Two weeks...

These past few days have been super busy, classes are in full swing and we've been seeing lots of Malta. Tuesday and Wednesday were tutoring days, by far my favorite thing we're doing here. Tuesday was also a national holiday here, St. Paul's Shipwreck Day. We went to the big festival in Valletta, the capital, and watched the parade. We were packed like sardines in the street, it was an awesome thing to see! I've never seen anything like it. St. Paul's Cathedral was decorated beautifully, and the statue of Paul in the church was carried out on stilts and paraded through the city. It was quite the event. We managed to eat our squished PB & J sandwiches and walked around the city a little after the parade.Wednesday started with a nice morning run followed by teaching English. I love tutoring. Then, we headed to the Malta vs. Albania soccer (or here Football) game. I'm pretty sure Malta's never won a game, but we cheered them on anyway. They managed to tie Albania 0-0. It was a cool experience, the fans were very enthusiastic. A few random people brought trumpets, apparently here you make your own music! After the game we went out for a friend's birthday and headed back to our flat.

Today we resumed with early class and then headed to the ancient city Mdina. It was beautiful! We walked through the catacombs of St. Paul's Church (everything here is named after Paul) and then visited some craft villages in the country. The picture below is called an Agape Bowl, it is where friends and family would gather after a burial to celebrate a person's life. The catacombs were obvious places of grief, but had a sense of celebration and memory to them. Mdina is an awesome city, the streets are so narrow you can almost touch both sides if you extend your arms. However, if you ever plan on going there ---be careful, it's very easy to get lost!!!

It's been a great few days, we've finally managed to come back to our flats and catch up. Tonight we're going to do homework and dishes...we need a recovery night! Tomorrow is a full day of class. My roommate from Luther is studying abroad in France and will be coming to visit on Saturday, it will be fun to have a visitor!! Things are going well in Malta, the two weeks I've been gone have flown. Love and miss you all, hope all is well.

Love,
Audrey