I travelled to Malta as an independent woman. At the time of booking the trip, I was in lingo with my job, knowing that I would be quitting at the end of the teaching year, and expecting to go home to Australia the following April. So, I checked my travel bucket list and started to prioritize. Malta was a clear winner.
People also talk about how you "find yourself" in your 20's. I always thought this was a load of crap, what do you mean find myself? I know who I am...or at least who I was before I moved to the other side of the world, became completely independent, and got a brand new perspective on life. As the more recent years have sped by, and I've come to now be a "very late 20's, almost early 30 year old woman," the more I've begun to realize that it's actually true. For me, feeling comfortable within my own skin, being happy to spend time with myself, and being able to travel alone, was something that I could never have done until moving abroad. How embarrassing would that be, I used to think. And who would be there to help me deal with things when they went wrong? I hadn't travelled alone since my trip to Koh Samui in April, 2013, so I was feeling the solo traveller jitters, to say the least. I booked into a classy hostel, hoping to meet some like-minded travelers who'd be keen to mingle and get to know the city together. Whilst the hostel was fantastic, the crowd were far from sociable, so I was forced to spend 5 days of quality time with myself. I found an amazing spot on the water to stop for a wine my first night there. I must admit, the glances from fellow diners were starting to make me feel quite uncomfortable, and I was starting to doubt myself for coming here alone. As I looked around, sipping my wine, eating my delicious gluten-free pasta, and watching the beautiful sunset on the seas of Malta, it was in that moment I actually stopped caring with my fellow diners were thinking. When I looked back at them, they smiled, not in a condescending way, but in a "you go girl" kind of way (or at least I felt). The more I looked, the more I realized many of the diners weren't even engaging in conversation, which kind of also made me grateful to be able to be with myself in that moment, not forced into anything with anyone else, but just to breathe it all in, and process it, peacefully, quietly, and by myself. It was in that moment, that I started to "find myself". Thank you, Malta.
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JUL, 20145 days in Malta |