Three weeks after hearing that Ibiza was my year abroad destination, I’ve packed my bags and I’m ready to go!
The whole thing is still totally unbelievable, but apparently this is it… Perhaps it’ll hit me later on on the plane but right now I really don’t know what to think!
After finding out that I was going to spend a year on the island, a number of questions arose, the big one (besides finding somewhere to live) being how to get around. When applying with British Council, I hoped, perhaps optimistically, that I could live near the school I was working at and the commute would not be difficult (with public transport, etc.)
However, after speaking to the assistant from last year, it turns out that my school is pretty much in the middle of nowhere (about 6km from the nearest big town.) This became an issue because, embarrassingly, at the age of 21 I still haven’t learnt to drive. (If you visit Holland you’ll understand why it’s not necessary) She also told me, understandably, that public transport is not one of Ibiza’s strong points and most rely on cars to get around.
So the beat solution was to learn to drive…. a scooter! It seemed like the ideal way to get to the school and allow me to freely explore the island. With this decided, I was immediately booked in to a theory test to get an AM license. Sound straight forward? I spent the next week cramming for the exam and trying my best to learn road rules in Dutch which was almost impossible (Dutch driving vocab is something else) Even so, after lots of stress by some miracle I managed to pass! Don’t ask me how I did it, seriously. This meant that I was now allowed to do practical lessons and the next day I had a three hour session with a driving instructor scootering around The Hague!
I can now understand the appeal of having one. Once I got my confidence up, it was pretty exhilarating although also terrifying driving 45km/h amongst traffic. Suddenly I had to be 100% aware of everything on the road, from upcoming traffic signals to the cars, buses, trams
and bikes around me. Concentrating so hard was exhausting!
Despite having my theory in the bag and getting a good feel of a bike, unfortunately I haven’t had enough time to do my practical test. This means I will have to start from the beginning and do both my theory and practical when I get to Ibiza. (Hopefully Spanish road signs will be easier to understand than the Dutch!)
This will undoubtably take time as I must first be a Spanish resident before I can get my license. Help.
In the meantime, I need to think of alternatives for getting around the place. Here are the feasible options:
(A) kit up in Lycra, buy a bike and speed cycle my way around?
(B) rely on public buses and hitching lifts from teachers?
(C) arrange a fixed rate with a taxi company to and from the school?
(D) an electric bike…?
This is a relatively new idea which I initially dismissed but perhaps that extra push will be what I need to overcome the hilly inland.
As you can tell, I haven’t quite solved this one. Looks like I will just have to wait until I get there and see what the best option is.Who would’ve thought I would be finding the best way to get myself around Ibiza?! You never know what a year abroad will throw at you….
La Buena Vida 