Slipping my headphones on at work, I started up the chocolate grinder and pushed play on my phone app.  The words in my ears were unfamiliar.  The sounds of the letters together were difficult for my tongue to turn over.  I grated the chocolate speaking the words out loud over and over again. I was determined to learn something of the language.  10 words was my goal.  Polite words that I could use when asking for directions or ordering a coffee. My coworkers understood and let me ramble as I practiced these "essential" phrases over and over again.  I practiced them as I vacuumed the house and scrubbed toilets.  My brain felt like mush.  It was hard to retain what I had learned.  How could these simple phrases take so long to remember.  I really didn't need to learn these words since they spoke English and it was an official language used by everyone. However, for some reason I was drawn to learning and using this older language of the people.  It is made up of a conglomeration of languages, Arabic, Aramaic, Italian, and a few others.  The letters are 26 but in reality, there are 30.  I struggled to remember them but a few stuck, thank you very much was one of them; Grazzi ħafna. Our first morning, we took a tour and then climbed a lookout tower.  The sign in the tower asked for a small donation and as we slipped a few coins into the box, I used my Maltese phrase "Grazzi ħafna".  The attendant looked up from his reading as I walked out the door and asked if I was Maltese?  Laughingly I said no, encouraged I tried it again and again over the course of two weeks. I added new words to my small but growing vocabulary each time I talked to someone from the island. What I learned was not so much the vocabulary but how it opened doors to conversations.  Each time I was asked, why do you know Maltese? It was a surprise to them and encouraged them to talk about their language and their lives. Each time they wanted me to learn another expression, sometimes it took, sometimes it didn't but it was always fun to try. Then there was the fact that they had different English sayings. Some of the expressions in English that was used were "Let me tell you," and "Do you understand what I am saying".  Sometimes they interspersed their English words with Maltese words that may have been Italian in origin such as "Allura" meaning naturally or then. When we crossed to Gozo we learned that their dialect was different from Maltese.  Words that I had learned in Malta now had a different pronunciation in Gozo thought they are only 15 miles apart.  With a smile, I was still encouraged to try out words there and they corrected my pronunciation and sought to teach me even more words. My hope is that though I may never be back to Malta, I can retain a bit of what I have learned, that key phrases open doors to practicing which encourages conversations.