My first Love and our 20th Anniversary
No, this is not about the first boy I kissed in kindergarten. It's also not about my boyfriend. We've "only" been together for eight years. It's about a love that has been nurtured deep inside of me ever since I was a little girl on a big trip to a small island. Sorry, if I might have to disappoint you, this is not a love piece about a single person, it's more a love piece about a nation.
My sisters (I have two sisters) and I were lucky to travel a lot during childhood. Every summer, winter and Easter break our parents would pack the suitcases and off we went to discover another country. One year we flew to the US to see the deserts of Arizona and the Grand Canyon, another time we would be hiking in the Austrian mountains and the following summer we would ride down to Italy by car. I loved traveling, I loved visiting new places. It was fascinating to see how many things differed from home... the landscape, the people, the language and food.
One summer my parents decided to fly down to Malta (those days Malta was nearly unheard of in Germany) and that was one of the most exciting experiences I had so far in my young life. The trip in itself was an adventure. We had to cross the border from West to East Berlin because there were no direct flights to Malta (very scary experience!). After a lot of hassle the plane took off, we flew and it was beautiful. I remember the first time I saw the islands. The sea was gorgeous, sparkling and blue... everywhere blue, blue, blue! And suddenly "rocks". It was the peak of summer and the country was dry but nevertheless very charming at the same time. I wasn't prepared for what happened next. The moment I stepped out of the air conditioned plane it was if I had hit a wall. The air was so thick and hot I have never felt something like it before. You could literally "see" the heat... that flicker on the runways' asphalt at noon. We had hired a typical red minivan to take us to the ferry.. one with those plastic seats that you constantly get stuck to with the heat. It was HOT! On our bumpy ride through Malta though, I could not take a single time my eyes off the window. I was observing every little detail that passed us by from the beautiful traditional Maltese villages (remember it was 2 decades ago) with their impressive churches, to the statues that were in every single street corner, to the farmland in the outskirts and the coast road that had the most incredible view of the sea.
I have so many memories of my first vacation in Gozo that I could fill a book with it but what got stuck most was the feeling of "home". I know, it sounds a bit contradictory. How can Malta have the tiniest similarity to my home in Germany, especially those days? It wasn't a feeling of similarity that drew me to Malta (it was exotically different) but an instant feeling of affection.
I fell in love with Malta the moment I felt the heat, the first time I saw the sea, the first time I met a local, the first time I ate their food.
I was captivated.
This summer it's going to be my 20th anniversary of my first visit to Malta! And with every love, I had my ups and downs (and a lot of culture shocks in between). There was also a time, during my teen years, I lost track of Malta because I traveled to other places and lived a year in the US. Somehow though, the attraction never left and in my university years I re-discovered Malta for myself. Still, I cannot pin point an exact time I had made the decision to come and live in Malta. It was more a gradual thing with a lot of different factors playing into it. In fact, it took me ages to realize that IT IS actually possible for me to live here and sometimes I still can't believe it myself.
Oh, it's lunch time already! I have a photo shoot in a couple of hours and need to get prepared. It was great speaking here and if you like, visit me on my blogs jessmor.blogspot.com and gossip-from-malta.blogspot.com. Have a fabulous Sunday (weather is nice!).
If you see me around, please say hi!
My sisters (I have two sisters) and I were lucky to travel a lot during childhood. Every summer, winter and Easter break our parents would pack the suitcases and off we went to discover another country. One year we flew to the US to see the deserts of Arizona and the Grand Canyon, another time we would be hiking in the Austrian mountains and the following summer we would ride down to Italy by car. I loved traveling, I loved visiting new places. It was fascinating to see how many things differed from home... the landscape, the people, the language and food.
One summer my parents decided to fly down to Malta (those days Malta was nearly unheard of in Germany) and that was one of the most exciting experiences I had so far in my young life. The trip in itself was an adventure. We had to cross the border from West to East Berlin because there were no direct flights to Malta (very scary experience!). After a lot of hassle the plane took off, we flew and it was beautiful. I remember the first time I saw the islands. The sea was gorgeous, sparkling and blue... everywhere blue, blue, blue! And suddenly "rocks". It was the peak of summer and the country was dry but nevertheless very charming at the same time. I wasn't prepared for what happened next. The moment I stepped out of the air conditioned plane it was if I had hit a wall. The air was so thick and hot I have never felt something like it before. You could literally "see" the heat... that flicker on the runways' asphalt at noon. We had hired a typical red minivan to take us to the ferry.. one with those plastic seats that you constantly get stuck to with the heat. It was HOT! On our bumpy ride through Malta though, I could not take a single time my eyes off the window. I was observing every little detail that passed us by from the beautiful traditional Maltese villages (remember it was 2 decades ago) with their impressive churches, to the statues that were in every single street corner, to the farmland in the outskirts and the coast road that had the most incredible view of the sea.
I have so many memories of my first vacation in Gozo that I could fill a book with it but what got stuck most was the feeling of "home". I know, it sounds a bit contradictory. How can Malta have the tiniest similarity to my home in Germany, especially those days? It wasn't a feeling of similarity that drew me to Malta (it was exotically different) but an instant feeling of affection.
I fell in love with Malta the moment I felt the heat, the first time I saw the sea, the first time I met a local, the first time I ate their food.
I was captivated.
This summer it's going to be my 20th anniversary of my first visit to Malta! And with every love, I had my ups and downs (and a lot of culture shocks in between). There was also a time, during my teen years, I lost track of Malta because I traveled to other places and lived a year in the US. Somehow though, the attraction never left and in my university years I re-discovered Malta for myself. Still, I cannot pin point an exact time I had made the decision to come and live in Malta. It was more a gradual thing with a lot of different factors playing into it. In fact, it took me ages to realize that IT IS actually possible for me to live here and sometimes I still can't believe it myself.
Oh, it's lunch time already! I have a photo shoot in a couple of hours and need to get prepared. It was great speaking here and if you like, visit me on my blogs jessmor.blogspot.com and gossip-from-malta.blogspot.com. Have a fabulous Sunday (weather is nice!).
If you see me around, please say hi!
posted by Jessica C. Moritz at 4/29/2007 12:01:00 PM
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