The transition

Life in Iceland is a HUGE shift from Malta, in so many ways. 

I admit the knowledge that it would be a significant change for the children worried me for weeks before we left, how would the children take it, would they adjust....would they blame us and miss home every minute of every day? Would they wish for their grandparents ( so much a part of our day to day life in Malta), and their friends? would they long for the heat and sun? Their house? ( and toys?). We came with one suitcase each.  Left all the rest behind. Somehow I was convinced in my mind  that regardless of the difficulties we would surely face, it would be something positive for the children in the long run ( even in the face of some doubtful friends and family members),  who questioned the move, the children's schooling would suffer etc.

I am here to tell you, now that we have been here  almost five months, that from the very start it has been a surprisingly smooth and wonderful( in every sense of the word) transition. The children ( ages 10, 9, 7 and 2) have made such a swift and easy transition that my husband and I were truly amazed. They are all thriving in such a clear way, that we have already been confirmed in our decision to move here ( for a year), they are happy in the local school, confident, independent ( in a way they never could have been in Malta) and picking up the language very quickly. They are so chipper and free spirited, and with friends they can call on (and who show up almost daily after school to play). We were lucky that  the neighbourhood we live in is very family friendly, kids everywhere, parks down the street, natural geothermic pools at the end of the block and an easy 15 min walk to the center of Reykjavik. 

I think we were lucky when we found this sabbatical home swap. 

The local school ( which the children attend) is at the end of our street.

My husband and I too have been surprised by how quickly we felt at home here, have made friends and fallen into a gentle routine. Bike rides by the sea to work replaced daily traffic jams. Clean air and wide quiet streets. Kids walking on their own to friends houses, to basketball practise or the local shop for milk. Reykjavik feels like a very safe place, and the approach to children very loving but free, kids are allowed to play and really be kids. There are no annual exams for elementary or middle school children here, very little homework and there are cooked- on the premise healthy lunches every day, (fish and potatoes for example ). A far cry from the exam oriented very serious and not so creative quality of schools in Malta.  so far it seems there is in addition to the usual subjects of science, math, literacy, history, and study of world religions, textiles, cooking, woodworking, art and music. Music interwoven throughout actually. 

So many things have been an eye opening shift for us as parents.

Iceland may be small in population ( less than Malta!) but this island too is very rich in culture, history and nature and I won't even go into the love of books and high rate of authors here or musical talent. 

It is indeed a special place and we are enjoying our time here.

So any of you out there who are thinking of making a leap to a different land, kids in tow, consider doing it. It is bonding as a family and such a rich adventure to have as memories for the future. 

Have already probably said more than enough so I will end here.

May your mid November days be healthy and hopeful.

Greetings from the land of fire and ice, 

we have moved from Malta and are now living on another island.

.. Just a bit further north.   Iceland! 

We have come for a year and it has been a soft and magical beginning, somehow my words have been stuck ( blog writers block) and I have not managed to find the space to write although I feel like there has already been so much to say! I am some weeks late but I think it is time to start.....to share this adventure, the travels of a boisterous family of six relocating from the ancient rocky island of Malta to the Nordic island of erupting volcanos and glaciers. So let us begin. 

Just looking

well and dreaming... 

but realistically it is not so long now till we out grow our present house. So lately I find myself peeking in at for sale listings probably more often than I should. We still have the hassle of selling our present house. 

Here have a look and tell me your mind doesn't dream a little too...

Not a bad place..it a village called Zejtun ad you should see the outdoor pool....

Maltese 'Karnival' Part 2

I couldn't resist sharing some photographs taken by my talented friend, Xavier Cornhil Wambergue. 

These photos are of the Carnival procession in Nadur, on the island of Gozo, Nadur is a small  hilltop village which has a particular reputation throughout Malta for its Carnival spirit. 

Revived 

After some days of ominous dark clouds, howling winds and downpours of rain interspersed with hail, came some sun. So off to the countryside we went, packing a backpack with a blanket, the Sunday paper, a thermos of hot chocolate, metal mugs and some snacks. 

The children were all given the ok to 'bringsomething small with you if you really must' 

The Things they carried

Tano - eldest - age 8 : a book, a small self made diary complete with a pencil strapped to the cover and two paper air planes, also a small toy for the baby.

Magpie - second child- age 7 : toy bunny, seven small moshi monsters, a brush, a small wooden box containing a collection of over thirty glass marbles.

Desructo- third in line- age 5: a pencil case, one piece of paper (she is learning to write letters) and two metallic candy wrappers (it is unclear whether these came to the countryside with candy in them or not).

a small insight into their characters no?

smile

Even if I was down with a cold it felt so good to sit in the sunshine amid the olive and pine trees. 

Changing gears

Hannibal Crossing the Alps

With the start of August comes a shift in focus... my head is in the books now days... preparing for teaching this fall... Maltese and European History... oh my is there a lot to cover! Luckily it's fascinating... 

Malta was truly in the cross paths of one Empire after another! 

You never know

Love when life makes a tiny twist and you stumble on something unexpected and beautiful. Amid our Saturday drive in search for a new picnic spot (and accompanied by moans from our boy child in the back seat with the sudden beginnings of an ear ache). We came upon the Chinese Garden, hidden in the outskirts of St. Lucia village, (who would have thought!) it felt like walking into another world. So unassuming, quiet and pretty much empty! Brought back wonderful memories of travelling through Yunnan Province in China back in 2000, of Lijiang and that pretty black dragon park just outside (am embarrassed to say I have forgotten the exact name of the park). Wish I had the photos to share from that trip but they are not digital and sit tucked away in a shoe box back in an attic in Wisconsin. 

Hope your week holds some tiny sweet surprises too. 

*Our little Mr. G. quickly forgot his aching ear when he spotted the maze of trails and inviting doorways. 

Visiting Malta?

Was kindly invited to do a guest post on Malta by Ever The Nomad, check it out for some ideas of things to do if you're thinking of visiting Malta. Many other travel destinations to be read about while there!

Maltese Chocolate Chestnut Soup, Imbuljuta

As thunder rumbled across the island last night, rain pounding and the flashes of lightening catching us off guard, we lit candles and enjoyed a cosy evening in. Thankful for out little gas heater, and warming Maltese wine (its around 50 F, 10 C inside these days) and I can't tell you how much I miss central heating. I decided to finally try making imbuljuta which is a traditional chocolate and chestnut soup (sweet).

I had been asking my mother in law for weeks to let me watch her next time she made it and at last she did. I must explain that this soup has the most wonderful smell, chestnuts, chocolate, cloves and tangerine peel, and because the soup needs to cook slowly for nearly an hour it has a chance to drift seductively through the house. I was told that it often was made on Christmas eve, so that when people returned from midnight mass they would be warmed by it. I was also told that in olden days when you went to give  a present to a new baby during the winter months they would often serve you this soup as a sign of gratitude, accompanied by small almond cookies.
Having experienced now two winters here in Malta I can see how one would appreciate coming in from the rain to be warmed by a bowl of this. The houses are mostly made of stone here, traditionally a kind of local pale yellow sandstone, which means they keep very cool in the hot summers but the stones ability to absorb the moisture from the air makes the wet days of winter feel extremely cold inside.
My mother in law fondly recounted that when she was a child on especially cold days her mother would make this soup while the house was taking their afternon naps (all seven children), the memory of what it was like to be woken by its smells still very vivid. The joy of coming down together to sit crowded in the kitchen spooning up chestnuts from steaming bowls of chocolate.
The recipe, should you want to try it.

Imbuljuta (Chocolate Chestnut Soup)
500 grams dried chestnuts (shells removed). Be sure to soak the chestnuts for 8 hours to overnight first.
5 Tbs dark unsweetened cocoa
5 Tbs sugar (to taste really, this version is not overly sweet).
1 whole tangerine peel
5-6 whole cloves
1/2 cinnamon stick (remove after 20 min of cooking)
enough water to cover the chestnuts

Place all ingredients in pot and let slowly cook till chestnuts are very tender, (about an hour). I strayed form tradition (I do not like the texture of the wet chestnuts so much) and after removing the tangerine peel and cinnamon stick, I blended the soup, so it became a thick dark pudding like texture. I think if it is very thick you could easily serve it with a dallop of fresh cream, if you want to cut the intensity.  Serve hot with a spoon.

A small addition

In the last long days of Chirstmas holidays,  I decided to brave the crowded market with the three children and head down to the Birgu playground, all things considered it went ok. So post picnic and playground running, we all began our trek back up towards zabbar,  just as we were nearing the last stretch  this little tree caught my eye ( must admit I quite like kumquats) so 13 euros less in my pocket and a tree atop the pushchair we headed home (only a few stares along the way). Now at last we have potted it in the top of the old well, it's cheery brightness makes me smile and now hmm.... what to make with those kumquats...

Past the artichoke fields

Our Sunday stroll today was through a valley known as Pwales, and the meandering little path started out by winding around a field of blooming artichokes,  'qaqocc' in Maltese. Guess the season is upon us here, have never before seen them growing in a field. Will have to start searching for good recipes.

The path wove past fennel as tall as I am, a small bamboo forest, twisted carob trees and a few old abandoned houses (tempted to move in, how could you resist with a front door looking out on a green valley and a path to groves of cedar forests five min walk away).

Told you I was charmed, here are just a few more... admit I am a fan of the palat in Munich .. a lot of natural earth tones... did come to the conclusion that mustard yellow and this kind of orange seem to be  the city's signature colours.

Chocolate and jewlery shop...not a bad combo.

 Yes Schmuck is Jewlery, (it's not how my mother used it growing up).

The coolest paper store I have ever seen, I walked in and thought that just maybe I had died and gone to heaven... the walls were covered in the most exquisite papers, (three rooms worth, floor to ceiling)..

A seriously dangerous for a person such as myself.... I think I looked as if I was seeing god.... mouth open in a daze of disbelief.

Pictures can not do it justice. I did come out with a blank book to add recipes too.

Wish I had taken some shots of their Japanese paper section... it was very inspiring. Such beauty.

See, we caught fall!!!  Just at the end of her golden exit.

And back we are to Malta... weekend stroll in the countryside with friends.

Post colour week : bit of blue

As suggested by Not Only in Thailand, a post colours of fall day- weekend blue.  It's Sunday here and we have just returned from five days in the North of Malta, in a small flat by the sea. 

The first picture is a bowl of peeled prickly pears ready to eat.  Am impressed with the shades of magenta, yellow, orange and green you find on the insides.

The sky skapes on Thursday and Friday were quiet spectacular, as the thunder storms rolled in.

Last beach days I think, the children had a blast. School begins here on Monday. May be time to put the buckets and spades away. It's been a good long summer.

Returning

Sometimes things do somehow fall into place and you are reminded subtly that you are creating memories that not only your kids will (with luck) recall but yourselves as parents as well. Moments you want to savour, the cheery meandering of conversations, the light, smells and sounds. There were many of these in the last five weeks. On back porches, picnics on rolling midwstern country sides, and near campfires in the northern woods looking out at Lake Superior ….the squeals of kids in the background and the sweet company of old friends. Yes, feeling very revived and refreshed. The course now finished. It’s time for sewing, reading, painting, cooking and running.

The sounds of our neighbours trumpet echoing through the courtyard and fire works from Birgu's Festa pounding in the distance.... sweltering heat.. and the season of feasts. A fine welcome back to Malta. Best of all still fig season! This time a small kind (two inches rather than the earlier dark purple four inch size).... made some ice cream yesterday which came out quiet well. Roughly it was 250 ml fresh cream, 400 grams fresh peeled soft figs and 1/3 cup good quality honey. 

Now this may seem a bit funny to many of you- but how can I not make note of last night's Eurovision Song contest (for you Americans who don't have the pleasure... it is an annual contest between 42 countries for the best  song of Europe but seems to be largely dominated by block voting within regions). Seeing as I am now living in Europe (and Malta takes it's song very seriously) I did watch the entire thing for once and must say I really loved Portugal's song (pictured above).

The grand winner however (a country close to my heart) was Norway  (bit of a surprise if you ask me with Fairy tale) but was not so bad either (have a listen). You have to watch some of the more showy entries to get at the full extent of what the competition was like- case in point was Azerbaijan). Must also say that I did quiet like Bosnia-Herzogovina and even the Israeli Duet (husband liked the Turkish entry ... hmmm wonder why). It is a particular  kind of genre... of the romantic, showy... dare I say sappy sort of music.  Not usually my taste but it is what it is and I have to admit that this year the competition was pretty tough. 

OK- it has been rightly noticed... I left out Malta... the song for Malta was (having heard the song some 101 times as it was being played non stop around here) sung very well - a ballad, (sadly in English and not Maltese) Chiara has a beautiful voice and for once there was not half clad men and women prancing around  so that was a relief. A good song but I think after three times Malta should maybe consider putting forth another of it's  talented musicians. 

Easter Week in Malta

Id-Duluri or Our Lady of Sorrows,  is one of the major processions to take place during the Easter week here in Malta. It is celebrated in most villages throughout the island. A very sombre affair. Following the statue are large crowds of people saying prayers.  

Spring!

Seems out of nowhere the almond trees are all in full bloom, wild flowers popping out in the fields and when the sun is out- it feels just like May!  

Not exactly related but I do so like this song by  Thao Nguyen-(thanks Melis) and it sounds the way I am feeling at the moment. 

Landed!!

After a lovely send off from the picnic in Winchester to visiting with friends in Brighton we have arrived in Malta. It will be some time before we have our own computer up and running so believe it may be a week or so till I am able to post more photos.

Life in Malta started with a bang, our middle child came down with the stomach flu and chicken pox within hours of leaving the UK (her tell tale signs didn't come till the morning after we arrived). Over the course of our first three and half weeks here all three children have broken out in spots. Not ideal in upper 90's weather and foolish parental promises of trips to the beach as soon as we arrive. After consulting a doctor here we were instructed to keep the children inside for a minimum of two weeks... no easy feat. Boredom, antsiness and television watching abound much to A and I's frustration. With one week to use before the big 'SHUT DOWN' (when most of Malta closes and leaves on vacation) we have had a lot of running around to do- last essentials for the house so we can move in. Visitors from Madison/Seattle coming this week!