Week 18 4th-10th June

They day had arrived the first ever written exam in Malta for human anatomy! I have to say I wasn't nervous all week then I woke up with butterflies in my stomach! I didn't know what to expect with the questions and how they would be worded, therefore I was a bit worried about that. I also learnt 14 topics very well and the other three not so much which meant I was nervous that they would come up and the others wouldn't. It was now too late as we waited in the room for the exam to start. As I opened the paper a big smile appeared on my face with the jot to see that you had a choice of seventeen questions and you only had to do ten which meant I got to choose my strongest revised topics. The questions were also worded very simple compared to back home as they were very straight forward for example describe the structure of the ankle joint and another was what is posture? Therefore I was relieved and I think I have put in enough work and wrote a lot in detail to have done well, so once again fingers crossed!

On the Tuesday night my friends parents arrived therefore he wasn’t in the residence as he would be with his family for the week. Therefore the guys that he lived with thought it would be hilarious that we all wore a T shirt that he owned and get as many as we could to join in and then take a picture and tag him on Facebook! This was so funny and the picture looked well it was so colourful as you can see in the picture below. When he seen the picture he too thought it was a great idea and didn’t expect anything which was weird because they were always getting up to no good! Therefore he took the joke well and joined in with the laugh. As well that night my friend Joanne from Northern Ireland had come back to Malta after visiting home to see her friend as her dad was to carry the Olympic torch! She said it was an amazing once and a life time experience to see and was glad that she went home to witness the historical event happen. With her she brought back some of my favourite pickled onion Tayto crisp as it was my birthday the next day, therefore when it hit 12 I was allowed to eat them (it was worth the wait).

The next day was my birthday, finally not a teenager anymore as I turned a big 20! I wasn't going to do anything for my birthday as loads of people had exams that week and wanted to revise, however my friends were having none of it and decided to bring me to paradise bay and wasn't I glad they did as it was beautiful! Paradise bay is well secluded and is set in a natural cove. It is located on the northern part of Malta close to Cirkewwa. This beach is excellent for snorkelling and is popular with a younger crowd where there are often parties on the weekends. Despite being relatively isolated, there plenty of facilities available. The water was so clear and the sand was perfect as it was smooth and a white like colour. I am not usually a big fan of the beach however this was amazing and I definitely would come back here. Therefore my birthday so far was off to a great start and I was enjoying my day tanning and spending it with friends.

Later that night it was decided that we hit Paceville to celebrate my birthday. As I was on skype to my parents the girls were getting up to know good planning something (nothing ever gets past me). Not that it wasn't obvious as they were blowing up balloons in front of me and people were for some reason heading up to the famous 103 house. I was lead up the 103 roof and there they all were to surprise me with a party! I was so overwhelmed and was so happy that they had done all this for my birthday. They even made a cake and bought me presents, I really didn't expect this and I thank them so much for making my birthday so special in Malta!

However my birthday celebrations for once didn't stretch over a couple of days as it was back to revising. I had my gymnastics written exam on the Monday therefore it was more work for another couple of days, however I didn't mind so much as it was my last! I found it difficult to revise for gymnastics as we didn't have much to help us revise just pages on the components of fitness used in gymnastics. We also weren't given a clear understanding on what the exam would be on therefore I was very unsure and decided that I just had to go into the exam and use the knowledge that I gained from the practical sessions.

On Friday my roommate and I decided to go into sliema for some shopping and bounding time as she was leaving the next day. We thought it would be good to spend one last day togther and say a proper goodbye. I had fun spending time with her and we enjoyed are day out! 

On the Saturday it was the big group picture that we were all dreading as it meant everything was coming to an end! It was organised that everyone from residence grouped together around the pool and a member of staff from the residence got on the roof and took a Birdseye view picture. This turned out beautifully with almost everyone there as a big group, almost brought a tear to my eye! This is my favourite picture so far in my Erasmus experience as it showed how everyone got along and how much we would miss each other. What made this day worse was that it was my roommates last day and it was time to say goodbye. This was difficult for me as I had spent so much time with and she was like an older sister as she had taught me a lot especially as I lived with her. We knew we would stay in touch therefore we seen it as see you again rather than a goodbye.