An-American-in-Malta

Expat in Malta for One Year

 

         How Malta Smells After One Year

 

I never know when it will come; it catches me by surprise.  It’s the smell of limestone dust which all of Malta is made of.  I don’t know if it’s a good smell or a bad one, but I love it.

I don’t know if all expats feel this way, but I feel like I’m the equivalent of an infant who just had her first birthday.  More happens in the first year of being an expat than at any other time.  At least, that’s what I think now.

Since moving here one year ago this October, I’ve made it through one Maltese winter, moved in with Mr. S. fulltime in an old Maltese townhouse (would anyone like to start a support group for people living with a German partner?), lived through the CELTA training course, got a job teaching English, swam for the first time in 45 years, drank my first cup of coffee to stay awake while teaching afternoon classes, made it through one Maltese summer and met many people—some who I like and others who I ended up drifted apart from.  And through everyone of these days, I’ve missed my kids back in the US.  But I’ve been back to the US twice and they’ve each been out to Malta once.  All this in one year.

And you’ve been with me all the way. Thanks.

So after this one full year, what do I think of Malta?

Plastic Surgery in Malta

   

    A Cure for the Jet Lag Blues: Botox

Okay, so it wasn’t Botox. It was something derived from hyaluronic acid of non-animal origin. 

Recently, the bags under my eyes were really starting to bother me.  Another teacher at my school told me about this plastic surgeon she had gone to see about getting some Botox.  She paid him 40 Euros plus a 5-Euro clinic fee to be told that Botox wouldn’t help her; instead, she needed a full brow and facelift that would cost her 6000 Euros.  She declined.

I checked out this doctor and something made me want to see this surgeon anyway. So Mr. S. and I trudged all the way over to St. Phillips Hospital, one of the small private hospitals in Malta.

First thing—the 5 Euros to just sit down in the waiting room.  Meanwhile, I’m looking at this brochure on some great new product that’s supposed to fill in the crevices in your face with no pain, no time away from work and immediate results.  Fine.

Back in Malta

                          

                            Jet Lag Plus

 

What do you say when people ask you “ How was your flight?”

To me, any flight that lands safely is fantastic, a miraculous occurrence.  I don’t care about the food, the cramped space, someone in front of me with flatulence, crying babies (OK, I’m lying at this point).  All I care about is that it landed—safely.

But I was nervous on this flight. There was a family--a man, his 20-something son, his wife and two girls, probably in their teens. The three women were veiled completely except for their eyeballs.

On the plane—sitting right across from me in the next aisle, they seemed perfectly fine-until the man wouldn’t turn off his mobile (cell phone) when the plane was taking off. Two flight attendants came over to tell him to turn it off. He would stop his call (or whatever he was doing with it) and then put it in his carry-on bag. As soon as they left, however, he had it out again and was using it.

As the plane started taxiing for take-off, I got very panicky and leaned over to the man and reminded him that he had to turn it completely off.  He agreed, but didn’t turn it off.

The passenger next to me—a young German woman—placed her hand on my shoulder and told me it would be OK.

Expat from Malta—You CAN Go Home Again

    

Feelings—Nothing More than Feelings

 

These are the words to some old song from my youth.  Maybe you know who sang the song. Please let me know if you do.

Boston was my home for most of my former marriage and adult years.  It was hard going back this time.  I saw some old friends, took some old walks—and felt...old.  It’s funny how some of the best memories are also the most painful ones.

I went with my daughters to their father’s home—which used to be my home.  Let me tell you; that’s tough.  He now lives with his nice girlfriend.  It was hard to see how great the place looks.  He and his girlfriend have really fixed up the condo, doing a lot of things I would have loved to have done to it. (By the way, I already told him this—so this won’t be new to him if he reads it).

But my policy with this blog has always been to be honest (without hurting anyone) and without becoming too confessional.  So nothing is ever perfect—leaving or going back. Yes, you can go home—but it’s a profound experience.

One of the hardest things I had to do this trip was prepare to see my daughter’s father.  I knew he would be glad to see me… because I’m fat now.

Expat in Malta: Back to Boston

         

            My Favorite Museum in the US

Of everything I missed being in Malta, this is the place I missed the most.  There’s nothing like it in Malta.  So I had to wait to come back to the US to see it. 

There’s no admission fee, but it can end up being quite costly to go there and look at all the exhibits.  You’ll see why:

Back in the USS...A from Malta

 

    I Love (Not Really, But I'm Really Glad to be Back

                       with My Girls) New York

 

 

I'm so not used to a paid vacation, that I had to ask Mr. S. how it works.  But yes, I did get 12 days off from the school where I teach EFL in Malta.

I'm here now with R and B in their tiny studio apartment in Manhattan that they share with an attack cat who draws blood.  It’s really good to see my girls.  I won’t go through the simple fun things we like to do or how lazy I am right now.   But here are some things you may be interested in:

1. A studio in NYC is a lot different than a studio in Europe.  In Europe, a studio apartment is a one-bedroom flat.  There is actually a separate bedroom.  Here in Manhattan, a studio apartment is a living room, bedroom, dining room combined.  No separate bedroom.  There is a tiny closet-sized room which serves as a kitchen (not to eat in, but to make food in when you’re not ordering in take-out).  There is a tiny bathroom—well, two, if you count the monstrous litter box this cat requires.  R and B share this studio apartment and I’m on the couch now.

2. There are a lot of rules I have to follow.   First, I can’t make any noise or turn on any photons (particles of light) when they’re sleeping—R gets up around 8 AM to go to work and B gets up anywhere from 6 AM to 9 AM, depending on whether or not she has to go to classes or to her internship.

Getting a Job in Malta

 

      Miracle in Malta:  Z  Gets the Job!

 

Hey--remember when I told you how sad I was because my best friend Z from Germany had to leave Malta because she couldn't find a job? 

And maybe if you followed the post, you saw that a guy who called himself D said he might have a job for Z?

Guess what?  It happened!  Turns out that D was leaving his job and going back to Germany and now Z is getting his job.

Thanks, D, for being so helpful and going out of your way to lend a hand to someone you don't know. Z and I and all her other friends are so grateful to you.  And we wish you weren't leaving Malta, but thanks for thinking of us here on the blog.