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Today things were different. Instead of putting the alarms on the night stand we placed them under our pillows so Josh couldn't turn them off. We all woke up and took turns taking two minute showers. We all got dressed this time remembering our lanyards. We rushed to the breakfast table and receive yet again the bland breakfast of cereal and toast.
We soon boarded our van to go to the Gaia foundation. This was our first real ambassadorial activity: cleaning up the reservoir. There we were bucket by bucket shovel by shovel we move all the ash away from the reservoir. We then got a much needed lunch break. To the dismay of some it was a completely organic and vegetarian lunch, but I didn't mind. I ate my way through a buffet of rice and grilled tomatoes and peppers. After that, we had an educational meeting about how to be environmental citizens. Unfortunately, I soon found out "educational meeting" was just another word for lecture. I could barely hear the man with his thick accent but I managed to make out some of it. He mentioned selective breeding and GMO's. I asked Johnnie and he told me this meeting was talking about buying from local farms to prevent selective breeding and GMO's and to conserve energy and water.
Next we boarded a local caterpillar bus to head over to Valletta, Malta's capitol. We were taken through to see the main church of Valletta, Saint John's Co-Cathedral. There were many beautiful frescoes, tapestries, and statues. Among them all was one of the most beautiful paintings. It was the only painting Michelangelo ever signed: The Beheading of St. John the Baptist. After that we had some free time. I got some ice cream and spent the rest of my time talking about golf with Johnnie.
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St. Johns Co-Cathedral, located in Valletta, Malta, was built by the Knights of Malta between 1573 and 1578, having been commissioned in 1572 by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière as the conventual church of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller of St John, known as the Knights of Malta. The Church was designed by the Maltese military architect Glormu Cassar who designed several of the more prominent buildings in Valletta. |
The painting depicting The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (1608) by Caravaggio (1571-1610) is the most famous work in the church. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beheading_of_Saint_John_the_Baptist_(Caravaggio) |
The interior, in sharp contrast with the facade, is extremely ornate and decorated in the height of the Baroque period. The interior was largely decorated by Mattia Preti, the Calabrian artist and Knight. Preti designed the intricate carved stone walls and painted the vaulted ceiling and side altars with scenes from the life of St John. |
We soon boarded the caterpillar bus and counted off. Our next destination was the Badger Karting go cart track. We each grabbed our hair nets and were off. It was so exciting. First, we jumped into our go carts for a practice round. Then we returned for our timing round. I felt really comfortable behind the wheel and I was confident I would make it to the final round. With a bit of skill and a whole lot of luck I made it! I was pumped! In the end I finished in seventh place event though I crashed into the barrier. That was what many would call a very tiresome day!
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