ALL OF ANTWERP: “Retiring is fun, but sometimes also boring” (Antwerp)
Every weekday our reporter and photographer choose a casual passerby from the street for a nice conversation. Because everyone has a story. Especially in Antwerp. Today: José Manuel Marques Dos Santos (67).
“I have been retired for two years now. That’s fun, but it’s also boring at times. I walk a lot. Wait, let me show you my pedometer. It is already at 12,000 steps. And we’re not done for today.”
“I worked here in Antwerp for fifteen years as a pipe fitter. I make constructions for pipelines. I also had that work certificate when I still lived in Portugal. But there I earned much less. Here in Antwerp I sometimes had a monthly wage of 3,000 euros if I worked a few extra hours. In Portugal I got maybe 1,000 euros for the same work. So I decided at a fixed moment to move. It wasn’t my dream profession, but I thought it was pretty okay.”
“My family still lives in Portugal. Or my mother. My daughter has moved to California with her daughter in between, to San Diego. Sometimes I go to visit them there. It’s delicious. They live near the sea and it is always summer. Winter and cold, they don’t know that there. But moving there yourself, no, it is too late for that.”
“I am almost 70 years old and have been living with my girlfriend for twelve years. I also have a grandson here. He turned four years old yesterday. A nice guy. When he lived nearby, I used to babysit him a lot. Now they are moving to Nijlen where he goes to school. But when I have time, I get in the car and go visit him.”
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