An-American-in-Malta

No News is Bad News in Malta

 

    Got a Bad Feeling about the ETC

 

It’s been about six weeks that the EFL school that wants to hire me has submitted my application to the ETC.  We haven’t heard—and I think that’s bad news.

Last year when the school applied for me, we heard within a week or so. 

I’ve heard that students have been asking for a teacher with an American accent.  That would be me.  I’ve heard that the Maltese EFL system is seeking teachers with the CELTA training. That would be me.  In fact, I have training beyond the CELTA. 

There’s no real good reason that the ETC would reject my application. They certainly didn’t reject the 150 Euros I had to pay to apply.  That was paid by me—not the school.  (By the way, the fee I paid has doubled for NON-EU’s applying for jobs in Malta since last year—but only for NON-EU’s.  For anyone else, it’s stayed the same.)

That sounds like a message to me: NON-EU’s (in particular, Americans) don’t apply for work here in Malta. Yes, come and stay here and pay rent. Yes, come and stay here and buy food. Yes, come and stay here and pay for everything you would in America—plus buy private health insurance that excludes pre-existing conditions (just like in America right now).

Yes, live with an EU partner of many years and share expenses.  But when you don’t get a job—because we (the ETC) don’t want you—leave Malta.  Leave an employer who wants to re-hire you because you did a good job and can meet an EFL need that other Maltese teachers cannot (that’s a native-born American accent and intimate knowledge about America because students from abroad are requesting this); leave an apartment that you just signed a three-year lease on with your EU partner of 10 years; leave a place where you love the people and the place and where you have helped pick up garbage from the streets.  And leave your cat behind who you went through six months of Maltese red-tape hell with to get here. And leave your EU partner, too. 

Leave and go nowhere.  And, yes, I’m feeling sorry for myself.

The school believes the answer will be positive.  I just have a feeling it won’t be.

Someone even told me that if I want to stay and work in Malta, I should stop writing my blog and saying how I feel about things, especially the ETC.  Excuse me, but I thought I was living in a democracy.

Let’s hope my pessimism is wrong.  Thanks for listening all of you.  And if you’re listening—my friends at the ETC—too bad.

 

The Real Black Millipede in Malta

 

              I stand Corrected….

 

 

 

I’ve been told by my resident pest expert (and sometimes-pest), Mr. S.,  that in a recent post about disgusting bugs, that I had put the wrong photo about the millipede.  Well, here’s the right one that should go along with the story: Mystery Solved.

And I’d like to thank Elizabeth Ayling who mentioned my blog on her amusing article Malta’s House Guests which can be found on:

The good news is that these cute fragrant things should be gone with the rain….and shouldn’t come back until October or so.

Culture-Shock Tears in Malta

 

             Depression: A Normal Part of

             Adjustment to Expat Life

 

This is why it’s good to get together on a regular basis with other expats when you live abroad.

This past Friday night a group of expats were relaxing at SJI’s Jazz Bar (see below) which is on Church Street in Paceville.

 

 

The music was nice and not too loud. So I was able to hear when my American expat friend W sat down next to me and said she had been depressed for the past week.  She and her husband have been in Malta for about three months now.  They’re going through the usual hassle of looking for work as non-EU’s, etc.

As usual, the first month or so was exciting and everyday brought something new and wonderful.  But as W found out, that wears off as reality sets in, your money starts to run out and you have to find work and live in a new country.

W misses her young grandson back in the US.  At first, it was enough to see and talk to him on SKYPE. But the past week, she’s become homesick and suddenly wonders what she’s doing in Malta.

I told her what I found to be true for almost every single expat who moves anywhere—not just Malta: first there’s the honeymoon period and then comes the depression. It’s so predictable that’s it’s considered a normal (and necessary) part of culture shock.

Even if things go perfectly—a job right away, friends right away, a great place to live, no trouble with the language—it’s going to happen: the depression.  It can hit you suddenly or it can come on gradually—but it will happen.

It’s a bit easier if you know that it does occur, but it’s still hard. The most important thing is to wait until the depression lifts before deciding what to do.   Some people decide to leave their new country and move back home when depression strikes. This is a bad idea because this is usually a stage. 

If after a year of living in your new country you’re still very homesick and feel like you made a mistake, then perhaps you should consider moving back. But you should wait until the initial depression passes—because it is a normal part of the adjustment. It’s a normal part of the letting-go process of the things and people you’ve left behind on a daily basis.

So, W., I know what you’re going through. Most expats do. And, yes, let’s get together—just you and me—for that cup of coffee this week.

Appetite Back in Malta

 

                     Feeling Better after

                     Bad Birthday Phase

     

Wow—that was a bad couple of days—throwing up--and action at the other end, as well.   Never figured out what it was, really. But glad it’s over.  Thanks for those of you who wished me a speedy recovery from a weird Maltese virus and a bad pre-birthday depression.

Going to Bianco’s—a very good Italian place in St. Julian’s--with a bunch of expat friends helped.  I wouldn’t have believed that I would want to eat again.  But alas I did.

 

Getting Sick in Malta

 

    Getting Sick and Scared as an Expat

 

I haven’t vomited in almost 24 years since my second child was born. So I was pretty scared yesterday (Sunday) when I got really sick with very bad stomach pain, diarrhea and then vomited.

I walk every day for exercise, and I could hardly walk outside yesterday.

Mr. S. started feeling pretty bad, too, after I did—but didn’t get so sick.

We thought maybe it had to do with the popcorn we ate at the movies the night before in Paceville.  But the other people we went with didn’t get sick.

I know you must think I sound like a baby getting so upset about a virus or whatever it is. But part of the problem is that I knew I had an obligation I had to keep the next day—even if I was sick.  I guess that scared me more than anything.

Perhaps it’s being in a new country yet that has exposed me to “bugs” I’m not accustomed to.

Today, at 7 AM, Monday, I’m not vomiting anymore (I hope) but I feel like I can hardly stand up.  I just have to get through this day somehow.

Thanks to M, my Maltese friend, and S—my Expat friend—who listened to me complain and suggested remedies.  Strangely enough, my daughter back in the US had been vomiting the night before; she thought it was food poisoning.  So it’s hard to be away from her when she’s sick, too.

Tomorrow is my birthday and I’m not feeling very good about it.

Thanks for listening.

 

The Countryside in Malta

 

                  A Lake Grows in Malta

 

                                           Chadwick Lake near Mdina

I didn’t even know there was an inland lake in Malta.   From what I understand, it’s a lake that appears in the winter and spring when there’s rainfall—and then disappears in the summer when it’s dry.

So it’s not like the typical lake in the US.  So what?  I went for a beautiful walk with my friend M (a native of Malta and her son N).  And Mr. S. was there, too. see him to the right on the top of the bridge? 

M—like many other Maltese—asked me how could I leave the vast US and come to such a tiny place like Malta.  My answer is always the same: How much of a place do you need to live in?

You go to work, see friends, get your hair done, buy bags and shoes (when Mr. S. doesn’t know) and see your doctor, dentist, etc.

If you can find lovely countryside to walk in—like Chadwick Lake, then you’re lucky.  As of right now, Malta is the right size for me.

 

Other Articles by Ilene Springer

 

Please check out these other articles on Associated Content.

 

Ilene Springer

Featured Travel Contributor

The Famous Paceville in Malta

Paceville is Malta's nightlife capital. It's the first word many foreign students learn when they arrive in Malta.

By Ilene Springer  |  Published 3/16/2010

 

What is an Expatriate?

I hesitate when I tell some people who aren't familiar with the word that I'm an expatriate from the U.S. It sounds like I'm saying that I'm an ex-patriotic person. I'm not, and that's not what it means at all.

By Ilene Springer  |  Published 3/1/2010

 

 

Beauty in the Narrow Streets of Birgu, Malta

I can tell I'm not in the USA when I walk through the streets of Birgu. There's an amazing amount of gorgeous potted plants lining the narrow streets of this town from the Middle Ages. It's incredible that no one steals these plants.

By Ilene Springer  |  Published 3/8/2010

 

How to Get Your Teeth Cleaned Painlessly

I dread getting my teeth cleaned. That scraping, poking, the zap when the hygienist hits a nerve-literally.

By Ilene Springer  |  Published 3/1/2010

 

Why Seniors Should Have Cosmetic Dentistry

The last generation - our parents and grandparents - accepted the idea that they would have no teeth in their later years. They accepted the embarrassing moment when the grandkids would ask why teeth are floating around in a glass by the bed.

By Ilene Springer  |  Published 3/1/2010

Expats Meeting this Friday at Surfside in Malta

 

 

                 Just Us  Expat Group Meets

                     at Surfside on Tower Road, Sliema

 

Just Us—a group of expats looking to relax and chat with each other—will meet again this Friday, March 19th around 7:30 PM at the newly renovated Surfside Restaurant on Tower Road in Sliema.

 

Just come in and join us. Don’t be shy.  Just show up—no calls, no emails necessary.  Look for a group of people chatting and complaining; listen for all the accents—German, French, British, American, Libyan, Australian and others—and that will be:  Just Us.  And Maltese are welcome, too, of course.

We’ve got a spot for you.

Surfside Bar & Grill
Tower Road,
Sliema
email: surfsidemalta@gmail.com
tel: +356 79 820340
tel: +356 21 345384

A Cat is Rescued in Malta

             

                Some Good Drama on

                Manwel Dimech Street

 

How could I have not known about this?  It happened right opposite my house.  And it’s something good.

Tony, my wonderful neighbor across the street, called me over two Tuesdays ago and was very excited about something.  Tony likes cats.

He lives next to a dilapidated villa with a huge overgrown area behind it.  Somehow a cat got caught back there the night before and was yowling for help the whole night. 

So instead of getting a gun out like they would in the US, people called the Civil Protection Department of Sliema.  Firefighters came with state-of-the-art equipment and rescued the poor feline.

Everyone was watching (except me) from their windows in the street and even from the roof of the language school across the way.

The story appeared in the Times of Malta and people wrote in saying how happy they were that the cat was saved.

“So guess where the cat is now?” Tony asked me.

“Where?”

“Here,” said Tony. And he pointed inside his house.  Yes, Tony likes cats.  A lot.

Next week, we’ll have a photo of Ginger, Tony’s new adoptee.

 

 

 

Expat Meeting this Friday in Malta

 

 

Members Cocktail Party: Friday Night from 8pm at Tiffany’s, Portomaso Marina, St Julian’s

Tiffany’s is once again our amazing venue for Members Drinks on Friday 12^th March. Members will enjoy free Tiffany Savoury & Sweet Platters and all cocktails are ½ price. Members enjoy a free welcome drink. It’s a great venue in a great location and we look forward to seeing you all there. If you’re not already a Member you can join on the night. Membership for the year is only €20 and includes access to all our events as well as all the benefits of MaltaGold. We really look forward to seeing you all there to enjoy the great view, drinks and company - just ask for Will.

If you’re unsure of where Tiffany’s is located. Feel free to contact staff@expatsmalta.com.