Европски училишта на турнеја!

Од Однета Луковскаја-Картрајт

The European Schools are private - authority sponsored schools providing nursery, primary and secondary education in multiple languages. They are established to provide education  for children of personnel of the European Institutions and leading to the European Baccalaureate. Students are often given the opportunity to visit other member states to further cultural and linguistic awareness. 26 pupils from Brussels recently took part in a visit to Malta. Odette Loukovskaya-Cartwright, a 6th year student reports back for EU Reporter

Arriving at the hotel we went to bed immediately, to wake up at 09h00 the next morning. We woke up to sunlight flooding in through the windows. We had not seen by night that we were actually in a hotel less than 20 metres from the sea. Standing on our balcony, I saw turquoise sea stretching out for miles into the distance, and what seemed to be the entire male elderly population of the town leisurely well into their fishing. About once every 15 minutes we would hear an excited shout, as yet another of the fish lazing about in the shallow waters in the sunshine was caught. We were given a warm welcome by the hotel, especially by the hotel manager, Tony.

The hotel was extremely accommodating towards us, something very surprising considering that we were a group of 26 teenagers almost certain to disrupt peace and quiet and the other guests. However, we were given a packed lunch every day, and were met with nothing but kindness and help. That first day in Malta we went to a little fishing village, Marsaxlokk. On the 20 minute coach ride on the way there, I was able to observe some of the peculiar features of the Maltese landscape that I would become used to in the coming week. The first thing I noticed was that there were no tall buildings whatsoever. In fact, the architecture and style of the buildings put me in mind of a small town in Morocco, and this was the first time I had seen anything like it in Europe.

The second thing I noticed was how British everything was. The street signs were predominantly in English, as were the little cafe signs and advertisement billboards. At the zebra crossings, the belisha beacons were an exact copy of those in London. Throughout the week I think I met more British people than Maltese, and all Maltese people I did meet spoke perfect English! Marsaxlokk was a sleepy little village so close to the sea that some parts of it were quite literally in it. We walked through a little market which sold souvenirs, cheap sunglasses, "I Love Malta" t-shirts, little magnets and other paraphernalia. What looked like thousands of little boats rocked in the harbour which formed a semi-circle around the entire village. Interestingly enough, the majority of them were named after  Beatles songs, like "Hey Jude" and "Here Comes The Sun". Most of Malta's fish supply comes from Marsaxlokk, and its busy trade was demonstrated by the abundance of fish skeletons which littered almost every imaginable surface close to the harbour. Once we had crunched through this, we came across a little bay in which sat five or six little picturesque cafes, where we relaxed for a few hours and then headed for Valletta. In Valletta we first visited the fort of St. Elmo, and saw the "Maltaexperience", a film about the history of the island and its inhabitants. We then made our way to the centre, where we took a guided tour round St. John's Co-Cathedral. The interior of this cathedral was stunning. It was extremly ornate, and decorated in the height of the Baroque period. The cathedral houses several works of art, the most famous being The Beheading of St. John the Baptist, by Caravaggio, painted in 1608 specially for the church.

On the second day, we visited the Ta'Qali Crafts Village, where we saw glass-blowing first hand and also silver jewellery being made in the traditional Maltese style. The glass ornaments, deftly pinched and pulled into shape by the wizened old glassblowers were beautiful. Every animal and object you can think of had been made from glass, and in the main shop where you could buy these ornaments you were surrounded by bright green elephants and blue turtles. Perhaps the most impressive of these ornaments was a horse-drawn carriage made out of clear and pink glass, every detail skillfully crafted, from the horses' dainty hooves to the tiny candle-holders on either side of the carriage, the whole creation being no bigger than a rabbit. After this we went to Ghadira Bay, where we were able to swim in the sea. Although at this time in March the sea wasn't particularly warm, it was still warmer than anything you may find on the coast of Belgium. The sea was so clear that you could see all the little fish darting around in between your feet, and the little crabs which would scuttle away on your approach. After an afternoon of lazing around in the sun we returned to the hotel to nurse our sunburn and sleep.

On the third day we visited Mdina, the ancient capital of Malta. It is called the "Silent City", because no cars were allowed in there, except for weddings, funerals, and those of the inhabitants, of which there are around 300. Mdina's buildings are mainly old palaces, and so most of the inhabitants are of old noble blood. After making our way through the little narrow winding streets, built as a sort of defence if the city would be invaded, we came to the city walls. Mdina being built on one of the tallest hills inMalta, from the walls we were able to look out upon most of the country. We spent the day in Mdina, as we were allowed free time by our teacher, and I and some other friends found a little square in which there was one cafe and a tourist shop. After avoiding being kidnapped by the over-zealous tourist shop owner, we sat for an entire afternoon on bean bags provided especially for us, sipping cold Coke after cold Coke, tanning and watching the inhabitants go about their lives. We spent the fourth day on the island of Gozo.

We first visited an ancient prehistoric temple, where we were given a full 2-hour tour by an enthusiastic tour-guide. After this we made our way to a vineyard, run by two old ladies who gave us a wine-tasting and also some Maltese specialities, such as a special kind of sweet tomato paste and a type of olives unique to Gozo. In the evening we were able to visit Paceville, the "party town" ofMalta. Accosted on all sides by people handing out "buy one get one free" vouchers for cocktails and drinks,  walking through Paceville at night is not for the faint-hearted. The heavy pounding of bass and flashing neon lights capture the exhilirating atmostphere of Paceville, and contrast sharply with the lazy, sun-bleached "day mode". Overall, the trip was extremely enriching by way of experience and culture, and we all learnt a lot about Maltese customs and history. The people were all extremely helpful and friendly, and there was not one yob or trouble-maker that we saw during our stay there. The island was clean, peaceful, sunny, and everything we could have asked for for a school trip. Being exposed to Malta's mix of cultures was an extremely interesting experience, and one that I would definitely repeat again.

Ана ван Densky

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