If you live in a small country like Malta, you might be saying "Malta is so small, I know it from head to toe’. At first glance, this statement seems quite legit but let’s be realistic, being a tourist in Malta is much more than admiring Valletta’s history or Sliema’s and St.Julians’ metropolitan vibes. Therefore, I have decided to list 3 places in Malta which I believe are underappreciated, mainly because of their lack of accessibility or their lack of central location.

1)   Red Tower  (aka St. Agatha’s Tower) in Mellieħa

Probably your only memory of this place is in your early education studies on Malta’s history. However, visiting this tower, which was restored by Din L-Art Ħelwa, is much more exciting than that since visitors are able to appreciate breath-taking views of Għadira Bay, the Nature Reserve, and the straits to Comino and Gozo, amongst others.

In a nutshell, this tower’s history goes back to 1647-1648 and was thus built during the reign of Grand Master Lascaris (remember this guy?). Its aim was to act as a watchtower in order to protect travellers and merchants who sailed to and from Gozo, since attacks from the Turks and Corsairs were common during these days. Finally, you might be wondering…but why was it painted red? In reality and unfortunately, it is actually not clear when or why the tower was first painted red.

2)   Għar Lapsi (in English: Ascension Cave) in SiÄ¡Ä¡iewi

This is one of those places which, personally, gives me a trip down memory lane, since I have spent several summer afternoons there considering its proximity to my hometown. Whether you are a keen diver, a rock climber or even if you are simply a person who enjoys visiting unconventional swimming locations in Malta, this serene rocky inlet in the South-West of Malta is the place for you.

One of the reasons why I believe it lacks popularity is because it is shadowed by one of Malta’s picturesque tourist attractions; Blue Grotto. However, similar to the latter, Għar Lapsi boasts spectacular cliffs, caves, clear waters and a wonderful underwater life. One can even see the small uninhabited islet, Filfla, from here. (The far-away rock in the centre of the above picture)

3)   Wied  il-Għasri (in English: Għasri Valley) in Għasri

For my last destination, I have chosen one in the tranquil island of Gozo and once again, it involves sea – expected since it is a characteristic of Malta. The beauty of this place lies in the way the cliffs meet the crystal clear waters, in a very narrow and winding way. The numerous pebbles scattered around the area give the place a more unique feel. This isolated natural wonder is popular with hikers, divers and for those looking for their perfect quiet place.

Happy sightseeing and take loads of photos!

The post Secluded Places in Malta which are Worth Visiting appeared first on The Third Eye.

So, here are 15 facts which basically prove that mornings are simply not your cup of tea.

1.   The  warmth and the divinity of your bed make you consider such thoughts as marrying your bed #tooearlytobereasonable

2.   Setting  up at least 5 alarms the night before, just because you simply don’t trust yourself

3.   Knowing  you don’t need to set an alarm for the following morning is the BEST feeling

4.   Hearing  someone else getting ready for work in the morning, whilst knowing you still got 2 hours to go is a wonderful feeling (and a bit selfish)

5.   Caring  about the way you look is barely taken into account; cosiness and comfort are all you’re aiming for

6.   You  definitely know how torturous it feels having to put on jeans in the morning (as if getting out of your PJs wasn’t bad enough)

7.   Attempting  to put on eyeliner in the morning and achieving that winged effect is close to impossible

8.   As  much as you adore food, breakfast in the morning feels more like a sacrifice but you still take it because, you know, it’s "the most important meal of the day’

9.   And  what is worse than having to wash your teeth right after breakfast as otherwise you’ll risk being late?

10.   But…the bright side of breakfast is tea/coffee, which makes life a bit easier

11.   You  know how awful it feels when you realise that the energy and bravery you put into getting yourself out of the bed was all in vain…because there’s still someone occupying the bathroom!

12.   Being  absolutely not in the mood for talking (especially with that stranger on the bus) and this lack of enthusiasm to socialise basically ruins your whole afternoon

13.   Waking  up before 11 a.m. is considered early and if you actually manage to do so, it’s an accomplishment

14.   Not  comprehending how someone could wake up at 5 a.m. to exercise #respect

15.   And  a fact which we can all relate to…8 a.m. lectures: why do you even exist?

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However, moving on from this pessimistic view of “the most wonderful time of the year”, one thing that has always managed to get me excited for Christmas is watching all those heart-warming Christmas adverts.

Therefore, I decided to compile a short list of the adverts which fascinated me in recent years.

First, going back to 2013, WestJet, a Canadian airline company rewarded 250 passengers with an unexpected Christmas "miracle’. The narrator’s voice, which opens the video, is so engaging that it gives you the feeling that spending the next five minutes of your life watching this commercial will be totally worth it.

What makes this slot striking is the fact that there is no acting involved.  Just an enormous amount of planning, teamwork and dedication. Thus, we get to witness the passengers’ euphoric reactions as they are handed the gift of their dreams on arriving at their destination. It is so fascinating watching WestJet’s employees rushing around shops like crazy bargain enthusiasts, solely with the goal of putting a smile on someone’s face. Truly an unselfish move. In addition, this initiative perfectly explains the reasoning why giving gifts is much more rewarding than receiving them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIEIvi2MuEk

Secondly, Christmas 2014 brought with it an extremely emotional TV advert by Sainsbury’s which made our jaws drop with its ingenuity. The re-enactment of the truce between British and German soldiers during World War I reminded viewers of those who gave up their lives serving their country. What shocks me most is the realisation that there is no such thing as “enemies”.

And what about all the emotions involved? They are profoundly real — Jim’s determination to make peace, the soldiers’ incredulity and their absolute joy at the reconciliation. It is only the shrieking sound of the bombs, at the end, that forces us back to the sad reality.  

The commercial points to one major question: What was the point of the truce, if, after all, they went back to killing each other?

Finally, as if the advert was not already intense enough, the discovery of the chocolate bar in Otto’s coat rekindles a warm feeling as it reminds us that hatred can be won over by love.

The slot unwrapped the ingenuity behind Sainsbury’s thinking which ultimately was to sell more chocolates and other food items during Christmas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWF2JBb1bvM

Thirdly, I could not end this piece without including what is the most popular Christmas 2015 commercial I have seen so far , by the German company Edeka. As simple as its message may sound — “Time to come home” — this advert appealed to people because of the human interest it portrays.

Watching an old man eating alone on Christmas day pulls at heart strings.  Hearts skip when his children get to know of his death. However, we later learn that this sad news is not real.   The old man had played a trick on his children fooling them that he had passed away.

These busy children regularly coming up with excuses not to visit their dad on this festive day got their chance to see their father again but we will not always be so lucky.

The slot urges us to stop for a moment and reflect on how we unconsciously allowed our fast routines to take over our life. So, this Christmas spare some time to visit not only your closest relatives but also those who will be spending the holidays on their own. Remember that what you consider a little thing might mean the world for others.

The post Recreating the Magic of Christmas appeared first on The Third Eye.

Apart from his career as a singer, Fr Rob Galea is actually an ordained Catholic Priest serving in Shepparton, Australia, after having moved there in 2007 from Malta. What is highly admirable about Galea is his ability to show people the importance of forming a bond with God. In fact, he always stresses that his main priority in life is not that of being a musician but a follower of Christ. Furthermore, in his X-factor audition he talked about how music was a great instrument for healing in his life considering he had experienced some dark moments in his youth. He continued that music was “a way for [him] to express the inexpressible.”

Galea’s schedule is clearly a busy one, as whenever he is not in his parish, he is either serving as a chaplain at Shepparton's Notre Dame Secondary College or visiting hospitals and retirement homes. In addition, he was also responsible for founding the “Stronger Youth Program”, together with late Bishop Joe Grech. Proof of his busy routine is the fact that he was invited to perform on the US version of “The Voice”, but he had to say no.

That is not all.  Paradoxically, despite being a priest, he is still getting a glimpse of the life of a pop-star. Following the success of his albums, which have sold tens of thousands, he has toured the world and played to packed arenas. Being mobbed by fans from all around the world is not an overstatement either, and his worldwide fame is clearly shown in his 38,000 followers on Facebook. To top it off, in 2008, he was also chosen to perform during World Youth Day in Sydney in front of 500,000 people, amongst these was none other than – Pope Benedict XVI.                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
One last thing…if after getting to know Fr Rob Galea a little bit more, you already feel like watching him perform live, he will actually return back on the rock in 2 weeks’ time, on the 2^nd and 3^rd October, performing in Nadur and San Lawrenz, Gozo. Also, he will be releasing a new single this weekend, “Get Up Again”, so keep an eye out!

The post The Priest with the Voice of an Angel appeared first on The Third Eye.

Other positions are now officially occupied by Nicholas Triganza as the Secretary General, Roberta DeBono as the Treasurer and Gianluca Busuttil as the Public Relations Officer.  In addition, Roderick Baldacchino and Johann Camilleri are also holding the roles of International, National and Diocese Coordinator and Projects and Resources Coordinator respectively.

The principal objective of MKSU is to propagate Christian values around campus with the hope that faith, justice and peace will continue to be considered as priorities amongst University students. Moreover, the movement strives to enhance the unity between different religious organisations in order to work hand in hand as a single church, as the Christian religion encourages. MKSU is open for all students who wish to feel part of a catholic organisation but have not yet had the opportunity to do so.

When contacted by The Third Eye, the newly elected President of MKSU said that, “Today it is not the number but the quality that counts. Youths tend to decrease their activism within the church and its institutions and in fact, one is unlikely to find young people involved in church organisations.” He went on to explain that this is a reciprocal process; since the Church is continuously attempting to improve its approach towards youth, young people should in return stop criticising the church for being old-fashioned and instead help the Church achieve the well-needed change.

Finally, he concluded that, “I am aware of such controversies and hence, I encourage all those, who for one reason or another don’t speak up, to participate. My prospective ideas for this year’s executive is to raise awareness that the Church is inclusive and should take an important role in our life.”

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This initiative, which may initially sound absurd, is actually organised so that for every picture taken and tagged with "?#withoutshoes’, Toms will donate a new pair of their signature slip-on shoes to children in need. This generous activity is open for 16 days — from May 5th until May 21st- and it strives to raise awareness of children’s health and education. Incredibly enough, the Internet never ceases to amaze us, as on the first day of the initiative, the hashtag had more than 14,000 posts.

Another interesting fact is that apart from this, when Toms sells a pair of eyewear, part of the profit is actually aimed towards safeguarding the eyesight of people in developing countries.

All in all, I encourage all you readers to grab your phones and take that picture which will result in a smile on child’s face (and well, the possibility of gaining new followers on Instagram). So, what are you waiting for?

The post Set Foot on the Path of Generosity appeared first on The Third Eye.

The idea behind it is that it celebrates good over evil as well as the arrival of the beloved season of spring. The festival, which also aims to forgive and repair relationships, takes place all over India, including Mumbai, Delhi and Bengal. It commences with a Holika bonfire on the night before where people gather to sing and dance. If you are lucky enough to be part of the celebration, expect people hurling brightly coloured powders and water at one another and the best thing about it is that it is totally fair since everyone is regarded as equal regardless of gender, caste, class or age. The atmosphere is made even more ecstatic by the fact that groups of people play drums and other musical instruments along the streets, parks and outside temples.

This vibrant festival originated from the rich mythology of Hindu. Legend says that Holika was a female demon and the sister of a demon king who considered himself as more superior than all gods. The king disdained his son, Prahalad, who faithfully worshipped the god Vishnu. It got to the point where the king was urged to murder his son but he was not successful at this as his son survived being thrown over a cliff. Thus, the king asked his sister, who was magically immune to fire, to commit the deed. She sat in the middle of a fire with the boy in her lap. Since she was using her gift for an evil deed, she ended up burnt to ashes unlike the boy who was, once again, saved by Vishnu.

All in all, I wish that, someday, instead of simply writing about it and being envious of all the people who post pictures of the festival on Instagram, I, myself, would be part of this exciting festival. I would not mind visiting the breath-taking Taj Mahal, riding an elephant and trying out some exotic Indian food either while I am there!

The post The Colours Of Love | The Holi Festival 2015 appeared first on The Third Eye.

This time, artists came together to support 2014’s highlight which is nonetheless, the outbreak of Ebola which has killed more than 5,000 people, almost all in West Africa. In fact the video starts with a scene of an Ebola victim being carried out of a room by a couple of doctors, to portray the reality of this deadly virus.

This year’s organiser is Sir Bob Geldof himself who said “I explained the situation in West Africa, I explained what the UN were saying, explained what we could do, and just geed them up.”  Furthermore, according to Geldof this new recording, in which some lyrics have been rewritten, is “a little bit of pop history”.

Despite the artists’ busy schedules, all of them came together to produce the track only within 36 hours, giving their time and services for free. Amongst the artists who participated, there were Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, One Direction, Ellie Goulding as well as all time favourites such as Bono from U2 , Sinead O’Connor and Queen’s drummer Roger Taylor.

All in all, this is what Christmas is all about- coming together to promote the values of charity, solidarity and love.

For further information, one can visit Band Aid’s official: www.bandaid30.com

The post Throwback to 1984 | The Remake of Band Aid’s “Do they know it’s Christmas?” appeared first on The Third Eye.

Primarily, everywhere you look, greenery dominates. In fact, despite Denmark’s large area, the population is only 5.5 million. However, like every other capital city, Copenhagen can be said to be quite densely populated considering its 1.2 million inhabitants. Furthermore, it is not just an environmentally friendly country; a healthy lifestyle is also their priority. Needless to say, you would not find any of the uncountable kiosks selling pastizzi and other fatty food like we have in Malta, in every corner of each town. Instead, the supermarkets are filled with organic food…I even had the chance to try an organic cocktail in a bar (crazy right?!)

Secondly, health goes hand in hand with sports. The mentality there is that if you do not play sports, you are the odd one out; you can therefore imagine how seriously they take their sports. Something that will absolutely catch your eye if you ever visit Denmark is the huge number of cyclists roaming around each town or city. Citizens use their bicycles like we use our cars. There is not a single road that does not tolerate bicycle riders and funnily enough, there were a few occasions where I was about to get knocked down by a bike. In terms of practising sports, the national sport in Denmark is football. Legend says that football actually originated in Denmark during the medieval times when the head of some Danish brigand was used as a ball. As you can see, the old form of football used to allow many ill practices like kicking, punching and biting. Coming to think of it, some things never change… Remember Suarez biting Chiellini? Ouch. Other sports include handball, sailing, badminton, ice hockey and swimming. Proof of their passion for sports is the number of local sports clubs in all cities and most towns.

Thirdly, before visiting Denmark, make sure that you are aware of the fact that considering their incredibly high salaries, the prices are simultaneously high. How do you feel about a 6 Euro can of beer? Obviously, my intention is not to generalize, because not everywhere is the same. In contrast, the sales are actually very satisfactory especially in the affordable shops of Strøget Street. Yes, you guessed it, that is like London’s Oxford Street (but slightly more expensive). Whilst strolling around this street I confirmed another observation — that the Danes mind their own business ONLY (if only this happened in Malta!). The reason behind this is that I actually spotted Hollywood actress Julianne Moore and, weirdly enough, it seemed as if I was the only one who was star-struck.

Additionally, some believe that the Danes’ alleged happiness is all due to the fact that they are capable of creating a good balance between work and leisure. The citizens enjoy flexible working conditions including working from home and numerous childcare centres. Denmark is a country filled with places to visit to just forget your everyday routine. For instance, while I was there I was lucky enough to spend almost a week in a summer house, literally in the middle of nowhere, right next to an astonishing beach which leads to the North Sea. Moreover, it is incredibly easy to visit Sweden even if it is just for one day. All you need to do is catch a train from Copenhagen straight to the beautiful city of Malmo. On the other hand, if you are the type of person who enjoys camping whilst getting immersed into some great music, Roskilde festival is the place for you. This year’s line-up included the Arctic Monkeys, Bastille, Icona Pop as well as the legend himself – Mick Jagger. If you just feel like going absolutely crazy at an amusement park, I suggest Tivoli in the heart of Copenhagen or Bakken in Klampenborg.

All in all, I hope that after going through this article, you have just been urged to Google “flight tickets to Denmark” because I believe that visiting Denmark would surely not disappoint! I mean they call it “The world’s happiest nation” for a reason, right?

The post Denmark – The World’s Happiest Nation appeared first on The Third Eye.

Primarily, in my opinion, the major benefit of having a twin sister (in my case) is nonetheless the fact that you are guaranteed a best friend who will always remain by your side. In fact, recently, an elderly man on the bus stop spontaneously commented about this fact and I have to say, he made me aware of how lucky I am to have her and that I should appreciate her presence even more. I believe that we are the definition of soul mates and that our extreme bond has the ability to last a lifetime. Consequently, many people are impressed that, apart from the fact that we are practically each other’s clones, we actually have a common taste in everything. And yes, just in case you are wondering: we have been in the same class since kindergarten and now that we are in our second year at Junior College, we have the same subjects but only have two classes together (at least). However, having said that, I hope that I did not give you the impression that we have the same subjects as we influenced or pressured each other in some way or another, because I can assure you that that is not the case.

Secondly, which girl would complain about having an alternative wardrobe (as I like to call it) whenever there is some kind of fashion emergency? Well surely not me. Even though this factor is our main area of dispute, thankfully we manage to reach some kind of compromise every time. In addition, we have the opportunity to share reading books, certain beauty products and borrow each other’s notes. However, sharing the same room, the same laptop and, well, the same birthday is not so pleasant at all. I believe that the latter is one of the reasons why most twins feel that they lack individuality and honestly, what annoys me most is when people refer to us as one person, even if most of the time they don’t mean to be offensive. Moreover, something that makes me giggle every time is when people wonder whether we are actually telepathic. I have to admit, having the same thoughts, replying the same answers and asking the same questions is part and parcel of being a twin, however, it is highly unlikely that whenever one is in pain, the other is as well. My advice is to stop watching too much television as this can only lead to one thing – enhancing stereotypes and believing stupidity.

Thirdly, being a twin means that you can fool people any time of the day, any day of the year and not just on April’s fools. For instance, have you ever wished that you had a twin so that they can replace you for a date that you are so not looking forward to, or for a Systems of Knowledge lesson or maybe for a dreadful Saturday night shift? Well, this can be possible, only under one condition- you MUST give something extraordinary in return. In my sister’s case, giving her a plane ticket to Paris could work. Furthermore, in these past two summers we have worked at the same restaurant… and you can imagine how this turned out. Our most common faux pas is when both of us obliviously, ask the same customers if they are ready to order. Needless to say, some of them get very enraged and even after giving them the true reason; the majority of them do not believe you immediately. However speaking from experience, most customers are nice enough, therefore, they joke about it, after having experienced one of the most uncomfortable situations they can possibly think of. When we get lucky, this can even generate more tips as getting served by twins is a novelty idea.

All in all, I hope that I helped you understand twins better and that I gave you an accurate reflection of my life as a twin. However, I think that it is now time to reveal the whole purpose behind this article. The worst case scenario of being a twin is seeing your sister receiving a rose on Valentine’s Day while you don’t. So please, guys, make it a point to avoid this at all costs because trust me, twins have feelings too.

(Actually, to be fair, a cupcake would do as well.)

The post What It’s Like to be a Twin appeared first on The Third Eye.