Malta Adventure

Elections

2012-01-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

I've been following as best I can the current Maltese drama with the government. It's a convenient situation for me as a professor--I'm teaching comparative politics this semester and Malta may end up illustrating a variety of what seem very odd and exotic political processes: a parliament, a vote of no confidence, the leader of a country possibly changing through an internal party decision...or none of these things and a portfolio shuffle.

But, the American electoral system is even odder, I think. I'm also teaching American government and I think it will be a challenge this election year and not merely entertaining or mildly annoying. One of the big differences in the current electoral cycle (which in the US seem to have started long ago and will not end until Nov has been caused by the Supreme Court Decision: Citizens United v Federal Election Commission. The "Supremes" decided that rules against money going to independent Political Action Committee violated free speech. In effect, it says that corporations and non-profits are people even in the right to free speech. So, now we have SUPER PACS, which can take money in very large quantities from individuals and then these entities can spend to make their own independent TV ads and so forth. They aren't supposed to coordinate with any of the candidates' organizations. So we are getting ads that are rife with exaggerations and hyperbole. Why, one from a Super Pac that supports Gingrich, attacked Romney by showing him speaking a bit of French (while at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee!). Why it would be bad for a potential president to speak even a little of another language eludes me. I suppose it's supposed to show how unAmerican it is. He's also being attacked for the buying and selling of firms by Bain Capital. I truly dread the ads once the Republicans are done tearing each other up and the Democrats and Republicans go after each other for real.

One thing I'm starting to think is that these PACs, with all their private money and their new-found right to free speech, may be illustrating a lot about the character of business in America--even more than when our financial and banking institutions utterly failed us and the world in common sense. The new PAC show how little they respect their country or their fellow citizens. It's even worse that we already thought. They really have zero ethics and zero belief in the public or respect for democracy or the republic.

Now, getting 'free speech' (as opposed to the quiet and influential conversations they already could have with elected officials) is probably a heady thing. It's new and they are not behaving themselves at all. It's confusing the candidates and the older parties: who is in charge? The electorate is often baffled, from what little we can now see. It might be effective in small ways, but it might also cause a major backlash (perhaps Americans will have to talk to each other more as the ads have to be heavily discounted). How do you control your message as a candidate (in the US, unlike in Malta, individual candidates mostly have to control the message, not the party)? In the 1790s when my country was new, leaders and their friends engaged in all kinds of dastardly attacks on each other through the media of the times, newspapers. But at least they knew each other and worked with each other everyday and actually believed in the idea of a united United States; that is probably not the case with the new PACs. Eventually the founders of the new republic toned it down some--because parties formed, as Ellis says in his book, Founding Brothers. I wonder in this current craziness, if the unregulated superPACs will learn. Will billionaires really want to bankroll this sort of nonsense for decades to come? Will counterveiling social responses arise?

So, it's a challenge to teach my intro to American govt class with all this brand new behavior. It's interesting for me as a teacher, but a challenge. As a citizen, I rather imagine I'll be wanting to weep for my country this year.

Meanwhile, my Maltese friends, good luck with your own politics!

Madurodam, in The Hague #2

2011-07-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some more photos. One has my umbrella in it to show size. There's a pair--one with a big white foot in it and then another very near the spot where my foot was.

Madurodam, in The Hague

2011-07-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

There's a remarkable site in The Hague, Madurodam. It has many important Dutch sights and buildings and industrial/waterworks all at 1/25th scale. It was really quite something. If you ever find yourself with time on your hands in Amsterdam and in the mood for something rather less exciting than Amsterdam, then hop the train to the Hague and visit this place. Some photos.

Gardens of the Peace Palace

2011-07-16T11:58:00.001-07:00

One of the joys of taking all this intensive international law work at the Hague Academy of International Law is that the gardens at the Peace Palace are marvelous. Herewith, a few photos.

WWI cemeteries and memorials, Ypres

2011-06-26T11:40:00.001-07:00

With hundreds of thousands dead in a very small area, there are many, many cemeteries and memorials to units. The tall statue of a soldier is a memorial to Canadians, there's a memorial to a group of Americans who served here, the one with many crosses is British. Then there are two from a German site: the sign saying about 25,000 of them are buried in the plot (they used mass burials at the time) and then the plot, that looks like a square with plants in it. There were other Germans buried there, not just these 25,000. Among the Germans are the cadets who, a few weeks into the war, marched in their best uniforms to finish off the British and Belgians who had taken extraordinary fire trying to prevent the Germans from cutting them off from the sea (Dunkirk of WWII memory was not far from where I was) and were mostly decimated. Their officers thought the Belgians and few remaining English (from the start of the war) would be too disorganized and exhausted to fight. The Germans were very wrong and the men/boys who had rushed out of school to enlist were slaughtered. Later Hitler would glorify them as an use them as exemplars of outstanding behavior. But, in reality it was simple arrogance and poor military leadership.

WWI Remains near Ypres, Belgium

2011-06-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

WWI began nearly a century ago. They expected a very fast war. They got horrifying attritional warfare. Here are some of the remains (people still find ammunition and those shells still take lives to this day). Pictures of trenches, a fortified machine gun position, what looks like a big pond but is what's left of a major detonation of underground explosives (both sides had their miners dig and then they blew men up by the hundreds from below). Similarly, the pretty, bumpy field is actually bumpy from all the shelling. At the end the war, no trees, no buildings, pretty much nothing was left in this area.

Scenes from Bruges, Belgium

2011-06-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

Misc Photos

2011-06-07T23:25:00.000-07:00

No theme here, just photos of things that interested me. I avoid people photos due to the strength of EU laws on privacy, in case you are wondering. Plus, I live in a very quiet area where people are up and about, but not in large numbers. So, photos here are another view of the Peace Palace, a toy in the window of a shop--wow inlaid wood flames! It also gives a sense of the streetscape. A pocket garden. A happy graffiti, which pretty much captures my mood. And a tiny garbage can, which is quite a contrast to what's on the curb in the US.

Went to Peace Palace library

2011-06-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

Gosh, I could really learn to like this city. So pleasant (in the summer, maybe not January), so easy to walk in, a library with books on law in it that's filled with people interested in private and public international law. Yeah. Happy gal here.

I walked over to the Peace Palace, perhaps not via the most efficient route, took me about an hour. I'm recovering from some surgery, so there is hope by the end of July that the 3-4 km will take me my more usual 40 minutes.

I also went to the library to read some of the required assignments--on state secession today, other topics later. Friendly and nice staff with pretty views out the windows. Sigh.

You aren't supposed to take pictures once on the grounds or in the buildings. So, none from that perspective. But, goodness, what beautiful grounds. My classmates and I are going to be in an inspiring place. The photos are of two repeating plaques, one has the scales of justice and the other, less clear, seems to be of a knot that's cut. I'm guessing it is the Gordian Knot of war that law might cut. A picture of the Peace Palace (I can't seem to get a second one to load). The one with the tree-lined path is part of my route home--right after leaving the Palace.

Dunes near Hague

2011-06-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

My landlady had told me the beach and dunes were lovely and just a short walk (waving vaguely in the direction I should go). So, yesterday evening I set out to find the sea and beach. The dunes are quite extensive, it turned out, and there were many intersecting paths and no signs. It took me an hour and a half to find the sea, though only half an hour or so back to the apartment. I plan to go back and explore more while I'm here, because they seem to be worth it. But, the next time I want the beach, I'll skip the long hike. Here are photos, including my beer reward once I found the beach. The sun was setting about 10 pm and it was still easy to find my way at 10:30 pm. Photos are of a magpie, example of treed dune, sea, my beer, and a pretty pink cloud.

My Hague apartment

2011-06-02T05:59:00.000-07:00

I've left Malta and taken up living in The Hague, Netherlands. Took the train from Amsterdam (not bag friendly, but I made it). I had arranged for an apartment through VRBO last Fall. I am not disappointed! Even though I arrived late, around 9:30 pm, they took me for a neighborhood walk and then drove me so I could get a sense of places a bit further away. I successfully repeated some of the walk and drive today on foot and plan to head over to the beach later this evening. The sun was just setting around 10 pm. Here are some photos of my living room (fresh cut flowers and some live potted plants, a street--the light brown sidewalk is for bikes and scooters while the dark grey is for walking, and a door along my walk.

Tas Silg

2011-05-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

Tas Silg is a very important, and hardly explored, archeological site in Malta. It has religious structures from the neolithic temple builders to the Phoenicians, to the Punic, to Roman to paleoChristian. The site is on the southern coast of the Island, but in ancient days, one would have been able to see the 12 km to what is now Mdina and Rabat and was, until the time of the Knights, the capital. Italian excavators found shards with inscriptions to Phon./Punic goddess Ashtarte, probably dating to 8th C BCE. Most of the remains are 1st C BC Roman.

Yesterday I was allowed to go with a group of archeology students and their professor to the site, which is not currently open. While we could not wander it, here are some photos. Some I managed with my telephoto lens. The first is from a road that cuts through the site (road built at least by the Knights). The photo with the reddish-brown dotted with white is the remains of a floor. The red is crushed pottery, with white marble tesserae (I don't think I spelled that last word correctly) inserted. The last is a general view of part of the site.

Glow worm

2011-05-24T22:52:00.000-07:00

For two nights, there had been a green light by my door. The second night I got my flashlight and decided it was some kind of grub. I happened to be having coffee with a very expert ecologist of Malta and asked what creatures lit up. He said either a beetle or larvae of beetles. We drew pictures for each other and he, after giving the Latin and Maltese names for the creature (neither of which I recall), said it was a glow worm. He noted that they were an indicator of clean air. I said my place was surrounded mostly by fields that hadn't recently been plowed and by some trees. So, the dustiness that comes from the winds, traffic, and building/quarrying was less intense. Anyway, I managed to take a photo last night that at least shows the bright glow.

Returning to Malta

2011-04-25T06:57:00.000-07:00

I'll be back in Malta for a few weeks at the end of May. I'm delighted.

Mac and Cheese Triumph

2011-01-25T05:39:00.000-08:00

Had some students over for supper. We had many adventurous dishes, but the students also wanted a classic American (and maybe other countries) comfort food, Macaroni and Cheese. Here is the one I made from a recipe from Alton Brown's Good Eats, The Early Years.

SNOW

2011-01-25T05:33:00.000-08:00

After Fall, inevitably, comes the snow of Winter. We've had, so far, about 145 inches and the season is young (I'll leave to any Maltese to convert to centimeters...it's a LOT). I've gotten out skiing a couple of times, hope to go today.

Covered Road in Fall

2011-01-25T05:30:00.000-08:00

Near my town is an old railroad bed that now serves as a rural road. It's called Covered Road for the trees.

Fall color in my yard

2011-01-25T05:26:00.001-08:00

Here are some Sept/Oct photos of my yard in the fall.

Fall color 2010--Houghton and Keweenaw Counties

2011-01-25T05:21:00.000-08:00

I finally downloaded some photos!

New Semester begins Monday

2011-01-06T04:53:00.000-08:00

Time flies. Winter break is almost over and our "spring" semester begins on Monday. It might be spring by the end of the semester. I call it winter semester.

My courses didn't seem too popular, so I have a grand total of 11 students. I hope to pick up one or two more...or, at least not lose the ones I have. But, my plate is piled high with other forms of work, so this may be a blessing.

The courses are:

Theories and International Relations. This one is a readings course and directly tied to my teaching about IR theories at Malta. I'm revising a book on the topic, also a result of Malta. I will torture myself and my students with drafts of the new chapters. They get the old book, however, for free!

Environmental Diplomacy and Law. Last year I got a perfect "5" on my course evaluation "overall I would rate this course..." I'll be interested to see what happens this time around. I am changing a few things in light of what the students suggested last year. My husband points out that this is a pretty crazy strategy on my part. This one has 6 undergrads and 1 grad student. I think I may have to put the course on the "distribution" in order to make our normal minimum class size of 10 in the future. On the other hand, it is now on a number of our majors and has been added to the grad certificate in sustainability. I won't be teaching this one again until Spring 2013. The "distribution", in case anyone from Malta is reading, relates to the general education all students must take. At Tech, they take a core 4 courses [plus maths and sciences] and then take 15 hours (5 courses) of other courses in the social sciences, humanities, some business, some fine arts.

In any event, I'm looking forward to both of them. I'm only a little nervous about the small size. 8-12 in each would be better.

Election day 2010

2010-11-02T12:33:00.000-07:00

This was the first time in my life when I walked out of the voting booth and didn't feel great. Normally, win or lose, I like to vote (and in the US voting happens for something or another virtually every year). But this has been the ugliest and the stupidest campaign year ever. It can and will get worse in 2012. Then, I pray, our collective insanity will take a rest.

Michigan Tech Husky Pep Band

2010-09-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

Malta has its band clubs. The U.S. has marching bands in the high schools and in universities (and various community bands). Usually the marching bands have colorful but semi-military uniforms. They march in orderly lines. At school sporting events, they play songs and march into different formations. Ohio State University marching band is famous for its "script Ohio" where they spell out Ohio in cursive writing. A Sousaphone player is the dot over the "i." Well, Michigan Tech has a different concept (maybe it's because once upon a time nearly 100% of the students were studying engineering and they needed a break from all that rigor). Anyway, here they are at the Parade of Nations. Tech also has a Wind Symphony, Jazz groups and other musical options for our students. In fact, about 80% of all Michigan Tech students participate in the Fine and Performing Arts.

Parade of Nations 2010

2010-09-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

There was a 100% increase in the Malta representatives at the 2010 Parade of Nations at Michigan Tech. Marc Sanko, a major in my department and a Maltese-American, joined me. We had a beautiful, if windy, day.

Classes start next week

2010-08-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

Orientation week has begun at Tech. I've met most of our new Social Science majors and some of the transfer students. The "old" ones are filtering back into town for the start of classes on Monday.

This semester I've got public international law, a first year seminar on Great Trials in History, Orientation to the Social Sciences (mostly for advising and getting them to plan out their four years to a degree), and Senior Assessment (to make sure the paper work is done for the graduating students and to help them with grad school/job letters). Busy, especially since I'm working on revising a book and will have a few students to advise on competitive scholarships (at least two for Fulbright!).

So, it begins again. It's my 19th Fall semester at Michigan Tech.

Flower Island, Mainau 2

2010-07-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

More photos from that wonderful island.

The flower island, Mainau, in Germany 1

2010-07-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

Don and I spent time in Meersburg Germany, on the Bodensee (Lake Constance). I took the ferry to Mainau, which was just a lovely garden. Some photos, more later.

Surfing on a river

2010-06-29T17:41:00.000-07:00

While in Munich we took a walk in a park. We discovered people surfing on the river that ran through it. I like the sign that warns about the concrete structure that both causes the wave and bodily damage. The sign has a rule: one surfer at a time. I has a fine suggestion: experienced surfers only. Good idea.

When the cows come home

2010-06-21T03:27:00.000-07:00

I can never quite figure out whether I should upload the last photo first or not. but, Below the balcony of our place in Schwangau every day at 5 pm they would come in for milking. So, the one with the woman in the distance is the start and the rest should make sense. I'm going to try starting with the end and see what happens.

Shutter doo-dad in Malta

2010-06-09T08:29:00.001-07:00

I have no idea if this stops the shutter from hitting the wall or what. I just thought it was very cute.

Budapest 6: Castle hill

2010-06-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

Various pictures looking from Castle Hill on the Buda side, some on top, some looking over to the Pest side and some to the pest. So many photos....

Budapest 5: Bridges

2010-06-09T00:53:00.000-07:00

Lots of bridges. Walked over the chain bridge and then the more gothic looking thing had the last bolt hammered in (sorry engineers...I probably have that term wrong) by Franz Joseph in the 1890s.

Budpest 4: Danube flooding

2010-06-09T00:48:00.000-07:00

All the rain for the last month in the North (and in Budapest) have caused the Danube to rise. My friend and I were going to go on a cruise of the River, but no boats were allowed out.

Budpest 3: Statues/public art I liked

2010-06-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

I think Budapest likes to decorate itself up pretty well. They are not keen on the memorial to when the Soviets pushed the Germans out. The King is of St Stephen who turned the Magyars over to Catholicism nearly 1000 years ago. The guy falling was a 16-year-old freedom fighter in 1956. He did kill some people and when the uprising was crushed he was arrested and tried. They waited until he was 18 and then executed him--and others, of course. The man on the bridge is of Imre Nagy, he was the leader of the effort to get more independence from the Soviets. You can't see it in the photo, but he's looking towards the Parliament building. The colorful thing on a wall commemorates the day in the late 1500s when the Hungarians stopped the Turks--it was after the Maltese stopped them in 1565. It's modern, I believe.

Budapest 2: Art Nouveau

2010-06-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

Not much of this architectural style in the US. I like it.

Budapest 1: Roman Aquincum

2010-06-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

I left Malta for a short side trip to Budapest, Hungary. What a lovely city. One of the things a friend and I looked at was Aquincum, the Roman HQ for the Province of Pannonia. The Hungarians found the Military City (where the legions were) and the civil city. We didn't see the Military one (unclear if it was for visiting). They have excavated about 1/4 of the ancient city and it is mighty impressive. Great Museum with just the last year's finds. We concluded the Hungarians took their ancient history very seriously, as they have been at this archeological work since the end of the 19th century. So, a wide view (but NOT the whole expanse), a wall, some of the evidence of the ONE of the public baths.

International radio personality

2010-05-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

I had great fun on a radio show Dr. Carmen Sammut's show on Sat. morning. I was on the radio back home to discuss the presidential inauguration. So, now that I've done radio in Malta that officially makes me an international radio personality. Right?

Flora and one fauna (faunum?)

2010-05-16T07:22:00.001-07:00

There was a bit of rain recently and it brought out the snails, which Malta seems to have in great numbers. They have adapted remarkable methods of surviving heat and dry. I've also included some flowering plants. I think the blue tree is a jacaranda, but I'd welcome correction is that is wrong. Then comes a bush(?) that looks like it might be a poinsettia, but I don't know. If I ever did move to Malta or a dry place, I think I could warm to succulents. One of the photos is of a succulent in flower.

Domus Romana in Malta

2010-05-16T07:14:00.001-07:00

Malta was long a part of the Roman Empire/Byzantine empire (Eastern Rome). They don't do much to highlight that heritage, but the Domus Romana in Rabat, right near Mdina, is one spot where that heritage is clear. When the new US embassy is finished, it will also have a Roman conservation, as a Roman villa was found. Anyway, a couple of the mosaic floors and a jumble of what was the house. Much of it was destroyed decades ago for a road. The town was called Melita and the term for things Maltese is Melitensa.

More chickens

2010-05-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

I like chickens. Don't want to raise them, but I like to look at them. Indeed, I was relieved to learn that the rooster that was out in the field last year is now missing. Peace and quiet.

Chickens and rabbit show at San Anton gardens

2010-05-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

Lovely day here. Also, it's Mother's day here as well as in the US. Visited a nearby garden and there was a rabbit/poultry/pigeon show. Not quite like a US country fair, but very well attended. Photos: a topiary horse, Not sure what the rabbit is, but he reminded me of the Velveteen Rabbit. The two chickens are a Siebert(?) Chamois and a Black Maltese.

Lake Michigamme photos-UP of Michigan

2010-05-05T05:20:00.000-07:00

I took a drive to Marquette, Michigan, the largest town in my area (two hour drive, one way to get to a place with 25,000 people). Along the way one passes a very pretty small lake, Lake Michigamme. Michigan has two parts to it: The Lower Peninsula and the Upper Peninsula (called the UP). Natives of the UP and, I suppose, adoptees like me are called Yoopers. There is friendly teasing between the two parts. Yoopers call those in the lower Peninsula "Trolls" because they live under the bridge that links the two regions.

Anyway, two photos.

I'm coming back, again!

2010-03-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

I'm happy. I get to be back in Malta in May and early June.

Obama and the Democrats

2010-01-20T04:04:00.000-08:00

The irony is pretty amazing. Sen Ted Kennedy tried for decades to pass health care and now a Republican has taken his seat who is swore to stop the bill. I figured Health care was pretty much dead last summer--a few small reforms maybe. I don't know if the loss in Mass. will light a fire under anyone in Congress (in either House), other than to make the Democrats worry about their upcoming elections in 2010. It's too bad.

Enthusiasm for Obama--we really wanted serious change--is waning for sure. My husband made the good observation that Obama can inspire, but he can't actually lead. This seems increasingly true. Yes, he had a giant mess from Bush plus the economic meltdown to deal with, but he seems unable to get his party in Congress to agree to anything. Presidents can't control the action of Congress, so it isn't like a parliamentary system. As one Speaker of the House once put it (I'm quoting from memory, so check this if you want to use it), "We..respect the president, but we don't work for the president." Still, he left too much to the (lack of) imagination of Congress.

It's not surprising that the President's party loses seats in the off-presidential election year. The question is how many will they lose come November. Democrats will have to look like they can get something done or the economy will have to improve for average Americans.

peace prize

2009-10-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

I think a lot of Americans are puzzled by the Nobel Peace Prize for Obama. The typical interaction was "Really? What for?" I think it's nice our President got it and things do seem to be moving into a better direction than in the past, at least internationally. My gut tells me it will probably not be helpful to Obama's efforts here in the US on a range of matters and it will assuredly be used against him whenever diplomacy fails, peace does not break out in the Middle East, and so forth. I'll be interested to see what my foreign policy students make of it. As for me, I've decided to take it rather like Obama took it--a bit of encouragement to all Americans to remember our better selves so that all of us can have a bit more peace, security, and well-being.

Fall semester begins

2009-08-24T01:56:00.000-07:00

Today is the start of orientation at Michigan Tech. I've taken on advising most of our majors in Social Sciences. We have a "meet the department" event this morning. Classes begin on Aug. 31. I have a first year seminar (required of all Tech students in what we call General Education). It's with our Honors students and my topic is Thucydides. Then there's US Foreign Policy. I also have two one-hour courses: Orientation to the Social Sciences for the new students and Senior Assessment for those who expect to graduate in the coming academic year. [Assessment in the US is not related to getting a grade, but rather to seeing what they have learned in general and getting them help in job/grad school hunting, and making sure they have completed all their requirements to graduate.

Two Tech students are trying for major scholarships (Rhodes and Marshall), so I'll be seeing them this week, too!

Obama and health care

2009-07-24T06:03:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling perplexed by my country. We desperately need to reform our health care system, but I fear all that will happen before Congress goes into recess is some small thing. Some issues seem not clear to folks...maybe because they aren't. We should not charge by the procedure, for example. That is a money generator, leads to excessive treatment (and probably deaths). But it is also prompted by our equally dangerous rules on medical malpractice. Doctors do more than they should (a violation of their oath in my view) partly to avoid lawsuits.

Perhaps 7-14,000 people are losing health insurance every day due to the Great Recession. As a result, ur capacity for economic innovation, for small businesses, and for job creation is hurt. People lose their homes and what little fortunes they have to make family choices (ex: a home v health; food v insurance) inconceivable in Malta or in most other "advanced" (post)industrial states. Our capacity and often genuine desire to assist each other seems thwarted somehow.

We worry about the cost of the change, but not enough about the costs right now. Congress decides it is too extreme to add a bit of tax to those earning $300,000 and up and move the tax point 1 Million (and are they talking salary or wealth or both?). It's absurd. Our income inequality is starting to look positively third world, vastly different from how it looked in the 1950s and '60s. Even so, I'd be for everyone getting a tiny tax--rich and poor--a citizenship duty to protect each other tax.

I'm teaching about health care a bit in my summer US govt class, but in a distant, poli sci sort of way--how things get on the agenda, alternatives, get decided. I talk about how, probably, only some small change will be passed before Congress heads out and then, as everyone knows, the 2010 elections will mean inaction. I can show them this pattern going back decades and so on and so forth. But, I've gotta tell you, my heart is just breaking on this one. We surprised ourselves by voting for Obama another step on the road to heal an ancient wound. But now, in the world of public policy, we are too scared to keep trying to rebuild and rejuvenate our country. We are going to walk away from the single most important thing we need to do for ourselves and our future.

study in Malta, Michigan Tech students

2009-06-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

Hey Michigan Tech students (and, well, OK...other students, too!).

I had the two Tech students studying in Malta over for dinner to see what their experience was. I'm wild about Malta, but wanted to make sure actual students found the stay worthwhile before I started urging everyone I see to go.

Anyway, they were both quite happy with their experience. In fact, it seemed that all the US students I talked with were enjoying the experience. It was sunny all winter, there was zero snow, the University Residence has a nice international community at the, it was "different. It was colder than they expected in Jan and Feb (do bring a jacket). They both took a course, Contemporary History of the Mediterranean, that they found extremely interesting. Not everything was perfect, of course, but both were glad they came. If you can manage Tech, you will do just fine managing Malta.

Better yet...financial aid/scholarships still held while abroad. The in-state student said it had proved LESS EXPENSIVE to study a semester in Malta than at Tech, and that included the airfare over.

So, Tech students...get an international experience, study in English (though there is very good instruction in various languages at the U), meet lots of people, AND save money on school. Of course you won't actually save money, because you'll end up zipping off to other parts of Europe on breaks. But, that, of course, is not a bad thing.

Dust off the passport--or go get your first one. You can do this, really.

A surprise walk at the Malta University Residence

2009-06-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

I noticed that the University Residence had a jogging track, but never taken it. What a surprise! Lija, where the Residence is, was once a very large garden. The track goes through the remains of part of the garden. It's a "lot of green" as a Michigan Tech student studying in Malta put it. The very showy purple and white flower is a caper (like what you put in salads, but it's a little bud then). Capers were in flower--particularly amazing at Dingli Cliffs (no pictures).

If you've followed this blog, you know I'm a sucker for flowers.

Farmhouse at Malta

2009-06-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

I was back in Malta recently. The university puts me up at the University Residence, which is filled with students from all around the world. It has a nice community--I saw students leaving at the end of the exams and they were sent off by 15 other students. Lots of hugs and even tears at the goodbye.

Normally I stay in the main residence, but this time I was put in the "Farmhouse." It's about 200 years old, lacks internet and air conditioning, but has charm and great views. It's pretty minimalist, but I came to really like it. It is a lot quieter without all the students, which is good for someone my age. I'd come to the lobby of the Residence for internet and the fans were fine, at least when I was there, to keep me cool. There's a small pool (not the larger one of the main Residence).

Some of the farmhouse has regular, year-round residents. One family has small children and they put up the cutest little tree house.

"I have a list"

2009-05-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

Recently, a review of the FBI found that it left about 24,000 people on their terror watch list improperly--AND left off those who actually posed a threat. After 9/11 their watch list grew to an astounding 1 million of various people American and not. If there is one very dangerous thing for a government that wants to be democratic to do, it's to start imagining that its own citizens are enemies.

It has happened, to ill effect, in the past and will happen again in the US. We seem to have an extremely short memory, at least when someone seems to threaten us from the outside. But, I think the real danger in the US, and maybe elsewhere, is in over zealous fear of each other fanned by a media that seems to repeat every word the Executive branch gives them. It took an election to provide a corrective.

Flu and teaching

2009-04-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

A former University of Malta student of mine asked if I would do more political commentary on this blog—or start a new blog. I’ve left this one mostly “friendly” and not too political, but maybe it would be OK for me to add a few more items, along with miscellaneous news and photos. I’d rather not have a lot of separate blogs. At my age just remembering the password would be a challenge.
I’m not too inspired, but here is a little thing on the flu, followed by a discussion of what I’ve been teaching.

Flu Blues?
People up here in my part of Lake Superior area seem to be taking the flu near-pandemic calmly yet seriously. We’re all hoping our flights around the world won’t be cancelled on account of this problem and that it mostly makes people sick, but doesn’t kill often. The rising number of cases adds a new level of unease and uncertainty about the future, but all one can do is hope for the best and wash one’s hands conscientiously. A colleague of mine in Biology, who taught human health, pointed out to me yesterday that around 35,000 people die every year around the globe of some version of the flu. So, it’s important to pay close attention, but it might make sense not to go crazy at this point. But, she also noted that there are special concerns with this one. Not only did it hop from animal to human, but now humans have infected other humans. As I understand it, these features, along with number of locations in which human-to-human spread happens, strongly influence guidance from the World Health Organization. Also, this one has features of flu from more than one animal, for example bird and swine. Another friend thought it was interesting to watch evolution in progress (now, there’s a word hard to use in the US). The virus changed into a new strain (it evolved) and, depending on how it interacts with humans , it can “select” us for particular characteristics, thus slightly shaping how we evolve. I’m no expert on evolution, but I suppose its effect on humans depends on whether it is fatal for some and not for others. But, that is confounded by access to health care and the like. The virus will continue to change as it operates in humans, too.

As a person in international relations I am quite interested in how the World Health Organization is managing this and how nations are updating plans. It seems a very good response, all in all, when you consider the enormity of the task. How do you balance panic against urging useful precaution; economic and social losses against the prospects for serious death and illness? We’ll see lots more of these and will need to think on the problem repeatedly.

Spring Teaching
For the first time in a number of years I taught Michigan Tech undergrads this spring (we are in exam week—I don’t have a final exam, but they have turned in their final projects, moot court memorials, etc). What a great pleasure! I’ve always enjoyed my students, but I was really impressed by how interested they are in world affairs. A number of them want careers in foreign affairs, some wanted to know how to prepare for becoming a diplomat. They are also getting really good at making presentations.

In foreign policy I used a small group project as the “main event” in the grade. The aim was to do a short policy paper on how to advance democratization efforts in other countries. The students developed a list of potential countries and we voted in the following: N. Korea, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Sudan. It was a very interesting mix of countries, from the very powerful China (who, as a measure of that power, showed up in each of the country cases one way or another). The big learning for me was that I was talking about China in a way I never, ever had in all my teaching years. I’m doing the foreign policy course again in the fall and will be doing more on China, though I’ve yet to add a book. It’s very cool to see this rising power, a power with millennia of experience in ruling itself and others. I was happy to see that, in the end, my students realized it was mighty darn difficult to find ways to help these radically different countries become more “democratic.”

International law, as always, was a blast. They write their brains out (and I do a whole lot of grading). Every single week there are problems. I even took pity on them and cut the second exam I was planning—they did so well on the first one that a second one would simply have been make-work. This group somehow knew how to be supportive of each other and competitive at the same time. They raised the bar for each other…and then helped each other get over that bar. I literally had an award winning class—lots of scholarship and award winners. I also had a very interesting graduate student doing a business/forestry degree. He has a very successful international business and wanted to get a different perspective on what he saw as he engaged in his international work. I mention this because the only other grad student I ever had in the class was one of my own Master’s students, who had a law degree from Israel. I now secretly (well, not so secret anymore if it is on this blog) hope to see more grad students. Any way, the mix of the engineering, psychology , computer science, social sciences, humanities, and business majors was great. I had been contacted in the fall by some of my former Maltese public international law students who were participating in the Telders Moot court. I liked the Telders case so well (a law of the sea problem) that I used that one, along with the Jessup case on a possible humanitarian intervention, for the moot court. My moot court is a very much shorter version of the one the Maltese students did. Anyway, we just had the best time with the oral arguments. We even had visitors sit in, including a man I met who was just visiting Tech because his son was considering coming here. Turned out he was an engineer/lawyer.

Summer Teaching
This summer I’m teaching two classes: American Govt and World Affairs. In both classes I want to talk about change and adaptation. In American I’m going to use Larry Sabato’s, A More Perfect Constitution; Ellis, Founding Brothers; and Kingdon’s Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policy. I’ve used Ellis a number of times. It’s about how the revolutionary generation (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, etc) moved from opposition to Britain and war, to writing our current constitution, to actually attempting to govern with that constitution. I find it helps American students understand that politics has always been with us and that creative problem solving is crucial to effective governing. Of course, some of the problems (example: what do with debt and growing the new American economy) are with us today, albeit in different guises. I read Sabato a few months ago. He says maybe the US needs a new constitutional convention to make a number of changes in the constitution. Now, if Americans have a secular religion, our Constitution, written by the Framers (really…capital letters and all), has to be it; it’s been adumbrated by the Supreme Court. As a good American, I am naturally reluctant to change much of anything in the document. But it’s still worth discussing and, as Sabato says, just attempting to talk about this over a decade or so would do wonders for civic knowledge. Kingdon’s book is pretty classic on how ideas get on the public agenda and sometimes turned into policy. We can always go that route rather than a constitutional one. With all the changes slowly coming on the American scene with the arrival of President Obama, I thought that might interest students. The main project for my students will be to build a dynamic model of one of the processes in the constitution—or a proposed change to a process. By dynamic I mean it has to move literally or on a computer way. They’ll have a couple of exams mid way and do a short paper explaining their model. I plan to have an “open to the public” presentation of the models. Maybe some of them will be good enough to use for our Constitution Day efforts around Sept 17.

The World Affairs course was almost removed from our books, but I decided to use the course number to explore the concepts of international flows and human adaptation to them. In this, my Malta experience plays a continuing role. It was so much easier in Malta to see money, trade, shipping, climate change, environmental change, political change via the EU, migration, multicultural student flows, and the like there. I’m not at all sure I have the right books, but I also have yet to complete my syllabus. I decided to use one fun book: Foer:, How Soccer [football] Explains the World. Serious football fans have noted factual errors in the book, but I like how it explores the global nature of the sport, how it moves people around, creates identities, touches organized crime sometimes, and so forth. We’ll see. The current flu situation will appear in the course, too—talk about flows of non-human and human entities at work. I hope to use the flows theme specifically to consider adaptation to serious changes in our environment. There’s another Malta connection. I went to a climate change conference where I heard Mr. Cutajar talk (who is chairing the post-Bali climate change talks). He said they had to spend more time on adaptation. I’ll have my students, in addition to a couple of exams, start a “flows notebook” where they keep asking questions , doing research and answering their questions. Sometimes this can lead students to remarkably sophisticated work.

Fall teaching will be US foreign policy again and our first year seminar, called Perspectives. Each section of Perspectives has a different topic, what connects them are the writing and speaking requirements. I’ve got an Honors section and my topic, as always, will be Thucydides. That “hobby” of mine was yet another reason I went to Malta. I got to visit two key places in Greece (Pylos and Sparta) and stare at the harbor and landscape of Syracuse, Sicily. Also, just observing some the winter storms in the Med was informative! I’ve assigned Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War; Kagan’s relatively new one-volume history, The Peloponnesian War; and Connor, Thucydides, which is a rhetorical analysis of what Thucydides wrote. I’m thinking of having a mock trial of Socrates to end that course. I did a mock trial of Socrates while on a Cornell Adult University trip to Greece and we had a really fun and deeply educational experience. I was active on the prosecution and we got him convicted again….better beware of an academic who can say that. We did not, however, request the death penalty for him. We asked for much worse: We chose to forbid him to talk to anyone under 25.

Yet more snow

2009-04-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

Arggh. After a lovely 70F (22C) degree day on Friday we returned to 32F/0C. It is snowing, nasty wet snow at that.

I'm putting on an international law dinner for my public international law students. I need to pick up a few more items, but those roads look nasty. I hope my students come!

I'm looking forward to being back in Malta in late May. It will probably be too hot for me given the slow good-bye from this interminable winter.

My crocuses look very brave, even defiant, I must say. They are peeping out from under the snow and showing off their blues and yellows.

Obama inauguration

2009-01-21T04:44:00.000-08:00

I've watched a number of inaugurations on TV. I can't say that I absolutely felt I had to watch them, but I did because, like voting itself, the American inauguration is a good-feeling day. It means we managed to transition power peacefully once again. It's "America's Day" as a Republican friend of mine--who just personally attended his 8th inauguration--put it.

But, in the past, I never felt the need to watch it with others. This one was different, and, apparently, I wasn't alone in feeling the need to be with others yesterday. I was in the library around 11:30 and students were already filtering in to watch some big screens there. The students were quiet, but attentive, expectant. I joined the group in our student union ballroom, a huge room. It had young and old, men and women, all races, international students. We watched the big TVs set up for the event together. Again, it was quiet. When he actually took the oath there were a few cheers, some stood up, some (like me) just motioned "yes!", everyone approached it his or her own way. It felt both individual and collective. I thought, this is how Obama would want it: not some 'rah-rah' event, not some sort of lock step set of reactions, no needless pressure to respond in a specific way. All we needed was to respond truthfully and respectfully as individuals in the company of each other. That's how free people should act, I think.

Rather like the crowd in the DC mall, we were not too talkative during his inaugural speech. A few up front cheered at points, but mostly it was a reflective time. So much is wrong, so much needs to be done, we all share in the failures of our country in recent years. A great many Americans took action last November to try to fix things--that's what elections are for, after all. Today was the result of those actions.

I think the restoration of respect for the rule of law, as Obama said, is the first step, having used our respect for elections. We have walked away from a belief in the rule of law with respect to our Constitution, we walked away from it in international affairs. Now, I see that Obama, within hours of becoming President, asked for a delay of military trials for people held in Guatanamo. I was impressed by that. It's not that all of them should go free, but they need fair trials and they need to be released after all these years if they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Great power requires great restraint, and we have to remember this every day.

So, we watched the inauguration with each other-- amazed into an uncharacteristic, for Americans, quietness. It was good. I don't know if we can actually find our best selves and show it to each other and the world, but at least we know what it looks like when we see it.

Happy Christmas from Lake Superior

2008-12-25T14:51:00.000-08:00

After days of snow, we had a sunny, cold Christmas day. So, I went out for my first cross-country ski of the season. I didn't last very long, but it was pretty and good to be out. I hope my Maltese friends (and anyone else!) will enjoy the photos. The water you see in the distance is Lake Superior. I'm at McLain State Park, my favorite place of walk or ski year 'round.

The two main ways to take a walk in the woods during the winter are found in the picture of my ski tracks crossing those of a snow-shoe enthusiast.

View of my ski tips--I was cutting my own path for the most part. It's a silly photo.

The rest are just snow scenes.

It was 5F (-15C), and so I was not too inclined to get my hands out of my gloves to take photos. I like to ski when it is warmer, like 18-22F (-8C).

Dec in Malta and at Tech

2008-12-22T06:18:00.001-08:00

I'm happy to be home in Michigan, but I thought you all might like the photo contrast of Malta and Home!

Dr. Rod Chimner visits Malta

2008-12-22T06:11:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, the Dean of Tech's School of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences (SFRES), sent Dr. Rod Chimner to visit Malta. She and the Rector had discussed the possibility that there might be some research/teaching collaboration on the topic of restoration ecology. Dr. Chimner is our professor in this (and there are many more in SFRES with expertise in this area, but Chimner is the kind who can put the whole picture together). Here's the "official" photo of Chimner giving some information on SFRES and a small gift to Dr. Louis Cassar, the Director of the University of Malta's International Environment Institute.

Back in Malta!

2008-12-17T00:58:00.000-08:00

I'm back in Malta this week and have brought along a collegue, Rod Chimner, from Michigan Tech's School of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences (SFRES). Rod is a restoration ecologist and is evaluating potential research or educational collaboration with the University of Malta. Dr. Louis Cassar is working with Rod--in fact they are headed out to look at bits of ecosystems over in Gozo.

I'm here to coordinate and discuss the International Masters Programme project. We've had very good meetings and all seems to be coming along well. Classes will begin in Sustainable Resource and Environmental Management and in Integrated Marketing and Communications this coming Sept. [There are still openings for the degree cohort starting this September--both international and Maltese students are welcome!] Check it out:
http://www.um.edu.mt/imp/

It is so nice to be back, see my friends, and enjoy the lovely weather of the last few days. Back home at Tech, they had a blizzard followed by quite cold weather. Rod and I, in contrast, got to sip expresso outside in the sunshine. Of course, when I get home to Tech, I'll get to ski and that is wonderful fun and the landscape very pretty. I love how the snow spreads away from the ski like whipped cream and the shades of violet, green, and often pinky colors of the woods, water, and sky.

Arrival of winter in Houghton

2008-11-18T05:52:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd chronicle the arrival of winter here--how it changes over time.

One photo is from the middle of the summer, then there are a few from two days ago and two from today. We are just starting to get a bit of snow. If it keeps up, I'll go cross-country skiing later this week. It's not very cold (I know, that sounds strange, because it is already lower than Malta's record low just to snow). In fact, we don't get cold in the sense of the Dakotas or Minnesota. Too cold and it doesn't much snow.

I need to go shovel this white stuff. Good exercise, especially now that I don't walk a dog everyday.

recruiting grad students for University of Malta

2008-11-18T05:43:00.000-08:00

In September I went to a graduate school recruiting fair in Washington DC (I was going there anyway). I handed out material and talked to potential students for the International Masters Programme. I met a Maltese-American and a Maltese student! Here are some photos. I hope no one will be offended that I used the Malta flag for a table top--I don't have one yet from the University.

Unlike Malta, there are hundreds of graduate schools in the US and a few thousand undergraduate (bachelor's) schools. We compete like heck for students. The Swiss government was there giving information on all their universities and there was a school from Scotland. I don't think I saw other international universities.

Parade of Nations

2008-11-18T05:38:00.000-08:00

Every Fall my community has a Parade of Nations. In this, students and faculty and others carry the flag of their home country (if they come from somewhere else) or the flag of the country their family originally came from. In my case, I decided to carry the Maltese flag in honor of my wonderful experience in Malta. Here is a photo. I don't have any of me actually walking, however, for obvious reasons.

Talk to Rotary about Malta

2008-09-17T05:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I gave at talk about Malta at our local Rotary. People seem to have enjoyed it. Two came up later and asked about visiting Malta, so just maybe I'll have helped prompt some Americans to make vacation plans for Malta.

I'm going to a university recruiting fair in Washington DC on Monday. I'll be telling people about the University of Malta's International Masters Programs in Integrated Communications and Marketing and in Sustainable Resource Management. These programs, of course, are also open to Maltese citizens. I hope I can convince a few of the students I meet to take the degrees. We'll see, it's a new experience for me, though I've talked to many prospective students for Michigan Tech.

Misc. photos

2008-07-30T08:53:00.001-07:00

Here are photos I've never posted, but like.

Ship: On way to Buckingham Palace
Flowers: On way to beach at Portobello, Scotland
Beach: Scotland
Dog: Malta
Building: Malta

Edinburgh--Portobella sunset

2008-07-29T14:12:00.001-07:00

Edinburgh, is far north (as near as I can tell, its latitude is roughly that of Kodiak Island, Alaska). So it stayed light very late and got light very early. Around 1o:30 pm I walked the two blocks down to the beach from our B&B to catch the sunset. I wandered around for a half an hour or so, but never did see it actually set.

Edinburgh botanical garden

2008-07-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

We always try to find a local botanical garden on our trips. I regret that when we were in London, we did not get out to Kew. Maybe next time. But, we did go to one in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh cruise

2008-07-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

We went for a cruise so that Don could take photos of famous bridges and I could look at birds, seals, an old monastery, and whatnot. Ok, I liked the bridges, too.

Edinburgh

2008-07-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

After a few days in London, we flew up to Edinburgh. London was exciting, but I preferred Scotland. What a nice city. We stayed at Abercorn B&B in the Portobello area (sunset pictures in another post).

A few photos-Don in front of our B&B, the rest from the trip to the castle.

London 2--cruise on Thames

2008-07-29T13:54:00.001-07:00

London 1

2008-07-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

Don joined me in London. We'd been to Britain before, but had never been to London, believe it or not. We stayed at Sanctuary House. Small rooms, but fabulous tourist location and moderate prices for London. We were in sight of Big Ben, Westminster Cathedral. 4-5 blocks from Buckingham Palace, half a block from a tube station, and the New Scotland Yard was around the corner (the one you see on TV all the time--with the rotating sign).

We did a little cruise on the Thames down to the tower bridge.

Home

2008-07-26T05:45:00.000-07:00

I've been back home for nearly two weeks. Re-entry has been easier than I expected, but it still comes in fits and starts. I was far more overwhelmed by the commercialism and the pathetic state of TV when I visited in May than I am this time. We've had some very pretty days here (sort of like April in Malta weather-wise), but also many days of clouds and rain. I find I get slightly "down" when the clouds are around more than a day--I must have caught this from Malta.

I've been trying to find the equivalents here to things I liked in Malta. I drive far more, but I've also been walking for odds and ends to nearby small shops. I volunteered to read to children at my local library, though they've never gotten back to me. I even checked on walking dogs at the local humane society (but not yet acted upon the information; I may just offer to walk two neighbor dogs). We have bought a clothes line, but it's not set up yet. I planted rocket in the garden and hope I'll get some before the first frost. It's just poking up now.

My eating habits seem quite changed and much to the better. I produced a quick dish of mozzarella, onion, fresh basil, two colors of tomato, oregano and olive oil. My husband looked at it and said, "Wow, you must have eaten at some great places in Malta, this is plated so well." It was pretty, come to think of it.

There was a piano in my apartment in St. Paul's Bay that I played virtually everyday. I was teaching myself and will soon need to take lessons to avoid learning very bad habits. Last week we drove down to Green Bay and bought a piano. It's going to be delivered soon, so I'm painting the living room. The room was in dire need of change, and this was an excellent excuse. It's a cream color-- I think the Maltese color palette must have been burned into my brain. To keep up with my decision to have more "social life," I'm planning to have a piano-warming party with a collection of friends who don't normally interact.

I'm starting to get requests for talks about Malta. My first "gig" is Rotary in Aug. I've decided to give that club the Rotary banner the La Vallette Rotary gave me when I talked to them back in April. I may also join the organization. I will eventually give a talk on campus. Maybe I'll get other requests.

On further reflection about the impact of the Fulbright, I've decided that living abroad for a more extended time has the effect of magnifying one's strengths and weaknesses. It also shifts the unclear, middling things more clearly to either strength or weakness. I will never have a neat home or office, a weakness that was only mitigated by my wonderful housekeeper in Malta. In the "middling range" I am quite willing to eat and behave in healthier ways that I was. So I'm hoping that set of behaviors has moved more decisively to the strengths side. I was always a sound teacher. All the different kinds of teaching I did on my Fulbright has enhanced that strength.

Last, I've been turning ideas around in my head for an article about globalization and power. I want to use Malta as the way to frame the article. All the flows of globalization--good and bad--hit the country. It's more obvious in Malta than in the US. The way Malta uses its power as a "micro state" are thus more apparent and interesting.

As soon as I find my cord for downloading photos to my computer, I'll put some pictures up of London and Edinburgh.

Good-bye Malta

2008-07-02T01:25:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Malta

I leave for the US tomorrow. My Fulbright “year” is over. I have so enjoyed this time in Malta that I am sad to go, but glad I’ll be with my husband again. I'll keep this blog going for a while--add some pictures and further thoughts, show you some electronic pictures of my home up on Lake Superior, etc.

I am happy to say that I will be back in Malta and at the university for a few weeks next year and will be helping the university grow its international master’s degree programs with US schools. I think a few of the ideas for Michigan Tech-University of Malta collaborations may take hold. And, as I understand it, some Michigan Tech students will be coming to the University of Malta for “study abroad.” As we get more folks from my US university over to this country, we’ll form a “Friends of Malta” group to talk about the experience and think about new ways to relate to this country.

Everyone asks what I liked least and what I liked most.
Least:
Long term, I pray Malta really works hard to control the loss of its natural and historical heritage. I’ve been told by Maltese that many Maltese think what would be good for tourism would not be good for them. But, I think, sometimes what would make life good for the Maltese would also be good for tourism. A concrete island will not equal economic development—don’t believe that for a minute when the politicians and corporate leaders use it as an excuse to break the rules. Maltese tell me with longing how it used to be greener or there used to be pretty little villages that they miss. They’ve told me summers used to be not quite so hot. If you lose green, it gets warmer—not even considering what’s happening with the climate. Try it, drive with your windows open some evening and note how pleasant the air is as you go by open fields. Keep at the government for your own sake. If your lives are richer, the tourists will be happier too.

Daily aggravation: The bus system. I’ve already ranted about it. But, again, this is a topic where an easier life for the Maltese would also be good for the many people who visit your land. I wish Minister Gatt every success in his reform efforts. This is an issue that should cross party lines.

Most:
The wonderfully kind people I have met. You are a passionate people, but in a good way. I like how you argue about what’s best for the country. [OK…a touch more political cooperation would really be helpful in Malta, members of the two main parties are not different species of Maltese/Gozitans. Did you know that the Gov of California is Republican and his wife is Democrat? They are both out campaigning for their party’s candidate. They have a tradition of getting full-sized cut out figures of their favorite candidates. When one of the candidates does something stupid, their children put the figure outside on the lawn…it is possible to talk politics, have a mixed political family, and do good.]

Your wildflowers and green hills in the winter/spring. The green interlaced with the creamy limestone cliffs and homes set against the BLUE Mediterranean melt my heart.

The way your young people—my students and the youngsters I visited—see a big future for themselves here in Malta. We always say children are the future, but it’s extra special when the children see themselves making changes and fulfilling their lives in that future. I taught 10 year olds to university students. They have a zeal for the future and the kind of love of country that isn’t just mindless flag-waving, but rather an abiding and responsible commitment to their home.

What Did I Learn?

The social graces and taking time to talk to people are important. We forget that in the US—or I do. Americans are astoundingly efficient, but it comes at a social cost. Americans are friendly and polite, but I think the depth of socializing and the capacity to make others feel welcome that I’ve experienced in Malta are things I want to try to encourage in my own behavior.

US commercialism is in dire need of taming. It was shocking to me when I went home for that one week in May. I think it may be why we have such frantic lives and too little non-work related social life.. I’m going to keep some of the changes in my life where I can (see my Ecological Footprint post from a few months ago).

A renewed appreciation for the extraordinary quality of a Michigan Tech education. Professors and students work together in active and energetic ways and it makes for a wonderful experience. I am looking forward to teaching at Tech again. It was fun, however, teaching international relations here in Malta. And very interesting to teach international law to so many different kinds of students —Maltese, Erasmus, 3rd year law, lawyers at the International Maritime Law Institute, diplomats at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomacy.

I learned I could train a dog to walk on a leash, stop jumping on people (mostly), and just generally be a quite lovely dog. I’d never had a dog before, so this was a surprise. He also helped me meet people!

I have a much greater appreciation for the work of US diplomats and will take that back into my teaching.

This will sound rather “zen,” but I learned that when one is using one’s “gift” it feels light and easy. When you are walking away from it, work feels hard. My gift is teaching and working with students and perhaps helping organizations learn.

I learned that it is easy to spend time in a new culture, but difficult to learn a new culture. I wish I’d signed up for Maltese when I got here, it would have enriched my stay.

I learned to love Malta. It’s sort of like how one can have different loves—of one’s parents, or a spouse, or one’s children. There’s room to love other countries in addition to my own. I had the oddest idea pop into my head when I went home in May. I found myself thinking that the US was too big. Smile.

Thanks

Dog photos

2008-06-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

I'll be leaving Malta this week (sigh). This means I'll be leaving my foster dog in the care of others until his owner returns. We ended up doing OK with each other. Here he is.

Sun rise in St. Paul's Bay

2008-06-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

I woke up very early today and surprised the dog by taking him out for a walk--had to wake him up. This is partly due to the very warm weather--30-33C (upper 80s, low 90s F). I've been told by the Maltese that this is nothing--it can hit the mid 40's (110-115F). It is also humid and the lows are only in the mid 20s (mid-upper 70F).

Anyway, I remembered my camera and took photos of the sun rise.

Malta Women in Business Association

2008-06-30T08:14:00.000-07:00

In April I was asked to be one of the guest speakers at an annual event of the Malta Women in Business Association. My task was to talk about life experiences--an inspirational talk. I did my best and very much enjoyed the meeting. US Ambassador Molly Bordonaro gave a talk on balancing work and life (she has young children!). Mariana Mizzi talked on where women are now in Malta and changes needed. Doris Sammut is president and led the panel and Anna Ferris is also an officer of the association. Ruth Genovese, from the Bank of Valletta, talked about wealth management.

Here's the whole panel, except for Anna Ferris.
Mizzi, Ambassador Bordonaro, and me
Mizzi talking, the rest of us listening
Then two of me talking.

MCAST-Carbon Stabilization Game

2008-06-29T02:38:00.000-07:00

The most complicated environmental education activity I did in Malta for the US Embassy was at the Malta College of Arts, Sciences, and Technology (MCAST). This is a school that is not university, but is more than secondary school--sort of a mix of a technical school and a community college. It has 16- year olds on up. It uses a more "American" style of teaching than the University, so it was very congenial to me.

The teacher in the class, Mario Balzan, was one impressive man, who really got his students ready for this project. Mr. Balzan is completing his Masters at the University of Malta and is doing an interdisciplinary research thesis on the use of dragonflies as indicators of ecosystem health--novel for Malta (I put him in touch with our Michigan Tech School of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences dragonfly expert).

We did a shortened version of the Carbon Stabilization Wedges game created by professors at Princeton. Website: http://www.princeton.edu/wedges/ I first encountered the concept when my colleague at Tech, Dr. David Shonnard, suggested we use a scholarly article on it in our team-taugh graduate class, Sustainable Futures I. It generated a lot of talk among our M.Sc. and Ph.D. students. Now the author and his Princeton colleagues have turned the concept into a game. It would be easier for you to go to the website to see what the game is than for me to try to explain it.

The idea is what kinds of changes in transportation, energy etc it would take to cut out large chunks of carbon emissions in order to mitigate climate change. You can't do it all with one technique, you need a mix. Mr. Balzan had each student become a content expert and then we put them into groups who discussed among themselves the best strategies. Then they presented their "wedge" with the mixes of strategies.

We easily could have gone on another hour or two.

Luqa Primary--ecological footprint

2008-06-29T02:27:00.000-07:00

I also did the ecological footprint concept with younger children. I have permissions to show the children. Like the secondary school (see Gzira post), they were very lively and fun.

Gzira Secondary

2008-06-29T02:11:00.000-07:00

I did a talk/demonstration of the Ecological Footprint concept with the Gzira Boys Secondary school. Here are a few photos. I don't have permissions to show full faces of the children.

What's the apple? I got the idea from a teaching website. You take an apple and call it Earth. The idea with the footprint is how much land we have to grow things and to build our homes. It allows us to compare our life to the available land. In the US my life, if used by everyone in the world would take 13-14 Earths; in Malta 7-8. ANYWAY: you ask how much of the Earth is covered with oceans (3/4). You cut the apple into three and take the 1/4 piece. You ask how much of this should we leave because it is freshwater or very unhospitable. You cut a chunk off. Now you ask, who/what else needs to use the Earth [plants and animals]. Cut some more. Then you ask if the remaining slice is all arable/habitable? Um, no...that would be the moltencore and rocks. So, you cut away all but the little think strip of peel. That's it.

The exercise, hard to see, had students following some guidelines and putting marbles in socks and comparing. The winner was the one with the least marbles.

sunset at Dingli

2008-06-26T23:43:00.001-07:00

The Malta Geographical Society had a sunset walk along Dingli Cliffs. It was lovely.

two odd photos

2008-06-26T23:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I took two photos of odd things while going on a Malta Geographical Society walk to Dingli Cliffs. There's a building being renovated near me (OK, dozens of them). Anyway, they have kept the facade, but there's no building yet behind it. Talk about "blue sky thinking."

The other is one of those endlessly fascinating things about Malta--snails. Now, you'd think there would not be many snails in such a dry place. Not so. There are lots and lots. Most have developed techniques to seal themselves up against the heat and dry. The while things on the plant are snails. Now, for all I know they may be dead, but it was fun to look at.

Goodbye to IR department

2008-06-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

My friend, Carmen Sammut, organized a dinner to say good-bye to me and, more important, to wish Joe Pirotta a happy retirement. He's chair of the international relations department. The photos are my giving him a squeeze thing (I think it's supposed to be a fake ice hockey puck) with Michigan Tech on it. I told him he'd be restless in retirement and could take it out on the thing. Needless to say, he threatened to throw it at people a few times.

THANKS. I enjoyed my Fall teaching for you.

Malta Bloggers Dinner

2008-06-26T23:26:00.000-07:00

I got a note on this blog from Sandro Vella inviting me to a dinner of Malta bloggers. I went, and it was quite interesting. I met Maltagirl, Sandro, and Jacque Zammit of J'accuse fame. In fact, Zammit gave me a right home. I rather like the idea that bloggers would get to see each other face to face--all the different politics and interests. Photos are from the dinner, sorry I can't name everyone. Sorry for the fuzzy ones. I think my camera is getting tired.

Taxes and War

2008-06-24T23:50:00.000-07:00

Taxes and War: Ross Perot Was Sort of Right
Mary Durfee

Long ago, Ross Perot ran as a 3rd party candidate for U.S. president. 3rd parties have no luck in the US any more than they do in Malta. I did not vote for him, but I’ve been thinking about one of his crazy ideas. He said every time US troops were in harm’s way (under threat of enemy fire), US taxes should automatically go up 10 percent.

This was a crazy idea because, under the US Constitution, only the House of Representatives can initiate a revenue bill and most US fighting would be over by the time the full Congress actually approved such a thing. It would take forever. I doubt Congress could just pass a law saying they would automatically raise the tax, because it would be struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. No president would want the law, so there would be no help from that quarter.

The only way you could get such a rule in place would be through a constitutional amendment. Now, that’s REALLY tough to do. Just figuring out the wording/definition would be hard. What's war or warlike? When is a US soldier a soldier, does it include intelligence operatives (I'd say yes on that one, but that's another story),? Does it include terrorism ? Would it apply if it were prompted by a UN Security Council decision? Here's an example of what it might need to say somehow : ten federal or federalized employees or contractors engaged in military or military-related activities killed non-accidentally by non-US citizens operating in a country outside the United States and its territories. Even that would be litigated forever, but you get my drift.

But, maybe the effort to mount such a doomed constitutional campaign would be worthwhile for the US. We'd have to talk to each other about what we are doing to ourselves and others and how we going about doing it.

The US Constitution says the President is supposed to get a declaration of war from Congress when the US goes to war. That was a nice idea, but not really too practical. It’s rarely been used since 1787, though US troops have been sent off to fight somewhere nearly every year of the United States’ collective life. Declaring war, for example, causes huge international legal consequences. Better to save declarations of war for massive problems—something I hope never to experience.

But, two problems with the situation have made themselves clear over the years. The president is very hard to control when he wants to use force. We Americans get no say except through the very unclear voice of the ballot. Second, Americans aren’t generally held responsible for their government’s policy in the sense of serving in the military or paying for it. Thus, even the ballot isn’t too likely a control.

Congress will nearly always back down when facing the president—especially when he sends troops first and then reports it later. Congress is, it seems to me, not nearly as energetic in these matters as it should be (after all Congress can fire the president but the reverse is not true, Congress can pass a law over the president’s objections…etc, etc). Congress has all the cards, except for speed. Congress is supposed to be slow, but we hardly communicate any more by sailing ships and horses and the power of the executive matches the world of today better than the world of the 1700s. So, the virtue of legislative deliberation tends to get stomped on by the virtue of executive speed.

The US media is not helpful. It will print or broadcast whatever the president gives them. Then when it is too late to stop foolishness it will get critical for a bit. After a while being critical stops selling ads, and so they stop being critical or even reporting the news.

The other problem with the current method is that Americans don’t really suffer any immediate consequences when a war is going on. We only used a peacetime draft in the year or two before US entry in WWII and in the 1950s, ‘60s, and part of the 70’s. We’re spending $12 billion a month in Iraq alone and hardly anyone notices other than those who lost someone.

Yet, the war does cost American lives and we are going deeper and deeper into debt, our states are having troubles managing various disasters, social security is failing and the list could go on. Meanwhile, Americans have recently gotten tax money back from the US government in order to spur spending. This is like putting a happy face bandage (plaster for you Maltese) on a rapidly spreading cancer.

I should also point out that, despite appearances, Americans aren’t as warlike and stupid as they seem. I taught international law to my mostly engineering students (19-22 years old) the fall before we went in to Iraq. We did a problem on whether the US could go to war without another approval from the UN. I had them prepare the arguments for both sides, split them up, and we had at it for 40 minutes. It was wonderful and many times more sophisticated than anything on TV. As we closed it down with some general discussion, one of the women asked, “But, professor, even if it is legal under international law to attack, how will we get out?” I told her we would not get out, it would drag on and on with a number of deaths on our side and many thousands more on the Iraqi side.

Which brings us back to Perot’s idea. Emmanuel Kant, the philosopher, said that democracies would value peace more than nondemocracies, because the public would pressure the government against war. Tocqueville, the brilliant observer of American life in the 1840s, doubted democracies could even do foreign policy because of the open and pacific nature of democracies.

Perot’s idea of instant tax increase would put some teeth into the impact of the public on foreign policy in a democratic country. The president and Congress would have to cooperate with each other more, if both sides knew that once the deployment started it would mean higher taxes on individuals and businesses alike right away. After all, the fighting could end up being an election issue because it hit the pocketbook. At the very least, Congress would ask more questions.

If Congress asked more questions, the press might spend a minute or two reporting on those questions each day. Bloggers would spend a lot more time on it. Public opinion could actually have an influence on a decision to fight. Americans would have to be responsible citizens, at a minimum paying cash for their policy instead of charging it to future Americans.

Dog Pee

2008-06-21T00:36:00.000-07:00

Dog Pee
By Mary Durfee

As readers of this blog may recall, I have had a foster dog, Floppy, for nearly nine months. I was a novice dog owner in October, having only really interacted with cats. It has been quite an experience. Going on walks has been especially informative as one does not, as a rule, take them with cats. My dog had not really been taught to walk on a leash and he would have helped the Red Queen zoom even faster through Alice’s Wonderland—and to the same effect of not really getting anywhere.

As the struggle of just walking him got less intense, I’ve had occasion to wonder about dogs and dog pee. I realize this is hardly a scholarly topic, but with all these hours in Malta invested in walking that born and bred in Malta dog, I think it’s fair game for my blog.

I know that dogs leave notes to each other through their pee. We have our blogsophere, they have the dogosphere. Apparently, they can tell sex, size, when last came by, and perhaps individuals. I know my dog was suspicious that a new dog had arrived in the building, and it had to be from smell and the new markers. I was astounded by one enterprising little dog I saw once. He would do a “handstand” and pee with his hind legs in the air. Perhaps he had a “Napoleon complex” about his size.

One of the local females went into heat, and her pee was apparently ambrosia of the dogs, fraught with unspoken canine desire. My dog could moon over one of her wet spots indefinitely, if I let him. Other scents from her meant that every walk was a tug of war over whether to go to her front door. Perhaps he left “pick up” lines for her.

I also know that it’s perfectly sensible that dogs would have likely spots to pee (and the other event, as well). My husband claims I know all the likely good bathrooms from our house to St Louis, a previous sabbatical locale, and also all around Lake Superior. So, I am not surprised my dog has preferences. I don’t quite know, however, why some spots have to be carefully considered, from all physical angles, before a well-aimed shot can take place. What Jane Austen-like like doggy etiquette requires this considered response, I wonder?

But, I am most amazed at how he manages his pee. Mine seems to leave something about every 10 meters. Eventually he really lets loose. What I don’t get is how he can always have enough pee for whatever length walk we go on, so that the 10-meter rule can be obeyed. How can he determine that one walk will only be for a quick relief, while another might take 40 minutes?

I have a physical image of his bladder as a little train with boxcars, each with a tiny door. He drops his cargo in one place and new boxcars get added. Some of his “I was here” announcements require just a drib, while others take considerably more. So he can control his little railroad of dog pee. He can go from a dot to an “AHHHH stream” with no trouble.

Fulbrights and Palestinians--update

2008-06-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

I was happy to learn today that Secretary of State Rice intervened in the matter of the Fulbrights being withdrawn from Palestinians. They have been restored, and the State Dept. is working with Israel to get the scholars their permissions to leave. Good for Sec. Rice. She did the right thing--and I'm a Democrat!

More Mt Etna

2008-06-15T06:58:00.001-07:00

Mt Etna, Sicily

2008-06-15T06:52:00.001-07:00

My friend, Josephine, and I did a tour of Mt. Etna through Sicily Life. It was fun with a driver and car for just the two of us. It was quite cloudy, so we only caught glimpses of the smoking top, still, the many lava flows that have made Sicily such a rich agricultural land are easy to see.

Taormina, Sicily

2008-06-08T04:45:00.000-07:00

Goodness. If you've never been to Taormina, add the place to your life list of places you want to see. Josephine and I had a relaxing, happy, and beautiful time here. I hope to get back someday with my husband (and we will add Cefalu, which I have heard is a must see). It's hard to explain. Just a lovely town, even with the shops and many tourists like ourselves. The views of the sea and of Mt. Etna--though the weather was not quite cooperative in that we only saw the smoking top of Etna fleetingly--are lovely. We found Osteria di Rita and loved the food, the house wine in little pitchers, and the friendliness. We went out in the evening to look down at the bay and at Giardinia-Naxos and one of the local restaurants had a small group playing accordion, mandoline, tamborine and traditional songs.

The photo with the pool was the place we stayed, Hotel Belvedere, good service and nice breakfast. The other pictures, except the church, are taken from the public gardens.

Siracusa Duomo and views

2008-06-08T02:59:00.000-07:00

Josephine (seated in restaurant) and I walked along the seawall and then up a bit to the old island of Ortygia. We also had our hotel here--Hotel Gran Bretagne (lots of stairs, no lift, friendly, clean, good location, relatively inexpensive, we liked it). We visited the Duomo and it's lovely piazza

Siracusa

2008-06-08T02:47:00.000-07:00

I went to Sicily again in pursuit of my Thucydides hobby. I was very happy to have Josephine, a friend of mine, join me. It would just not have been as pleasant and fun without her.

Siracusa (Syracuse) is the location where the Athenians were soundly defeated, after a very poorly considered decision by the Athenians. Perhaps they would have succeeded, but conflict at home led to conflict on the command of the expedition to Syracuse. It was a disaster. There's little to indicate anything happened there--no signs, no mention, not even a copy of Thucydides to be found, though I noticed there were two streets, one named after the Syracusan leader (Hermocrates) and one after Thucydides.

Due to a misunderstanding on opening hours I did not get to the quarry where the Athenian prisoners where held after their defeat. But I have included one from another quarry in the Neopolis. The men were, in the heat of summer, forced by the thousands into the quarry. They died of thirst, hunger, and exposure. Kagan, a scholar who has written his own new history of the Peloponnesian War (excellent), says that some were bought and ultimately freed by locals if they knew lines from the latest plays by Euripedes.

So, a few views of the harbor and of a quarry.

Fulbrights and Palestinians

2008-05-30T02:20:00.001-07:00

I was very sorry to read in the news today that Fulbright withdrew scholarships to a handful of Palestinians in the Gaza. Apparently Israel was not going to let them out, and Fulbright decided to use the money for other deserving students. What's not clear is whether Fulbright really tried to get them out--reports from Israel are conflicting. I don't entirely understand why Fulbright couldn't wait another month to push things.

I've learned so much from my Fulbright. I will have a love of Malta until my dying day. I am a better person because of this experience, a more understanding, more confident, more humane, and moderate person. If I had my way, every human being on the planet would get an experience like mine if they liked.

I wish Fulbright had tried harder.

Visit to Mqabba Primary School

2008-05-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

I read to primary school children from the Birchbark House, which is about Lake Superior. One thing I try to make clear is that there are many different Native American cultures in the US.

These students were particularly interested in moose.

Yes, all school children (until they get to their last year or so) wear uniforms. This is true of public and private schools. These young ones were particularly snappy-looking because it was school pictures day. The school was lovely-- beautifully done and kept up.

Giving some talks

2008-05-21T03:30:00.000-07:00

I'm going to give two scholarly talks. They are open to the public.

Curiously, they are related to a book project on US-Canada relations tentatively titled, Peace Before Prosperity. I came to Malta to teach and to get a fresh perspective on all that I do (and I have not been disappointed), but my research is on the Great Lakes.

Both talks will be at the International Maritime Law Institute, near the University, just outside the new gate (between the bus stop and the gate). 12:30-14:00

Tu, May 27, "The Evolution of Regional Security in the Great Lakes of North America"

W. Jun 11, "Bacteriology and Diplomacy in the Great Lakes of North America"

What's blooming 3

2008-05-20T01:10:00.001-07:00

What's blooming 2

2008-05-20T01:08:00.001-07:00

What's blooming 1

2008-05-20T01:02:00.000-07:00

The riot of wildflowers that has enchanted me from November until very recently has gently given way to the creams and tans of the dry season. It is is still pleasantly warm, the real heat has yet to begin. But, the once green island looks now more as it did when I arrived. I need to get out and hike around in the country to see what wildflowers are in bloom, but the change in weather serves to highlight the many gardens in my neighborhood. All winter long roses and geraniums in pots have bloomed, but with the browns of summer the pocket gardens stand out. So, on my walk to pay bills at the post office, I took pictures. Enjoy.

More U Malta visit photos

2008-05-18T01:17:00.000-07:00

1. The snow thermometer (if you can't make it out, it's Prof. Caruana, Camilleri (the Rector) and me.

2. Rector and Dave Reed

3. Rector opening a welcome gift from University of Malta (I failed to take a picture at the breakfast meeting of Malta's gifts to Michigan Tech). It's a tradition when schools meet.

4. Left to right: Me, Rector, Tess Alborn, and Caruana at Benedict Lab

Rector's visit to Michigan Tech

2008-05-18T00:35:00.000-07:00

I was delighted when University of Malta Rector [like a university president], Prof. Juanito Camilleri, and his Director of International Master's Programs, Prof. Albert Caruana, decided to visit Michigan Tech. I decided it would be good if I came home for a week to help host their visit--and it also happened that it came on my 29th wedding anniversary. We even had good weather, though it had snowed earlier in the day that we arrived. My husband and I took our visitors out "Copper Country Cruising" on a tour of the Keweenaw Peninsula. They saw Lake Superior, which is simply hard to believe until you've seen it--all fresh water. They saw our "snow thermometer" on how many inches of snow we get (another post), they saw trees and more trees, there was a hawk migration going on and that was fun to watch, there was even an inland lake that was still mostly frozen--Dr. Caruana managed to send a rock skittering over the ice. Neither he nor the Rector had seen such a thing.

The meetings at Tech went very well, too! President Mroz, Provost Lovett-Doust, and Vice President for Research David Reed met in the morning with the visitors (and me), then we met a number of faculty and staff throughout the rest of the day. The deans took them to lunch and it was there that a new idea for a joint project emerged--something on restoration ecology. We ended the first day at dinner with Mroz, Lovett-Doust, Reed, and Chief Financial Officer Dan Greenlee--the group toasted happy anniversary to Don and me. That was a unique anniversary dinner for us! The next day was more informal. I took them to see the Benedict Lab (photo next post) that does crucial research into cement and concrete, we visited with more faculty and staff. It was fun and also nice for me to see everyone.

We all hope to build some new programs between our schools. Some ideas on the table as possibilities are in intermodal transportation logistics, digital security, restoration ecology, and perhaps an international experience for Pavlis Leadership undergraduates. In fact, we discussed even more options for faculty and student exchanges. We'll see. In the end, successful exchanges require mutual faculty interest to work.

At the very least, I was happy that Drs. Camilleri and Caruana got to see my school. I'm always talking about it. We joined a "pick up" lunch table on our second day in the student union and the faculty members there had lots of questions about Malta. Afterwards, the Rector said, "I think that Malta must seem like a nearly imaginary place to the outside." I told him that it was the same way with Michigan Tech. Until you see what wonderful, smart places Malta and Tech are, it is just plain hard to believe they exist.

Chris Fehrman

2008-04-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

Just a bit of news. Just before Christmas, Chris Fehrman and Sayward came to visit me on their way home from their tour in the Peace Corps in Ghana. Sayward had completed her Master's before going, Chris had to write a thesis based on his work in Ghana. I'm happy to say that he defended his excellent thesis very well last week. I was on his committee and participated in it via Skype. That was a new experience for all of us, but worked well. GOOD JOB, CHRIS.

Need Maltese advice for a talk

2008-04-20T23:28:00.000-07:00

I'm giving a talk on the US elections this Th (Ap 24) at the la Valette Rotary Club at the Intercontinental.

My talk is in good draft, but I want to make sure it hits things that interest and or confuse the citizens of Malta. Please send me your questions via the comment function on the blog. That way I can improve my talk.

Thank you
Mary

Humor: My accent

2008-04-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

In the US we often say how we just love someone's British accent. Today I was walking and overheard a group of British gentlemen debating where something was. I stopped to ask if I could help them. The men were from the Birmingham area. One of them asked what part of the US I was from and I said the far north of Michigan. "Oh, I just love your accent."

Reflection 3: My (smaller) ecological footprint

2008-04-20T04:14:00.000-07:00

Recently, I talked about the concept of the ecological footprint at a boys' secondary school in Gzira. Now, I'm getting ready to give a two -hour university class on international relations theory and the environment. Both activities have gotten me thinking.

In getting ready for the boys, I went on line (redefining progress.org) and calculated my US ecological footprint and then my footprint for how I live here in Malta. An ecological footprint tries to estimate how much land surface one's lifestyle is using and then it shows how you compare to your national average and also how many Earths it would take if everyone in the world lived the way you do. I was really struck by the difference. My Malta ecological footprint is about half that of my US footprint. Technical quibblers out there may object that there is no baseline for the Malta footprint--for example I'm sure the energy used to create my tap water is WAY higher than back home, due to desalinization. But I did use the "island" option when I calculated the foot print.

What accounts for the difference? No car, a smaller living space, fewer appliances, and I seem to have slightly different eating patterns (less eating out, less packaged food, less meat). My air travel still gobbles up a lot of the planet. I don't have a dryer; my laundry, like virtually everyone else's, is drying up on the roof. I've already waxed rhapsodic about the pleasures of hanging laundry last fall. I still like it. I probably wouldn't like it if I had a large family. I almost never miss the car, except for evening events and my periodic aggravation with the bus system (see previous post). I know I'll miss all the fruit and veggies, either grown locally or just over in Sicily.

But, here's the thing. I'm actually happier and certainly healthier with this smaller footprint.

So, I'm thinking a lot about what I can adapt or change about the way I live in the US. I'm deep into snow country. It snowed a week ago, for example. I won't be hanging laundry in the winter, even if pioneer women did--aw, who am I kidding? my Mama and my Mom in law both hung clothes out in the cold and brought in pants frozen stiff. My husband has offered to put a line up in the yard, and I might take him up on that for warmer times of the year. As for the car, I can walk more, car pool with my husband, ride my bike. All three of those options would be fun and better for me. My husband isn't big on meat, so keeping that down won't be a problem.

So, Malta is teaching me a thing or two about what matters and what doesn't matter in creating a happy, high quality life.
The flower photo is just so you can have something pretty to look at: nasturtiums on my seafront walk--a benefit of walking is that you can actually look at things.