Matthew W. Scruggs, '04

When you think of college spring breaks, the general destinations that one thinks of are Cancun, Jamaica, Key West or your very own bed at home. Well, this spring break turned into quite an expedition as I decided to take the Maltese experience. Malta is a tiny island off the coast of Italy and this is my spring break story.

Ferrum College goes on an educational spring break trip every year. This year the school chose to go to the Maltese Islands with a group of eighteen students and two chaperones. It was an opportunity to study abroad and receive two college credits. The requirements for this class included: preparing a power point presentation on a subject of our choice concerning Malta, keeping a journal of what we did each day and what we saw and writing a summary paper of how we had matured and grown since our trip. This was well worthwhile experience even though many students do not seem to make the connection between doing homework and spring break.

After twenty-four hours of flight time we arrived at our final destination. We left from Charlotte-Douglas airport in Charlotte, North Carolina and transferred to the Maltese airlines in London. This was quite a personal experience because this was the first time I had ever flown on a plane. The time difference was around 6 hours and the jet lag truly affected us all. However, by nighttime we were ready to begin our Maltese experience.

Malta was going through a great period of change while we were there. The Maltese were deliberating on whether or not to join the European Union (EU). They held the actual election the day after we left. It concluded five weeks of campaigning involving the pros and cons of joining the EU. The voter turnout was impressive since most of the people participated in the process. It was a close election that ended with people of Malta voting to join the EU. The results of the referendum were 143,094 for joining and 123,628 against entering the EU. The projected date of admission is May 1, 2004 during the enlargement process.

Another memorable experience for the group was on the first day was its passing contact with the President of Malta on our way to the hotel. Upon our arrival at the hotel we were pleasantly surprised to see his car and entourage parked in the hotel premises. Some of us were lucky enough to take a picture with him. From the balcony of my hotel room, I was able to videotape him leaving.

No pun intended, one of my first tastes of the Maltese experience came by way of the food. Malta is primarily a fishing country that resides in the Mediterranean Sea and much of the inhabitants' diet consists of fish. One thing that I wanted to accomplish in Malta was to experience their culture and the food assisted me with that. The typical American condiments such as steak sauce or ketchup tasted very different and were sometimes hard to come by. In America, we generally see water as being free, but over in Malta, wine is the predominant beverage, served free with every meal. If you wanted water, you would have to buy it by the bottle. Another shocking difference came from the fact that ice is not served with any of the drinks and when you ask for it, you may get a cube or two. This was one thing that was very difficult to overcome because I am accustomed to having cold drinks. I believe that the best meal I had, that was not provided for me by the travel agency, came from McDonalds or Burger King. One of the great things about visiting a different country is experiencing that culture, but it does not always have to taste great.

The nightlife over in Europe also came as quite an eye-opening experience. Being able to get into any club I wanted to without being carded was enjoyable. It honestly made me feel as if I was getting older. Once I got in the club, I was expecting to hear nothing but European music. However, when the club became lively, the music became more American and there were many songs that I could relate to. It was also strange being in the club and having the ability to order anything from the bar that I wanted. The legal drinking age in Malta is sixteen. It was hard for me to fathom kids under twenty-one being able to drink in public or walk down the streets with alcoholic beverages in their hands without any pressure from the local authorities. This new type of social atmosphere and nightlife added to my Maltese experience more than I could have ever imagined.

Lastly, the highlight and most important parts of my Spring Break trip, by far, were the sites that our group visited. One of the most interesting places that we saw was the new school of Reformation, or Malta's University which originally was one of the hospitals that the Knights of Malta used. The building was so large and looked nothing like the hospitals of America. It was very fascinating to see the elevator that was used to transport the patients from the ground floor to the top because it looked more like a clay tower than an elevator. We also took a traditional boat ride along the Grand Harbor where we saw the largest boating dock in Malta called the "China Dock" and named after the Chinese who constructed and paid for it. The dock is large enough to hold any vessels up to 150 tons that might sail into the harbor. Another very interesting thing that we saw as we walked the streets of Malta was the Inquisitor's Palace. This was what would be considered our courthouse in America. This is the place where prisoners were held, tried, convicted and punished. One thing that intrigued me more so than anything else was the doorway that the prisoners used to enter into the Inquisitor's chamber. It was half the size of a regular door so as they entered they were forced to bow to the Inquisitor. I had a lot of fun with this door because of the fact that with my stagnant height, this may be the only door that I will ever have the experience of striking my head as I walk through it. We also toured the jail cells, gardens, rock quarry, kitchen, and many of the artifacts and paintings that were housed in the Palace.

We visited many of the temples and churches on the Islands of Malta and Gozo which were homes to some of the most beautiful artwork and sculptures I have ever seen. The artwork found on many of the ceilings of these temples reminded me of the Sistine Chapel that was painted by Michelangelo. To say the least, it was breathtaking. The floors of the chapels were filled with the corpses of famous and highly respected Knights of Malta. Each floor was covered with flat tombstones and stretched over the entire chapel.

Our tour also took us to the Maritime museum, Victory Square, and St. John's bastion. In the city of Valetta, there were many buildings that had to be constructed after World War II. We also visited St. John's Co-Cathedral, which was built in 1575 and served as the primary church of the Knights. In this church, we saw beautiful paintings by the famous artist Caravaggio, who painted the famous painting of the beheading of St. Paul where he signed his name in the blood that spewed from Paul's neck. At the Grand Master's palace where we saw the beautiful Stateroom, the Armory and the grand Tapestry room, we were not allowed to take any photographs. In one room, we saw a painting that lined the walls, depicting the Great Siege of Malta. We then traveled to the "silent city" of Medina. Here we viewed the catacombs of St. Peter where the ancients buried many people and even held funeral parties. These catacombs were also used during World War II as bomb shelters. In Medina, we toured the glass factory where we saw glass sculptures being made and a gallery of the final works being sold.

One day, we took a boat ride along the Grand Harbor and the following day we took a jeep safari across the Island of Gozo.

On Gozo, we visited famous places such as the Citadel, the Azure Window, the Fungus Rock and the Inland Sea. Each of these attractions had their own breathtaking sights that were simply marvelous. The Citadel served as the church for the island and had a painted ceiling that appeared to be dome-shaped but was truly a flat painting. The naturally made Azure Window much resembled the Natural Bridge in Virginia. The Fungus Rock is a small island just off the coast of Gozo that had been protected night and day by the bastion located on Gozo, due to the medicinal values that the leaders felt the fungus contained.

On the last day of our trip, we visited many of the Megalithic Temples that reminded me of Stone Hinge. Many of these rock formations were created years before Stone Hinge, some built in the B.C. era. We went to the Blue Grotto, which are underwater caves. Unfortunately it was too cold of a day and the water was too rough to take a boat ride in the caves. We visited the fishing villages of Marsaxlokk and Brizeburga where we saw many of the traditional fishing boats of the island. Lastly, we visited the prehistoric caves of Ghan Palan, where we saw the national plant of Malta, called the "ears of the sea", fossils of hippopotami and elephants, and the dwarf elephant. It was hard to believe was that they found many different types of animals whose fossils were found in one area.

The tours of Malta and Gozo provided me not only with an educational experience but a cultural outlook that will not soon be forgotten. I have a strong appreciation for Ferrum College itself, the faculty members that made this trip possible, and the curriculum that helped me to develop a strong sense of diversity that I can now apply in my everyday life. To conclude, Cancun, Jamaica and Key West may have been the college students' typical spring break adventures, but nothing can possible compare to the values attributed to my Maltese experience.