I was lucky enough in February to have two friends visit – one for about a week and a half during Karnival (Hi L/R W!) and one just for a few days at the end of the month (Hi LD!). February was a busy month even though we had some time off from both the University and secondary schools because of scheduling and Carnival holidays.
We broke down at the end of January and needed some American fast food (also, there was a coupon – and you know I LOVE coupons! – that was about to expire) so we got Pizza Hut. The pizza wasn’t nearly as good as it is at home (but there is also really good real Italian pizza here, so no complaints about pizza overall) but we did get to try something I think should be instituted at all American Pizza Huts – NUTELLA BREADSTICKS! Yes, you read that right – sweet pizza dough with a filling of Nutella spread and freshly chopped hazelnuts. MUCH YUM!
I did not stay up and watch the Super Bowl, as I had to work early the next morning, but I was surprised when some of the boys at my secondary school asked me about it the next day – there really isn’t that much interest in ‘American football’ here – regular football, aka soccer, is much more popular.
We are still working with the refugees at the Open Centre twice a week, and it is really good to see the small improvements as the weeks wear on. I helped GG (one of the other Fulbrighters) with a lesson on clothing and getting dressed vocabulary, and we got some pretty hilarious photos of the men ‘wearing’ (holding articles up to themselves) some of our clothing. Sadly, I can’t share these (one because they aren’t on my camera and two because of privacy rules) but please take a second to picture the scene mentally!
February 10th brought the Feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck. St. Paul is supposed to have shipwrecked here on Malta in 60 A.D.
This shipwreck is described in Acts: <a href="http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Acts-Chapter-27/">Acts Chapter 27</a>
Also here: Acts 28
1And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. (Melita is the old name for Malta, and still a popular girls’ name)
2And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
3And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
4And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
5And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.
6Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
7In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously.
8And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.
9So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:
10Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.
Every year, Malta celebrates the saint’s miracles on the island after he wrecked on the island. Revelers attend special Masses, there are grand processions in certain cities with marching bands and fireworks (Malta LOVES any excuse for fireworks). We attended the festivities in Valletta, the capitol city.
A large statue of St. Paul is paraded through the main streets, and they also carry relics usually kept in (where else?) the Church of St. Paul’s Shipwreck – a portion of St. Paul’s right wrist bone, and half of the pillar on which he was beheaded (the other half is still in Italy somewhere). Earlier in the day, bands and masses of people tromp down St. Paul’s Street in Valletta with balloons, confetti made out of recycled paper (it looked like someone had emptied out a very large shredder and then used that paper for confetti purposes), and slightly inebriated guys in “Malta Pawlina” jackets singing what may or may not have been the national anthem. St. Paul (or San Pawlu in Malti) is Malta’s Patron Saint, having brought Christianity to the islands, so it is unsurprising that such a big deal is made of this feast day.
That weekend, LW and I were lucky enough to be taken around by two of my good teacher-friends (Hi GC and HR!), native Maltese women who took us to the Crafts Village in Ta’ Qali, let us sample homemade mqaret (kind of like date-filled pop tarts, but better), showed us the spectacular natural beauty of Dingli Cliffs, took us to a tiny village bar where we had pasta il-forn and strange looks from the all-male customers who were watching a football match, showed us the Skorba Temples, and took us to a red-sand beach near Mgarr (I’m sure I’m forgetting some things because we did a lot that day). It was so fun and really exemplified why it is always best to be shown around by someone who lives in the area you are visiting.
The next Sunday we took an incredibly stuffed bus out to Marsaxlokk, a small fishing village on the southern coast that explodes on Sundays with a large food (especially seafood), souvenir, and random things market. We walked through the whole market (I didn’t buy any fish, but did buy some cool old EU stamps – my philatelic side kicked in) and then went for the traditional Sunday lunch at Ir-Rizzu, a popular restaurant on the main drag that was recommended by my guidebook. I had aljotta, a traditional tomato-based fish soup.
A few days later, LW and I went to Mdina and Rabat. After spending most of the day in Mdina, we walked through Rabat to get to St. Agatha’s Crypt and Catacombs. We weren’t allowed to take pictures down in the catacombs, but what an amazing and depressing sight. They even had tiny tombs for children. These date from around the 3rd century. I’m glad we went, but spent the majority of my time down there crouched over so as to not whack my head on the ceiling– they were certainly built for people of diminutive stature! Our tour guide warned us of the low heights, and even told us about a tall lady in his last group who bumped her head three or four times, and at the end of the tour kept glaring at the guide as though it was his fault! I was determined not to be the “tall lady” in the story next time!
After the catacombs (and the museum of oddities upstairs, pictures forthcoming), LW and I continued to wander around Rabat in search of Madonna and Child house signs and other architectural features. Thus is a visit with an Art major! It was fun until it began pouring, and we sought refuge in a barely covered bus stop where, of course, we waited an hour and a half rather than the 20 minutes the schedule promised, but there was no point walking back to the main road in the downpour, because the bus had to come past us in order to get to the terminus. The joys of Arriva not arriving, thanks to the rain!
Although we were going to go to Gozo the next weekend for Karnival, we went mid-week to be able to see more of the island. We got a discount on the touristy but convenient hop-on-hop-off bus and set off towards the Crafts Village (most of the shops were closed because it is still low season here) and then to Djwera, where the Azure Window is. If you are a Game of Thrones fan, you may recognize this from a certain wedding scene J
After a few moments of beautiful weather, the fates turned against us and it began to hail! We took cover, along with the other tourists waiting for the bus, in the tiny chapel of St. Anne’s, right by the coast. When the bus finally came, we decided to be ‘brave’ (read: insane) and sit up top in the open (we got great views – but we also got hailed on again!). We headed back through several other towns and stopped off in the capitol, Victoria, to quickly grab some lunch and a few edible souvenirs for LW to take home with her.
That evening, we were invited over to a delicious dinner at one of my teacher’s homes. We had olive tapenade and toast and gbenjet (strong traditional sheep’s milk cheese) for appetizers, spaghetti with octopus sauce as a main course, and a wonderful strawberry-banana meringue cake for dessert. Thanks again, GC! It was the best meal we had while LW was here.
I’ll leave off here for now, and pick up with Karnival festivities next post J
And coming soon to a post near you - photos to go along with the above!
