Mini excursion - Mdina
Gossip Girl
Valletta hasn’t always been the capital of Malta. Before it the city of Mdina, also known as Città Notabile, the notable city, served as the capital. Mdina was the place to be from antiquity until 1530, after which the capital was moved to Birgu. There’s evidence dating back as far as 4000BC of settlements in the area and even Paul the Apostle is said to have stayed here.
Hey babes, it’s me again and there’s so much to share with you – good job everyone on keeping this EASA a “classy” affair!
Umbrella visited the city and was truly impressed by the tiny limestone alleys and beautiful buildings around. It’s easy to see why it was chosen to be one of the filming sites for Game of Thrones’ King’s Landing. Unfortunately no naked Cersei Lannisters were to be seen. To get there take a bus number 51, 52 or 53 from the central bus station and get off at Rabat. It takes about 30 minutes and is a great way of having a little nap. The air conditioned environment and the movement of the vehicle really puts you down like a baby.
A certain Karibian island is surely powerful with his eyes. You must have noticed the way they undressed that beautiful lady on the dance floor the other night! To be fair, his clothes were coming off at a decent pace as well. Where to even start with the toga night! There were couples forming at an incredible rate. I think it’s almost unnecessary to mention all the action that was going on in the dark corners, on the dance floor and just about everywhere. Umbrella is happy that also one of our own was linking with a future organizer! Where as one of the beatiful current organizers got their share of the EASA FM airwaves. The gays are stepping it up as well and there’s even an extra back up arriving tonight so the scene will surely be interesting during the days to come. And who took off my toga? That’s a secret I’ll never tell. Xoxo Gossip Girl
Mini excursion - “Zurich”
L UMBRELLA N°02 2015
After days of hardworking workshop, would you like to go somewhere for a short getting away and relax? Zurrieq is a perfect solution where nature, architecture, archaeology, scenery and swim-zones coexist, all in one. The bus 71 will take you from Valletta terminal to the farthest stop called Ghar Lapsi in about an hour. Getting yourself relieved immediately from the retarding heat by the two wonderful swimming/ diving zones, completely calm and transparent blue water. After the swim, you may feed your stomach with some delicious Maltese dishes at the nearby restaurant (€2.00-8.00). From Ghar Lapsi you can walk back or get a lift to the archaeology site where the two prehistoric temples are situated. Don’t ever wait for the bus 71 since it would waste you ages to see it again. Remember your student card to have a discount. Here you can enjoy he beautiful landscapes on the way between the two temples. Such a nice combination of nature, seascapes (the famous islet Filfla) and dramatic wide-spanned structures. Walking towards Blue Grotto up and down, hot and cool, you will soon soak your body in the chilling water down there. An 8-euro-ticket sails you to such spectacular enormous caves on transparent seawater. Cool enough? It’s time to get back to the site for dinner. Better to take the bus 201 then switch bus at the airport. Because once again the bus 71 rarely shows up. A good trip if you go on your own or in pair with your brand new hook-up partner from the last night party or in a small group. Highly recommended. The trip is included in the after EASA excursion. But if you cannot join or wait for it, here’s above the tips for you. Cheers!
Limestone uncovered
Humans of Valletta Yesterday Amsterdam Expressionism had an interesting visitor join in to instruct a stone-carving workshop with the participants. Antoine Farrugia is a sculptor who grew up in Mqabba- a place famous for quarrying soft limestone or ‘Franka’ as it is known in Maltese.
Malta is basically a lump of limestone in the Mediterranean and only covers just over 300 square kilometres. Being a rocky lump it has stone absolutely everywhere, and down in the EASA ditch the dancing wind is covering every black dressed participant in layer of light dust. Umbrella decided to take closer look at the sedimenatry rock which plays a significant role in the Maltese culture. Malta has two types of limestone, the soft and the hard one. Most of the quarries are little more than rectangular holes carved out of the rock, and the number has to be seen to be believed. The Megalithic Temples of Malta are several prehistoric temples, some of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Each individual site has it unique characteristics, but they all share the same architecture. The world wide Annual usage of limestone is 5000 million tonnes, which is the same weight as 70 millions EASA participants.
LIMEST ON E
LIMEST ON E
LIMEST ON E
As a child Antoine was always interested in art, but ignored his mother’s advice to go to art school and instead worked in a fireworks factory for most of his career. After a horrible accident in 1997 at the factory which killed one of Antoine’s close friends and left him unemployed, he didn’t have much left. He decided to finally follow his talents and joined the art school in Valletta and gained a degree at the age of 40. The participants were able to work easily with the stone as it is soft enough to be cut by woodworking tools and once sanded the limestone produces a marble like finish. Have a look for yourself behind the stage in the ditch.
Thursday 6.8.2015 LIMEST ON E
20:00
Voice of EASA @infopoint
21:00
Presentations NASA and INCM
22:30
EASA bar + NC-night
Friday 7.8.2015
The poultry industry uses it as supplement for the calcium levels, and the next time you eat your morning cerelas, try to feel the crunch from the added limestone.
11:00
Lecture / Immigration game Meet @ toolbox, limited seating! Be early.
15:00
Valletta Links Lectures Valletta 2018 brief
We are surronded by it, we walk on it, we are coverd in it, we sculpture it, we eat it, and if that wasn´t enough, we even brushes our teeths in it.
18:00
Tutor meeting
19:00
Dinner
21:00
Fiesta...! Sangria
Limestone is everywhere.
22:00
EASA TV
Leave any scars alone to heal, they should clear up within a couple of weeks
Alcohol or vinegar can help neutralise the toxins and reduce the level of pain experienced.
Don’t rub or scratch the area as you’ll aggravate and spread the toxins.
Toga! Toga! TOGAAAAH!
Have you ever wondered what is hidden behind these tall modern blocks while swimming nearby our site? You can actually take the ferry at the small harbor a bit further down our beach, it s only 2.80€ return and it takes 5 min to cross the sea until Sliema.
Last night the party series was kicked off with style at the Toga Party – a new addition to the EASA party line up. The atmosphere was electric as crowds gathered along the full length of the ditch adorned with bed sheets and stripped branches from the trees.
Once arrived just pass behind the seafront complex and get lost in the old city full of charming typical Maltese houses. Triq San Vincenz and Triq San Duminiku are so cute! Then you can walk along the sea and easily find vaster and flatter beaches spots than in Valletta or if you are tired of being covered with salt there is some public swimming pools.
The party was in full swing instantly thanks to the techno beats and summer wine flowing. Kuba and Marcos from Germany decided to adopt the commando approach to the toga, leaving very little to the imagination. This no underwear approach was adopted by many more but proved to be very dangerous as Sam from Scotland filmed under toga footage with his go-pro.
Sliema is the biggest residential city in Malta and therefore you can find the largest shopping mall on the Pjazza Tigne where you can see some ruins integrated into the new architecture. Well, it is not a mustsee but it’s perfect for a morning / afternoon trip away from EASA! Toga crowd at the party.
The Maltese were in high sprits all together on the dance floor for most of the night, finally getting a small chance to relax and enjoy a night off from working tirelessly to make this such an amazing event. Sadly the night was cut off short due to noise complaints, leaving a good excuse for some to get some sleep and as usual couples to sneak away to the dark corners. As it turns out, togas are the perfect attire for the Maltese climate. The brave (well… drunk) few who went the extra mile last night and discarded their under-garments know the true freedom that the toga offers. It begs the question: why don’t we just wear them all of the time? How on earth did they ever go out of fashion anyway? There truly is something beautiful in the idea of our little archi-commune in the middle of the Mediterranean… all of its denizens strutting about like Vitruvius himself. Except more inebriated. Maybe. See you at Sangria night!
How about your toga night? Hong Wan Chan Belgium / tutor
Hugo Spain / participant / NC
I wasn’t enjoying the music that much but I loved the togas! I liked looking at the togas with splits and no underwear, you know Cuba and them, I found it amusing. Though I just wore some a little bit roman looking dress.
To make my toga a just crapped a random piece of blue fabric and wrapped it around my body. The Konkret guys had the best outfit! They didn’t leave anything for imagination. But it was calculated so that nothing critical was shown.
I didn’t really party that long, I went to sleep already around three at night. I’m getting old, I can’t party all the time and still be up early in the morning. It’s been like that ever since I started working...
I have not slept at all yet. When the police came, I just thought: Fuck! Those guys again. We should maybe invite the guy from the neighbouring house to join our parties so he wouldn’t call the cops.
“Imagine if Architecture schools were just like EASA and we had no teachers, only other students to pass on knowledge” -Louis, England
Beton Boot has made some working models of their concrete boat and were trying them in the sea yesterday. L-umbrella can’t wait for the finished product. Everything looks very promising so far! Good job guys and girls!
Remove any remaining tentacles with a credit card or pair of tweezers. Make sure you don’t touch them as you could end up getting a secondary sting.
Don’t run fresh water over the sting as this will only serve to release further toxins. Soak or rinse the area in sea water.
Recognise the symptoms. The pain will be quite intense with a burning and itching sensation and you will be likely to develop raised welts or a rash. You may still have barbs left in your skin from the tentacles.
Our advice for you is to follow these steps:
So what happens if you are unlucky enough to bump into one? Eoghan from Ireland found out the hard way when stung at night time, he describes the feeling as “like nettle a sting for about two hours, but it was the chaffing that did it for me really.”
A Jellyfish is a free-swimming, non-aggressive, gelatinous marine animal surrounded by tentacles. These tentacles are covered with sacs (nematocysts) that are filled with poison that can cause a painful sting. The coast of Malta is now experiencing a high number of the common stingers known as the mauve stinger.
It’s summer. It’s hot. It’s officially jellyfish season. Follow the L-umbrella advice on what to do if you run into a nasty stinger.
Jellyfish alert!
Beton Boot
Mini excursion - Sliema
Sanja Serbia / helper
Caroline / Denmark / guest
Good! Really funny! A lot of togas, Ho well, I had fun, it’s the first night bed sheets and olive tree leaves in I got really wasted and fortunately I the hair. People drinking, a lot. I got was not working the morning after. hungry in the end so I didn’t party hard. I managed to use a scarf and It was crowded. It was bizarre a belt to create a kind of toga look when Kuba , Marcos and Javier like dress, like everyone actually showed up in togas without noth- did! ing else, but I actually expected that all the guys would do that, just Karl / Malta / organizer feel relaxed you know. I was also expecting more scandals... It was a really good night, it was nice seeing people being creative Although a water gun got quickly for the dressing up, we had huntransformed in a tequila gun, peo- dreds of meters of material left ple were trapped, asked to get over from the canopy we couldn’t on their knees and to open their install, it has been reused for the mouth! That’s all I can remember togas so that’s great!
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