Happy Halloween from Malta!

Hi everyone!!!

Sorry I have not been posting as much lately. Things have been rather busy. Happy Halloween! I have Halloween related stuff to tell you all about! I went on two ghost tours. One was in Valletta, and the other was in Mdina and surrounding areas. They were really awesome. Mdina, the silent city, is very creepy at night. During that tour, I also saw a cemetery that was a mass grave site for plague victims. Hearing ghost stories and how much history impacts them was fascinating. One of the ones in Valletta reminded me of slender-man. I thought it was cool how I could relate stories for locations that are a great distance apart. Do you all have any spooky ghost stories to share? Leave a comment if so! I also attended a paranormal circus. It was rather interesting. I was not sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed it. The paranormal worked really well, and the music choices were great. At the end, they did part of the thriller dance which was just amazing. I was surprised to see so many Halloween themed things while I was here. Halloween is big in the US and I wasn't sure it would be here, but I did see some Halloween themed candy, stores with Halloween things, and of course the paranormal circus. Here are pictures for you all!!

The Valletta Ghost Tour! Our guide dressed up as a vampire, Spooooky!

The Saint people prayed to regarding the plague

At the paranormal circus! We really were trying to look scared, but we were just not successful. At least we tried!

When I first tried to take a picture in the coffin, a skull guy cut me off and just stood there staring at me. I was not very found of him. The picture on the right is inside the circus! Creepy!

Eyeball candy! The perfect way to start off the Mdina ghost tour, especially with Halloween approaching! Mdina is creepy at night. It surely proved the nickname "the silent city" right. It was a full moon! Time for the werewolves to come out!

I thought the phone booth looked creepy in Mdina 

A store with Halloween stuff! 

I am sad I didn't get to dress up this year. Are any of you? If so, leave a comment and say what you are dressing up as! :) Everyone should!!! :) Anyways, I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween! :)

"Hold on, man. We don't go anywhere with "scary," "spooky," "haunted," or "forbidden" in the title." ~From Scooby-Doo

Have a Spooktacular Night!

-Arianna :)

Cats in Malta! (And other random things)

Hi everyone!

I hope you have all been doing well! Last night, I saw a ton of stray cats and wanted to talk about them. When we were touring the Msida main campus, our guide said that students fed stray cats they saw and it evolved from there. While walking around, I have also seen random spots on the sidewalk that have bowls with food and water. It is amazing to see so may people taking care of and feeding all of the roaming cats. For the cats, they are not just homeless because the whole island is their home with  its residents stepping in to aid them. It's very different than from back home, where I do not see very many stray cats. 

On another random note, I saw the International Space Station fly over Malta. It was visible with the naked eye! Here are some neat facts about it. It travels at 25,000 km/hr, orbits the earth 15 times a day (astronauts see a sunrise and sunset every 90 minutes), and weighs over 400 tonnes. It was really awesome to see it flying over in the night sky. It went by pretty fast. I almost missed it! 

"Without the dark, we'd never see the stars."

-Stephanie Meyer

Until Next Time Folks,

-Arianna :)

Comino

Hi Folks,

This week we went on a trip to Comino for a field study. The population in Comino is only 4! Sorry to make this post short! I promise to make it up to you next week! Here are some pictures!

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."

-Albert Einstein

Next week I promise I will do a quote from myself again!

Ta Ta for Now

-Arianna :)

A Month has Come and Gone

Hello Wonderful People!

I have been in Malta for a month already! Time passes quickly! In such a short time, I have been introduced to so many different places in Malta. I have been enjoying every minute of my time here. I still have so much to see, learn, and explore. I can't wait! Classes are going well. I am staying really busy. This week for International Coastal Clean Up Day, the US Embassy here in Malta hosted a clean up at Gnejna Bay where we collected a metric ton of waste! It shocks me how so many people don't care about the environment and the damage they are doing when they litter, especially when a garbage bin is not far away. Anyway, here are some pictures!

Gnejna Bay

Getting ready to Clean Up the Coast!

The Ambassador 

Hard at work

So much trash! One metric ton of waste collected!

Until Next Time Folks!

"There is beauty there. Can't you see it? There is life there. Don't destroy it."

-Arianna

Week 1 of Classes

Hello lovelies!

It's been a week, and I have a few things to tell you! This week started my Sustainability, Society, and Change class. I think it is super interesting. It has been an adjustment getting used to having a two hour lecture in the morning and one in the afternoon. There has also been tons of reading to do, but I have been really interested in most of it. I also have three "online" classes to work through. Like the beginning of any semester, I have been getting into the groove of things and getting organized! This weekend was quite eventful. On Friday night, I went to the Stretta festival and also to a friend's house. On Saturday, I colored my hair! On Sunday, one of the other students in the program came over and made dinner and gave me a cooking lesson, and today I went to Mdina (and I did homework throughout the weekend). Here are some pictures of Mdina, it was the old capital of Malta before Valletta was built. Thank you for your patience :) Also, a shout out to my older brother! Happy birthday Jer! :)

 

The moat (left) and main entrance to Mdina (right) also the entrance to King's Landing (Game of Thrones)

       

St. John's Cathedral 

          

Tombstones in the cathedral (left). It is a really honor to have been buried in the Cathedral. The ceiling of the cathedral (right). 

Stained glass in the Cathedral

I was really fascinated by the sheer beauty and magnificence of this cathedral and went a little bit crazy with pictures.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned!

"And she was captivated by this place, by its beauty, and by its history. It was like it had a little magic, enough to take her back in time for a little while."

-<3 Arianna <3

Gozo Trip

Hi everyone!

This post has quite a few pictures. I am trying to sum up two days in it! On the 10 and 11, we were in Gozo looking at specific sites that have sustainability issues and such. They were amazing to behold. Gozo is a much calmer and quieter island than Malta. It also has more agriculture. It was nice to see it and notice the difference between the two islands reminding me that even when two things are so close, they can still have many differences. 

In this view, you can see some small agriculture plots. The plots in both Malta and Gozo are much smaller than ones we see in the states. You can also see Camino and a little farther in the distance there is Malta.

I love this picture. I love the way the sunlight is reflecting off of the water and the view of the cliffs.

I just had to have a picture with those cliffs in the background.

We stayed at a monastery overnight and we were shown a WWII shelter. It was fantastic. I love the history that is ebbed in those walls.

This area is a popular scuba diving spot in Gozo. There is a cave you can explore. I just loved the way the waves looked coming over the rocks.

  
Me with Azure Window in the background!

Salt pans with water in the distance.

For lunch, we got a small tour of a farm where the owner makes his own goat cheese and wine. The cheese and wine were absolutely delicious!

I just love the water. I can't capture it enough. I am so grateful that I get to have this experience.

I plan on doing a post next Sunday at the latest. I hope you all keep reading my blog and checking back for updates :)

"The life I'm living now isn't where I thought I'd be. It's a dream come true to be living out my dreams."
-<3 Arianna <3

Island Boat Cruise

Good evening!

Sorry I have not been posting as much lately, things have been quite busy. With classes kicking into gear, my plan is to try to write a post for you guys at least once a week. My plan will be to try to post on Saturdays or Sundays (I have not decided which yet). You can expect a second post from me over the weekend, and it will be about the trip to Gozo we had! This post is about our island boat cruise! We went to crystal cove and blue lagoon. The water was so pretty and quite refreshing. It was also a lot of fun to see Malta from a different view point! Also, if you get motion sickness easily, the boat cruise probably is not for you lol. Enjoy these photos! :)

The water was such a pretty blue! :)

Malta from a different viewpoint. 

I found the toilet on the boat!

In the ocean :)

They have ice cream boats!

"The ocean is vast and never-ending. It can be full of raging storms or sweet serenity, but it is always beautiful."

- <3 Arianna <3