week 13 30th-6th May

I was very glad I attended my gymnastics class this week as it was very important as we found out our practical exam dates and what we had to complete for this practical. The practical will be held on the 28^th May which gives us plenty of time to work on it. For this exam I have to choreograph a floor routine and teach a student this choreography. This routine has to be at the most one minute and thirty seconds and a floor plan should be handed to the lecturer before the routine begins. Warm up should be given and a question and answering session with lecturer after the routine is complete. Therefore the complete floor routine section should last no more than five minutes. The second half is to choreograph an apparatus routine which can be on the beam, horse, bars or a choice of rhythmic gymnastics equipment, this has to last 60-90 seconds. Warm up should be included and another question and answering session, therefore this half should also be five minutes long. This practical will only last ten minutes so in my opinion I don’t think it will be that difficult. I have experience in choreography because of dancing so I hope my experience will help and guide me through it smoothly.  This is very different to my gymnastics class last year in Stranmillis as we didn’t have to do a practical exam, however I like this idea as it gives us students and future P.E teachers a chance to teach others and get the experience of being at the other side of a practical session.

I had another psychology class today and we learnt about the effects of drug abuse in sport. I have covered this topic many of times in GCSE P.E, A level P.E and in Stranmillis, however I have never learnt in depth the psychological effects drugs have on an athlete.  We learnt the social factors and how peer pressure has a mighty effect on young people, also the demand to look good for example those with a muscular build taking steroids. Win at all costs significant to athletes as pressure is put on them by fans, coaches and family to win, therefore leading to some athletes being drawn to using drugs to up their game. I really enjoyed this class as it was something that I knew about but I learnt even more about the psychological side not just the physiological.

After having a complete day in university Niamh, Amy and I decided to go out for dinner again to our favourite place meet. We decided to do this as there was another fireworks display in Valetta, this time it was a competition. We were to meet the rest of our friends there however we couldn’t seem to find them anywhere. All three of us therefore stuck together and watched the event, and I didn’t think it was possible but these fireworks were even more spectacular than those on Friday. Niamh and Amy didn’t see the fireworks on the Friday therefore they were even more amazed than I was. Surprise, surprise the winners of the competition were Malta, with Canada in second place. I am pleased that I didn’t miss this as I would say it was a once in a life time opportunity, I am saying this as the friends we were to meet up with turned up late and missed the entire show unlucky for them.

Tuesday was a big day for the Dutch as it was Queens’s day and they would celebrate it to the equivalent of our St. Patricks day. Therefore most of the dutch in our residence wanted us to experience this and organised a party at the residence pool bar. We couldn’t say no as they celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with us. This was a great night and it was really great experience to celebrate a different culture.

On the Thursday I have my management class at 12pm and the lecturer always turns up on time, however we were waiting 45 minutes and there was still no sign of him. We then realised the class was only to start at 1.00pm, well weren’t we silly not looking at the notice board! This class was therefore a short one and we learnt all about how to set up a tournament which was very usefull to learn about as on the 20^th may we were to attend a tournament that was to be organised by our class. I have never done this before, so you could tell I was very excited to experience something new, and in a different country.

On the Saturday It was time for another hike organised once again by the AEGEE team.  On this hike we arrived at the Temples of Ħaġar Qim & Mnajdra  which is the site of the oldest free standing structures, this was a very interesting site to visit and we got an up close view at the free standing temple remains. After this we walked to Wied iż- Żurrieq then to the Blue Grotto and watched the rocky scene of the steep Babu Valley. Blue Grotto is a number of sea caverns on the southern coast of Malta and was the most beautiful site I have visited in Malta so far. We got on a ting tour boat which took us all round the caves, the sites were out of this world, the water was completely clear and blue you could see to the bottom of the water. The location of the cave combined with the sunlight lead to the water mirroring showing numerous shades of blue. Several caverns mirror the brilliant phosphorescent colours of the underwater flora; other caverns show a deep dark shade of blue. I also found out it was used for a scene of the 2004 film Troy, starring Brad Pitt. I would definitely advise tourists to visit this site, as I think it’s one amazing memory I will remember from Malta.

week 12 23rd-29th april

This week started off very busy with an early morning start for gymnastics. This class was important as we were starting to learn about floor routines and rhythmic gymnastics with all the different types of equipment that are used. The lecture we originally have on a Monday morning started of the first two hours of the class by showing us videos of different floor routines which was very helpful as I was finding it difficult to come up with choreography, therefore this gave me a good idea of moves and elements to add into my own routine. The level of skills that were performed in these videos however were beyond what we could do in our class so I don’t think I’ll be using too many of the skills!

The next half of the class was taken by a Russian gymnastics coach. I was very excited to take part in this part as we got to watch videos of high class gymnasts performing rhythmic routines with hopes, ropes, batons, ribbons and a ball. I find this type of gymnastics more interesting and enjoyable to watch as dancer myself I found similarities to contemporary dance. What made this class even more enjoyable was that we got to try it out ourselves by learning how to use ropes in a routine. The high class gymnasts in the videos made this look far easier than it actually was! We tried are best and I found I could join in more than previous classes.

After gymnastics we had another class which was psychology of sport. The Maltese were a lot more relaxed in this class than Fridays class thank goodness. The lesson was a continuation of team dynamics. We looked at what a leader is and what makes a team, for example Miller (1992) described a team as those with a shared sense of purpose, interpersonal attraction, personal interdependence and collective identity. They work together to achieve goals and go through five stages:   

·         Forming

·         Storming

·         Norming

·         Performing

·         Mourning

This class was very similar to what I had learnt already in my classes at Stranmillis so I was able to understand and develop an even deeper knowledge about this topic. The psychology classes in Malta are very different to the way the lecturer back home would have taught us. In stranmillis we had a mix of practical group work to help us understand more about teams and how they work; however in Malta we aren’t given any examples of how a team would work and how leaders develop we all just listen to the lecturer presenting the information. Therefore in comparison I do prefer the lectures back home because of the practical work.

No classes until Thursday  and student loans were in, that only means a day in Sliema for shopping and to get my hair cut and coloured by the Maltese (now that has to be a cultural experience). I was worried about getting my hair styled in a different country especially Malta as I’ve seen their hair styles! However I was very pleased with the end result after four hairdressers had to tackle it and it still took two hours for them to colour and cut it! After that experience Niamh and I met up with three of our friends from residence for dinner in the Hardrock restaurant then ice cream after. As you can see from the picture we really enjoyed ourselves!

Back to class on Thursday after a two day break, this time it was management were we continued with legal issues in sports management. I learnt that sports can be dangerous with horrific stories from our lecturer. One in particular was how a boy died due to faulty goal posts! I never thought of how silly things can make a big impact on someone’s life. I found this class very interesting as I have never learnt about the legal issues in sport in our management class in Stranmillis. I learnt how to confirm if the coach/teacher was negligent for an accident happening and what their responsibilities are.

On the Friday of this week there was beautiful fireworks display in Valetta. This was not like any I have ever seen before, they were so beautifully presented and I usually find fireworks displays boring and ever firework looks the same but this was beyond incredible looking Malta definitely know how to put on a good show.

This weekend was very busy and on the Sunday I took my first ever trip to Comino blue lagoon. Comino is an island of the Maltese archipelago between the islands of Malta and Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea, measuring 1.35 square miles (3.5 km2) in area, therefore it is very small! This trip was an organised event by AEGEE as we got to Comino through a boat party. This was my first ever boat party so I was rather excited and scared as I am not really good on water especially when there is a lot of waves.  However despite that I had an amazing day and the blue lagoon was so beautiful the water was so clear compared to the sea we would get back in Northern Ireland, therefore I will definitely be paying another visit before I leave.

week 11 16th-22nd April

 

Zoe was still in Malta but only had two more days left therefore I decided to show her around the area were residence is before she left. We walked down past Balzan and into Birkirkara then back up past the famous smart supermarket and back up through Hal lijah. We really enjoyed the walk as it was a lovely day with the sun out and shinning away.

That night I showed Zoe the karaoke bar Zmerc and got dinner and enjoyed laughing at people attempting to sing! After this entertainment we decided to meet up with a brother and sister from Manchester in a place called Native that we had met the night before as it was their last night and Zoes also. This was a really enjoyable night and we all got on so well and even said that we would meet up again in the Dubliner the next day before their flight.


Therefore the next day we got up and headed into St Julian's again to meet up with the guy and girl from Manchester and got lunch then headed to the Dubliner for a last gathering and chat. it was coincidental that their flight was the same time as Zoe's therefore Zoe wasn’t alone going to the airport which she was worried about. So it was an emotional day saying goodbye to my close friend Zoe, and even though I had only knew the guy and girl for three days it was sad saying goodbye. We all decided that we would meet up in the future especially since they had family that lived in Malta.

                                                 The two lovely people from Manchester

So it was goodbye to Zoe and hello to Niamh, Amy and Rebecca as they had just arrived back from Amsterdam the day Zoe left. It was great to see them as it was over two weeks since the last time I had seen them. That night it was one of the girls 21st so we all helped her celebrate it as this was a big birthday for her especially being away from home. Finally everyone was back at residence and we were all together again after a long Easter break.

So now it was time to get serious as class started back on the Thursday. My first class was management, and it was weird being back again mixing with the Maltese. In this class we learnt all about the six thinking hats when in business meetings and setting up or organising events:

Red- emotions and feelings, how you feel about a matter.

Black- cautions and being careful, not doing anything illegal.

Yellow- positive, suggestive thinking

Green- creative, new ideas

Blue- control of thinking

We also learnt about legal issues in sport management for example fair play, child abuse, supporters, and drug abuse and sports law. I found this class interesting and enjoyed taking part in the group discussions. One in particular was if you were shipwrecked what comes first on priority, and we were given 15 items. Well if I was shipwrecked I would have no chance as i got one of the lowest scores! This was great fun and made the class bound more.

On the Friday it was my first psychology class which I was looking forward to as I enjoyed taking part in this module back in Stranmillis. however when I got to the class i felt uncomfortable as the third years weren’t as welcoming as the second years, throwing crisp about and giving looks at us that were pleasant. I just had to ignore them as I was there to learn and I enjoyed the topics Imagery and team dynamics that were being taught. I like the way the lecturer teaches as she has so many interesting life stories to back up the information she gives us.

On the Saturday the girls and I decided to do are first proper day of sunbathing on the roof resulting in myself getting completely roasted (not a good look) as I forgot to re apply! My cousins husband was over working in Malta’s airport for a few days and had a surprise from back home for me therefore I decided to meet up with him in Sliema.  Well wasn’t I pleased my mum had sent over a 24 pack of Tayto crisp and 80 Nambarrie teabags I am a lucky girl! I now can’t wait for my uncle’s next trip over so I can get more surprises. All in all it has been a great week seeing everyone back at residence, the weather getting more beautiful every day and getting my surprises from home, life is good.

                                                            My Tayto and Nambarrie

week 10 9th-15th April

My last five days in Belfast so I wanted to make the most of my time left with my family and friends before I headed back to Malta for another two and a half months.

On the Monday Nimah and I decided to meet up with Alannah and Nuala from our university in Stranmillis before Niamh headed back to Malta on the Tuesday as she was going to Poland and Amsterdam for six days. It was so good to see them and find out what our class had been up to. It seems that classes were rather difficult this semester with loads of assignments to be completed, think I have it slightly easier over in Malta as we hadn’t yet had deadlines to be completed. We had a great day catching up on all the antics that the class has been getting up to and had a lovely meal at Springsteen’s.

On the Wednesday I took my first trip into Belfast city centre to see what lovely summer clothes I could find to bring back to Malta with me. It was great getting to shop in my favourite places for example H&M and of course Primark as Malta didn’t have these types of stores so I went crazy with the bank card that day. The next day I spent with closest Friend who is coming back to Malta with me on the Saturday until the Tuesday for a short trip. She was very eager to see what all the fuss was about as I had explained what an amazing time I was having. That Thursday night since I was leaving soon my friends organised a trip to go bowling which I hadn’t done in a long time. This was so much fun and of course I lost, but it’s the taking part that counts! This was the last time I’d see this group of friends until I came home in June so it was another goodbye for a little while.

The Friday was mostly spent packing all my new clothes and of course my washing I brought home into my case, it was a tight squeeze I have to say, I even brought over my human anatomy text book (I’m so sensible) due to the lack of understanding from the lecturer. I enjoyed just spending my last day in the house taking advantage of the sofa and T.V and spending more quality time with my family before another emotional goodbye.

Saturday came the day I went back to sunny Malta, this time I mean sunny as it had reached 23 degrees while I wasn’t there so I couldn’t wait to get back and enjoy the lovely weather. This time It was my friend Zoe and I together at the airport, so once again I wasn’t on my own and had someone there to keep me right. We were so excited to get there especially Zoe as I’d been telling her all about it in the airport, we talked for so long we didn’t realise the last call had been announced for our flight, therefore having to run to out terminal. Thankfully we got there on time and even got seats together.

At 7.30pm Malta time we landed and we definitely felt the difference in temperature, the sky was blue and not a cloud in the sky I was happy to be back! I showed Zoe to her room, thankfully enough my roommate was visiting her mother in Madrid so I had the extra bed so Zoe could stay with me. Was not long before I settled in again seeing everyone from residence was great and I was happy to see them as most people arrived back at the same time as me. Once we got our cases unpacked it was time to show Zoe the famous Pacevillie I always went on about. This was a really good night out as it was the first one since before Easter and everyone was just so excited to see each other.

Bright fresh in the morning I got up out of bed to get ready for the strawberry festival also known as Festa Frawli in Imgarr parish square and was the sixth edition of 'Festa Frawli'. There was nine of us that went so was a fun day and I got to show Zoe some of Malta on her first day. The bus journey there was slightly unpleasant as there was no room for us to sit so we had to stand the whole way there and it was very warm and clammy, as well as it took long to get there because of the traffic! It was all worth it though as the day was enjoyable and we got a load of strawberries and even got one drew on our faces. Zoe and I ended the day going for dinner in my favourite restaurant meet then to the Dubliner so that I could show her St Julian’s and she loved it.

                                                                 My friend zoe and I

                                              Me and my friend Patrica with our T-shirts

                                                                           The group

                                                             Me and my strwberry face

week 9 2nd-8th April

Classes have now ended therefore it was time to pack as I was heading home to Belfast on the Tuesday night. I had to try and decide what clothes I didn’t need anymore, and you know what girls are like we think we need everything! So I found this difficult but knew the more I brought home the more summer clothing I could bring back with me. Once I had finally packed I could relax by the pool and enjoy the fabulous weather as it was hitting 18-21 degrees most days! So sunbathing by the pool it was. I didn’t get to relax as much as I thought I could as you can see by these pictures below!

                                                         1.Just minding my own buisness

                                         
                                                                            





Well off to the airport we go, saying goodbye to Malta for ten days. I was lucky enough that I was getting the same flight as Niamh and her mother and Amy one of the girls from Dublin was heading home on a flight at the same time as us, so therefore I was kept right, if I was on my own who knows where I would have ended up! Malta’s airport is very small especially compared to Belfast international so there wasn’t much to do. What made it worse our flight was delayed by three hours due to the French air strike! I was very annoyed as I had a Chinese take away waiting for me when I got home so I had to wait even longer to get it!

Finally at 3.00am we arrived back in sunny Belfast, not quite it was freezing I could hardly feel my face and hands when I stepped off the plane! I was so happy to see my mum and dad and was glad to be home to see them (and my take away) and to get back into my own little bedroom which had been redecorated while I was away.
As soon as I woke up I forgot that I’d came home, looking around the room looking for my roommate.  I just couldn’t wait to get up, get ready and see all my friends as we had arranged a day out for lunch and the cinema. It was great seeing familiar faces and to catch up on everything that had happened while I was away. I only realised how different the nightlife in Belfast to that in Malta when I came home and experienced it. I wasn’t used to paying £10 in a taxi then another £7 to actually get into one place! Other than that I enjoyed my night out as I seen even more of my friends and was surrounded by people that actually spoke the same language.
One thing that I couldn’t wait to do was to go to Asda (sad I know) and see good proper food that I was used to. I went with my mum so you could imagine what the trolley load was like. It seemed to be that everywhere I went when I was home I seen people that I knew so more catch ups in the frozen food isle!

Being at home seemed like such a luxury, in residence I never had my own room, I had a bunk bed, no T.V, no sofa, no kettle or toaster and the washing machines weren’t the best. So just having all these basics was brilliant. I felt like a princess getting proper meals made for me and not having to get the bus everywhere. Another weird thing was that I didn’t see cats constantly everywhere! Malta was full of them everywhere you looked there was a cat, I’m sure Niamh was glad of the cats not being everywhere as she hates them, completely terrified. Speaking of animals I was happy to be home to see my cat and dog, also I got a new dog while I was away and now finally getting to see him two months later.

My new German shepherd Kaiser, believe it or not he was way smaller than this two months ago, they grow up so fast!

As it was Easter I attended church on the Sunday to celebrate the resurrection. It was good to be back as I hadn’t attended church since I went away, and everyone was so welcoming and were glad to see me back. I noticed how different culturally Belfast was to Malta, as Malta were so holy and had so many festivals, marches and all decorations up such as the cross, while in Belfast there was nothing like this just church services and Easter eggs as usual.

week 8 26th-1st April

Monday was the start of our human anatomy block week which I was really looking forward to as this is my favourite topic; also I have already studied this module in first year of university so at least I had some background knowledge. As this was our block week our other classes were cancelled until we came back after Easter. On the Monday we met our lecturer who was brought in specially to teach us. When he started to teach I realised his English wasn’t the strongest which was bad news for me especially as I always have difficulties understanding broken English, therefore half the time I didn’t understand what he was saying! However I tried my best and I got most of the important titles taken down therefore I can undertake my own research. Except not understanding what the lecturer was saying I did like taking part in this class as I learnt in more detail than first year about all the different joints and bones.

We had classes every day except for the Wednesday and I was very glad of the break as the classes got very intense as some days we were in 12-5pm. On the Friday it wasn’t as bad as we were only in 11-1pm. In this class we got our assignment which was a poster, when I say poster I don’t mean pretty pictures and a few words this poster was way more complicated than that, however I don’t mind as its different and I have never completed an assignment like this.

 I didn’t think the block week was a good idea in my opinion, I thought this because there was too much information in too little time and it just felt like it was being rushed with not enough thought put into the lessons. The lecturer didn’t give us enough time to take down proper notes and flicked through the slides too quickly with little explanation. I will just have to get used to this method of teaching as there is still another block week to come after Easter!

This week was the last week before everyone headed home for Easter and already the residence was looking rather empty the whole week. I felt even more lonely as Niamh had her mother over visiting so I hardly seen her the whole week, when I was stuck in the basics of residence Niamh was living it up in a fancy hotel called the Palace, lucky girl! Near the end of the week it was just Amy and I out of the girls in our group of friends therefore we stuck together and even made a group of four Irish guys to cook us dinner almost every night.

                                                one of our delicious dinners made by the guys!

Before we headed back home we went to a Hawaiian themed night this was great fun as we dressed up in Hawaiian themed clothes and everyone who was left in residence got to have one last night out before we went our separate ways for two weeks.  

On the Saturday of this week the four Irish guys Donal, Owen, Enda, Sean and I attempted to go to the beach, well it ended in a disaster! First of all we were supposed to leave at 12pm, typical lazy men weren’t even ready and therefore we didn’t leave until 1.30pm. we hopped onto the bus realising it was the wrong one but before we even got off some Maltese man opened his car door as soon as the bus was passing, resulting in his door flying off! When the bus man was sorting out the problem (they were yelling at each other) we therefore ran off the bus and then waited 30 minutes for the right one. To get to the beach however you have to get two busses so we jumped off that one and waited for the next. An hour later we were still waiting!  Absolute disaster so we gave up as it was now 3.45pm and there was no point anymore, so as we waited on the bus home at the other side, didn’t the bus to the beach we were waiting an hour on pass us! I was just glad to get back to residence and I won’t be going to the beach for a while yet!

week 7 19th-25th March

After our very eventful weekend we were very pleased to hear that classes were cancelled on the Monday as it was a bank holiday. AEGEE were kind enough to sort out an event which was a hike on our day off. On the hike we Visited Għar Dalam, Borġ in- Nadur Temple, Birżebbuġa, San Luċjan Fort, Marsaxlokk Fishing Village, Delimara Peninsula and Xrobb l- Għaġin Nature Park where we had our long awaited barbeque. The caves were very intresting with all different fossil bones for example dwarf elephants, hippopotami and birds, the cave also holds evidence of human settlement on Malta, some 7,400 years ago. The weather was beautiful which made the day even more enjoyable, it also meant that I could see parts of Malta that I hadn’t yet seen before.  There was over 100 of us that went on the hike as you can see in the picture above, so you could imagine how difficult it was for everyone to stay together, it also meant we had to wait longer on the food which was the worst part of the day as we were all so hungry, but we are getting used to the fact that the Maltese tend to be laid back and never on time (and that’s not a stereotype). Other than that it was a great day and I met more Erasmus and international students that weren’t staying in residence and even got a little tan while I was walking finally!   

                                              enjoying our hike in the beautiful sunshine

                                                               inside the Għar Dalam caves                                               

Unfortunately we only got one day off therefore it were back to class on the Tuesday for management. This class is only an hour long therefore my day wasn’t too stressful as I had no other classes and I’m off on Wednesdays therefore I really had three relaxing days! I then returned to my management class on the Thursday to learn more about marketing in sports, not something I’m too interested to be truthful, but I don’t mind learning new things and I do enjoy attending this class because of how the lecturer presents his lessons. I was then off on the Friday which only meant one thing shopping, and university work after of course!

This week in total AEGEE had organised three events for us, there are very good to us, making sure we are making the most of our experience. The second event was on the Thursday night which was a doctors and nurses night were we had to dress up as patients or as the occupation. This was great fun as the radiographers from Jordanstown University attended and went all out with the costumes with their proper medical outfits on, while we didn’t try too hard and went as patients! 

                                                                 My not so good costume but I tried!

 On the Saturday AEGEE organised a gala night in the Victoria pub in Bugibba. Most of the residence went however I didn’t as I couldn’t afford it due to the expense of my flight home for Easter. It was £20 for the night with an open bar which seems cheap enough, but I decided to be sensible (or boring) and save my money for my groceries. The next day I heard all about their night everyone seemed to have a great night except for the fact that the bus ended up crashing and the front of the bus was completely smashed and they had to exit from the emergency exit, I was so glad I didn’t go or I would have cried as apparently it crashed where there was a big drop! Except for that I was sad that I didn’t go as I felt I missed out, but I’m sure there will be more before the end of our Erasmus trip.