Melting pot: a short story of a beginner traveler that meets new cultures
I haven’t traveled a lot in my life. When I arrived here in Malta for an English course I was a bit scared. When you go abroad even for few weeks you don’t even know what you will be facing.
Staying in another country different for culture and habits needs a big effort in terms of flexibility and spirit of adaptation. You have also to interact with our ways of thinking and other points of view. But I think that this is the most important part of an experience like this.
You have to try to put yourself out of your comfort zone and trying new things. At first time, you could think that other people are strange, and only your way of thinking and living is normal. You usually consider others weird and wrong, but after all, that is really normal? Who can decide it?
After the “cultural shock” you understand that we are all aliens/strangers for each other on the same planet. Now starts the greatest part of the journey: your mind is open and you are ready to know about new things and to have new experiences.
During these days I heard about Korean dishes, Cuban’s and Czech’s stories, Maltese’s catholicism, Buddhism.
I met a group of wonderful people that we called “Villa Arzila” that I will never forget.
It would be great if the spirit of multiculturality and sharing of this school would be adopted in all corners of the world. Accepting other differences like a chance for improving and enriching myself and not like a threat.
In the end, what I learned about this experience?
That every journey is made of meetings.
And each person you meet is a story, and this is an inestimable
by Clizia Di Biase
Malta University Language School Student