I will never forget the feeling of getting my passport stamped for the first time. Already in awe from trying to wrap my mind around my first international trip, I was at a loss for words when we finally landed in Malta. The anticipation from the eight hour flight was met with a crescent smile taking over my face. As my study abroad group traveled to the hotel on our bus, I took the entire country in. Malta is one of the smallest islands in the world, and at a glance on a map it may seem easy to skip over. Yet, I found myself immediately falling in love with the terrain, beautiful water, and the similarities back to America that offered me a homey feeling in a way. I’ve always thought of English to be generally universal and there was the familiar language on every billboard and business sign in Malta. In observation of how this country differed, I took in the small roads that winded around the streets with even more impressively compact cars. There was also a historic touch to the land. Even well preserved, I still thought of myself to be opening a time capsule as we continued exploring the city.
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