Volunteery Stay in Malta with ZAK

Since I was the one who had not been in Malta before, I was totally unprepared to deal with the heat that welcomed us as soon as we got out of plane on 11th of June. Despite of the late time (it was past midnight) our hostess Marvic was welcoming us and all in all during our stay provided us with the information, pastizzi (local pastry) or car rides whenever needed.

Our part was pretty simple: we had free time every day until 5 or 6 PM when the local groups of ZAK (Catholic Youth Association) gathered in different cities (they say cities we think districts since Malta is like one big city for us)..We met with youngsters aged mostly 15-16 but also 18 and up and played the games we had studied in Silkeborg:) The carrot came was a success as was the bunny game (kiss the imaginary bunny...) All spring Euroclassers remember the slurp! game we played in Antwerpen, that one was warmly welcomed and caused a lot of laughs as well:)

So it was mostly youth gatherings (sometimes 3 in one evening but the more the merrier and as they all took place in different cities of Malta we can say we have seen almost all of Malta) but we also took part in a weekend training camp for future youth leaders where Michele went outdoor with older ones to orientate, build rafts and camp overnight while I stayed indoors with the rest of the "TV-station crew":) The youngsters in that camp had to come up with an idea of a tv-show suitable and attractive for youngsters and we leaders each had different roles to play. Mine was "quality controller from abroad" and I was very fancy of course, giving advices to youngsters :)

And what did we do in our spare time? We explored the wonderful WARM (there was a time of 40 degrees and mostly people stayed indoors from 12-15 but not us crazy tourists of course) and sunny Malta island, the capital Valletta and other cities and beaches (the name of it, Golden Bay, already makes you feel in heaven right?), we also visited the "green" (there were approximately 3 more trees than in Malta island) island of Gozo and took a motorboat ride around the island of Comino with our friends:)

It was a wonderful experience and on behalf of both Michele and me - many thanks to everyone who made it so great for us!!

Laura-Liisa