The Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy, Bill Grant and his wife Mary, invite First to their home in Valletta.

One of the best places to appreciate the view of Malta’s Grand Harbour is St Barbara Bastions in Valletta. Most people agree that the view is one of the most striking in the world and it is said that the houses and apartments there can easily fetch prices running into seven figures. Imagine living in a home in one corner of this area with views extending from Marsa, to the three cities and out to the open Mediterranean. That is the view enjoyed by Bill Grant, the American Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy, and his wife Mary, an accomplished photographer, at the home they are leasing during their assignment in Malta.

It is difficult to describe the layout of this home because it consists of two, or one could say three apartments, joined together by a wide staircase. Everything is whitewashed a brilliant white except the lusciously honey coloured flagstones and the old hand made patterned tiles. I ask Bill for their favourite part of this home and he says: “No question...the terrace with the view of the Grand Harbour. When Mary saw the view of Fort St Angelo at night and the Three Cities, her reaction was, ‘How can we live anywhere else?’ And we enjoy living in

il-Belt and being able to walk for shopping or to go out. We love Maltese bread and often buy it still warm from a lady named Rita, in her small bakery a few blocks from here. In most parts of America, it would be hard to buy warm, fresh-baked bread every day.”

I ask Bill about his life as a diplomat. He tells me that there is an exam for those seeking to enter the US foreign service. When he passed it years ago, he had a tough decision to take: “We had a young child and were not certain we wanted to leave home and our families for the life of an expatriate.

“But it has worked out very well.” He has been in diplomatic service for 22 years and his experiences are quite varied. “I have served in Poland, Argentina, Rome, Iraq and now Malta. I was also posted in New York at our mission to the United Nations and in Washington DC several times. Some diplomats specialize in one region; I have enjoyed the variety of being in different cultures. The issues have varied too, which has made it interesting.

“We’ve had the good fortune to meet some amazing people. While posted to Poland, our parish priest in Krakow helped arrange for us to meet Pope John Paul II in Rome. We met people from the Solidarity trade unions who championed Poland’s cause against their Communist government. I’ve met with Kofi Annan while working on UN matters and worked on trips by the first President Bush and President Clinton. Last summer, we got to meet Steven Spielberg when he filmed here in Malta and watch him film a scene for the movie Munich down near the Grand Harbour waterfront.”

When he mentions Iraq I prick up my ears and Mary tells me that even though he was there only six months it seemed like years. “I was a news photo editor at the time and worried when I would see photos of explosions or attacks coming in!” Bill quickly notes that he was in the North of the country, away from the most dangerous areas.

“I was assigned to Sulaimaniya, a major city in the Kurdish region. One day the head of the local government took me on a hike in the mountains outside the city, to see where the Kurds had to escape when they were attacked by Saddam Hussein in the 1980s. He showed me places where they had lived and worked in the wild and told stories about people I knew, like the woman who worked in our office who escaped with her family, or another man I knew who had lost his infant son in a poison gas attack. It really brought home to me how the Kurds had suffered under Saddam.”

One often pictures diplomats as people of no fixed abode, almost nomads, but Bill tells me that this constant wandering has strengthened his family. “We actually found that it made us closer as a family because we were in new living situations so often, had to support each other and be each other’s friends. The whole experience has been great for our two kids – they have lived and attended international schools in Poland, Argentina and Italy. Our son, Chris, who is 23, now works in Washington and our daughter Lindsay, who is 20, is spending this term at the University of Malta. They have had much more interaction with non-Americans and other cultures than I had at their age.”

What about Mary? How has it all affected her life? She tells me that throughout their travels she has freelanced as a photographer for American Embassies overseas, as well as other international organisations and schools. In the US, she was employed as photo editor for the Catholic News Service in Washington, worked for local newspapers and free-lanced for The New York Times. She goes on to tell me about some of the highlights in her work. “In Poland, I had the opportunity to photograph John Paul II when he visited his homeland in 1987. Later I edited photographs for several stories on the Pope.” Other names of persons she has photographed roll out: Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush (the senior Bush), Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton. The list doesn’t stop and she goes on, oblivious to my widening eyes: “Glen Close, Richard Dreyfuss, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Mel Gibson…”

She has also photographed Silvio Berlusconi. “But that was before he became prime minister,” she adds.

The Grants are a lovely couple and extremely friendly: within minutes I am on first name basis with both of them and Mary is offering me some home made cake to go with my coffee. When I ask about the American mentality, Bill says: “Americans tend to express our thoughts directly and frankly, to a greater extent than most other nationalities, I think. Our attitude is ‘Why waste time trying to figure out what I am trying to say to you?’ Some find that refreshing, but others think of us as too blunt. Another difference: we are more casual compared to Europeans and others. Mary and I prefer to have parties where people come dressed comfortably rather than formal diplomatic affairs. You need to entertain in all ways, of course, and the key is making people feel relaxed and welcome.

“As for the Maltese, I think they are pretty direct with each other, but I sense that some people hold back when they are talking with diplomats or other foreigners, at least until they know you well. However the coach at my running club seems to have no problem telling me I should be training more! “

I find that time flies with the Grants. Before I leave I ask Bill about his vision of the association between the US and Malta. “The relationship is very strong. The US opened an embassy in 1964, when Malta achieved independence. Now we are working closely together on very modern problems that affect the international community, such as worldwide trafficking in weapons. We have a very successful programme of cooperation here that has helped the Malta Customs Department upgrade its ability to control what cargo passes through Malta, particularly at the Freeport. We are also working with Civil Protection and the Armed Forces.

“As a member of the European Union, Malta is more important to us because the EU and US are active partners in efforts to tackle issues like promoting democracy, combating terrorism or working toward peace in the Middle East. I think US–Malta cooperation on all these fronts will continue to expand. There is a good understanding on the part of all the leaders we talk to, from different political parties, about where Malta and the US need to cooperate on new challenges.”