Parties, gossip, love, studying and friendship across boundaries. Niels Skafte-Pedersen reports from The University Residence: Malta's most popular student residence for exchange students from all over the world.

It's another sunny Saturday in January, and the clock in the hotel-like reception of the University Residence has just passed one pm. It seems, however, that the normal time zone boundaries which the rest of the world are ruled by do not apply to this place, and the first two people I meet greet me with a casual “good morning”.
The rest of the Residence seems to still be in a slumber, and outside, in the main courtyard by the large blue swimming pool, only a single person has crept out to enjoy the brief warmth of the sun before it once again disappears behind the large apartment buildings encircling the court.

I'm heading for kitchen 105 to meet up with Manuela Aronofsky from the USA, and Eva Van Der Cruysse from Belgium, two of the eight residents of this shared-kitchen seven-room apartment. “It's pretty much like this every Saturday,” Eva Van Der Cruysse says, while taking a sip of her 'morning' tea. “A lot of people go to Paceville Friday night, and those that don't often stay and play 'beer pong', or some other drinking game.” When I ask about studying, Eva quickly replies “Well, people do study! But you also need to go out and have fun, and be social when you have this opportunity. This is a once in a lifetime experience,” she adds.
Sitting at the kitchen table, Manuela Aronofsky is working on a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle that covers most of the table's surface. “It's this '105 thing'. It's the fourth puzzle we've done in two months,” she says, as she tries to piece together the ear of a lion cub. “I think most flats have their own little projects. We're like little families,” she continues. “We make dinner together, go hiking, or shopping, or stuff like that.”

The familial feeling is also beginning to emerge in the courtyard, as more people start to wake up from their party-induced comas. A couple of girls, still wearing pyjamas and last night's make-up, are standing in the sunlight eating cereal and toast, while other small groups are smoking their first cigarettes of the day, discussing last night's antics, and sharing the latest gossip.

“There's a lot of gossip here,” Eva says. “We're like two-hundred people in this tiny tiny place, so it's basically impossible to keep anything a secret for more than two days!”.
“Yeah, it can be really annoying,” Manuela adds. “But amazingly you never actually see anyone fight. It's like you just learn to accept that that's the way it is.”

Being so many people together in such a small place, however, also leads to more positive things than gossip. “You learn here that love really knows no borders,” Eva says, while Manuela takes over: “It is pretty amazing. You see couples here that you never believed would have worked,” she
continues. “I mean, some couples can't even really talk with each other. But it seems to work out
anyway.”

In the courtyard the noise level is slowly starting to rise. A few brave souls are already playing beerpong on the plastic tables outside the small Residence bar and mini market, while others have brought their laptops outside to work on assignments, or upload last night's photos to Facebook. I ask Eva and Manuela what they think they're going to remember from this stay when they return home: “Well, I did come here to study, of course,” Eva replies. “But I think what I will remember the most are all the people I've met here – all the friends I've made – and everything that we've experienced together,” she adds. Manuela agrees: “I've met so many amazing people here from all over the world, and it's going to be really hard to leave them all again” she continues. “But I mean, you just have to enjoy it while it lasts, because this whole thing is something I know I'll never experience again.”

Written by:

Niels Skafte-Pedersen.

Basic Reporting Assignmnet