Nearly 1 month ...

Hi All 

PS: Don't feel you need to read the whole e-mail or reply about the whole e-mail ... I won't take it personally if you don't reply ... (although I do LOVE reply's and love hearing about you! :) ... I think I write these mails more as 'reminders' to myself and the kids in later years .. and of course, for whoever really wants to read them :)  ... and they will get shorter over time  ... 

Well ... in 2 days time .. it will be 1 month in Malta! I still can't believe that we are in Malta!  ... To sum it up, it's been a month of 'The good, the bad and the ugly' 

(Please remember - that these are my first insights in Maltese life as an ex-pat ... insights may certainly change in a few days/months) 

The Good: 

I am really enjoying my time with Azi (most of the time) ... She is a real little character and has become quite the drama queen and storyteller, with cheeky little sayings and an attitude! She definitely keeps Phil, ZaZ and I on our toes with her up and down mood swings ... But, at least she keeps things exciting! ... We have found a GREAT 'Sydney style' park (although no shade cloth) in walking distance from our flat. It has a variety of slides and tunnels and round-about etc and it's on the water - so really great! We have also met a nice little group of friends and are doing music classes (when the bus gets us there or Azi doesn't fall asleep), swimming lessons and a little playgroup. 

ZaZ seems to be settling at school. She has made a few friends and is doing great after school activities, drama and  musical theatre ... and then on Saturdays a musical theatre 'school' - an hour of dance, hour of drama and hour of singing - all related to the play for that semester (this semester it is RATS) ... She has also been inspired by the her schools high-impact PE teacher and decided to practise skipping at home .. From not knowing how to skip - a few days later she is skipping backwards and on 1 foot etc etc ... She is learning Spanish at school .. and we have to figure out someway of keeping up her Hebrew! There are 13 kids in her class  - some from Sweden, Turkey, Italy, UK etc 

Me - after visiting tons of little health shops - a few days ago they opened a nice size health shop just up the road from Zaria's school .. and they have my toxic free baking paper (SO exciting!) ... I have met some nice moms, some more interesting humans of Malta (everyone has a story of how they arrived on this Rock) .. I'm enjoying exploring the little shops, chatting and getting into 'some sort of routine' ... I have a ton of recipes that I need to try out ... And I really want to try get to a yoga class this week - apparently there is this incredible yoga teacher ... 

The Winter has been GOOD! Besides for 1 cold day (which I got scared of and rushed out and bought a warm jacket for Azi, socks, beanies, scarves etc) ... Most days have been sunny and about 19 degrees celsius. 

We have discovered that instead of leaving the house at 8am and doing a 30 mins brisk walk to school, we can sleep 'later' and leave the house at 8:20, be on the bus at 8:25ish and at school by 8:30ish - and the bell rings at 8:45! (The bad of that means no early morning exercise!) 

The Bad:

The food! ... enough said. Can't wait to eat at Sydney's Cafes! 

The buses! I have decided not to drive for now ...  (for various reasons which will be highlighted in 'the ugly') ... But the buses have NO schedule!! And unfortunately the 1 place that I need to go for this great music class with awesome 'organic' people, has 1 bus going there once every hour and nobody knows what time it goes in the hour and there is no set time! I feel that this week Azi and I have either spent our time waiting for a bus or on a bus! (Thankfully twice she fell asleep on the bus) .. The bus drivers are CRAZY and are not helpful! 

Azi had a big fall the other day, which resulted in her sitting in the pram in total shock for 2 hours and refusing to speak, as she had this huge lip - a trip to the very nice paediatric dentist who checked her tooth for 2 second, spoke to me for 2 mins and charged us Euro40 - and a roll - and she was all better! 

My sleep! Seriously, its week 4! First week - Jet-lag, second week - exhaustion, third week - whatever, week 4 - WTF? Still - sleep all over the place! I either pass out with kids @ 8pm OR have insomnia! (The good part of insomnia is that I'm reading a book for the first time in years! "The Pact" by Jodi Picoult! Gripping!) 

And of course  ... The bad is not having the fam and friends here to share our daily lives with! (The Good - FaceTime!!) 

The Ugly: 

Not sure if 'Ugly' is the right word  ... maybe just more 'I can't believe it' ... 

The driving!!!! OMG!!! I'm not sure what the Maltese do when they get to Australia - but they must end up getting a million fines! (Fact: More Maltese people live in Australia than in Malta) ... People drive while holding their telephones to their ears, I have seen TONS of kids not strapped up and standing in between the seats, babies sitting on their moms laps, tons of kids in 1 car and all of them not buckled up .. (You could imagine how my blood BOILS ... I just want to scream, 'You are the ADULT, Buckle UP your kids) .. and indicating is optional and generally nobody indicates! For now ... I'm going to stick to the bus! (Even though its like a rollercoaster ride sometimes) ... and I'll rely on feet (and eyes ... as stopping at a pedestrian crossing is also optional) ... 

SMOKING .. I knew this before coming to Europe ... But smelling it daily, constantly and seeing people smoking over their kids and in the car with kids ... Blood boil! Hold tongue! 

Dog shit - everywhere ... 

BUT ... I really do want to end with a GOOD!!! I really am thankful that we have had a great, smooth month, TG. The kids are happy, Phil and I are happy. We are making yummy meals at home, we have met some great people, the Rebbetzin here is AMAZING and I hope to learn lots from her, I am loving the 'chill' of being with the kids. 

Happy February!