Good bye summer
My new landlords are the sweetest people. They are a 'mature'
couple, Edwin is 90 ish I think and Mary is younger. Edwin gets around great
for a man his age, but he is hard of hearing and quite frail looking. When I
moved in, I noticed my refrigerator wasn't working right, so Edwin called a
repairman, who said the thermostat needed replacing. The next day I noticed a
horrible noise coming from the freezer. I took the back panel off and could see
the fan scraping and the plastic blades being torn up. And it still wasn't cold
enough. My ice cream was melting and the items in the lower portion, like the
milk, were warm. So I called Mary and explained the noise and the temperature,
and soon enough Edwin came to check it out for himself. The noise was so loud
that it kept me awake at night and you could plainly hear it all over the
apartment. When Edwin came in the front door, I said "do you hear that"? He
cupped his hand around his ear and said "what did you say"? I asked louder,
"can you hear that"? He stepped closer and said "what"? I said "never mind,
maybe you can hear it from the kitchen". Standing in front of the fridge, I
said "can you hear it now"? He again cupped his hand around his ear and said
"pardon"? I yelled, "can you hear the noise"? He said "I don't hear
anything". I said "it's because you're deaf". He said "what"? I said "the
fridge is very loud, you can't hear it because your hearing is bad" He said "it
sounds fine, it's no louder then mine" I told him it was so loud I could hear
it in the bedroom on the other side of the apartment. He said I must have
exceptional hearing because it wasn't loud at all. This went back and forth for
a few minutes, with him getting a bit more aggravated at me because I was
laughing. I honestly thought he was kidding at first. How could he not know he
couldn't hear! I finally realized this was getting no where so I removed the
panel so he could see the torn fan blades. That didn't make much of an
impression, so I moved on to the temperature. I showed him my melted ice cream
and he stuck his finger in it! Well, it was going in the trash anyway. He left
to go call the guy and in a few minutes Mary came down. As soon as I opened the
door, she heard the noise and said "oh my goodness, is that it"? I'm glad she
could hear it. We couldn't get the repair guy back for a few days so Mary
offered me a replacement one they had in storage. We made arrangements to get
it the next day so Mic could help. In the morning, Mary called to ask if we
could do it another time, Edwin wasn't feeling well and couldn't help. Edwin is
about 5' 2" and weighs maybe 90 lbs. He's quite frail, as one would expect for
a man his age. He reminds me of the 'older' Habitat volunteers who insist on
climbing on the roof, or other hazardous tasks, as though they were still in
their 20's. No way would I have let him help anyway. I told Mary we wanted to
do it now so Mic could get back to work. As it turns out, the backup fridge was
no good, so I just waited out the repair guy, who did eventually come and fix
it. Now it's quiet and cold. Not too long after that the gas for my stove ran
out. I went to their apartment to get the number for the gas company and Mary
had a hard time finding it. Mostly because she couldn't remember how it
was listed in her phone book, but partially because she didn't have on her
reading glasses. About this time Edwin came in and started fussing at her for not
using her glasses. Then he turned to me exasperated. "She knows she can't see,
I don't know why she won't wear her glasses, it drives me crazy!" It was all I
could do not to laugh. I was thinking, she said the same thing about your
refusal to wear a hearing aid. They are both super sweet and pretty feisty
too. I've been so lucky with landlords here. I've heard many horror stories, I
really do appreciate how lucky I've been. So much so that I'm extending my
contract from one year to two when Mic moves in next month.
The days are getting shorter and cooler, so I guess summer is over. Sadly,
that means no more boat trips. It was a fun filled summer, with lots of laughs,
snorkeling, swimming, sunbathing, eating and just hanging out with some great
friends. The last 3 trips were certainly the most eventful. I wrote about the
one where our group leader fell and hit her head and we spent the night in the
ER. Here are two more stories from the final trips.
Our last BBQ trip was truly a death defying experience, for more then one
person this time. The bus ride, not the boat or the island. Our ride started
off poorly and just got worse. The driver seemed a bit confused as we were
telling him where to stop to gather our people. We had to repeat ourselves over
and over. "OK stop up here at the light'. 'Stop at the light', 'STOP AT THE
LIGHT'! 'Stop at the big hotel', 'the hotel', 'THE HOTEL'! More then once he
passed the stop before he even took his foot off the gas. Things went from bad
to worse once we picked up our last person. The last stop was near the top of a
hill; on the other side was a steep decent down a slightly curvy road. The bus
was about half way down and had picked up a bit of speed when the driver
suddenly slammed on the breaks and came to a complete stop in the middle of the
road. For absolutely no reason! We continued down the hill at a crawl. Once
on level ground, we picked up speed but now the driver began swerving into
oncoming traffic, nearly sideswiped cars, signs and guard rails. He braked
suddenly for no reason, he sped up and slowed down so much that several of us
were feeling sick. It appeared for all intents and purposes that he was drunk;
with very slow reaction times and swerving all over the road. (I don't think he
was actually drunk, just a really, really bad driver, much too old to be behind
the wheel of a car, let alone a passenger bus). Just before we arrived in
Cirkewwa, we all watched as a small car crossed the road in front of us, into a
parking lot. 14 of us saw him in plenty of time, yet the driver never took his
foot off the gas until he nearly ran the car over. He seemed genuinely
surprised, as if the car magically appeared in front of him. The person
normally in charge of the charters was home sick. We called her to tell the bus
company we wanted another driver. This is where the typical Maltese attitude
toward customer service kicked in. She was told that the company looked at a
computer that showed the driver's speed and his driving was just fine. He was
driving safely, it was the passengers who were confused. All 14 of us. They
would not send another driver. We decided even though we paid for a round trip,
we didn't feel safe riding with him. We called a cab company to send a van to
pick us up after the boat trip. There were 3 other people scheduled to go back
on the bus who had not come with us. The driver was told to be back at the dock
at 11:15 PM for the 3 new people. The cab was also requested for this
time.
The rest of the evening was fun. Once the mad crush of tourists left, we
had the beach and cove all to ourselves. You can swim across to a cave and once
the people clear out, you can see some really cool sea life using just a snorkel
and mask. Aside from the fish, we saw sea snails, a moray eel, and some
interesting sea crabs with flat bodies and very long thin legs. Once inside the
cave, we saw more crabs. The cave is more of a tunnel, it goes through a rock
formation and comes out the other side, to the open sea. Inside the cave it's
very dark and the water gets very deep. It's a little spooky, but a cool swim.
The BBQ is normally for two boats only. There is a schedule for which charter
boat gets which night, but this time there were four boats for some reason.
That meant twice as many people on a small patch of sand. Normally, everyone
faces their chairs toward the water and the spectacular sunset. This time, we
had to form small circles to get everyone on the beach. Those of us facing the
rocks were in for quite the treat. Just after dusk we noticed movement on the
rocks. Apparently, living in the rocks and out of sight during the day, is a
colony of rats. Not the cute little mice, but big ole rats, and a lot of them.
We backed our chairs as far away as we could get and just watched. They were
like little acrobats, jumping from rock to rock, climbing upside down etc. I
had heard of them before, but had no idea there were so many or that they were
so big. All the trash is removed from the island every night, so I'm not sure
what they were living on, but there must have been quite a bit left behind.
Those of us facing them took comfort in the fact that, to get to us, they had to
first cross the line of the people facing the sea, 98% of whom had no idea what
was going on behind them. There was a tiny chihuahua running around all night,
we did keep an eye on him. I think the rats could have hauled him up in the
rocks, never to be seen again.
Around 10:45 we called the bus driver to confirm the 11:15 pickup. He said
he would be late, he was taking another job. We told him no, we booked you for
these times and that's what we expect. Remember, the bus was just for the 3
other people. The original 14 had booked a cab. At 11:15 our cab called to
say he was 1 minute out. At 11:16 the bus driver called to say he was just
leaving home, he would be there in 20 minutes. I later learned that the bus did
not appear until midnight, a full 45 minutes late. A response from the company
to our written complaint went something like this: (1) The driver was delayed by
traffic, it wasn't his fault he was 45 min late. (He told us he was just
leaving home and at that time of night, there was no traffic). (2) On a previous
trip, someone threw up in the bus (couldn't have happened without everyone
noticing it). You are lucky we will take you anywhere. Sadly, that is pretty
much the answer we expected. Customer service is very different in Malta than
in the US. Mic and I recently rented a car in Italy and I was charged almost
double in added insurance charges. The counter refused to refund the charges,
so I wrote to Avis. Mic kept saying it's a waste of time, companies never
refund money. I told him, you don't understand American customer service. Sure
enough, in less then a week, I got an email from Avis saying the overcharges
would be refunded to my credit card. Mic was in shock.
Our last trip of the season was on a catamaran docked less then a block
from my apartment. Now that's what I call service! It was our usual fun time -
great friends, great weather and great food. This time, instead of our usual
Comino destination, we went to St Paul's Bay. Malta, being an island, has a lot
of seafood. There are several fishing villages where people still go out in
traditional Maltese boats. Of course commercial fishing is also quite prevalent
as one could see from the fresh fish markets, if one were to get up at 4 am in
the morning, which this one does not. In addition to catching wild fish, there
are also huge fish farms just off the coast. These are basically gigantic nets
where fish are kept in the sea, like a corral. In St Paul's Bay, you can pay
€50 to swim in these cages with giant tuna, most the size of a full grown man.
I had long wanted to see a fish farm up close, but didn't feel like it was worth
the money. Plus, who wants to swim with a fish at lunch then eat it for
dinner? When our boat dropped anchor near one, my friend Eva and I decided we
were going to swim over. We had to cross quite a bit of open water and there
was the risk of being run over by a passing boat, so we decided to take a bright
yellow noodle with us to increase our visibility. Well, we swam and swam and
swam. Every time we stopped to check our progress, it hardly seemed like we
were getting anywhere. There was a boat tied up to one of the corrals and
that's where we were shooting for. After about 30 minutes, we finally made it.
Everyone on the boat was sitting on deck, with a drink in hand, watching us.
When we got close enough we all say hi, how ya doing etc. They asked us what in
the world were we doing. We said we wanted to see the fish farm. They said,
its empty. NO WAY! We swam all that way for nothing! They asked us if we
wanted to come aboard but we decided to just go back. It was past lunch time
and we were hungry. The swim back was faster since the current was with us. At
one point a small boat was heading right toward me, so I stopped and waved my
noodle at them. They slowed down and looked at me like I was crazy, made a few
hand gestures and went on their way. Once back on our boat, Eva said when they
saw me waving my noodle, they veered toward me, as if to render assistance. They
thought I was flagging them down. I guess that explained their look. When we
got back to the boat, everyone was already eating lunch but they did save some
for us.
I have written in several posts about my two best friends, Sylvia and
Stephanie. These are the two girls I went to Coasta Rica with and both are like
sisters to me. I woke up one morning to read a Facebook post about Stephanie
suffering a sudden stroke. I was devastated and in shock and reached out to her
sister Joey for more information. I felt like I knew her already by the way
Stephie talked of her and she was just as warm and sweet as I imagined her to
be. She was obviously still in shock as well, and I will be forever grateful to
her for taking the time to talk to me over the course of that first night. She
kept me filled in on her condition and we talked of Stephanie all night and of
the many people who loved her and were praying for her. One thing that she did
that still bring tears to my eyes was to hold Stephanie's hand and tell her how
much I loved her. My heart was broken when she sent word the following day that
Stephanie has passed away. It was no surprise to me that there were 60 people
in the room with her when she passed. I have never in my life met anyone who
touched as many lives in such a profound way as Stephanie. To know her was to
fall instantly in love with her. She was so vibrant and full of life and the
most giving person on the planet. I'm overwhelmed by all the stories her
friends are sharing on FB. I am forever honored to have been her friend. Her
passing just brings home the point I often make. Life is short, you have to
take advantage of every opportunity you get to live life to the fullest. It
also made me realize how easy it is to lose touch with friends you don't see
every day. I spent the next few days reaching out to friends back in the US.
Since I moved to Malta, I have let those relationships fade.
My friends Judi and Steve are living in Germany. We met in DC and got back
in touch because of Stephanie's passing. We made plans for them to come to
Malta and I'm so glad they came, we had the best time. As an added bonus, they
brought me a suitcase full of goodies from the American food store on base. One
thing they brought was a giant bag of assorted Halloween candy. I brought some
with me on the last boat trip and everyone got to enjoy some sweets they had
never tasted. The tootsie rolls went over especially well. They arrived on
Friday afternoon and our first stop was a great little Irish pub called
Dubliner. They have the best food, especially for a bar. We got a seat outside
and enjoyed the afternoon just catching up and watching the people on the
promenade. Just as evening hit, it began to sprinkle. Our next stop was happy
hour with my expat group so we made a run for it. We arrived well ahead of the
rest of the group and barely ahead of the rain. It was a bit of a dismissal
evening as we were outside and people were just not very lively that night. I
think everyone was huddled around a few tables trying to stay dry. As soon
as there was a break in the weather, we headed home. We wanted an early start
to the day as we were doing the hop on hop off bus tour. Steve has a goal of
eating at McDonald's in every city he visits. Lucky for him, there was one just
around the corner from me, and I love their Sausage Egg McMuffin. He
volunteered to go for breakfast so we gave him our order. As we were eating, we
noticed there were no eggs on our Egg McMuffin. I should think egg would be a
key ingredient, but none of our sandwiches had one. What a rip off!! The next
morning he went back and made a point of checking one of the sandwiches. That
order too was wrong. They corrected that sandwich, but the rest of them were
still wrong. This time I got no egg, but 2 sausage patties. OK 3rd times a
charm right? The last morning he carefully watched them make the sandwiches.
It was at that point that he happened to look up at the menu. Apparently its
called the Sausage McMuffin, not the Sausage Egg McMuffin. No where in the
description does it say egg. So the few times I've gone since I moved here,
I've eaten it with no egg and never noticed!! Well, didn't I feel
stupid...
We had near perfect weather for our sightseeing and enjoyed the bus tour.
Steve is really interested in photography and took some amazing pictures. That
evening Mic joined us for a festival called Birgu by Candlelight. This event
takes place in Birgu (also known as Vittoriosa); one of Malta's oldest and most
historic cities. The aim is to highlight the town's historic and architectural
beauty and Birgu by Candlelight was set up to highlight this in a romantic
manner. All the lights in the town are turned off and the streets are lit up
with a gentle glow by thousands of candles. It's not just the street lights
that go dim, almost all of the residents turn their lights off and light
candles. They open their doors and invite people to look inside. The front
rooms are lit up, as are any stairways. It's really quit beautiful. Of course
there are always people who ruin things just by being thoughtless. We went down
a particularly pretty street with candles set in bags on the ground. The glow
they put off lit up the street and walls and it was just beautiful. Until a
family came up behind us with flashlights. Although there were no street
lights, the candles illuminated everything very well. There was more then
enough light to see where you were going. There were 3 young children, shining
the flashlights everywhere, including our faces. Of course the parents were
totally oblivious. At one point Judi and I noticed the little girl, about 7 or
8 years old, blowing out the candles as she walked. Both of us spontaneously
yelled at her to stop. Luckily the parents didn't say anything to us for
scolding their child but did tell her to stop. All in all, it was one of the
better festivals I've been to. It was beautiful and there were many
cultural activities to see including an interpretive dance show, several
medieval displays, live music and several nice food venues. When there is
a festival, it seems like everyone on the island turns up and the venue is too
crowded to even move around. Since this one included the entire town, there was
more then enough room to walk around and really see everything.
All too soon, it was time for Judi and Steve to go. I'll have to go to
Frankfurt soon, they have some great adventures and I can't wait to join in with
our other friend Tonda.
Link to pictures
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