On a Bus in Malta - Sundays in My City

I've been writing this post in my head for over 6 months. 


I went to Malta last year over Thanksgiving. Malta is an island-nation off the south coast of Italy making it an easy weekend getaway when you're living in Italy. Once a British colony, they drive on the wrong side of the road (much like the Imperial system of measurement, something I think the few countries still doing it need to just rip off the band aid and switch!).  Being located between mainland Europe and northern Africa in the Mediterranean, Malta has been occupied by numerous entities including the Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, French, and British; each leaving a mark on the cultural landscape.  Maltese, the official language, is the only Semitic language in the European Union.


Malta is beautiful and the water is so amazingly crystal blue-green.  Although, honestly, I didn't enjoy the trip all that much. Everyone said to go to Gozo (one of the islands) so I booked a tour but the tour I booked was so awful that it was a complete waste of a whole day. Not that Gozo was awful, just that the tour I was on didn't actually let me see any of Gozo. Worst. Tour. Ever.  I had read that the public transport was great but I ended up on one bus that was extremely late and was so crowded that I stood for over an hour (although the ride was only supposed to be 30 min) and waited over 30 min for a different bus because it was also apparently very late. It was all just very frustrating and once I got to where I was going I was tired and didn't feel much like seeing what I went to see. 


I'm not saying Malta isn't a good place to visit...just that my visit didn't live up to what I'd heard from friends but hey, I had perfect weather and beautiful views and delicious food so it wasn't all bad. Truly first-world problems.

I should have just sat on my balcony and relaxed and enjoyed this amazing view.

The entrance to Mdina...also known as the Silent City.

Valletta, the capitol of Malta, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Every expat has a list in the back of their mind of who/what warrants an emergency trip home.  It isn't something we like to talk about but it's a fact of life.  Immediate family...what about aunts, uncles, cousins...really close friends...your best friend's mom or kid?...hospitalizations, funerals?  


What about weddings or other momentous big events? Birthdays, retirements, births? Those wouldn't be emergency visits but do involve expensive plane tickets and when you're flying that far you want to make it worth the trip so you need vacation time. Often these decisions aren't so easy. 


I read a great article recently about the price we pay for this chosen life.  The things we miss. It states, in part, "Some days, I can feel those 12,500 kilometres in my heart. Especially when something happens to someone I love back home.“ 


I had two dads...kinda. Not a biological father and a step-father.  But two men who were there when I was born...my father and his best friend, Skip. Skip had a distinctive voice and a huge laugh.  I can still hear it.  He gave me my first dog. 

Me and my first dog, Friday. My parents named him Friday to get back at Skip for giving me the puppy in the first place. Friday was Skip's nickname for me because I was born on Friday the 13th. My parents didn't want Skip to give me the puppy because they thought I was too young.

So when I got the news while traveling in Malta that Skip had gone into hospice, I sat on a bus riding to the capitol and made the decision that he was one of those people who warranted a last-minute plane ticket home. I booked a ticket as soon as I got back to Italy.  I was able to see him and I was fortunate that he was having a good day. He'd  checked himself out of hospice and gone home (no one can ever say I didn't come by my stubbornness honestly...I got it from all my parents!). You'd hardly even know anything was wrong with him. I'm really glad I got to see him. Worth every minute of the journey.




What issues have you dealt with being an expat far away from home?