Karnival in Malta!
A picture of the colorful boats of Malta
It's only been the fourth week of classes here in Malta and I feel like I've been here for longer than that. I'm getting used to my subjects and I haven't gotten lost on campus since the first week which is a good sign. I already have to work on three presentations, gah! But I'm taking an Introduction to Sculpture class and we just finished making heads out of clay. The next time we meet we'll be creating sculptures out of rock, I'm so excited! I have plans to create a peacock sculpture-I'm hoping it won't look like a turkey.
A lot of my classes interrelate to one another. I'm taking a Medieval Europe class which complements my Scripture of the Mediterranean anthropology class. We're learning about the Arabic world and Islam in both of them. One of my English classes, Gender and Power, is similar to my Feminism and Anthropology class. One of my most interesting classes is Children's Literature where we've been examining fairy tales and a sense of nostalgia comes whenever we talk about popular children's books. I'm really enjoying most of my classes so far, although some courses are more tedious than others.
The weather hasn't been too nice in Malta. It's been raining a lot and very chilly. It's a wet cold, a different cold from the Northeastern USA type of cold but it still induces the same type of feeling. Almost everyone here is sick/is getting sick and I am one of them, unfortunately. But no worries, I'm sure I'll feel better in a few days. In Malta none of the buildings here are centrally heated because winters are generally mild. I really can't wait until the temperature gets warmer.
I'm getting used to cooking for myself now. At SPC I'm used to relying on my meal plan and going to the cafeteria whenever I don't feel like cooking. Almost all of the stores here in Malta close by noon or early afternoon and everything is closed on Sundays. Supermarkets aren't prevalent, either, mostly just mini food stores and pharmacies are located throughout the villages. Fortunately for us there's a big supermarket only a 10-minute walk away from the residence and they deliver if you spend a certain amount of groceries. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of Asian spices/products so my parents sent me some spices so I can cook some Filipino food. I miss Filipino, Chinese, and Thai food a lot! There's a lot of Italian dishes that are served here. Restaurant food hasn't been too different, they just taste a little differently. For example, cole slaw is always put on hamburgers. Food servings at the restaurants are all so big, though. I have to watch how much I eat...
But I've been keeping busy, especially on the weekends. Every Sunday there's always a fair in Valletta and Marxaslokk, a tiny fishing village on the eastern side of Malta. But they start early in the morning and stop around noon so you have to wake up early in order to see all of the good merchandise. Two Sundays ago my roommate and I went to Marxaslokk. It took about half an hour to get there, but it was worth it. The market was right by the water and there was so much to buy! It's like going to a flea market in the States. There was so much food, seafood, and other merchandise. Fresh fruits and vegetables are sold and I'd rather do food shopping here than at the supermarket. I spent so much on random items and nothing was too pricey at all! After we were done shopping, we ate at a seafood restaurant and I had salmon.
SEAFOOD!
With my roommate, Ikue
This past weekend was Karnival, a 5 day festival celebrated before the beginning of Lent, which starts today, Ash Wednesday. Every year there's a big celebration in village of Nadur on Gozo, the other little island that is part of Malta. It takes about two hours to get there from the residence including a 25-minute ferry boat ride from the mainland. Gozo is the island where the famous Blue Grotto and Calypso's cave are located. I haven't visited those places yet because it's too cold but I'll be sure to visit before June.
Karnival here is like Halloween in the States. Everyone is dressed up in ridiculous costumes and it's basically a party in the street. There are vendors selling all kinds of treats and toys. I really wish I brought my costume if I had known about Karnival before. It was basically like a big party on the streets.
The beautiful sunset on the ferry to Gozo
The ferry we travelled on
So excited to be on the ferry....at least I am
My friend Lisa and I ate this amazing chocolate cake from one of the vendors
There were so many costumes I took a pic of, but I love the Guy Fawkes costumes
Last Sunday we went to Valletta to visit the Sunday market there and to continue celebrating Karnival. The capital city was alive with so many people. The children were all wearing the cutest costumes and there were huge colorful floats there.
Karnival at Valletta!
One of the beautiful floats
I've only been to one Maltese mass here so far. Maltese is different from any language I've ever listened to. It's about 60% Arabic with a lot of Italian influence. I can't understand any of it which makes me frustrated. It's always interesting attending Catholic churches in different countries. The format is exactly the same, although it's celebrated in different languages. All of the churches here are a lot older and it's different from attending the fairly new churches in the US.
This weekend we're planning on going to Mdina, a Medieval city that has been kept intact since it was built. We're also going on a hike! I just hope that the weather cooperates. More pictures and another blog to come soon!