So in the 2nd year of high school in Denmark, everyone takes a study trip to some foreign and exotic land. My class had the opportunity to go on our studietur to Mallorca, which was such an amazing opportunity.
We woke up early Saturday morning and flew down. After a very exhausting and long uphill walk to our hotel, everyone was quick to hop into their swimsuits and jump into the pool, despite the fact that it was only around 13 Celsius or 55 Fahrenheit outside ;). After that, we walked around and got to know the town we were staying in. Palma de Mallorca has the most beautiful cathedral, so that was really nice to see.
Then on Sunday we got up and went on a 30 km mountain biking trip, which was actually so amazing. Since my class's line is p.e., our studietur was very adventury athleticy themed, which I was a little worried about at the start, since I'm not that athletic, but I'm actually so, so thankful that we did that instead of just going to museums or something. The mountain biking trip took us all around the city and down the beach, and it was just really nice to see the city from a different perspective.
On Monday we went off into the island to go to this tourist adventure park thing. We split into two groups, and our group went and shot archery and BB guns. Then for the 2nd half of the day we went for a hike thing up to go rock climbing, where we went on all these tight ropes and stuff to get there. Then we went rock climbing on the mountain, which was super cool, and then zip lined back down to the bottom. I'd have to say Monday was definitely my favorite day. The weather had also started to warm up and it was around 18 Celsius or 65 Fahrenheit and sunny, so that was super super nice. I even got a little sunburned before coming home to snowy Denmark!
On Tuesday we went off into the island again to go hiking and look at flowers, which was super beautiful. It was up in the mountains though, and so the bus ride back was the most traumatizing thing. The road was pure hairpin turns, and the driver was a literal maniac and the bus was so so hot, so nearly 10 of us got sick on the 2 hour bus ride back. It was awful at the time but looking back it's pretty funny, and maybe even was a good bonding experience for the class? Then we all went out for dinner as a class and had Tapas, which was just really delicious and lovely.
Our hotel was also so amazingly nice. It had the best view of the ocean and the pool AND a jacuzzi bubble bath. I actually miss the jacuzzi bath so much now it was just so perfect.
Another thing that was definitely a big culture difference for me was the amount of freedom we had. When we go on a field trip in the US, the teacher takes attendance every five minutes. Our teachers didn't take attendance once the entire trip, if you didn't stay with the group then you were on your own. Also, after we were done with our activities for the day, we were free to do literally WHATEVER we wanted. This is in stark contrast to when I went to All-State orchestra in the States last year and they literally taped us into our rooms at 11 pm. I was talking with my host mom about it, and she made the point that it's freedom with responsibility. While we're free to do whatever we want and be as stupid as we'd like, we're held to the responsibility that we'll still make intelligent decisions, and if we don't, we're on our own.
Here's some pictures:
On the flight over
First views of Mallorca
First views of Mallorca
First views of Mallorca
View from our hotel window
Mountain biking
The Cathedral I think?
Taking a bubble bath
Mountain biking
Archery
BB guns
Rock climbing
My class
Enjoying the sun
So so pretty
Hiking
Hiking
Enjoying the sun
Aaaaand we're back in Denmark
Going to Mallorca was just such a fun and unique experience, and I'm so glad that I was able to tag along. Tak for turen 2.w!
And now tonight I'm moving to my 3rd and final host family, and then I'm off to Flensburg, Germany with my orchestra tomorrow, so stayed tuned for more posts on those!
Alicia
