Sue Revell

My memories of starting work in Mallorca, after having a very sheltered life, with a strict father, living in the country with virtually no social life – then before my 18th birthday, being catapulted into living in a foreign land, working and with almost total freedom!

I remember.....

I remember looking down over a strange land

Tropical! Wondrous! Exotic!

Little windmills and turquoise sea…

Hot air hitting me as I step from the plane

Like a dream

I remember the smell of garlic, sweet cologne, black tobacco!

Noisy, crazy traffic. Tiny Seat 500s…

Palm trees and giant cacti

Bougainvillea – a mass of purple

Scary storms

I remember the sound of Spanish words

Eventually making some sense

Beaches with straw-thatched sunshades

The warm Mediterranean, so clear….

Flirty waiters!

I remember the sound of guitars, castanets

Strange guttural voices and heel-stomping dances

Fruit markets, paella – yellow rice and mussels

Ancient buildings, sunkissed cobbled streets

Such beauty

I remember feeling different – freedom. Speaking Spanish.

Learning to be responsible, making mistakes

How did this all happen? From a few words

Uttered with passion – ‘I want to work abroad’! Coming true…

Like a dream