As I approach the halfway mark of my time here in Malta, I want to reflect on this experience with you all! When I first arrived here with my mom in the fall, I was so excited to see everything that it was overwhelming. My time was mostly taken up with sightseeing, embassy meetings, figuring out the bus system, getting used to my school, finding an apartment, shopping for home goods and becoming involved in my community. As I settled in, I was overcome with appreciation for Maltese culture and everything it had to offer.
Since that initial flurry of excitement and busyness, I have definitely had spells of homesickness, and I miss my mom and dogs every day! Making new friends has also been challenging. However, the pros of living abroad have definitely outweighed the cons. This experience so far has taught me that I can do hard things, and that sometimes, when I put a lot of effort into something, it can turn out better than I ever could've expected! I am so grateful to the Fulbright Program for this experience and am so excited to take advantage of my next few months to travel, become more immersed in different cultures and become closer to my new community in Malta.
So far, I have gotten involved in my community here in many ways.
