On Wednesday morning we all woke up to a power cut all round the island, which meant that for a few hours until everything  got back to normal we were isolated from the rest of the world.  For some strange reason (and I’m using the adjective strange on purpose since the sun is still as bright as it would be in June!) I was overwhelmed by Christmas spirit.  This feeling lead to an early decision to start decorating the school for Christmas…

Out came the decorations, the lights, the tree…and within moments we were all busy bouncing from one side of the cafeteria to the other!

Luckily the lights came back on pretty quickly, meaning that we could finally put on some Christmas Carols and pray for the rain and the cold weather…

We’re still dreaming of a White Christmas…..

Friday the 13^th…a day that freaks out many superstitious people from all around the world, but for some of us it’s merely one other day.  But what is it about Friday the 13^th that is so scary?  In truth, there are very few documented tragedies which took place on this day, so one could conclude that this is the result of legends that were passed down the generations through words of mouth.  However, for the more cynical of us, the answer to the question above could be found in numerology theories…

Basically, in numerology the number 12 is considered to be the number of completeness, probably resulting from the fact that we have twelve months in a year, twelve hours on the clock, the twelve Apostles of Jesus, and also the twelve gods of Olympus, amongst other. The number 13 was, therefore, considered as going against this completeness.

There is, obviously, nothing to prove these theories; however, I would suggest that you all keep your eyes wide open today….just in case…..

We live in a world which is utterly dominated by the idea of money and wealth, and we rarely consider doing something for others without expecting anything in return. The truth is, once you do it, the feeling of fulfillment is more rewarding than any amount of cash!

Today I’d like to share with you something new that I’ve experienced this week – something which I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time but never actually got round to doing. I’m talking about teaching English to people who are not considered as part of mainstream society, in other words, outcasts. This is a new idea that David and Ursula West, the owners and founders of Elanguest, came up with a few weeks ago. Our school has always been proud of its solid Christian foundations and this is a good opportunity for all of us to practice what we preach!

Whilst anxiously waiting for the first group to arrive, on Wednesday afternoon, Tom and I were talking about how challenging it is to go into a classroom not knowing what to expect, however, it was so pleasant to be in their company and to see how keen they were to improve their English, that the rest just naturally fell into place. The two hours literally flew by…

Autumn has officially started in Malta, and with that we also got the first showers and storms of the new season.  Needless to say, after a very long and hot summer, the rain was very welcomed by the vast majority of the Maltese population (even thought I must admit that I got really scared due to the thunder and lightning last night).

This week was also marked by the first school buses which once again started filling up our roads in the morning; as well as the typical ‘first-week-of-school’ scene, characterized by mothers accompanying their young kids to the various shops in their towns and villages to stock up on pens, copybooks and other stationery.

On a completely different note, I must also mention the fact that last week we celebrated the feast of the saint who is the protector of Elanguest – Padre Pio of Pietrelcina.  As most of you already know, our school is dedicated to the memory of this Great Saint.

Hello again….it’s the end of another week and time for yet another of our updates!

Today is actually a more special one than usual (well at least it’s more special for us) because we will not be here on Monday since we have another Public Holiday.  This time we shall be celebrating Independence Day.

As most of you know, Malta was a British colony for over a century and a half.  In 1800 the British colonized the island, taking it from the French, who had only been here for 2 years; and from that moment onwards 164 years passed, including two World Wars and many ups and downs; until the Maltese finally gained their independence on the 21st of September, 1964.  The man behind all this, and the Maltese Prime Minister at the time was George Borg Olivier.

This is very basic information which can easily be found online; however, what most of you might not know is that the man who gave Malta its Independence happens to be the grandfather of one of our teachers at Elanguest – George!  What about that?!!  The grandson of one of Malta’s most influential historical and political figures could have been…or could be your English teacher!
We really do live in a very small world, don’t we?!

Well, on that note I can only wish you a very happy LONG weekend….and I’ll see you all in a week’s time

Take care!

Hi folks!

As I promised you last week today I shall be writing about one of the public holidays that we celebrate in September, and which was held on Tuesday of this week – namely Victory Day.

The 8^th of September is a special day for two reasons.  From a religious perspective we celebrate the birth of the Holy Virgin, however, it is also the day which marks the anniversary of the end of Great Siege in 1565.  Anyone who is remotely interested in history would have heard about the Great Siege of Malta between the Grandmasters of the Order of St. John, lead by Jean Parisot de la Vallette and the Turks, lead by Mustafa Pacha and the infamous Dragut. One event which is traditionally linked with this feast is the Regatta – a rowing competition which has been held for over 350 years.

So that’s it for this week…I’ll be back with more updates in the coming days.  Just one more thing before I go…I’d like to take this opportunity to wish Robert, our Business and Medical English teacher a very speedy recovery.  Rob, we’re all anxiously waiting to have you back with us as soon as possible!!!

What a busy two weeks these have been!!

Last week was characterized by the great feast of Saint Julian, an event which was very welcomed by most of our students.  Most of them chose to join in and get firsthand experience of the traditional Maltese bands and fireworks, which changed the way in which the city that is named after this Saint looks at weekends.  Having said that, I would also really suggest that you look up the story of Saint Julian…I personally heard about it for the first time last week and thought it was lovely

On a completely different note, we had rain (and in some places thunder storms) last Saturday, and exceptionally hot and humid weather throughout the rest of this week.  For those of us who don’t even have the time to check what date it is on the calendar, this is a very clear indication that August is over and September is with us.

This month is characterized by many things, predominantly high levels of humidity, the first showers, the start of the scholastic year for Maltese children, as well as two very important public holidays, which you will read about in more detail in the weeks to come.

I’ll be back to talk about the first of these two public holidays next week – the feast of Our Lady of Victory, which is very close to the heart of the vast majority of the Maltese population.

Have a great weekend!!

This week was yet another typically Maltese summer week – in other words, extremely hot!  Sometimes I find myself chatting with some of our ex-students and they nearly always ask about the weather in Malta, which they strangely miss so much!!  When they start talking about the much cooler temperatures in their respective countries….I just turn green with jealousy!! Maybe I should ask a few of them to swap countries for a few weeks

Elanguest also launched its brand new Medical English online course this week, which can be found on http://medicalenglish.coursekey.com/ .  It’s really good, believe me!!

On a more cultural level, this week there was a very interesting thing taking place in Bay Street – a shopping complex in St. Julian’s.  For a few hours, the sounds of traditional Maltese music (which we call Ghana), filled up the corridors of this big and modern building and entertained all those who happened to be in the area…!

I wish all of you a very happy weekend!! See you next week

This week ends on the eve of one of Malta’s most prestigious public holidays – the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (in Maltese ‘Santa Maria’).  Traditional festivities take place in many towns and villages all around the island, however, the most famous celebration is probably held in Mosta due to the renowned dome that this city boasts of.  Many foreigners, including a good number of our students, flock to one of these places to get a real taste of Malta.

The island also has a lot to offer even to those who might not be too keen on such traditional celebrations.  One example is the ‘Creamfields Festival’ which is an open-air festival and is always held on the 15^th of August.   This year the event will host over 60 DJs and live acts set over a main stage as well as three dance arenas.

So for those of you who are going to be in Malta this weekend, I’m sure that the next few days are going to be packed with activities!  Feel free to upload any pictures of your around-Malta experiences on our facebook profile!

Have a great weekend!

It’s 10 o’clock in the morning…the sun is shining through my office window….all the urgent things have been dealt with…my fingers are all warmed up….and the overwhelming sounds of ‘Enya’ are softly being played in the background. All this can only mean one thing….that Friday is here and that it’s time for me to update you on what’s been happening in Malta and specifically at Elanguest.

As most of you probably know, Elanguest is dedicated to Padre Pio of Pietralcina and in order to honour the memory of this great saint, David and Ursula West bought a house in this lovely town. They were there for the feast of Our Lady of Deliverance last week. Here are some of the pictures so that you can see what a lovely atmosphere there was.

Had it not been for these signs it would have been quite difficult to get the idea that yet another week has flown by! It was one of the busiest weeks at school so far this year, so needless to say, we were all too immersed in our daily routines to realize that the weekend is just round the corner

Just to set the scene…the Monday morning welcome meeting felt as if Stephen and myself were important politicians addressing a crowd during a mass meeting!!! (O.K. that’s maybe slightly exaggerated….but you do get the idea, don’t you?!)

Oh and speaking of Stephen…I’d like to take the opportunity to wish him a very Happy Birthday on behalf of all my colleagues!
And on that note, there’s nothing left for me to say apart from ‘HAPPY WEEKEND!!!’ See you all next week!