Learning to love Malta

After spending the year teaching international relations at the university on a Fulbright, Mary looks back at her Malta experience:

I leave for the US tomorrow. My Fulbright “year” is over. I have so enjoyed this time in Malta that I am sad to go, but glad I’ll be with my husband again. I'll keep this blog going for a while--add some pictures and further thoughts, show you some electronic pictures of my home up on Lake Superior, etc.

I am happy to say that I will be back in Malta and at the university for a few weeks next year and will be helping the university grow its international master’s degree programs with US schools. I think a few of the ideas for Michigan Tech-University of Malta collaborations may take hold. And, as I understand it, some Michigan Tech students will be coming to the University of Malta for “study abroad.” As we get more folks from my US university over to this country, we’ll form a “Friends of Malta” group to talk about the experience and think about new ways to relate to this country.

Long term, I pray Malta really works hard to control the loss of its natural and historical heritage. I’ve been told by Maltese that many Maltese think what would be good for tourism would not be good for them. But, I think, sometimes what would make life good for the Maltese would also be good for tourism. A concrete island will not equal economic development—don’t believe that for a minute when the politicians and corporate leaders use it as an excuse to break the rules.

Maltese tell me with longing how it used to be greener or there used to be pretty little villages that they miss. They’ve told me summers used to be not quite so hot. If you lose green, it gets warmer—not even considering what’s happening with the climate. Try it, drive with your windows open some evening and note how pleasant the air is as you go by open fields. Keep at the government for your own sake. If your lives are richer, the tourists will be happier too...