Away from Home - A Fruitful Experience

Miriam Fabri, Malta

The idea that a person is able to easily adjust to living away from his/her own country he/she resides in is not uncommon. However, this depends upon the extent of cultural and social difference that exist between countries.

I come from Malta, an island in the Mediterranean Sea and I am the wife of a student studying at this University. I was glad that we decided to come to England because this country is not unfamiliar due to historical ties with Malta. Britain took possession of Malta in 1814 and used it as a naval base after the Maltese people requested her protection from Napoleon who occupied Malta at that time. Malta remained a British colony for 50 years with the consequence that the political, administrative and educational systems of the island have a strong British influence even in the present day. So, for example, the island's official languages are Maltese and English. Hence, most Maltese speak and understand the English language. So, to settle in England, language was not a problem for me, as well as most infrastructural services like the traffic system (we also drive on the left), the postal system, health care and others.

Although all this made me feel at ease, I was still unsure as to whether other things would be as favourable. In contrast to the UK, Malta is a very small island – the same size if not smaller than Sheffield itself. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya and has an area of 320 square kilometers. The population amounts to 364,600 people. Due to its small size, everyone in Malta lives close by. This carries with it several disadvantages: people tend to be invasive and intrusive of other people's lives. In Sheffield I felt a kind of independence from kin which is satisfying in a sense but also kind of strange. In Malta, independence from kin is rare. Offspring still live with their parents, sometimes even at a mature age, and only marriage separates them. Even so, this separation is quite limited and only extends to living in a different house, because family contact still remains very strong. On the positive side, this carries the advantage that help is always at hand from family members who are usually eager to go out of their way to help in the best way they can.

The Maltese enjoy outdoor pastimes such as barbecues, swimming in the sea, parties and fiestas. This is partly due to the warm climate which encourages these outdoor activities and socialisation. When I came to Sheffield, I realised that I am going to miss those activities, especially swimming in the sea. In fact, I felt empty in Summer, as if my hobby has been taken away from me, but I soon realised that other things in Sheffield are as interesting, such as walking in the parks.

During the few years that I have been in Sheffield, it is the cold winter weather that I found most difficult to adjust to, but gradually I became habituated to it and my surroundings.

Living in another country is a wonderful experience. It makes you aware of the differences that exist between countries and how to gradually adjust to the way of life of that particular country. My advice to all new students and others is to look forward to and accept the differences of the new country you are living in. Adjustment takes time, but in the end it's rewarding.

Miriam Fabri, Malta