Let's start at the very beginning!

A very good place to start… would one not agree?

Today I am going to talk you through the beginning of the tale that is me coming to Malta and why I chose to pursue this.

Above: Paradise Bay

Let us cast our minds back to January this year.

After recognising that I no longer have much time left at my University (being that I am going into my final year of my degree this September), I knew that I needed to get some experience behind me - so that when I graduated – I would stand out from the crowd.

But where would I begin?

I was already under a lot of pressure to know what I wanted to pursue as a career prospect after University, but I was reluctant to solidifying anything until I truly found my passion.

So, after various meetings with my careers coordinator, I found that I wanted to pursue journalism.

(Very different to the idea of me wanting to be a princess at the age of 6, but we’ll go with it)

I then started looking at local journalism internships in Liverpool, which concluded in anti-climatic findings. Nothing jumped out at me and I needed to make sure that I was going to enjoy my placement and the work involved with it.

That’s when I turned my attention to my University. They have a plethora of internship prospects on offer, which was somewhat overwhelming. My interest sparked back up and I pushed myself to finding an internship that was right for me.

I began by again looking locally, but to the same conclusion as before, I was uninspired.

But what would I find next? “Paid summer internship to Vietnam 2018”

This was it. This was my ticket to gaining valuable experience that would set me out from the crowds.

So, I applied and refreshed my emails every single day, waiting for a reply from the Go Abroad Team that I had been successful.

I started to plan monetary costs, clothing, internship prospects, housing décor. You name it.

But, I wasn’t successful.

Incredibly disheartened, I started to lose hope that I was ever going to find something that would not only meet my personal requirements, but that was something that would be valuable to my degree.

So, I rang around the Go Abroad Team pleading for anything that they had available. Which is where I stumbled upon Stage Malta.

The company willingly took me under their wing and found me the perfect internship.

I was a very late applicant, but I could not be more grateful to them for giving me the opportunity to work with such a great company.

On the 7thof May, I found out that I was going to be working for the Times of Malta, Malta’s national newspaper.

Above: Copies of The Times

You can imagine my excitement.

The next two months could not come around quickly enough.

I worked almost every single day to ensure that I had enough money to fund my trip here. The excitement of this prospect undoubtedly kept my energy levels going.

I had everything planned, down to the last bottle of mosquito repellent (I definitely needed that over here!)

My flight was on the 18th of June and when I landed, I completely fell in love.

Malta is now my new home, away from home.

Above: The evening skyline from our terrace

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