Valletta Orientation

Sunday was our students' first full day in Malta. They seem unaffected by jet lag and have a LOT of energy (Oh, to be young again). We gathered them a little past 11 a.m. to walk the half-mile or so to the ferry. The ticket-seller for the ferry was a bit unsure how to process 14 round-trip tickets! He settled for doing 9 plus 5. Apparently his machine only handles single digits.

We walked them around Valletta, me acting as tour guide, to show them the location of the cathedral, Republic Square, Parliament, the main bus terminal, etc. We tried to get them into St. Paul's Shipwreck Church, but mass was in progress when we first arrived, and all was locked up tight when we returned later.

Street decor near St. Paul's Shipwreck Church

The Festival of St. Paul's Shipwreck had just ended the night before. Folklore here is that St. Paul was shipwrecked here on his final "journey" (see Book of Acts in the New Testament) and brought Christianity here very early. The day was supposedly February 10, but since that is Ash Wednesday this year, they partied early.

The streets were littered with confetti, in some places so much so that it was slippery to walk. Crews were just beginning to take down the orange banners, flags, and other decorations.

One of our students took this.

We took them to see The Malta Experience -- a 30+ minute "multi-media" orientation to Maltese history. It was well done, but I'm not sure worth the 15 Euro price of admission. Fortunately, we got a good student group rate. The ticket also included a guided tour of the Knights of St. John Hospital that was built in the 16th century. That tour was quite interesting. The Knights were fairly advanced in their medical thinking for the time (though I don't think I would have wanted to be treated there).

16th century hospital is now used as a convention center.

After allowing them an hour or so of free time on their own in Valletta, we gathered them for the ferry trip back to Sliema. In the evening, we had our "welcome banquet," a pizza party at Piccolo Padre restaurant, to which we also invited our landlady, Maria, who has been so wonderfully helpful. She seemed to enjoy meeting the students.

The 2016 Malta group

Not yet out of energy, I had to quiet the group around 10:30 p.m. because they were enjoying themselves a bit too loudly for the neighbors.