Cemeteries and Ted

11/12
There were far less people at both the Xewkija and Rabat cemeteries today, though the items of commemoration remain. Where there were roughly 30 or so people wandering the cemetery on All Souls Day, there were only 6 at any given time while I was there today. Some of the flowers were in need of being tossed, though many of them appeared to be fresh new offerings. Because there were fewer people I felt more comfortable taking photos and took a few at both. I noticed that at the Xewkija cemetery it looked as if one of the tombs had fresh bouquets on it as if there had been a recent funeral. Meaning, they were in silver bouquets with purple ties like the ones I’ve seen at the funerals I’ve been to. It also looked as if the mortar was freshly reapplied. I ran my hand along it to see if it was still wet though with the rain we’ve had the last couple of days it wouldn’t have told me much anyway. The caretaker and his daughter did end up entering the cemetery while I was there and checking on the same tomb though I couldn’t tell what they were looking for. I was bummed to think I’d missed a funeral this week but then again, that’s kind of par for the course. I made sure to take a picture of the tomb that belonged to the woman who I witnessed being buried there last week.

Over at the Rabat cemetery I noticed the same caretaker and his daughter as they walked to their “caretaker building” which was a small shelter off to the right of the cemetery next to an area with brooms and a garbage. I could see the daughter through the window of the building though the caretaker remained out of sight behind the wall. I moved through the cemetery taking photos of different forms of tomb and commemoration. I was on the second level and was about to go down to the third when who of all people but Paulu was coming toward me. We greeted each other and I shook his hand. He said “my sister here” and motioned for me to follow him. He asked me if I walked there by saying, “you walk?” and pumping his arms back and forth to gesture walking.” I said yes. He said “me, truck” and gestured driving. He seemed to be asking me if I wanted a ride so declined saying no, I have to stay, nodding with my head back toward the rest of the cemetery. I would’ve gladly taken the ride if I was ready to leave but I wasn’t quite done there yet. He showed me on the tomb of the family Zammit his mother, Rosa; his father, Toni; and his sister Vincenza. He read out the date of her death. “One thousand, nine hundred ninety eight.” His father died in 1981 and his mother in 1975. On the tomb was a pot of yellow flowers next to the tombstone marker behind Paulu’s parents. The one marking his parents and sister was flanked by two arrangements in the shape of hearts with white and purple flowers. On this marker in the fourth empty space someone had taped a funeral card for a person who Paulu read off as dying in “Two Thousand and Nine…March.” The tomb is also shared by an infant death which is marked with a small stone in the shape of a heart with an angel playing a flute and it says “Baby ______” on it, noting a date of 2000. Next to the heart there was a pot with some plastic blue flowers as well as a candle holder in the front with a blue candle. These were accompanied by three small white angel figurines, one larger white angel, and a reclining angel that was also a candle holder. At the very foot of the tomb were three fresh bouquets that had been laid out, one of them with a prayer card taped to the inside that belonged to yet another woman. Had I been with someone who spoke English, or I Maltese, I would’ve had several questions for Paulu about the tomb. He left me there, saying ciao and walking away.

After my encounter with Paulu I walked through the rest of the cemetery and took more photos. Before leaving I decided to approach the caretaker hut and ask them some questions. The girl was, unfortunately, eating an orange when I approached and I think I startled her. I said I was a student and asked if she minded if I asked her some questions. She said no problem. She wore a red, white and black Adidas jogging suit. She had her long black hair back in a ponytail. I asked her name and she said it was Josephine. I said it appeared as if most of the burials there were post 1980 though there were some from the 40s, 50s and 60s. I asked where everyone else was buried prior to that. She explained that it’s a government cemetery like the big one in Malta. The churches were running out of space and so the government opened the cemetery. They told the families that if they wanted to move their dead that after two years they could go into the tombs, clean them out, mark them and send them over to the government cemetery. She said her dad has worked there since 1993 and she just helps out when she can. Her real job is a caretaker at the private nursing home run by the nuns. I inquired if it was the one in Victoria that is building a new facility and she said “yes!” as if she was glad to know I knew what she was talking about. She said they hope to move in December but you just never know. I said it was nice that she can help her father and she said yes. I asked how much time they spend there and she said more now because it is November. They have 2 masses there a day in November – one at 11 and one at 4. The schedule for the month is posted on the door of the chapel. She said that they have to be there to open the chapel and set up/clean up for the masses. She said that it’s only part time work for her father and that he usually works in the quarry. I asked if he gets paid by the government or how it works since he works for the Xewkija cemetery as well. She said he gets paid by the government for the work he does at the cemetery for Rabat and he gets paid by the people of Xewkija for the work in Xewkija. I asked if anyone else in her family before her father did such work and she said “No. Only him. Only him.” I finally asked her if I could ask her some more questions another time if I came back and she said yes if she is there.

Back at the apartment when I got to my door I heard Ted Call out “hello” from upstairs and ask me if I wanted to see the upstairs apartment. I guess he was getting it ready for some visitors. It turns out that the Maltese couple that have rented it for the whole year have some friends coming for the weekend though they themselves have only been here about 6 times. Ted said he probably won’t rent the place out for a year at a time again but considering the economy and the recession of this year he figured it was better to rent it for the year than to have to worry about it. Ted was in the process of hanging some art while I was there – a simple white canvas with a sketch of some locales of Gozo done by a German artist who had stayed in the apartment for a couple of weeks at some point. He asked my opinion on where to hang it. He also showed me the view from the balcony and the bathroom which is a bit bigger than mine so it actually has a bidet in it. He then took me to the kitchen on the very top floor which has a WASHING MACHINE inside it. It was like looking at nirvana. The best part of the third floor is the rooftop patio which has an amazing view of the top of St. George’s, including the dome and a better view of the Citadel. I told Ted I liked the view a lot and he said that if I wanted to come up there to take a coffee or read a book or whatever when no one is in the apartment that he wouldn’t mind.

We talked about his upcoming trip to Scotland and his son that lives there as well as the son that lives here and how he just bought a house in the “medieval” part of town that used to be a watchtower. Ted said it should be ready in April and they will be posting pics of it on the Gozo Homes website as well. He talked about his philosophy for renting and that he likes to do the best he can but make it affordable. He said there are hundreds of places tourists can go in Gozo so he wants to keep the price point competitive. He says “why be so greedy?” He said this building used to only be 2 floors but they built up across the way about 20 years ago and then so did he. He doesn’t like the buildings across the way – they are ugly (which is kind of true) and they cut the view which I’d imagine would be phenomenal if they weren’t there. I said I can’t believe how fast things get built here sometimes – like Jubilee Foods. One moment I’m having a coffee in the square looking at an old run down hardware store and the next week – poof it’s a new store. He was nodding his head in agreement and added “and they are doing quite well I gather.” He said that it can be like that in Gozo if people have the means. With Café Jubilee, they have three locations in Malta and I guess might be expanding to a location in London in Picadilly Circus area. He said if you can manage it then you can get things done like that. I told him I liked it there but that the food wasn’t consistent. He said it’s because there are 4 chefs. I told him I really liked Maji and he said he’d have to check it out though he said they don’t go out much. He said they have their own kitchen so they don’t go for food. I said “maybe coffee or a snack?” and he said not even that really. He then told me about how his father owned a bar when he was growing up in the 50’s. He said at the time there were only about 10 TVs on the island and of course his father had one for the bar which was right next door to where they lived. He said he and his sister were about 5 and 6 years old and had to go to the bar to watch cartoons and they would get in fights with the rough guys that came in there because they wanted to watch boxing or some sport. He said he hated that bar and his dad had it until he was about 13 or 14. He said since then he tries to never go into bars. He just can’t stand them. Anywhere. He said “you’ll never see me even having a coffee” – which is true. In the 2 months I’ve been here I haven’t seen him sitting in any of the bars or cafes. He said sometimes when he is with his grandson he is tempted to stop in IS to get him a Kinnie but he’s never done it yet.

Okay so this is the part that Wim will die when he reads. He asked me about my trip to Belgium and if I’ve ever been. He then told me that if Wim is interested in doing an apartment exchange, he would be interested! He said Wim could come and stay in one of his places for a week for free if he’ll put him up in his place. At first I thought – maybe Wim would be interested…until I heard the kicker of it. The condition is that they need to be there when Ted goes. Like Wim would want to play host to Ted and his wife! Haha! Though he and his wife have traveled extensively in Europe in hotels going 6 times to France, Budapest, 9 times to Scotland, Germany…but if he’s going to be in an apartment he said it needs to be some place where the host is going to be as well. I asked what that was about and he kind of laughed and just said “Gozitan nature I guess. We’re a lot more private here a lot more…” and I said “insular?” and he said “yes.” I said, what if the person was going to be there for the first day you were there to show you the ropes and THEN left and he said “well…maybe 2 days.” He said something about how he’d trust Wim even though he’s only met him for a few minutes. God if it weren’t for the fact that you’d have to play host to Ted and his wife I’d cash in on that deal myself for a free week in Gozo! But that’s a steep price to pay!

We ended by talking about tomorrow because he is supposed to come to clean. I will be getting up early to spend time at the library and pick up my stuff from the PO anyway. He also reminded me that there is a heater in the closet, though I think it’s really more of a halogen lamp than anything. I’m sitting about 5 feet from it and don’t feel a thing.