In Sant Lluís (Menorca) lived Mrs. Van Oppen, daughter of a British military officer stationed in India when it was still under the direct control of the British Crown. She gave private English lessons which, beyond the grammatical and phonetic foundations, "were accompanied by landscapes, experiences, and lifestyles" that far surpassed the daily experience and canons of Western culture known until then by two Menorcan children born in the late 60s. "She encouraged exploring the unknown, opening up to new frontiers, accepting diversity. This experience, undoubtedly, would fuel our interest in opening up to new horizons. Alicia often comments that these English sessions were the seed of her subsequent scientific vocation". Alicia is Alicia Sintes (1969), a professor and doctor of Physics from the UIB; and her brother, Tomàs Sintes (1966), also a professor and doctor of Physics from the UIB, tells us about her.