“On an island in the sun, we’ll be playing and having fun,And it makes me feel so fine I can’t control my brain”
So, this was it.
It is hard to say "bye" to people who you are used to say "see you" for so long time. Like my friend Andrea said: "I still remember everything like yesterday.” It is true, so much happened in last five months -which is eventually a short period of time- that everything is still fresh in our memories.. The parties (when not too much alcohol consumed), boats, sunsets, dinners, swims, beach, crystal clear water, walks to university, busses (why they have to change them?), diving, snorkelling, music and sleeping in the beach, discovering new places, meeting new people and so on..
The last one mentioned was maybe the coolest part. You met new people all the time, and every one of them was easy to approach and get friends with. Of course, I liked the exchange students.. but I also liked open minded, friendly and helpful Maltese people. In a weird way, I also like the fat, rude and shouting bus drivers or the noisy neighbourhood witches, whos interaction seemed and sounded more like a fight than a conversation. It is all part of Maltese and Meditetterean culture, which I found myself interested and comfortable with.
And one thing I will miss too is a selfish one: if I overstate a bit, I was the only tall and blonde guy on the island, which made it more possible to get attraction from the locals. “You are here like Eddy Murphy would be in Finland.” Thanks Iza :D Here I’m more like small fish in a big lake.
It is hard to compare different periods of life, but now Malta being fresh in my memory, I had to say that now it feels like it was the best experience of my life. I have to share my (exL) flatmates Tommi’s words: "I knew this will be good after the exams. But I didn't expect... this to be like a paradise."
When I think I’m here, in Finland; here are my friends and my family, thousand lakes and chance to do sports all the time, I feel good. But when I start thinking that I’m not in Malta, and my exchange friends are not here and will never live here, I feel sad.
It is cold, cloudy and very silent here. I can sleep without my earplugs and not being distracted by night and early mornings by mosquitoes, flies, church bells, loud people and cars.. but I miss the 24/7 life and voices around me. It takes time to get used to this.
On the other hand, I must think positively. When I first saw Finland from the plane I was somewhat amazed. I knew that Finland is full of forests, but seen it from the plane for the first time in a while still amazed me. Even Helsinki looked like a small habited area in the edge of endless green forest. When I look out from my parent’s house window, everything looks so colourful and bright green, and the air I breathe and water I drink are very fresh. Malta on the other hand was getting completely yellow and the weather was getting too hot, if it wasn’t already.
Well, even though the weather and my mentality are not great yet, I’m sure my friends, who I am going to see today, still are. Tomorrow starts midsummer festival, which equals lot of friends, drinks, sauna, swimming and finally old school dancing with old school ugly clothes in beautiful countryside. Now I also must get used to eat dinners at five (with milk, suck it Italians ;) and start drinking at six; that's part of our culture, hehe.
All my friends, you are very welcome to visit me here in Finland, and I will visit you around Europe sometime, when I have time and money, whether you want it or not :D Thank you and wish you all the best, it was the best.
Mella,
Matti
