Last week, I was told that the following Friday would be an ‘excursion’ day. This would involve each year group being taken out to spend the day somewhere outside of school. With no fuss over forms or permission slips, all the children would participate and I was asked if I would like to join. It was a casual invitation, nothing was signed and no one needed to be informed. As I’m not technically a teacher and counted as a volunteer, I could choose which group I wanted to go with.
After finding out that the year 5s and 6s went for a coastal walk (as opposed to the younger years going to a park), I decided to go along with them. Unsurprisingly, the day was very relaxed. I was told that the buses left at nine but it was almost half past by the time we set off. No register was called, the students were simply counted to make sure everyone was there. During the bus ride, there was the usual excitement and the students broke in to a chant, reminding me how much I loved trips during my school years. We arrived at Cala Bassa and it was a beautiful hot morning despite being the end of October. I could not believe the setting for a school walk. We walked up the headland for around half an hour until we got to one of Ibiza’s famous torres (towers) where it was already time for a break.
With England’s pedantic health and safety, there is always a long list of rules lectured to the students during a day out. The famous one is that no one is allowed to bring any nuts to snack on in case of allergies. In Ibiza? Once sat in the shade, every single student pulled out their own bag of nuts! Walnuts, peanuts, cashews, they had it all! People had brought so many that they were offering them round, and I ended up being given handfuls. I was taught how to break open a walnut shell and eat pipas. (sunflower seeds) I had never seen so many nuts! It was a bit of a shock as (a) English schools would’ve prohibited it completely and (b) English school children would never chose to eat nuts as a morning snack; most can’t stand them!
[NB: I have now been told that the reason for the nut craze was because the walk was on the day of Todos los Santos when it’s traditional to eat frutos secos, particularly nuts. This wasn’t actually a normal snack time!]
After no more nuts could be eaten, we got up and continued the walk. It was only another half an hour to the end point, Cala Conta, where the buses were meeting us at 1pm. All in all a very short excursión. The children then had over an hour to play on the beach; some starting a football game and others wading in the crystal clear water. One teacher showed me a special fossilized snail that got washed up on the beach. They were small stone like objects called Ojos de Santa Lucia, (as they resembled eyes) and were used to make jewellery. Apparently they could only be found in this particular bay.
After returning home, it suddenly struck me how different my childhood was compared to that of Ibicencos. When I was in primary school, we went on outings to the zoo, to cities and natural history museums. In Ibiza, the students of Can Raspalls have the islands beautiful nature to enjoy but not much else. Any other visits would involve going to mainland Spain which simply isn’t an option. I’ve realised how lucky I have been to have had such an upbringing and what privileges I took for granted. Yes Ibiza is also a lovely place to grow up, offering a safe and warm environment away from polluted cities, but this trip highlighted how small your world can be when you live on an island.
La Buena Vida 