Europeans’ concept of time is not unfamiliar to me. Having lived in Paris for six months during my college years, I know that in comparison to American standards, days seem to be a bit longer on this side of the world. As a college student, I always assumed that this slower pace was more related to my care-free “foreign student in Paris” lifestyle. However, this time around I can see more clearly how this is perhaps the standard way of living in all of Europe, especially here in Liege.
In yesterday’s entry I aspired to have more exciting information to share with you today. To be quite frank, I have not done much over here – I have not yet had the opportunity to go to a Belgian bar and savor the wide variety of beers, nor have I tasted the notorious fries in a cone. My vacation thus far has consisted of having “le petit dejouner” while writing my blog, followed by lunch with Raphael’s family at around noon (seven of us at the table), and then dinner together later in the evening. Nonetheless, by saying this, I am omitting an important highlight of my vacation. I know that to many, this may sound like quite an ordinary experience, but yesterday I met Raphael’s grandfather, also known as Papí. This experience once again reinforced my belief that longevity is correlated to having a slower lifestyle combined with the simple joys of life, such as having a Pèket* before bedtime.
I will have to admit that I was in awe when I met Monsieur Dieu Donner** Saive. Prior to meeting him, I had a mental image of a white-haired, prunish old man sitting by a window simply wishing for time to go by just a little bit faster for him. To my surprise, he turned out to be the complete opposite! As a 94 year-old and recently widowed man, Papí does not spend his days staring out a window nor is he “prunish.” On the contrary, his face is unusually smooth and unwrinkled, his deep blue eyes and bone structure revealing the once-handsome soldier found in the shrine of photographs found around his room. If you take a closer look, it is obvious that the only thing revealing his true age are the bluish veins and rippled texture of his hands. Other than this, for Monsieur Saive life is about enjoying the life he has now; he keeps up to date with the latest news by reading the daily newspaper, reading at a minimum two books per week, playing puzzles, and winning his retirement home’s indoor cycling competition.
To recapitulate the entire time spent with Papí would be pointless. However, I will close with saying that while I may have felt a small stab of sadness in leaving the retirement home, I also left with a sense of knowing that this man’s legacy carries on: take time to enjoy the now and make sure you savor each moment of it. Perhaps this is why life here is slower on this end of the world…I see this lifestyle in every little moment that I have spent with Raphael’s family thus far, even if we have not done much.
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*Pèket is the equivalent of vodka or Gin. Monsieur Saive drinks a shot of it every evening before going to bed. I believe it may attribute to his good physical and mental state.
** Dieu Donner litterally translated into “God Given.” It is an old name Catholic name, no longer common in Belgium.
