Finally a resident

It took 6 months and a great deal of aggravation, but I am finally a Maltese resident.  I'm still a US citizen, I just reside in Malta. That means I can now travel freely around Europe for as long as I want.  Normally, a non-EU citizen can only stay for 3 months in any EU country.  I will probably stay in Malta for the foreseeable future, but now I have options.  The day I got my ID card, I came home and booked a trip to Barcelona.  It looks like my blog will get interesting again!

It's now the height of summer and just like everyone said, it is hot, hot, hot!  Europe is currently experiencing a heat wave and Malta is one of the hottest places with temps 95°+ (35°) and high humidity.  This weekend it's supposed to be well over 100°.  People are advised to stay indoors.  Great, I have no AC and one of my two fans just died.  The infrastructure here isn't the greatest and an island wide power outage would not surprise me at all.  Lucky for me, I live right across the street from the hospital and they have a generator as well as a nice little café.  In addition, I'm told the movie theater has a generator.  It may be a marathon movie watching kind of weekend. 

One great thing about where I live is that I'm very centrally located.  I am literally 10 minutes from the sea, all the tourist boats for fantastic day trips, restaurants and shopping.  I really, really like my little apartment, but it does have drawbacks.  The main one is that it's just too small to entertain my growing number of friends.  The other main source of frustration is the kitchen.  It's broken up into two rooms; the cabinets and refrigerator are in one room and the sink and stove are in the other, which is around the corner.  I have such a great landlady that I've been reluctant to move, but the time has finally come.  As luck would have it, her sister-in-law has a beautiful 2 bedroom flat just around the corner.  It has an open floor plan and is much more modern.  I can't wait to throw a house warming party!

My boyfriend Mic recently had a birthday and we decided to go on a boat adventure.  It was a fantastic day on a catamaran called the Spirit of Malta.   Up front are two huge mesh platforms with 8 mats to lay on.  We were lucky enough to get 2 choice spots.  We set sail and headed north to the smaller islands of Comino and Gozo.  It was really cool to be sailing along and being able to look directly beneath us and see the water rushing by.  We stopped first in Crystal Bay, a location we've been to several times on other boat trips.  It's a great place to snorkel, the water is very clear and there is a rocky bottom. The fish are mostly small, but some are very pretty.  We saw crabs, eels, sea urchins, and jelly fish.  As everyone was getting on their snorkel gear, I noticed one young lady putting on makeup.  Not like a little touch up, but a full on professional makeup kit.  It seems we were going to witness a photo shoot.  There were two models and one photographer and they really did take some great shots.  The girls posed on the very tip of the boat with just the beautiful sea and rock formations in the back ground.  I don't know what it was for, but they changed bikinis several times. 
 
After swimming, lunch and some laying about we pulled up anchor and headed to the most popular stop for all the tourist boats, the Blue Lagoon.  The Blue Lagoon is a giant, cyan-hued "swimming pool" between Comino and it's tiny offshoot island, Cominotto. The lagoon is surrounded by limestone cliffs and has many deep caves, which served as hideouts for pirates and marauders in the Middle Ages.  People see pictures of the water and think it's been photo shopped, but it really is cyan blue.  It's also extremely crowded during July and August.  There isn't really a proper dock, the bigger boats just drop anchor and people swim around the boats or make their way to the rocky shore.  There are only a few paces where you can climb the rocks to make it to one of the paths that take you to the tiny beach area.  Here you will find 6 or 8 food trucks selling fast food, beer and lots and lots of ice cream.  Our boat docked right next to a boat the was able to put a ramp onto the rocks, so we decided to board their boat and use their ramp.  On previous boat trips to other bays or coves where our boat was the one docked, other boats pulled up along side and passengers crossed our boat to get to shore.  So we swam over and I climbed the ladder to get on deck.  I was halfway to the ramp when a deckhand told me to get off his boat and never came back!  He actually made Mic get off the ladder back into the water.  The ramp was only about 5 steps from the ladder, it's not like we were spending any time on his boat or anything.  Well, we were not near any of the places where people normally climb the rocks but Mic managed to make it to where I was and we were off to find our ice cream.  To get back proved a bit more tricky.  If we swam back, we would have to watch out for the many, many boats coming and going.  We decided to go back the way we came and find a place to jump in near our boat.  The could be more dangerous then it sounds.  The water is so clear that it is really hard to judge it's depth.  We were able to get close enough to the water that it was just a short jump.  After a bit more swimming it was time to head home.  We got quite a bit of sun that day and it was our good fortune to be in the shade of the sail on the way back.  I think most people slept on the 1.5 hour trip back. 

Another boat trip with my expat group didn't have such a happy ending.  About 20 friends went on a night trip to Comino.  The island is a bird sanctuary and nature preserve; tourist must be off the island by 6 pm.  After 6 pm, several of the tour companies have a special permit that allows a rotating schedule of evening BBQ's.   The night started off great, everyone was swimming and having a great time exploring the caves without the huge crush of tourists.  Several people were stung by jelly fish, but I had some baking soda and was able to make a paste to help with the pain.  As it started to get dark the cameras came out.  The view was just stunning; the sun turned the sky red as it dipped below the limestone cliffs.  Soon enough it was dinner time.  For us as well as a starving hoard of mosquitoes, or mossies as they're called here.  3 of us were walking back down toward the water when they descended on us.  I've never seen an actual swarm of the blood suckers, but I could literally see dozens of them settling down for a feast on my two friends.  I didn't need to see them on me, I could feel them.  So on top of my SPF 50 went a layer of DEET,  which someone more prepared was kind enough to share. 

After a great steak dinner the music came out and the dancing started.  In addition to my group of friends, there was another group of about 20 Maltese along on the boat.  Up until now, the groups didn't really mingle.  But as the liquor flowed more freely and the dancing picked up, we were suddenly one big group.  One of my friends, Christian, is very tall, probably around 6'6" or so.  He was dancing around, minding his own business when one of the Maltese ladies, who was pretty short, decided she wanted to dance between his legs. It was the funniest thing, watching her dive in as he effortlessly swung one leg right over her head.   She did this several times and even got her friend to do it.  I think is was as much fun for them as it was for those of us watching.  As I don't dance, I happened to get it all on my cell phone video.  Everyone was having a great time, some more then others as on the same video I have another friend Paul doing some crazy dance moves with Christian.  I'm sorry I can't post the video, but Paul threatened me with bodily harm if I ever showed it to anyone.   Too bad for him, it wasn't before his wife sent a copy to his kids. 

All too soon it was time to head back.  It was probably around 11 PM when we gathered up our stuff and piled back on the boat.  Trisha, our organizer, was one of the last of the group.  As she tuned around to check for anything left behind, she apparently tripped over something and hit her head on the rocks.  I ran over to see if I could help and saw two pretty nice abrasions on her face and she seemed pretty out of it.  To be fair, everyone had been drinking, but I felt her behavior was not wholly explained as simply drunk.  We put her in a chair and carried her on the boat but she was not very responsive.  She kept complaining that her face, neck and head hurt.  We had an ambulance meet us and I rode with her to the main hospital, Mater Dei.   I was in the Air Force for 28 years; 13 of those years with a medical unit.  I worked in a hospital, volunteered in the ER, sat through countless hours of training and was an advanced first aid instructor.  I was absolutely horrified at what I saw once we got to the ER or A&E as they call it.  Accident and Emergency I think.  First of all, there was no assessment what so ever by the ambulance crew, they just put her on the gurney and wheeled her to the ambulance.  She was complaining of neck pain as well as her face, but hey, let's not bother with a C collar.  I realized later that one of the 1st responders was actually a nurse, who rode in the back with us and asked some basic questions like name, age, medical conditions, insurance.  She did take Trisha’s blood pressure.  Once in the A&E they wheeled her out into the hall, lined her up with half a dozen other gurneys and left us there.

We arrived at midnight and were not seen until 4 am! That is 4 hours with a potential head injury.  No initial assessment, never once did they come check on her or any of the other patients for that matter.  Eventually they wheeled her into a treatment room, which looked more like a blood draw room as that was the only equipment there.  The room was dirty, the trash was overflowing, there was a bloody gauze pad a under my chair, and a mouse trap in the corner.  The doctor came in, didn't wash his hands despite a sign reminding him.  Did a cursory eval, consisting of mainly just asking her some questions and a very, very brief physical exam.  He then drew blood; no gloves.   Normally when you draw blood, you draw it directly into the sealed tubes.  Nope, he drew it into a syringe then squirted it into the tubes and threw the half full syringe of blood into the trash.  There was no bio hazard bag, everything went into one trash bin.  There was a sharps container which he used for the needle at least.  Instead of just using a needle to draw her blood, he inserted a cannula which is normally used for IV's.  There was a large sign right next to him that talked about reducing blood stream infections.  It specifically said do not use a cannula simply to draw blood.  It said do not use unless quick access was needed or fluids or meds were to be given.  (none were) Trisha in fact begged him not to use it because she bruised very easily and it was very painful.  He disregarded it all and did it anyway, leaving her in even more pain.  She had been really complaining about pain around one eye, where the abrasion was.  He reluctantly agreed to add an X-ray to the CT scan.  Not that he examined her eye for possible fracture, but I think just to placate me.  She was eventually taken for the scans and returned to the treatment room around 5.  By 7 AM we still hadn't heard anything so I went to check.  The nurse/technician/guy at the counter said "Oh, didn't she tell you, we found something, they need a CT with contract".  Uh no, she didn't tell me, because no one told her.  At this point it was going to be several more hours, so I called her son to come be with her and I went home for a shower and sleep.  Remember, we had been swimming in salt water and were coated with suntan lotion and bug spray.  We felt pretty gross. 

To shorten a long story; they found 3 aneurisms, not caused by the fall, but found because of the CT to rule out a head injury.  (no facial fractures, just some bruising)  The care she received in the hospital was shocking, from the rude nursing staff to the complete lack of care or information she received.  She was in the hospital for 3 days and never once did they offer to help her clean up or shower.  The fall was on the 4th of July and as of 2 Aug, she is still waiting to see how they are going to treat the aneurisms.  They have told her she will need surgery, but will have to go to London because they can not perform that type of surgery here, but no other information.  So she is sitting home waiting....

I told everyone I know, in an emergency take me to St. James, the private hospital.  I don't fall under the EU health care system, I have to pay everything up front then get reimbursed by my insurance.  I might as well pay for better care.  But in listening to other people, some tell of exceptionally great experience with Mater Dei and bad experiences with St James, so you just never know.  Malta is supposed to have great health care, on par with the US and the UK. What I saw that night reminded me of the 3rd world conditions I saw on a medical mission to Honduras. 

Malta is a spectacular place, don't get me wrong.  I love living here, but at times it can be maddeningly frustrating.  Here are two typical examples on how poor the infrastructure/government is.  I spoke at length on my trouble getting my residency card on Facebook.  A short recap; I applied in Feb for self sufficiency status.  They gave me the form, then combed through each document I gave them, then took it to the director for her approval.  I got a green form allowing me to stay in the country until they made a decision.  I had to go to their office every month for a 30 day extension.  In May I received a letter telling me I had submitted the wrong form.  I took all my paperwork down there and asked how I could have the wrong form since they gave it to me and two people approved it.  Another person looked at the computer and said no, there was no problem, it was still in progress.  I spoke to a 3rd person who said wait here while I find your file.  1.5 hrs later a 4th person came and asked for my phone number.  He said I was approved and he would call me in a few days to come pick up my card.  30 days later, (of course no phone call) I was extended another 30 days and told, no I wasn't approved, there was no problem with the form, it was still in progress.  At this time, I hired an immigration specialist.  I went to his office and explained the entire story in detail.  The form being approved by 3 people, the letter, them telling me I was approved, them telling me it was still in progress.  He took notes.  3 weeks later he called and said "I spoke to the director, he said they sent you a letter 2 months ago telling you you had the wrong form.  You didn't get the letter, right?"  At this point, I was already thinking of giving up and leaving the island.  By the way, this story is very typical of non EU people.  Even for an EU citizen, the wait can be 6 months or more.  I heard from several sources that the entire office, from the director down to the cleaning staff was fired for incompetency.  These were all new people.  They seemed to be equally rude and incompetent.  Back to the story; I reminded my immigration guy of the previous conversation, but he acted as if it were all new information.  He said "it's Friday afternoon, I'll call again next week".  I told him I had to go down there Monday for the 30 day extension, I would let him know if anything changed. 

Monday morning I arrived to find the particularly rude girl manning the desk.  I gave her my form, she looked at the computer and said you've been approved, go home and wait for the letter.  I asked for the extension as it was expiring in 3 days.  She said "no, you don't need it, I just told you it was approved."  I pointed out that I had been told that 2 months prior and still no card, could I get a print out?  She accused me of calling her a liar and said you don't need a print out. She refused to give me her name as well.  So there I was with a surly clerk, no residency, and no extension.  With no where else to go, I went to the ID card window, hoping they would confirm the approval.  Much to my dismay, they gave me the ID card, which they are totally prohibited from doing without the letter with some kind of pin number on it.   Wow, I was in shock!  So this begs the question, how long had the ID card been sitting there? Did they really tell me in May I was approved just to get me out of their office as I suspected, or was I actually approved despite two other people telling me it was in progress.  Why did they say in progress in June?  Why did the Director say I needed a new form?  There is no way to know when it was actually approved, but the weird part is it's for 2 years from my birthday.  They are only supposed to be for 12 months and the immigration guy said the scheme that I was supposed to be under would be for 6 months at a time.  I may be in the dark about how it all happened, but I'm taking advantage of the fact that I can now travel.  I went home that day and booked a trip to Barcelona!

Another example that makes you shake your head and say well, that's Malta for you, happened just last week.  Mic and I had gone to dinner at a Thai restaurant on one end of Sliema, where I live.  We were supposed to meet some friends for a movie in Paceville, about a 30 min walk along the sea front. We got into a haggle over the bill and were delayed, so we decided to take the bus.  This being the height of tourist season, the first bus was too full to stop and they were all very late.  What should have been a 10 min wait turned into 30, but we finally got on a bus.  We would be late, but could still make the movie.  A few blocks along, the bus was diverted up a side street.  Seems the main road had been close for some reason.  We got into a slow line of crawling cars and could see other buses ahead.  Eventually the bus driver asked if anyone knew how to get back to the main road.  Poor guy was from Romania and had only been in Malta for 2 months.  This bus was crammed too, but everyone near the front was a tourist.  I was standing right by the driver, so I pulled up Google Maps because it shows the direction of the one way streets.  I may walk this area all the time, but I don't pay attention to the direction of the cars.  There was only one main road, which all the drivers were apparently taking as well.  As we got to the intersection, his mirror got tangled on some scaffolding.  These are all very narrow roads and really no place for a big bus.  He opened the door to let me out and I was almost hit by a scooter who came up on the sidewalk to zoom pass the bus, as they do.  I got the mirror untangled and pulled it in toward the bus, but now it was too close and the door wouldn't shut.  Before I could readjust it, the scooter driver reached up and grabbed it and the glass shattered in his hand.  Karma is a bitch Mr. Impatient.  Now he had to navigate the bus around the sharp turn on a very crowded, very narrow street.  Oh, and the Maltese like to honk their horns.  No matter how backed up traffic is, each driver seems to think it will magically clear up if they just lay on the horn.  He finally made the turn and there we sat.  Nothing was moving up ahead.  Many people got off the bus when he opened the door for the mirror.  More got off when he let me out to direct him around the corner.  At the sight of the long line of traffic, everyone else got off, joining the people from the other buses up ahead.   I must say, they made the most of it, it was pretty jovial atmosphere.  Luckily, this road was a straight shot to where they were all going.  It was now obviously way too late to make the movie, so we headed back to Mic's, a route which took us past all the stopped traffic to the front of the line.  The road that all the traffic had been diverted onto by virtue of no place else to go?  Closed due to construction!  A clear example of one hand not having a clue what the other was doing.  And clearly the bus drivers didn't know the area as some went down streets that would end up being too narrow or have turns too sharp.  Ah well, just another night in Malta.  If its not one thing, its another!

 

Link to pictures:

 https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/118205599704530902363/albums/6168518150984946065