A case of mistaken identity: Malta

The essence of Malta lies in it's rocky landscapes, cobblestone roads, and ancient buses.  Malta is, in my opinion, a country lost in time.  Upon arrival to this untouched jackpot, we boarded a bus from the 1960's and were graced with the pleasant views of a pickup full of pigs heading to the slaughter.  OK, so far so good.  Then on our way to Valletta, (Malta's capital city) our driver whipping and speeding through the narrow streets, actually runs another driver off the road and the car crashes into a group of trees.  It is it this point that Liz casts an "oh shit" glance in my direction only to be rewarded with an eyebrow raise and shoulder shrug.  We get into the Valletta bus "station", to use the word loosely, and board our bus to Melliha where our hotel is located.  I go to pay the driver the the 94 cents for the trip, hand him a 20 euro bill (I understand its a bit ridiculous to give 20 euros for a 94 cent trip, but much to my dismay ATM's

don't spit out 5s or 10s) and he just looks at me and tells me no.  So I ask Liz if she has any change or small bills and she happily hands me a 5 euro bill.  I try again, and with a sense of accomplishment glowing on my face, I hand the gentleman the 5 euro bill. He looks at me with disgust, takes the bill and growling to himself gets me my change.  Then he proceeds to drive like a madman though Malta's narrow, winding streets hardly stopping at stops forcing people to practically jump out of a moving bus to get off at there stops.  It was at this point where I was thinking to myself "Well shit, welcome to Malta".  

Needless to first impressions can be deceiving.  My two hours of doubt was accompanied by 7 days of redemption.  I've never met a more caring and including people.  Whether they were telling us about their magnificent culture or giving us insider tips about midnight mass, their kindness was intoxicating.  While we were in Malta, we met the owner of bar/restaurant who gave us a 10% discount with our meal alongside a great conversation about Malta.  He also taught me my favorite and only word of Maltese that I remember--shitta (shit-ta) meaning rain.

On top of Maltese kindness, a nighttime bus ride restored my faith in humanity.  On our way home from Valletta to Melliha one night Liz and I witnessed a family moment that made you believe that the divorce rate wouldn't continue to climb to an excessive high.  A mother and her 2 year old daughter sacrificed three hours of their life to spend time with their bus driving husband/father on his rickety old bus.  They were even having a family dinner on the bus thanks to McDonalds, even though I was shocked that they didn't get the little girl a Happy Meal.  Although my admiration
of the effort put forth by this family was remarkable, I couldn't help but be amused by two things; the blatant disregard of the no food, no drink, and no ice cream signs (as if people wouldn't be able to figure out that ice cream fell into either if not both categories) and the fact that the bus driver was turning to play with his daughter while navigating the slightly treacherous streets.



Basic Spanish
Aseos-Bathrooms

Advanced Spanish
Enrollar (verb)--to diligently study (however, direct translation--to incubate an egg)

Basque
Nago (verb)--I am

British English
Stones--the british weight system--My roommate Amy weighs 7 and a half stones.  1 stone equals 14 pounds.