So I've been a bad blogger and haven't really updated about my trip in Malta. While everything I've done has been an experience in itself, this weekend involved Maltese folksinging, Tunisian and Egyptian rock bands, Maltese rappers, tasting rabbit, getting stung by a jellyfish, trying the old wives' tale of having someone pee on my sting, and sightseeing around the island.
First off, on Friday night I went with some people from our group to Ghanafest, a festival that Malta has every year that is meant to revolve around the music of "ghana" (pronounced 'ana'), which is an old cultural type of Maltese folksinging. HOWEVER, it might be the worst type of music I have ever experienced in my life. There are 2-4 men on stage typically, with 3 guitarists, and the men are involved in this "duel" sometimes in lyrics or sometimes are just wailing away out of key and uncaring. It was quite an experience in itself. However, the festival was fun, there was good Maltese food and little shops set up all around the music where people were selling jams, soaps, art, and all kinds of yummy food! The highlight of the evening was definitely the Tunisian band that came on later. They might have been the best band I've ever seen live, and were so entertaining.
My internet is super slow here, so pictures will have to wait to be uploaded. Anyway, on Saturday I went with Kelly on a sightseeing tour of south Malta which was really fun - we saw Megalithic temples, a cave, the Blue Grotto, and a fishing village. It was pretty cool, we were on a hop-on hop-off bus so we got to get off wherever we wanted to for an hour.
Went back to Ghanafest that night to see a Bosnian band and the great Maltese singers once again - I swear they got worse over time. That noise that they produce is unhuman.
Anyway, on Sunday we all went to Comino, which is a tiny island on the west side of Malta. It took forever to get there because we had to go by bus which altogether probably took 2 hours including waiting for the bus. The bus driver leaves us on the side of the road with this sketchy guy "Joseph from Gozo" who is going to take us to the Comino ferries. Fortunately, everything was fine with that, and we get to Comino relatively safely, although I thought I would fly out of his little boat. Comino was the site of several scenes in Troy, and you can tell the minute you get there how beautiful the island is. You are able to see through most of the water and it sparkles on the surface. So gorgeous. Anyway, we put our stuff down next to some Canadians and swim across to another side of the island. We find a cave on this other part that goes straight through until the Mediterranean on the other side. It was so cool to swim in a cave, despite the tremendous amounts of seaweed and algae on the bottom. We hung out by some rocks for a while on the other side, and then went back to rejoin the rest of the group.
It was at that point, when I was aaaalmost to the comfort of the sand that I heard Jeremy say something about tentacles and then the most shocking/stinging/painful sensation I ever felt leeched onto both my legs. I don't think I directly realized it was a jellyfish, but I sure screamed loud enough so that everyone knew that it was. I was dragged to shore and my leg was spasming because of all the pain. I admit I am the biggest baby when it comes to pain, but this was a deeply rooted pain that was flashing up and down my leg, swelling it up. Since I was hysterically crying, everyone thought we should do the best thing we could do at that time: collect pee from someone. Mike was the only one who volunteered his, so he got a water bottle from other tourists and went off to do his business. After making fun of the bright yellow color of his pee, it had to go directly on my leg, lots of fun for everyone around me, but at that point I no longer cared since it was so painful.
After a few more minutes, my leg stopped spasming, although still hurt to walk. Managed to half swim across to the other side again and get back on the bus after getting a beer to calm me down. My little escapade was the highlight of almost everyone's trip to Comino, although I still have a pretty ugly scar and don't feel entirely back up to par yet. I still went back to Ghanafest that night though, and saw a really good Egyptian band! I love Ghanafest - it was a good way to experience both Maltese culture and music from a variety of other cultures. I'm trying to take it easy the rest of the week since it still hurts to walk and I still feel sick from the sting, but today was our last day of classes! Only have a review tomorrow night (plus my project presentation) and then finals on Friday night!
As much as Malta has been a fun trip away from home, I'm anxious to get back to my daily routines, sleep in my own bed, see my furbabies, and Ramsey!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
