Raymond Baugniet tells the story of Francois and Joseph. When the two men are told to "Hurry up!" they say, "We're coming," then stroll along at un pas de tortue, a snail's pace: on Belgian time.
In Hawaii, the temperature usually stays at a steady 80 degrees or higher during the daytime, so people have a tendency to move a bit slower. When I heard the tale about Francois and Joseph, the two men in the statue display above, I expected to find the laid back pace I experience in Hawaii. However, in Belgium it seems people are always rushing.
The owner of our hotel in Brussels, Frederic at Hotel Noga, rushed around every morning, answering phones, handling paperwork, hastening to fill the breakfast orange juice container and check that the coffee urn was full. Then, after someone completed their petit déjeuner, he would be at the table immediately clearing away the used dishes, cups and glasses, replenishing the place setting for the next group.
Another experience was the travel on the metro, the bus and on the train with everyone rushing to and fro. Many people were kind to take the time to answer questions and some even slowed to lead us when necessary, but at some point they would apologize, saying they had to rush off to catch a train. So I think Francois and Joseph may be an anomaly in Belgium today.
1 comment:
I love this! It does make the history much more interesting, don't you think? I hoping to travel to the Georgia area where my greats are buried. I haven't connected where we come from, either Scotland or England on my Dad's side and Ireland on my Mom's side. I wish I knew like you!
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