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By:
Inge Perreault,
E-Mail Inge
Author of
the Book "Birth of a Tumbleweed"
12/27/2006
NO CHRISTMAS
FRENZY IN THE AZORES!
By the time
we left the States to begin our new life in the
Azores,
Sao Miguel to be specific, the Christmas shopping
frenzy was already well under-way in the US since it
was November 8th. Even before Halloween
the Christmas decorations were already on display –
maybe in the future they will just be left
year-round to encourage and lengthen the shopping
season indefinitely.
What had attracted us to spend whatever years we
have left living on Sao Miguel, exploring the
volcanic archipelago consisting of 9 Islands?
Perhaps in collaboration with my husband’s
photography of the breathtaking beauty I could write
a book about LIFE in the
AZORES TODAY? This
idea struck us again the minute the SATA Airbus
touched down in the capitol of Ponta Delgada. The
temperatures were balmy (no colder than 54 degrees
in the winter nor warmer than 78 degrees in the
summer). Hibiscus and other flowers, the names of
which I have not been able to discover, were
bountiful. The crystal clear air and the combination
of steep mountains and the vast Atlantic were as
spectacular as we had remembered them.
I must
mention that although the
Azores are part of
Portugal, they have an independent government and
are a territory much like Puerto Rico. Being part of
the EU the islands have attracted a lot of northern
Europeans, and Germans in particular are well
represented and liked. They either retired here or
found a niche to work, have an excellent reputation
for their work ethic and prefer quality of life to
unbridled consumerism and a 24/7 –type existence. As
a matter of fact, the German couple we had stayed
with at Quinta Altamira last spring helped us with
the process of obtaining permanent residence
status.
We settled into our rented 200 plus year-old
Portuguese farm-house surrounded by banana, palm and
rubber trees, and lined by a hedge of pink Hibiscus
in full bloom. We decided to take off the first two
months prior to starting my book to de-stress and
to observe how other cultures deal with the infamous
pre-holiday season which seems to have become a
major part of the national pastime – SHOPPING! The
US is
no longer a nation producing valuable goods, it has
become a nation of compulsive shoppers buying goods
produced in foreign lands.
Having removed the TV from the furnished house and
delegated it to the attic we began learning
Portuguese by interacting with the native
inhabitants of the
Azores but were
mostly steered towards speaking English with them
(I guess our Portuguese pronunciation leaves
something to be desired but we TRY diligently). The
Azorean people are by nature very friendly and
extremely helpful. They will go miles out of their
way to steer you in the right directions, so the
beaurocratic process went very smoothly. They seem
to perceive us to be a desirable addition to their
apparently last place on earth where a
German/American is still welcomed with open arms.
Incidentally, political correctness is ABSENT since
this is basically a Catholic country and rather
liberal when it comes to religion and nobody carries
their belief system on their sleeve.
In the 21st
century this small archipelago of beautiful islands
with topography much like
Hawaii (only closer –
a four hour and ten minute flight from Boston) is a
dichotomy. That is what makes it so very special.
While the old architecture is being preserved there
is a contrast that seems so incongruous it is
nothing short of astounding.
Towards the end of
November – and no, they do NOT celebrate
Thanksgiving here – the colorful lights strung
across the ancient streets in Ponta Delgada, which
is only 20 minutes by car from our new home,
appeared. We also noticed subdued holiday
decorations for Christmas in the stores. A friend of
mine from the US Consulate proudly showed us the
“NEW” part of town which encompasses two huge and
extremely modern shopping malls, but everything we
noticed was well - sort of low-key.
Azoreans don’t push and shove; they patiently stand
in line and wait their turn. We watched parents with
well-behaved children trying to figure-out if the
pink or the green tricycle might be preferred only
to come back later and purchase the item. Special
Christmas candies from other European (especially
Germany) countries were on display but what was
missing totally was the feeling that while one had
11 gifts for Johnny so far, Jane had only 8 from her
list. Something that needed to be rectified. The
entire mood reminded me of my own childhood in
Germany in the fifties when it was my greatest joy
to find one or two surprises under the tree and
cherished them. My own grandson in the States could
open his own toy-store at age four but that’s a
story for another time.
With a keen eye we kept wondering when the rush to
buy would start but it never did. The centers of
towns were tastefully decorated with lights, and
here and they’re a few lights adorned lovely homes.
A stand in
Ponta Delgada offered
Norfolk Island Pines which serve as Christmas trees
here.
The women
were busy cleaning (Azorean women clean with a
vengeance) and the general cleanliness and
ecological consciousness of the Islanders had been
another observation that made this area so
attractive to us.
We had decided not to exchange any presents at all
and instead to give and surprise a needy family with
food items and non-perishables, to attend mass on
Christmas Eve, and spend a quiet day on Christmas
day. All the churches in the
Azores date back to
Baroque-era and the local one was magnificently
decorated in ways we had never seen before. I did
not know bean-sprouts could look like gossamer
surrounding a pulpit. Here Christmas is strictly a
family holiday and, much like in Germany, presents
are exchanged after mass on Christmas Eve. Though
mass was at 10pm (children’s mass) the church was
packed to the brim with families and yet again,
extremely well behaved children. Some folks in
native costume participated in a living Crèche, and
the first song we heard was Silent Night (in
Portuguese of course), but I sang it in German and
nobody noticed! From my understanding of the
language by now the words from the pulpit were words
speaking of love, peace, compromise and being kind
to our fellow man, truly one of the best services I
ever attended.
Afterwards we walked home, had a glass of
Madeira and
went to bed while the native Azoreans celebrated
all through the night with feasting on local
traditional dishes and sharing precious family
bonds.
We
slept-in on Christmas Day. Since the Azores are 4
hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time our sons would
not be calling until late afternoon and we woke-up
to balmy temperatures in the high 60ies, ready to
head for a long walk at one of the black and totally
empty beaches to watch the waves crashing and
collect some sea-glass. Puffy white clouds moved
across a peaceful sky and I had suppressed the urge
to go on the Internet since I really did not want to
know how many people died in Iraq, which
mall-shootings had taken place or any bad news
whatsoever. I wanted to detach from the rest of the
world and give myself the gift of peace and
serenity.
Shortly after
3pm we started
heading home so as not to miss our sons call and I
noticed that I actually had been amiss in not
applying a sunscreen because my face showed signs of
slight sunburn. People were carrying on their daily
lives as always, after all the Azorean cows still
need milking and the fishermen still hung-out in the
center of town socializing while I am sure the women
were busy preparing more food. At this point I
should add that our kindly landlord keeps a special
case of freshly-dug potatoes (regular as well as
sweet potatoes, onions, garlic and other goodies in
the garage for us free of charge) and complains
constantly that I don’t pick enough tangerines,
flowers or herbs that grow in profusion.
So this
was a typical Christmas in the
Azores. Nobody got
shot, we did not hear or observe any unruly behavior
and there was a general mood of happiness and
congeniality towards one another that is most
difficult to find these days in most places.
Going shopping
yesterday NO gifts were being returned; when I could
not find the vinegar the young lady led me to the
proper place through the huge supermarket without
grumbling and the young man at the check-out counter
was thrilled to practice his English while I was
trying to practice my Portuguese. I am sure Novo Ano
will be equally low-key and I after listening to my
grandson on overdrive, reading briefly on the
Internet about the miserable state of the world out
there I am happy to have escaped the FRENZY that has
taken over an entire continent at a time when quiet
reflection and good-will towards mankind ought to
rule over a consumption-obsessed, driven economy
that stresses people out, not only financially
driving them into debt but also emotionally
exhausting.
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2009-09-10 07:23:07 -0700
