Jiddispjaċini ma nifhimx.

(Yiddispyachini ma nifimsh, I'm sorry I don't understand.)

So here's what i've been up to since I arrived, this will be related over a number of posts, since I've been here about 2 weeks.

So getting here was pretty simple, didn't take me long to figure things out even when I got to Leonardo Da Vinci (Fiumicino) airport in Roma. I did hit a snag with bags, Air Malta would only check 1 bag or i had to pay like €90. So I said no way, and decided to check the other one, which was a bit overstuffed from getting the bags to the right weight at check-in at Dulles. So I spent a bit of time trying to get my bags back down to weight.

The Air Malta flight was.....well to be blunt terrifying, the first part went well, banking out of Fiumcino I had a spectacular view of Ostia and Ostia Antica (Rome's historical seaport). But the plain was very small, smallest I've ever been in, not a prop plan but a smallish jet. Turbulence in a small jet is an experience.... and not a fun one. But I survived even if I prayed a little extra... (who's the patron saint of air travel anyway? :P) I also got to try the national soft drink Kinnie which is... I was told later, an acquired taste. It's got an immediate flavor of oranges but with a bitter aftertaste, so sadly not my thing. (Photo is copyright Simonds Farsons Ċisk, the company that makes Kinnie, and also makes the local beer Ċisk, which I have not had but the Maltese are very proud of)

So that is where the easy stops and the chaos of culture shock begins. I landed midday at Luqa international airport (MLA), there are no terminals, they just drive up a stair truck to take you off the plan then you walk the tarmac to arrivals. The airport is nothing to write home about, and after going through customs I found myself in the lobby. Okay what now, I know I need to go the University Residence in Lija...how do I do that? I saw the taxi stand but didn't want to pay for it so I went towards the buses but nothing helpful was posted. So I called the residence and they said, just take a cab. The cab was €20 and it took me straight to the residence, they don't tip for most things in Malta unless you got exceptional service, I wasn't sure that i had read that right but I didn't tip and the cabbie didn't seem bothered. However I should mention one thing here that needs to be emphasized, it is oft referenced in guide books but let me tell you, they are not kidding. Maltese drive like maniacs. Or Italians, pick your adjective. They love to drive fast, and have virtually no fear, oddly, nobody honks. But they careen down tiny side streets, often when encountering other cars what would be playing chicken in the US is just normal driving for the Maltese. So I was at least armed with the foreknowledge that they drove like crazy. The cabbie drove very fast, and got very very very close to several cars but seemed completely unperturbed. Even the buses drive like crazy people, but more on that later. The drive didn't afford much of a view of Malta as the drive goes up one of the main arteries Triq Dun Karm (il-poeta nazzjonali, Poet Laureate), and goes through a decidedly unscenic section of Birkirkara and L-Iklin.

So I got to the University Residence safe and sound, and walked in hoping I was not in for yet more chaos, thankfully they were expecting me, the money wasn't an issue and they got me keys and everything quickly. However once I got to my room I quickly realized something was wrong. I had gotten a single postgraduate room and these were supposed to only have 3 rooms and bathrooms en suite, this room did not have that at all so I went back and was like oh heck no, but thankfully they remedied it very quickly. So I settled in and tried to figure out the internet.... and I needed a password so I went downstairs and said how do I get a password? They said oh you will get those at orientation on monday (this was saturday), but you can buy a 1 or 5 hour password now if you want. A string of delightful curses came to mind when they told me this but I just said okay and plopped down the €5.80 for the 5 hour pass (it stopped when you logged out, didn't have to use it at once), and eventually contacted everyone, but mostly slept. The whole weekend was really spent sleeping and figuring out my room and such, I heard flatmates arrive but I wasn't feeling to social. I skyped a few times with Corey and walked around Lija and the area close and took some pictures. But by monday my internet had run out and I was really waiting for orientation to get my internet....

(To Be Continued.... *dragnet music*)