Iva/le

Morning, y'all (or cyberspace...I have a feeling no one reads this...)


Sitting at the staff house after breakfast. A cool breeze crawls over the ocean in through the door and the sun shines intently. So many things to update on. I really need to start writing exactly what I do everyday because it all seems like a blur now. Let's see...

Yesterday (Friday, Aug 3) I stayed in town (Xlendi Bay is where we are staying). Sat down to eat some lunch (Gozo Country Salad..the sundried tomatoes here are absolutely ridiculous). Sketched some people sitting down and around. Friend and I went for a swim, sketched some more, and laughed over these four children bickering over fish they were catching. He and I were also talking about hitchhiking to the other side of the island and spending the night on the beach in order to watch the sunrise. Had photography class and then dinner.

Thursday (Aug 2) Went to Valetta with a big group. Had to take the ferry to the big island, Malta (I'm on Gozo) and then a hour long bus to the city. The buses here are very old...look vintage and pretty fascinating. No air conditioning but big open windows which catch the breeze (and also massive amounts of exhaust). First stop was the archaeological museum which housed artifacts from the various temples around the island. Booked a ticket to the Hypogeum, an underground temple/cave in Malta (look it up, really fascinating)...so I have to go back to Malta next Saturday. Looked around the city on my own, found a record shop with traditional Maltese and Gozo music. The owner was very surprised I wanted to buy them, saying it used to be all over the island when he was growing up but now its all rock and roll. By the way, my project is traditional music. They gave me a place to check out on Gozo. Tried to go to the music school in Valetta as well but they have half days and close early. The rest of my time I sketched people, especially these taxi drivers waiting for customers. Quite proud, really. Came back to Gozo, had dinner, and drank with everybody on the rooftop . I was the last one left towards the end with my two teachers who were really fascinating to talk to. Philosophy, books, art, history, music, science...pretty much everything. We talked for hours and so didn't get home until late.

Wednesday (Aug 1): We went to a certain bay which is quite famous for the Azure window (probably could look it up). Checked out the fortress. On the way there we hitched a ride on a beer truck. It was pretty cool.

Tuesday (July 31): Checked out Victoria (main city in Gozo) and met some locals who were really funny. Everywhere around Gozo and Malta, the old men sit outside cafes and talk/drink. I sat down at a cafe and one man came to me and we were talking...then all his friends came. Really funny guys. Talked for quite some time and then gave me a ride back into town (before trying to take me around the island and for swims and the like).


There's more stuff but I had to really rack me brain for all that.

No one has e-mailed me. Quite disappointing. *shrugs*

So today we're going to see a festa in Qala. I'm going early to observe the band set-up and the like.