My Memoirs - Citizen of the World

admitted into several associations which would have been
impossible for me to enter on my own if I were back on the island
of Sāo Miguel. The high society of Sāo Miguel was comprised of
local snobs who thought they had blue blood, always enjoying
their segregation from others who were not allowed to mingle with
them. On the other hand, the people I found in Terceira were
wonderful! I would travel to the city often to be with friends and
get involved with civic organizations like the Lawn Tennis Club
(which is similar to the country clubs in America) and the Clube
Musical Angrense. These places were frequented by people who
were essentially recognized as the cream of the crop on the island,
so it gave me strength and faith to return to the good life that I had
enjoyed in Sāo Miguel (before my father’s business failure).
The island of Terceira is sometimes referred to as the “Island of
Fun” for its many feasts and events. There was always something
going on, whether it was the Festas do Espírito Santo (Holy Ghost
Feast), the distribution of sweetbread, milk and meat called Bôdo
de Leite, religious processions, Mardi Gras (called “Carnaval” in
Portugal) where the dancing would begin at 9 o’clock at night and
continue until 7 or 8 in the morning, or the bullfights in the street
that took place from May to September in many villages. During
these events, the girls would watch from the windows and
balconies, giving the eye to the boys on the street. Many U.S.
military and civilian personnel from the base would go to watch
the bullfights. Some of them didn’t realize how dangerous the
wild bulls can be and they would end up in the hospital after too
close an encounter with a bull.
Although I enjoyed the street bullfights, I preferred the arena
bullfighting. It was real art, watching the bullfighter in front of the
massive, wild bull. In Portugal, the matador is not allowed to kill
the bull like they are in Spain or Mexico. Instead, he would
simulate the killing with a bandarilla - a pointed stick – instead of
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