and I get a call from Mr. S. who is back in Malta taking good care of things.

Back in the USA

                                             Expat Living in Malta

                  You Can Go Back Home...

                    If You Know Where it is...

 

 

 

                        John F. Kennedy  International Airport in New York City

 

 

I taught my first English lesson to a young Japanese man sitting next to me on the plane to New York.  We hadn't spoken a word in over an eight-hour flight.

 

I did, however, almost grab his arm during about 20 minutes of terrible turbulence nearing JFK airport.  I was so nervous during that flight that I almost put on my life jacket just in case.

 

When we landed, everyone started clapping.  For the first time, he spoke to me, asking my why people were doing this thing--clapping.

 

He left the plane knowing his first real English phrase:  Because we're alive.

 

As soon as the gratefulness of having landed subsided,  I was already angry in the baggage collection section because they were charging $3 for a baggage cart; in all of Europe, it's free.

 

After a 90-minute ride in traffic from JFK to my daughter's place(and a $55 taxi tab), I was able to think about what it was like back being in the US.

Flying Back to the US for the First Time

                                         

                     Fear of Flying Back

 

Don't get me wrong:  I can't wait to see my daughters R and B.  But I'm scared of going back to the States.  I'll be landing at JFK on Friday afternoon--G-d Willing. 

 

I think it's mostly the flights I'm scared of (first from Malta to Frankfurt where I'll stay overnight; then from Frankfurt to NYC the next day).  Just don't know.  Scared that something will prevent me from coming back to Malta.

 

Malta is my home now.  I have no home in the US.  From now on, I'm somebody's guest in America.

 

Wish me luck, will you?  I'll let you know what it's like to be back in the US for the first time since leaving.

The Flora of Malta

 

             We Got an Olive Tree!

 

 

                                                                    

What do you mean, "so what?"  These are gorgeous trees with long slender leaves and are very Mediterranean.  And they grow all over Malta.  We put ours on a sunny balcony inside the house (after a long battle of where to put it).   The leaves give off a silvery look when the sun shines on them because the back of the leaves are so much lighter than the front.

 

             

 

We won't get olives, though.  We found out something very interesting:  You have to have two different kinds of olive trees together--a male and a female--to get olives.  But we don't need any more male and female relationships here; there's enough going on with Mr. S. and me (I'm the female).

 

                            

 

And to be honest, I don't want baby olives because I hate olives.  I always give mine to Mr. S. whenever we eat out.  He likes them.  But I love olive oil--and he hates olive oil. 

 

And I've had enough babies.  Two beautiful daughters in the US who I will seen soon, G-d Willing, when I go back to the US in a few days.   And then there's Egypt, my baby cat, and, well, there's Mr. S.  Need I say more?  I don't need to change baby olive leaflettes and take them to olive doctors.  In other words, I don't care if the tree doesn't get olives.

 

But I do want you to know I love my olive tree. This morning, I watched it glimmer in the sunlight.  I'm going to name it.  I think I'll call it............Olive.  ( Hey, I heard that.)

The Weather in Malta

 

                                     Expat Living in Malta

                    Gone with the Rain

 

 

 

The above is a photo from one of two places in Malta--B'Kara and Qormi--that has seen its share of rain this year.  Yes, that's a flood up to the window of a car.  And that's from only a few hours of heavy rain.

 

But that's in the past for now, I hope.  This is the start of the dry season in Malta.  It shouldn't rain (much) now until November.  I love it.

 

But this isn't paradise, yet, don't worry.  I'm still wearing a winter jacket  at night and in the day when I'm not in the sun.  When it's sunny, it's gorgeous.

 

It's fun to see the tourists around here now.  (I'm not a tourist now; I'm a local.  And that's local, not loco --)

lo·co ¹ (lk)

adj. Slang

Mad; insane

 

OK, so that's a matter of opinion.  As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by myself,  the tourists think Malta is a hot, tropical place, so you see them walking around, shivering, in shorts and tee shirts.  Truth is, Malta is a Mediterranean place, not tropical.  So the weather can still be quite cool on the shady side of the street this time of year.

 

 

Have yourself a nice, dry weekend.

Working in Malta

                                     Expat Living in Malta

       Teaching the Present Purrfect

 

 

I've got at least three months before I can start teaching or doing anything in Malta--that is, if my permit for self-employment comes through. 

 

Meanwhile,  I'm  fortunate to have a captive audience to practice my CELTA techniques on:  Mr. S. and my cat.  Hey, it works.

 

I develop a short lesson, usually around some very sophisticated vocabulary word that Mr. S. doesn't know.  Then I teach him the word--meaning, usage and pronunciation.  We practice individually.  Then it's time for students to work in pairs. So Mr. S. picks up Egypt (my cat) and practices with her, and then as a pair, they come back with the answers.

 

Okay, so Egypt is a real beginner in English.  But you can't hold the class back for one student.   My next lesson will be grammar, which is always the hardest thing to teach in EFL.

 

By the way, do you want to see what you need to do if you want to become self-employed in Malta? 

The Sun in Malta

                                           Expat Living in Malta

                   Twenty Perfect Moments

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had about 20 perfect moments in the sun the other day. I sat on a small wall along The Strand in Sliema, looking across at Valletta.   And this was the scene--taken by Mr. S.  

 

I had a winter jacket on, but I was leaning up against a stone wall and the sun felt the best it ever did in my life.  I normally don't like the sun, especially in the hot summer, but sitting under this spring sun with my eyes closed was hypnotic.

 

For twenty minutes I forgot:

-That no ESL schools have permanent full-time or part-time contracts for new teachers now or in the foreseeable future because of the lack of students this year.  The Director of Studies at the school where I took my CELTA course says he never had a year like this.  He told me, "You picked the worst year to come to Malta."  That's just what someone like me needs to hear.   He then suggested that I go the freelance route to be able to work.      

 

-That no ESL language school can hire me on even a freelance basis until I apply for and receive a Non-EU, self-employment work permit that will take at least three months.  It used to be that the schools could immediately get you a VAT (tax) number and you could bill them as a freelance teacher.  But this year, that's changed.

 

-That if my visa expires before the work permit comes through I must leave Malta and then come back to renew the visa.

 

-That I currently have no writing assignments from the US.  Probably because of the economy.

 

But for twenty minutes I forgot all this in that warm, perfect sun.

 

 

Kudos for Alistair

                                      Expat Friends in Malta

            Congrats to a Blog Reader

 

 

 

         

 

 

        LIBERTAS is available NOW, published by Quaestor2000

 

Who is Alistair Forrest?  He and his wife Lynda are loyal readers of this blog and future expats to Malta.  Alistair just published his first historical novel about the the Roman civil war.  So congratulations to this new and upcoming novelist.  By the way, I met Lynda, Alistair and their son Max at Cara's in Sliema last week for the first time.  Hopefully, they'll be joining me in Malta--as British expats from Spain.  Visit Alistair's website here:  http://www.alistairforrest.com/

Working in Malta

                                   Expat Living in Malta

             Going into Labor--I Hope

 

 

I'm trying to explain to Mr. S. that even when something goes right, it can be very stressful.

 

Yesterday afternoon--very suddenly--I had a job interview for a teaching job.  It went well and could be promising, but by the end of the evening I was in tears.  It's not the place I originally had in mind; in fact, there may be no job at the place I'm thinking of.

 

When it comes down to it, I'm just plain scared.  Scared of starting a whole new career at my age, scared that my writing assignments from the US have dried up right now--and they have, actually, because of the economy.

 

I'm scared I won't get a job--and scared that I will.

A Night Out in Malta

                   Expat Living in Malta

        A CELTA Celebration

 

 

To celebrate our CELTA graduation, about five of us got dressed up and went out dancing on a ship/restaurant called the Black Pearl (which used to be Errol Flynn's yacht).  Above are Josette, Louise, Alison and Adriana--but not necessarily in that order.  We got back home at about 2:30 AM.   I haven't stayed out this late since I was in college.  I like Malta.

 

 

                                      The Black Pearl in Msida

 

 

                                           Inside the Black Pearl