Week 20 18th-24th June

This week started off very well as my education in Malta was completely over as I handed in my last essay which was Sports Psychology. This essay was similar to one that I had completed back in stranmillis as it was about finding an athletes psychological weakness and stratiges to improve it. Therefore I used my previous essay to help me revieve the best grade possible and hopefully higher than what I recieved the first time round. 

On the Monday night most of us in residence went to golden Bay which is a beach for a night time BBQ and games. This was such a highlight as it was a farewell to many and it was the last night most of us would be together. We took loads of pictures and videos that we will all have to have as a memory for when it all comes to an end! During the night we shared are favourite memories looking back and laughing at things that happened during our stay. We got on really well saying how much we would miss Malta and each other. As you can also see by the pictures below I am now a brunette!

On the Tuesday it was the England and Ukraine football match, therefore a group of us decided to head to St Julian’s as there was a huge screen showing the game. I decided to pretend to be English for the night as they were the closest N.I will get to the Euros. Therefore most of us decided to wear red white and blue to get into the spirit of everything. The game was so much fun and had us all on edge, we also met loads of people and supporters especially one group of people from London who we got on with very well and in the end England of course won and we went and celebrated with our new friends! We also ended up meeting up with them for the rest of the week until they had to leave on the Saturday and said we would definitely keep in touch!

This week was sad as the residence just kept getting more empty as the days went by, and as we had no classes or exams left I started to notice the residence getting quieter every day, well except for the children that were staying for the week they made up for the lack of noise from us students! What made this week even sadder was that on the Sunday England were put out of the euros by the Italian team and we were not pleased at all.

As we were all starting to get bored during the end of the week with not much to do and money running low me and a friend of mine Joanne decided to play a prank on a girl called Sophie as she was out of residnce and we had here room key. With a little help from the boys we made a fort in her room by attaching white bed sheets across her room, we then wrapped cling film everywhere for example over her sink and on the ladders of her bed. To make the prank more daring we also turned her wardrobe round so she couldn't get in it, lifted up the bed side table and put it on the top bunk and finally the funniest of all the boys lifted the fridge from the kitchen and put it in the corner of her room! When Sophie had arrived back to all our relief she took it well and couldn't stop laughing saying it was the funniest prank someone has ever done on her!

Week 21 25th-30th June

Our final week had arrived and it was time to say goodbye already on the Monday. The first one to leave us was our friend Sinead from Liverpool, who didn't live in residence (but might as well have) but we will still miss her presence as she was very outgoing and could always bring a group together. To say goodbye we decided to hit the karaoke bar as it was the usual typical Monday night thing to do and coincidentally one of Sinead’s favourite thing to do. We had an amazing night getting loads of free food and just having fun together. I also finally found out what the weird free meat was that I had been eating every time I had went to this bar and thought was chicken, well I was way off apparently it was pigeon! I didn’t mind to be honest it just tasted like KFC.

Even though this was the last week I was really looking forward to it as the Isle of MTV Malta special had finally arrived! Malta has held this event for five years with previous stars including Lady Gaga, LMFAO and David Guetta. The Isle of MTV was a massive concert that was being held by MTV in Valetta with performers this year including nelly Fortado, Flo Rida and Will.I.Am. This was the day everyone was looking forward too as we had known about it since the start of Erasmus and so almost everyone in residence was going.  Unfortunately one of the girls called Jo couldn't attend as she had an accident the day before the concert. A group of the girls decided to go to Melia Bay as there was water trampolines and water obstacle courses, however they weren't as fun as they had hoped as Jo had fallen and ended up dislocating her knee! Therefore for her on safety she couldn't make it too the MTV event and was devastated.

Once we got there we started freaking out about the crowds as Niamh had hurt her toe and we didn't want anyone standing on it and also the heat of everyone being crushed together! However we worried over nothing and as soon as the concert began we didn't even think about any of our worries. We all had an amazing day and had so much fun dancing and singing along together as a big Erasmus group. My favourite artist had to be Will.I.Am as he played not just his own songs but a mix of other artist’s music. I was sad to see the end of the day and I am sure the cleaners were also as the place was just covered in litter everywhere! We were all so tired as we had been singing and dancing all night therefore we couldn't wait to get home but of course we were in Malta and our buses were late (should be used to it by now).

 

Thursday had come and it was time for another emotional goodbye! This time it was Sarah who was from America who was a huge influence in our group of friends, therefore as you can imagine we all got very upset when it was time to say goodbye! As a group we decided to go out for dinner to Sarah’s favourite restaurant called Texmex. TexMex is a Mexican restaurant and served the nicest food you could imagine. The group would go here often but it was my first and wasn't I annoyed that it had taken me this long to finally go as the food was unbelievably tasty! At the end of the dinner we went out to the sea front and took our last picture with the entire group there and that’s when the tears began! Thursday was also our last night as an Erasmus family in Pacevillie, we all stayed together and had a great laugh thinking back on all the memories and time we had spent there. So as well as saying goodbye to our friends we also said goodbye to Pacevillie and the people we had met there.

Friday was a day of just packing and sorting out what I was bringing home and leaving behind so that I wasn’t charged for my bag being overweight. I had more than what I thought and I had to sacrifice pairs of shoes (which is difficult for a girl to do) to fit everything in. between packing I also lay by the pool to catch the last load of rays that I could and to take advantage of the pool as I won't have one outside my door when I come home, not like we have the weather in Belfast anyway! That night the girls that were left decided to sit by the pool and enjoy each other’s company for the last time sharing memories and planning reunions already! That night while we were all together we decided to make sure we were awake at 5am to say goodbye to our Canadian friends Colin and Patricia then to wake up at 8am and say goodbye to Jo from London and Emily from Canada who was going to London to stay with Jo and watch the Olympics. We all stuck by our word and had many emotional group hugs as we said goodbye to each person that’s when reality hit that we were leaving.

Saturday had arrived and my last few hours which should have been for packing and making sure I had everything were actually spent outside by the pool getting my last speck of tan. I was very silly and thought let’s not wear sun cream, and well I just got completely burnt, however eventually turning to tan by the time we were ready to leave for the airport. Once again Malta taxis are never on time or else get it wrong!  We ordered a taxi for six people and one car came, therefore having to wait another 30 minutes on a mini bus, but it wouldn't be Malta if that didn't happen. Our final hugs were given and our last goodbyes were made, but what I like to say is not goodbye but see you again!

So there we have it the end of Erasmus in Malta. It has been emotional in good ways and bad, but I loved every minute of it and I wouldn't take a single moment back! This is an amazing experience that I will cherish all my life, I have seen many places and met amazing people along the way and I will never forget the memories we shared.

Thank you Malta!

week 19 11th-17th June

Finally the day of my last exam in Malta had arrived and it was gymnastics. I wasn’t as prepared for this exam as I was in the human anatomy however I had general knowledge of the subject and had remembered what I had learnt in my gymnastics practical lessons so I knew I would get through it. The questions were all based on the practical sessions that we had taken part in I knew most of the answers and tried to answer them the best I could, I just wish I knew that this is what was going to be on the exam at the start of the semester therefore I would have taken notes in every practical session! There was nothing that I could do now and before I knew it the hour was over. All was left to do was my 12 page marketing report and a sport psychology case study.

I started work on my two assignments and got seven pages completed in my marketing report in just one night so I was therefore very pleased. For my marketing report I had decided to base it on the Ulster hockey association. I had to look into the organisation of the organisation and where they had weaknesses and see what I could do to improve on their financial circumstances and any other problems. The main problem was the lack of coaches and therefore to finish my assignment I had to think hard on what I could do or suggest a solution to fix it. As the assignments were due at the end of the week I made sure I used most of my time to finish them and at the end of the week they had been completed and handed in. I finished my management assignment with the suggestion of an open day/fun day for family members of the players in the hockey clubs. This would include many things such as face painting, bouncy castle, BBQ, team races and five aside hockey games. This will hopefully get more money into the clubs by advertising the sport and getting more members and of course by the money collected from the fun day itself. To fix the solution of the lack of coaches is to train up some of the older hockey members into coaches to save money on bringing coaches in. I completed my 500 word evaluation on the football tournament and handed it all in on time!

In between doing my two assignments my time was mostly for working on my golden brown tan! Also of course to spend time with the people I had gotten close to as it was our last few days together. Therefore we arranged outings such as dinner, trips to the beach and of course some souvenir shopping for the family. This week I was too well at the start and therefore I didn't do that much running about which was convenient as I had to finish my assignments.

It was a sad week as it was time to say goodbye to the famous 103 house. The girls had to move out as the last two weeks the house was being used by a camp full of children to come and learn English. The girl’s one being Niamh were upgraded to apartments so the situation wasn't as bad as it sounds. To say goodbye to the house of 103 we had one last gathering and headed to Pacevillie.