To continue on the where is Malta & why am I going there theme, here's more information to whet your learning palette:
Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships have many components. I am expected to teach part time, do academic study and research part time, and contribute to the community. I will arrive in Malta in late September (just over two weeks now - yikes!) and get busy getting my footing in all of the above!
To learn more about the Fulbright program, visit: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/about.html
About my ETA in Malta: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/program_country.html?id=163
About Malta and tourism to Malta: http://www.visitmalta.com/main
L-Universita ta' Malta website: http://www.um.edu.mt/
My teaching position, as far as I know right now (I will get more details once I get there and meet with officials, etc.) will span three levels of education — upper elementary, junior college and university.
Malta, which was a British protectorate for about 150 years, currently maintains both Maltese and English as co-official languages. Almost everyone speaks or is learning to speak English, especially in the touristy areas, so that will be helpful in getting around until I learn more Maltese (I've only got the most basic of phrases down now, and even those I am unsure if I am pronouncing correctly!). My planned contribution to the community is two-fold. I hope to either join or form a local cooking club near wherever we end up getting an apartment, and I will also be teaching English at a refugee center, which will, of course, be a totally new and valuable experience.
I really don't have many details beyond that yet. Lots will not be finalized until I and my fellow ETAs arrive and meet with the U.S. Embassy, education officials, professors from the university, etc. When I first arrive, I will be staying in a small apartment at the University Residence complex operated by the University for a few weeks, and the the other girls and I will be able to go apartment hunting after all of our assignments are fixed.
My journey will continue until late June 2012, and hopefully I might get to do a little bit of travelling around Europe before returning to the U.S. and jumping into Grad School!
See the next post for a few more details about Malta's history and culture (with shiny pictures, I promise!)!
I think you should get a pet Maltese Falcon. I think it would complete the package, and I will get a monkey, or perhaps I will dress up a coconut which may be much safer.
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