A TRIP TO REMEMBER (Gibraltar, 15 March 2012)

El jueves 15 de marzo de 2012 por fin realizamos nuestra proyectada excursión a Gibraltar los tres profesores previstos, D. Carlos, Dª Nayra y D. Miguel (además de Dª Adelaida, que obtuvo la autorización de la Directora y se sumó a última hora, casi con los motores del autobús ya en marcha), y un total de 32 alumnos (17 de 4ºA y 15 de 4ºB). 

Nos hizo buen día y apenas tardamos dos horas en llegar, pues no hicimos paradas, ni en el trayecto de ida ni en el de vuelta. Fueron muy rápidos los trámites en la frontera, y en seguida se formaron los grupos espontáneos de alumnos que explorarían a su ritmo los lugares de interés. Todo les llamaba la atención: el ambiente cosmopolita y los escaparates de las tiendas, los letreros en Inglés, las típicas cabinas telefónicas británicas de madera con pintura roja, el uniforme de los ‘bobbies’ (policías británicos), el peculiar modo de hablar de los llanitos, los reclamos publicitarios para las visitas turísticas por la parte alta de la Roca.

Todos tuvieron sus experiencias y sus fotografías con los famosos monos, muchos se deleitaron con la exuberante vegetación de los frondosos jardines botánicos Alameda, y algunos visitaron lugares como el mirador de los Pilares de Hércules, la Cueva de San Miguel  o los Túneles del Gran Sitio. 

Hicieron sus pequeñas compras para recuerdos y regalos, y cumplimentaron la ficha de ejercicios que los profesores de Inglés les habían entregado con la idea de que los alumnos tuvieran que hacer pequeñas investigaciones y practicar la lengua inglesa haciéndoles preguntas a los habitantes locales.

A las cinco de la tarde, en lugar de tomar el té, iniciamos el regreso a Málaga.

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Como parte de las tareas para las clases sucesivas, los alumnos tenían que escribir una redacción en Inglés sobre sus impresiones sobre Gibraltar y sus actividades allí. Se presenta a continuación un fragmento del texto de cada una de las redacciones que llegaron a manos de D. Carlos en el plazo señalado (una vez corregidas):

MY IMPRESSIONS ON THE TRIP

Here are some excerpts of the pieces of writing submitted as part of the homework:

I had never been in Gibraltar and I really liked it. We followed the main road straight ahead and saw and bought some souvenirs. We found the teachers and got in a van with them  to do ‘The Rock Tour’. We saw the monkeys, Saint Michael’s Cave, the Great Siege Tunnel, and we took photos of the view from the top.

                                                                                      Marina Bueno, 4ºB

My favourite school trip! It is very curious and nice to see a small England so near, the same type of streets and buildings. The funniest thing is the mix of Spanish-English that almost everybody talks there. We took the cable car and went up to see the apes, and when we arrived there a big fat ape stole the chips from Sara’s schoolbag. Everybody was laughing but Sara was very frightened!

                                                                                     Maria López, 4ºA

I got up at seven o’clock and I was very excited. My friends and I sang a lot in the bus, it was very funny. On the border, a policeman got into our bus to see that everybody had their passports. In Gibraltar we had free time until five o’clock. At first we walked along the Main Street and did some shopping (gifts and souvenirs), later we went crazy with ths apes’ attacks although we finally took a lot of photos with them.

                                                                                     Marta Salazar, 4ºA

The excursion to Gibraltar has been a great experience. We arrived there at about 10:45 a.m.  We got off the bus and went to the toilet after the long journey. We crossed a big square and took a photo in a phone booth. Then we went to a cemetery where many soldiers were buried. We, as a big group, got a cheaper price at the cable car and we reached the top very soon. Everything was beautiful. We didn’t visit the Moorish Castle because we were very tired.

                                                                                     Rocío Blanca, 4ºA

We spent some time with the monkeys. They climbed onto our backs and shoulders, so we were scared, but gradually we got used to them. We were up there quite a while and then we went down the road to see a bit of nature. We had lunch at the Alameda Botanical Gardens, which is a lovely place. I think that it was a fun journey!

                                                                                   Adriana Sánchez, 4ºA

One experience that we lived was that a monkey took the food of a girl in our group, we laughed a lot but we felt sorry for her. At about 15:00 p.m. we were hungry and we went to the ‘Burger King’ for lunch. Then we did the activities that the teacher made us do, asking the people of Gibraltar in English and enjoying a lot.

                                                                                   Alba Sánchez, 4ºB

This has been my second time visiting Gibraltar but I have enjoyed it much more than the first one because for me  travelling with my friends is funnier than travelling with my parents. When we arrived the teacher told us that we were free to visit whatever we wanted, but always in groups, and then we agreed to be at a meeting point at 5 o’clock. What I liked the most was the strange bilingual combinations. The people were talking in a Spanish with Cádiz accent but some random words were in English. It was really curious. I also loved the sights from the top pf the rock and the beautiful Alameda Gardens.

                                                                                   Sofía Fernández, 4ºA

We took a lot of photos of the view from the top of the mountain and then we went down in the cable car to have lunch in the Alameda park.

After lunch we returned to the shops to buy some souvenirs and before going back to the coach we had an ice-cream. Finally we arrived in Malaga at seven o'clock.

The thing I liked most about the trip was going up in the cable car to see the monkeys so close, and the worst thing were the shop prices, which were very expensive.

                                                                                   Elena González, 4ºA

We went into shops, ate a sandwich, and climbed up the rock in the cable car cabins. I was afraid of the monkeys so went down for lunch and went into shops again. On our way back we were having fun in the bus and the teacher had to ‘punish’ Flopi, Sofía, Adriana and myself for ten minutes because we were standing, not using the seat  belts.

                                                                                   Paloma Barrera, 4ºA

I loved Gibraltar a lot because it's a different place. I imagined Gibraltar with only one street and a square in the middle with a big tree full of monkeys, but the real place had nothing to do with that. We took a lot of photos with monuments and shops, and then we paid 10.50 € each to go to the Upper Rock and see the monkeys. Just on arriving, a big monkey climbed onto Sara’s back and got the chips from inside her bag!!  Later we met in a garden for lunch. That was amazing too. I bought a souvenir and two tablets of chocolate.

                                                                                  Sandra Merino, 4ºA

It was a very amusing school trip. We did many enjoyable things and had sunny weather. After the Apes Den and the Alameda Gardens I went to the souvenir shops and bought a pen and a magnet for the fridge. Some of us had an ice-cream in a big square. The travel has been a very good new experience, as I had not been to Gibraltar before. It is small but very beautiful, and I iked it a lot! Congratulations for the organization of the trip.

                                                                                 Ana Martínez, 4ºA

I had a very good time in Gibraltar. I spent the whole day with my best friends Flopi, Paula, Sara and Alba. We were together all the time and Stella came with us. First we went shopping in the main street and then we joined a bigger group to take the cable car to see the monkeys. I felt very nervous when a monkey touched my trousers and tried to hold my backpack, bou nothing happened in the end. The teacher gave us a student’s guide and we had to find some data and speak in English to the people passing by.

                                                                                 Maitane Pérez

Gibraltar is a beautiful town. It is in the Iberian Peninsula but it belongs to Great Britain. All is written in English and everything is very expensive in the shops, except for the alcohol and the tobacco. We had a great time. We ate at ‘Burger King’ and also did the exercises there. Back on the bus, there were many songs, jokes and smiles, and we made the teacher postpone the deadline of the reading project about ‘Hard times’ until the next Monday.

                                                                               Paula Llorente, 4ºA

I liked the buildings, squares and monuments in Gibraltar but I didn’t like the monkeys because we had a bad experience. I saw the Cannon, the Botanical Garden and the port. We did many things and we strolled along the streets. In short, this trip has been good fun, and I liked it.

                                    

                                                                               Juan B. Barroso, 4ºB

On Thursday 15th March we went to Gibraltar by bus. When we arrived, we all wanted to visit the top of the rock. We went up by cable car and saw the apes. They were aggressive, they took my lunch and made me feel frightened (See my drawing *). Later we went to the beautiful park called ‘Alameda’ where there were lots of flowers, trees, bushes and animals. At lunchtime we met all the people, my friends ate at the Burger King but I had my sandwich because it     is cheaper.

                                                                                  * Drawing: The most famous incident of the day as seen by Sara herself

                                       Sara Abecasis, 4ºA