Where do I begin. I’ve now been in Ibiza for ten days and so much has happened I’m struggling to know where to start! I have to say that so far my experience has been very Spanish; slow progress and unexpected changes.
First impressions? Having been to the island two months before, I thought had a pretty good idea about what to expect when arriving. However, after being dropped in the center of the town late at night and dragging my heavy suitcases along the port I was greeted by a truly Ibizan scene. The town was alive with loud bars and bright lights, the streets full of tourists drinking and enjoying themselves. It came as a bit of a shock after stepping off a plane. Dad and I eventually found somewhere to eat and watched the on-goings of the busy town. By midnight, parties were starting and parades of people in eccentric outfits walked through the streets advertising the various club nights. Some girls wore barely anything, others were in fancy dress- it was quite a sight! I was pretty taken aback, was this really where I was going to be spending my year abroad?!
During our first few days on the island, our main mission was to solve the problematic commute that I faced to my assigned school Buscastell. We took a bus to San Antonio (the town it’s closest to) to see whether living there was an option. I know I shouldn’t judge on first impressions but I must admit that I was pretty put off by what I saw. The town was overflowing with topless, tatooed Brits parading down the promenade and generally just being embarrassing. Cheaper than Ibiza town, San Antonio is a magnet for young English looking for a party holiday. The bay itself was beautiful but the tourists did not give the place a nice atmosphere.
You could also tell the town was entirely based on tourism. (Well, the whole island is but this was the most extreme) We failed to find a genuine center as instead there were rows upon rows of hotels and bars that stretched miles down the beach. It was full of life in the summer but clearly a ghost town in the winter as job opportunities disappear for natives. After then deciding that living here wasn’t ideal, we deliberated over ways to get to the isolated school from Ibiza, on the other side of the island.
First, we rented a scooter. This was good fun as driving a moped is the perfect way to get around the island and, after some map reading, it only took us about twenty minutes to reach the school. I had a go riding it on some of the inland roads and did pretty well, mostly because there was no traffic around! Buscastell is a tiny place, only 35 students, and made up of one small building plus a playing ground next to the road. It really was in the middle of nowhere. (I mean, there was nothing, apart from the café next door, for a good 5km.) Here I met the headteacher Ana, who lived next to the school. She was sweet and showed me round the (two) classrooms and gave me my timetable. I was quite taken aback by the size of the place but knew both students and teachers would be very welcoming.
We also hired bikes to see how manageable the route would be from both San Antonio and San Rafael (where the bus stopped.) The routes were actually easier than I thought and it was lovely to soak up the sounds and smells of the hills while biking. The bus and bike combination was definitely possible while I got my scooter license. However, we knew this was going to take a while because of the slow process to get a national foreign number, NIE– essential for everything
Here comes the twist. After days working on ways to get to and from Buscastell, I got an email from the Balearic government saying that they had changed my school!! I couldn’t believe it. After all that effort! I had now been assigned a school called Can Raspalls in the town of Sant Jordi, next to Ibiza. The plus was that the commute from was now not a problem but I still couldn’t get my head around it. And spending weeks mentally preparing myself for one place, things turned completely upside down. Such a last minute and unexpected change would only happen in Spain!
So after four days trying to make progress in setting myself up, I now had a totally different situation. A new school in a new place. I have now visited the school, which is a lot bigger than the other one, but also very welcoming. Despite having to completely rethink things, (don’t get me started on what it meant regarding paperwork) I think the change was a blessing in disguise. With the worry of the commute off my chest, I could now go ahead and start looking for accommodation in Ibiza town. (Part two coming up)
I’ve certainly had an eventful start to my year on the island! As they say, life is full of surprises…
La Buena Vida 