The Ick Factor

Those of you with TV sensibility will recognize the post title from a SATC episode involving Carrie and Aleksander and his romantic gestures that were seemingly too good to be true. With that preface, and a full understanding that reading onward may make you gag slightly should you feel a resounding bitterness to romantic gestures, read on:

We’ll start back at Wednesday. I headed out to the airport on the overheated tubes of death they call the public busses here, to get Matthew. Having not heard from him since Newark, I was concerned as to whether he got on his flight to Germany or not, since he had such a short layover. I was thoroughly relieved and elated to see him walk through baggage claim at MLA looking like a lost puppy. :). With only a little trouble from Mein Kampf in Germany, who confiscated the Ortega fajita mix packets Kristi requested, he made it to Malta in one piece.
Thursday was a beach afternoon, and the rest of Thursday into early Friday was spent studying for tests that we were all in heavy denial we had to actually take. They proved slightly more difficult than expected, but rest assured the money did not go to waste and I got my credits. (I hope!- just kidding Dad, I’m sure I did fine).
Friday after the exam Matthew attempted to “name his price” at the cab stand for a ride to the Gozo Ferry, where his surprise was taking place. The conversation unfolded as follows:
Matthew: “how much?”
EuroFreak: “40 Euro”
M: “Oh wow, uhh that’s okay, we’ll take the bus”
EF: “ok ok how much you want to pay!?”
M: “20 Euro”
EF: “Ok, you want 20 Euro? You find a horse, or you walk it!”
we proceeded to walk away, only to be tracked down by another cabby who offered us a 30 Euro ride, and then later tried to change his mind at the ferry station. Matthew was stern, and we made it to Cikewwa Ferry unscathed and unscammed. A ferry ride over to Gozo, where we piled into another taxi for my “surprise” for M. I was told, on our previous Gozo excursion, we’d passed my “surprise” destination once before. This made me unbearably nervous since I saw nothing but shanty’s and corner shops in a desolate and quiet village. Then the cab turned left into a walled off community, wound his way down a driveway and rolled us out in front of the Kempinski Hotel- M’s surprise. Ever see those Wiley Coyote cartoons where they see these expansive mirages of water and heaven in the middle of the desert? That’s what this place was. Only imagine MORE desert and MORE heaven. No hotel, I will EVER stay in, will EVER top this place. We were greeted at reception by hotel staff, who escorted us up the elevator, into our room- complete with bathrobes, slippers, and a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean countryside- and offered us a tour.

ICK warning: (as it turns out, M also had a surprise for ME on this Gozo excursion,.. details forthcoming)I was admiring the fuzzy bathrobes and overall in schoolgirl awe at the ridiculous majesty of this room I found myself in, when M told me to come out on the terrace. I meandered through the double doors and saw three small boxes adorned with white bows, all bathed in a familiar shade of blue: robin’s egg blue. Tiffany & Co., blue. I sat down and opened them in succession, each one revealing jewelry more beautiful than the last box. When I was done, I had a set of “Return to Tiffany’s” classic heart pendant jewelry, including a bracelet, earrings, and necklace.
After I regained composure and was sufficiently blinged up to fit in with the upper-class patrons of the Kempinski, we headed down to the pool, one of three outdoor pools, and lounged by the cabana with a glass of wine. It was here I first met Sphinx, my feral cat friend. M thought he was dirty, I thought he looked well-traveled. (don’t worry Squish, I still love you most.) We headed inside for a brief stint at the spa and indoor pool, before heading upstairs to get ready for dinner at Tratoria, where I had the most filling and phenomenal Risotto, and M had ravioli stuffed with king prawns. (commence flashback drool). We headed upstairs with every intention of enjoying some wine from the vineyard tour I went on Tuesday after class, and both found ourselves nodding off on the terrace. Long, hot days soaking in the sun in Malta, it’s a draining life really. Saturday we headed back to Malta after a breakfast buffet I will not see the likes of in my lifetime, again complete with homemade electric green kiwi jam, banana jam, and an assortment of juices you wouldn’t believe possible of squeezing- including fresh watermelon.

We made it back in time to bump into some of the crew heading to the Paceville beach, an excursion we joined in on. We then changed and I hosted a mini-dinner party at my apartment where we met some of my new roommates/classmates for Session 2, had pasta, wine, and Gozo cheese- a staple if you’re to spend any time at all on the island. We finished up dinner, headed to Bar Celona (Pundo- I thought of you! Haha) where we watched team U.S. scrape a tie out of England off of an ugly goal in the World Cup. I will tell you this: I am NOT a soccer aficionado usually, but there’s something about being in a country, lined with café’s and bars, ALL of which seem to be in stereo as you walk by because every last one has on the soccer game. ALSO being one of very few Americans (although others were cheering for the U.S. we were the only authentic Americans around), instilled a sense of patriotism that caused even me to fist pump and scream a tad when we scored- Not as much as Matthew, however, who exhibited a Tiger-Woods esque diving fist pump after the goal. Some gelato after the game, and we were tucked in bed before midnight.

Sunday M, Kristi, Ron, Erwin & I boarded the catered Captain Morgan cruise ship for an all day cruise around Malta with a staycation on the island of Comino and the Blue Lagoon: Malta’s most famous swimming hole, known for its crystal clear waters and sparkling caves. SHOULD be known for it’s high population of fearless jellyfish, which claimed SaraBeth’s leg, Mark’s arm, and most recently Erwin’s hand today, during the study abroad so far. We cruised back to harbor, bussed back to the apartment, changed again quick and met up with the rest of the newbies for a session 2 orientation meal of sorts overlooking the water at Piccolo Padre’s. A good (free) meal, courtesy of South Texas. I seem to have developed a bit of a hack, so I type this from bed, very much looking forward to passing out and hopefully feeling refreshed in the morning! It’s M’s last full day here, so he’s going to tail me into Valletta again, do some shopping, and then we have plans to head to Manoel Island, which was once the home of Malta’s contagious diseases hospital- but is now connected to Malta by a bridge and is home to the World Cup Village. Apparently it’s a mini-WC knockoff, so M’s going to sport his Italia jersey and we’re going to go cause a ruckus and watch us some football tomorrow!

Stay tuned,

KB