I’m on a flight back to Malta from Sweden, looking out at a sky resembling more to endless rainbow rather than a sunset. Colors from the darkest red to the deepest blue form a endless horizontal line outside my tiny window.

I spent 10 glorious days in Sweden after 10 months of being on the yellow rock of Malta which I’ve come to call home. After the first couple of days I realized how much I had missed my family and friends, I decided I will never let this much time pass before I go to visit them. Something happens to friendships when you spend so much time apart. The real friends emerge like angels, bending in all 3 dimensions to make time to meet. The other friends, well… I hold no grudge but if staying in touch is not a priority then I fail to see the point of me making them a priority.

Me, my family and my friends have had so much fun and eaten so much I’m afraid to count the calories. Turkish, Ethiopian, Greek, Thai, Assyrian, the flavors of the world have entered this mouth and I’ve been spoiled rotten from the hospitality and generosity of everyone.  I weighed myself when I arrived in Sweden and when I was leaving and had managed to gain 2 kg in 10 days!

That says more about the lifestyle in Sweden though rather than the amount of food. In Malta I dance, swim, run and yes, eat less. While I’ll admit that my time in Sweden has not been the regular lifestyle people simply move less. It’s cold and long distances to get everywhere so you tend to use cars, busses and trains more. In Malta, most of the things in my life in Malta are within walking distance.

Weight gained or not, I return to Malta now with a heart full of love and great memories from the amazing people I am so fortunate to have in my life. So as I sit here on my flight and the sky slowly turns to black I wish to remind myself and you of those people in life that make it all worthwhile. Without them, life would be pretty pointless so from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being you, I love you all.