i am firmly settled in the north...a very wet and chilly (though warmer than home!) area - Bodø, Norway (pronounced more like "boo-dah," while rolling over the "d" in a way that Nebraskans are not inclined to do. sadly, my Norwegian has yet to advance far beyond this pronunciation and the usage of "hi" and "thank you"). internet connection abandoned my little mac and i for several days, allowing me some undistracted time to get to know two of my new flatmates. we all have our own rooms and not a bad place at all really! My third flatmate is Norwegian and has proven to be sweet, mellow, and fun to get to know. i was very excited to see webpages loading again, however; as i had been wanting to speak with my family again. How nice to have both the family only a skype call away and good friends here as well :)
Pictures from here up north are minimal as it is very, well, dark. We are just over four hours of sunlight this time of year, though the light is increasing daily. By the time i leave it will nearly be time for the midnight sun! This morning i awoke to finally see clear sky and sunlight shining golden across the tops of snow clad mountains to the northeast. It never really rose above them, and settled back to rest in pink and purple splendor around 4 o'clock. i thought now would be a good time to work on my account of Malta, from which i have many many sunny and bright pictures.
i was very reluctant to leave the gracious care of my good friends in Malta. En's family watched over me incredibly well; i couldn't have found better hosts or tour guides if i had tried. and as for hospitality of all the Maltese i met, it was an influence that will dictate how i treat all guests i am fortunate enough to host in my future. Georgette made me sandwhiches for my journey, and En and all gave me a hug to send me on my way. the day's prior to my departure, however; were full of more exploration and the joyful seeing of new things in the company of a dear and adventurous friend.
En took me exploring the south of the island before we attended a New Year's Eve party. We found a lovely place known as St. Peter's Pool, a place En and her family had sometimes gone to swim. i couldn't resist picture taking. i was sorely tempted to jump in, and might have had i had a change of clothes available! i did manage to trip in a small and soak one leg of my jeans, so i guess that worked just as well. The sea water was a marvelous blue that can never quite be captured by a camera.
Next came the Freeport and traditional Maltese fishing boats, all painted with the same bright colors. We even got to walk through the market, and i very much wished i could have gotten some Maltese lace for mom back home.The view on the right is the Freeport (Birzebbuga) from quite a distance, and the bright boats are the fishing boats in Marsaxlokk. These boats also nearly all have an eye on them, and i believe it is to ward off evil spirits.
i also included a photo of the most lovely tour guide anyone could ever ask for :)
En and i drove all over the south, had a lovely lunch and returned to get ready for a real party, the type that you wear a dress and heels to. It is apparently habit in Malta for groups to rent out areas, sell tickets, and set up great parties (open bar, DJ, lights, everything). Our New Year's Party was in a fort, the kind that dots Malta's coast. It En and i left, these forts were spaced at such distances so that warning signals could be lit from the tops and the knowledge of approaching enemies could quickly spread. When En and i saw the torches on the stone fort we laughingly concluded that the Turks were coming!
The party was a blast, though i must admit that i am never fully comfortable in a dress and heels. i think i was meant to live in camping pants and hiking boots. i had a lovely lunch the next day with En's family and Neal. Her dad grilled for us. Everyone is present in the picture but Georgette who was running the camera. Both the food and the company were delightful.
Days went by in a whirl of both activity and relaxation. i'm definitely going to pick up the habit of having hot tea with people as often as possible. We headed the next day to the Golden Bay area. En couldn't be convinced that i didn't need a picture of myself to prove i was there, so here i am in the Maltese winter wind.
It's hard to condense my last days down. i couldn't believe the sheer number of things i saw is a very short amount of time. En took me all over Valletta (the current capital of Malta). We explored areas she hadn't been to for quite some time and had a lark of a day.
These pictures look out over the harbor, i'm fairly certain it is Grand Harbor. Below you can see parts of the Three Cities across the water .
We visited a series of stone temples that are older than Stonehenge (a fact some seemed quite proud of :). The internet is telling me that these temples are some of the oldest prehistoric structur
es in the world, dating from 4000 to 2500 BC. i didn't get a very good picture of the temples, as my camera was doing odd things. What you can see best in the picture is us walking towards one and the large, tent-like covering that has been built to preserve the stone constructions from the wind and rain. We also explored around the area, and i borrowed En's camera to take pictures of the sea beating on the rocks. i couldn't get enough of that sound or the view of it. Isn't it odd to think that the sea has been doing the same thing, sounding the same way since those temples were new?
i'm actually finishing this post almost several days after i began it. i mentioned it was against my nature to blog, and i think i realized that was because i am unable to sit still long enough to get my experience across. i will have to post about the last day in Malta (beautiful pictures of Gozo that truly deserve to be shown) and i will begin writing about Norway experiences at the same time. We have a bus tour tomorrow, and another student has shown us the trail to an area where the view is amazing - i'm hoping to come up with some good pictures soon. Thanks for reading if you are following along :) i hope all are are well wherever you are in our big little world.
"It's a dangerous business...going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
- Bilbo Baggins :)
Oh Heather, so fun to see what you're seeing and know that you are doing well. Carry on! love ya, Aunt Kathy
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