The Malta experience after 4 years away from the island and the birth of my 1st paper baby

I find it hard to believe it has been four years since I left Malta and moved to Norway. Where did the years go? My husband and I left Malta with a 3-year-old and a baby in the belly, and now the kids were old enough for me to leave them behind and travel alone back to my other ‘home’ country.

The emotions splashed over me like huge waves when I reached Maltese soil. I can’t count the times my eyes welled up with tears of joy and happiness during my 7-day stay. I got to see many familiar faces from our life before, but unfortunately, I also missed seeing some people I wanted to see. Many of us are parents now, and I was on a tight schedule. That’s life these days. You know, I came back to Malta not only to see my sister and friends but also for the birth of another baby of mine, my 1st paper baby. Yes, Malta gave me my first baby child, and this country also provided a safe space for my first paper baby to take shape. So, I stayed at my sister’s place and embarked on a mini book tour.

I arrived late on 19/02, and the first thing I did in the morning was to get myself ready for a school visit at Mariam Albatool School. I felt very welcomed by my publisher, Joanne Micallef, Faraxa Publishing, the Head of School, Kenneth Busuttil, Brian Vassallo, who wrote two chapters in the guide How to Raise Confident Multicultural Children, the teachers, and, of course, the kids! The kids were brilliant.

I need to mention here that I am terrified of public speaking. The first time I was hired to make a presentation in front of librarians and teachers about my personal story and the book Where am I from?, I practiced my speech in front of the mirror at least 100 times. This technique ensured that no matter how stressed I felt, I would be able to deliver the speech and maintain a good voice flow. And it worked.

But with the kids, everything felt different. You see, the kids are not afraid of showing how they feel. They’re very raw and genuine in their emotions, and you can understand right away what works and what doesn’t. I could read them. I felt relaxed and happy, and I enjoyed every minute I spent with them.

They were inspired, and they talked about the books they’ve read, the books they’re writing themselves, and art. During the one-hour presentation-workshop, I talked to them about my story and the writers’ tools, and I showed them on a projector how we created Where am I from? You can bet they asked a lot of questions. Then we coloured language portraits and coloring pages from the book, and we did a global citizen passport activity.

I left the school with gifts from the kids; some of them gave me a hug and their colouring pages to take home, whereas a boy, Omar, called me in his classroom and gave me a book he had written himself to take home with me. This is when I felt it clear that, you know what, this is it. This is what I am supposed to be doing in life. I’ve found my path.

During the next days, I visited more schools: San Anton, St. Paul’s Bay, and Naxxar Elementary. There were very warm welcomes there as well, happy, energetic kids who were full of life. I also hosted a storytelling event at Little Stars in Swatar (you might be able to find a few more signed copies there if you hurry or directly via Faraxa Publishing) and a book signing event at Agenda, The Point, Sliema.

Another highlight is that I met three of the kids in person, based on whom we created three of the main book characters!

In other news, Where am I from? is now available for purchase in Malta via Faraxa, Little Stars and the Agenda Bookstores. Internationally, you can also order it directly via Faraxa, or via any of the major retailers like Amazon, Book Depository (free delivery), Barnes and Noble (10% discount offer right now, and free delivery in the USA) in both paperback and hardback format.

In the meantime, I also published the guide I curated How to Raise Confident Multicultural Children that has been described as must-have for parents and educators who work and care for children of mixed cultural backgrounds and/or bilingual and multilingual children.

If you would like to see more pictures and read more updates related to my Malta visit, join my FB group here or follow my personal profile on FB.

As always, thank you for reading.

I wish you a lovely day,

Love, Liza.

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