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.