Surprises everywhere - part one

Surprises everywhere – this is Madeira!

Dear readers from and outside of Madeira,

as you might have noticed, I am a girl from central Europe who was living in Madeira for many months thank to the Erasmus program. Honestly, when I was going to Madeira, I did not know much about it. I was supposed to stay only four months (which I finally decided to prolong) and my aim was to learn Portuguese in those four months more or less fluently. I also wanted to spend as much time as possible with people from Madeira, so I could get to know their traditions and culture – simply life.

Well, living in Madeira brought many surprises into my life. I mean, I have seen things which surprised me a lot, especially because it is almost impossible to see it in my country. In today’s article, I would like to share some of these things and if there are any that surprised you when you were visiting Madeira (or if you are from the island when you went somewhere abroad), you can even share them with me.

Super narrow and steep roads

Immediately after landing, I was giving a lift by car from the airport to Funchal. It was a crazy ride. I have never seen such narrow streets! When there was a car going the other direction than ours, I was just hoping that we would not bump into each other.

Picture: Driving on the narrow streets of Madeira? I prefer being offerd a lift.

At one point we got to the part of the road which was so steep that you would not even believe. I saw it but could not believe it myself! We were going downhill and even though I am normally completely calm when going down or uphill by car (in my country where there are some smaller hills), I had to opened my mouth when I saw the hill in Madeira. It was kind of scary.

Do not forget to beep!

This is another thing connected with transport. I consider this idea fantastically smart, though. What I am talking about now is the fact that when there is a turn, cars, lorries and even buses start beeping before getting there. So another car which might go in the opposite direction knows it should really slow down and stay on the track on its side of the road.

P.S.: The roads there are really, really, really narrow, so letting others know you are coming and you are also on the road is simply a very good idea.

Picture: Keep beeping! No matter whether you are in a car or on the bus.

Do you go to work by dustcart?

You know that Funchal is not just the part which goes along the sea/ocean. Funchal includes also those houses which are above – in the mountains. So if you are for example in Santo Antonio and continue up and up where Laranjal is, you might still want to continue up and up where Sao Roche is. There is bus number 90 that goes there. When I saw the bus for the first time, I thought it was a dustcart. It is so huge that it really provokes that idea.

I mean, when I saw where it has to go, I understood why its constructions is so sturdy. It has to go to very steep hills and imagine with how many people inside.

Anyway, even when I understood why it is good to have such a construction of the bus, it always amazed me when I saw it.

Picture: This is not Laranjal, but the whole island is full of steep hills!

Recycling? Sorting garbage?

There is another thing that surprised me. Well, in fact, it shocked me! Madeira is so small and so beautiful. Its nature is incredible and the weather is nice the whole year round (comparing with a central Europe where winter brings temperature even -13°C or even lower). When the weather is good, you feel like going to the beach. And even though, there are so few people who would take care of the environment.

I got honestly shocked when I saw people from Madeira put glass, plastic and paper into one bin. I mean, as I was living at the dormitory, there were many bins of different colours. One was green, the other one blue, we had one which was for plastic, so yellow, and a general one which was grey.  So I finished Skyr from Pingo Doce, washed its plastic cup and put it into the yellow bin. What a surprise – there was some rice in the bin. There were some spaghetti in the bin for paper. I could continue the list.

As I got some really nice friends from the floor I was living in and they were mostly from Portugal – continental or even Madeira – I started to teach them how to separate the garbage. I do not really know where they were putting it when I was not with them but I just kept saying: “Your island is so beautiful. You are completely surrounded by the ocean. Appreciate it and help the environment.”

Picture: The life in the Ocean.

You know, I am not a part of any extreme group who would organize demonstrations or extreme events to “force” others to change their habits, but when I can show others what I do and that it is easy to do it, I try my best.

During my stay in Madeira, I spent a lot of time with one local family. They did the same, as probably most people from Madeira do (obviously, not everyone, of course). They mixed everything together. As I was just a visitor, I did not say anything at first, because I considered it a bit rude. But it made me nervous and I kept my trash (plastic) in a bag so I could put it into a container outside. Well, when I used to wait for a bus and separated garbage just next to the bus stop, people where looking at me like if I was doing something crazy. Anyway, after some time spent with that family, I started to take out the glass bottles and plastic ones and just said: “Do you know this can be recycled? So what about if we put everything  that can be recycled into one bag and I will separate it later outside.” It made me so happy that they were separating every time I was in their house. And as there was a little girl, she noticed and understood quickly what was happening. She even came herself and asked: “Iva, this is plastic, right? Are you going to put a new bag here so we can separate it?” It made me really surprised and happy.

You know, as I was doing an internship in one school in Madeira, there was a presentation once, very interactive, so children would understand why it is important not to put everything into one bin. The ladies who were running the event said: “Well, you live in your house, but the Earth is home for all of us. So the planet is my home. And all of as should take care of it.”

Moreover, it is simple to separate garbage in Madeira, indeed. There are tiny containers everywhere in streets! It is so cool, good, smart and comfortable!

Just these few things?

If you are wondering whether this is all that surprised me when I was living in Madeira, I can simply answer that it is not. There are so many other things. No worries, i will definitely share them, that is for sure.

It is also important to let you know that I share all of these things and it is easily just from my point of view. What surprises me does not have to surprise others. It depends where you come from and what you are used to. So, obviously, as my country has got just a few mountains, especially my region, it is clear why it took my breath away when I saw the bus which seemed to be a dust car. Please, do not take any offence, if you are from Madeira. I mean, life is beautiful because there is such a diversisty. So it pushes us to wonder and to feel the desire of getting to know more.

I will be looking forward to sharing more!

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