Wednesday 20th of March Once a month Graziella rents a laser machine (and products), and does a whole day of only laser clients.
Products used
The laser machine
Epilase
I have seen laser before, but this was a bit different. The hair needed to be shaved before the treatment, and molds and other abnormalities in the skin colour (i.e varicose vains, redness) had to be covered with white.
During the day Graziella did laser treatments for basically the whole body and for both men and women. The most commonly treated areas were upper lip and underarms. The treatment was also done to arms, legs, back, chest, face and bikiniline.
I got to assist in the treatments by covering the skin, cleaning the skin and applying the after laser cream.
Malta, even though its tiny size, is packed with churches, cathedrals and statues, most of them built as memorials for people fallen in the war, or for when Malta became a rebuplic. Not anymore under the England colony, but its own indpendent country.
Malta became independent in 1964, a rebuplic in 1974, and joined the European Union in 2004. The British ruled Malta for over 150 years, which still shows in the culture around, the language and the left sided traffic.
St Paul’s Church
Majority of the maltese people are religious, and most of them roman catholic. Catholicism is also known as the state religion, even though freedom of religion is a constitutional right. There’s also a large amount of other religions represented in the island, for example adventist, buddhist, greek catholic, jewish and islamic.
Even more noticeable than the rule of the British, is the rule of the Order, the knights of St John that lasted for 250 years. They left their mark in the architecture of the island, courtyards, gardens, forts and watch towers that still surround the island. The eight pointed cross of Malta is also an heritage from the knights, still used by the Maltese military to this day.
Statue of Jean de Valette, founder of Valletta
June 7, 1919
Sette Giugno is a national maltese holiday, still celebrated to this day. It is in the memory of the riots in 1919, considered as the first step to Malta’s independence. Especially in Valletta you can see a lot of statues like these, rich in history and reminding the maltese people and the tourists about the power of a small country. One thousandth the size of Finland!
A lot of places in a short time. On sunday I went to Tas-Sliema to the One Point mall for some shopping. But there were also amazing views to Valletta I didn’t know about. Later I catched a ferry to Valletta and walked around a bit before heading back home. Perfect ”lazy” sunday.
A promenade
Padlocks of love
The mall
Valletta
The triton fountain
Today (monday 18th March) I decided to go for a loooong walk. First I took a bus to Pembroke and from there I walked 12km through Naxxar to Bugibba. First part of the trip I walked a long the shore. After that I got a bit lost trying to walk up a hill in Maghtab for some great views. Instead I ended up on some weird landfill and farm area (which I’m pretty sure I didn’t have the rights to be in oops).
Blindly following the map, not always the best option. Ended up with like 4 extra kilometres and with tired feet, but got back to sivilisation in Bugibba, St Paul’s Bay. Great wheather, great views, (and great pizza). So no regrets. But next time I will stay on the route I plan.
White rocks
St Mark’s Tower
Bugibba square
Bugibba
Never ending views of the Mediterranean, the prettiest sunset, and nature. How could you not be happy here?
On the second day of work I got to do a lot more, and met Graziellas coworker Jess. She works part time at Beauty Rituals, couple nights a week. I did eyelash and eyebrow tinting for Graziella (which wasn’t my finest work to be honest, because the products were different than what I was used to). I was also answering the phone and welcoming clients to the salon while Graziella was working.
I got to remove gelish nails from a client (which was nice since I knew how to do it in theory but had never actually done it before). And when a client didn’t show up we had some extra time. To make use of the time Graziella showed me palpation (feeling the muscle and discovering the sore pots and pains using your hands) and gave me a little tutorial on neck, upper back and spine massage. I got to be a model for a little while as well.
During the days I continued to shadow Graziella and got to see eyebrow tinting (my god she did it so well and precise), more waxing (for men as well!), a pedicure, a manicure, a basic facial, and a lymphatic drainage massage. On the third day I got to do a half leg wax as well, since we were short on time. Graziella even said I did a good and clean job.
At first I felt like Graziella didn’t have a lot of faith in me and my abilities as a beautician. But after a few days she clearly trusted me more, and gave positive feedback too. She is very protective of her clients, which is understandable, but holds me back a little from doing the actual job I am supposed to do. Granted it’s only been an few days, so hopefully when more time passes I’ll get more clients too.
Today was my first day of work at Beauty Rituals. I got there at 9:30 and went home at 17:00. I mostly spend the day shadowing Graziella, as in watching her do treatments. It was surprisingly nice, and I learned a lot especially from her massage techniques. All of her clients were really nice and welcoming, and didn’t mind me watching.
Graziella also had a meeting about and upcoming event to sell some Eve Taylor products and advertise her makeup artist friend. I got to be a part of the meeting, but was a bit shy to speak up. But I believe when more time passes I’ll get more comfortable there. Graziella did make an effort to make me feel at home and gave me little tasks as well.
Here’s some pictures from the salon
From today I got the impression, that Graziella uses mostly Dermalogica in her facials, but she also has two other brands for retail. I did some research and got to watch her do the Dermalogica Pro Power Peel chemical peeling, which was really interesting. She really made an effort to always make the customers feel as comfortable as possible, and most of them have been coming to her salon for years and years.
So much products for one treatment!
Studying
When I woke up today I had a horrible headache and been feeling a bit sick which is a total bummer. But hopefully I’ll feel better soon. Today after work I’ve just been resting. Even writing is a bit tricky now so here’s some more pictures from my walk to work (from the bus stop), and my lunch break.
If you’re living alone or in a shared flat like me, be prepared to buy some neccessities your self. I have beddings and towels, but other than that I have to buy things myself. For example I have bought
Hand soap
Laundry detergent
Tissues
Toothpaste
Shampoo and soap
Food containers (to mealprep a bit)
Cotton pads and sticks (didn’t want to bring from Finland)
I oredered a tallinja (Malta public transport) bus card from online before coming here, and I got it today. But you can also buy those from an office here. The buses tend to be late because the traffic here is a bit chaotic. But other than that the buses are quite easy. There’s a lot of connections from San Gwann to Valletta and to L-Imsida (Beauty Rituals).
Lara had researched for me how to get to work from my apartment, and tallinja has an app where you can plan routes and check timetables and bus stops. One trip with the tallinja card costs only 0,75e and is valid for 2 hours.
Today had a welcome meeting in the Easy Job Bridge office and met Lara, an internship coordinator. She took me to Beauty Rituals to meet Graziella, the owner. After those quick meetings I had the rest of the day off to explore!
Valletta bus stop
The shore
A park
The shore
I had the biggest smile on my face when I walked down to the shore, ”the end of Valletta”. The view was so beautiful I couldn’t believe I am actually here. So today my mood has been great. I’m not even really nervous, just excited. The wheather was also a lot nicer today, about +17 and sunny. I had lunch, walked around, and enjoyed the sun for a while in the park.
Today I learned to appreciate the architecture of Malta more. Down in Valletta the narrow long streets, with amazing views thanks to the hight differences, and the cutest little shops and restaurants made me smile. Feeling so fortunate to be here, and experience the culture. Even came accross several musicians (and they we’re amazing!)
At first I was a bit confused about the siesta, because from my internet research I got a picture that it’s really important to maltese people. But in reality only a handful of the shops close at 13:00 and open again at 16:00. Especially in tourist areas like Valletta most of them stay open during siesta.
A local clothing store was giving out free hangers! So I got to put my clothes neatly in to the closet yay. I also found Holland&Barrets and bought some soy milk, chia seeds and stuff I can’t get from local stores. The fresh fruit and vegetables I bough from a little farmers market.
Now I’m back in my apartment in San Gwann, going to make dinner and probably go for a walk. Tomorrow I start working at Beauty Rituals.
I arrived at my apartment around four pm, after travelling for 12h. I had a driver through Easy Job Bridge who picked me up from the Luqa Airport. The apartment is nicer than I had expected and has (working) air conditioning and wifi which is great! I have my own bedroom but kitchen and bathroom is shared. For now there’s only me and Kora here, who is really nice and helped me out with the wifi, air conditioning and buses.
Here’s some picture from the apartment
The kitchen
The Livingroom
The bathroom
My bedroom
Views from the balcony
After looking around and unpacking I headed out to explore the neighborhood a bit. Without a map or sense of direction I headed to the wrong direction straight away oops. Then I just turned around and finally found some shops, café’s etc. Google maps helped me out a bit and I found a place where to buy a sim card. This is not necessary! But I brought an extra phone with me and bought a local sim with internet. So I don’t have to worry about getting lost or getting in touch with family when I’m out in the city.
At first the architecture seems a bit weird to be honest. Everything is brick or cement and different shades of brown. But when you stop and look more closely it’s actually incredibly beautiful. The details are amazing and the views are breathtaking.
Around six pm I was starving and headed to literally the first place I saw that served proper food. Coffee, bottle of water and a ”small” dish of salmon, prawns and noodles cost 8,20e. It was clear to the owners that I was a tourist, but nonetheless they we’re really kind and helpful.
My dinner
So cute look at this
After dinner I headed to Lidl (yay!) to buy some groceries. When I got there I realized it was about to close in 10 minutes, so I just grabbed some food (coffee, tea, bread, apples, oats, cucumber) and hygiene products. They didn’t have any baskets which was weird. People just carried their groceries around in cardboard boxes. And the register was so small you had to pack up immediately or people would have to wait. I’m good for now, but will probably head pack tomorrow to buy some more food. I’m planning on cooking a lot, so I don’t spend all my money eating out (even though it’s quite cheap)
On the way home I already got lost and panicked a bit because it was dark and I was alone, and had no clue where I was (the map wasn’t working properly) and I wasn’t sure where I was going. Some deep breaths and focusing on the map and I found my way home and met my flatmate Kora.
Now I’m ”home” drinking some tea and gonna take a shower and watch some netflix. Tomorrow morning I am heading to the Easy Job Bridge office and get some information on what’s about to come.
Beautician in Malta 