Well as usual I am having all kinds of emotional reactions to returning from holiday. I always do. Coming back to my every day life always feels a little hum drum. Can you blame me though? I mean I love my life but dishes and laundry is kind of dull. Instead of ranting about it though I am just going to post a list. I like lists and I enjoy reading them on my other friends blogs. So here is my list about the things I love and hate about the Netherlands.
Like
- The people – I really love Dutch people. So much I married one. They are funny, honest, direct and very giving most of the time. I find Dutch people incredibly easy to be around.
- The lack of clutter – Things are just tidier there in general. There is something very feng shui and pleasing about Dutch houses. I mean I suppose there are Dutch slobs too but honestly I have never met one.
- The art – They have tons of it! New art, old art, ugly art, pretty art. The design sections in the book stores are HUGE. The colours they use are bold and bright. I love the abundance of art and the focus on creativity and aesthetics as being important in life.
- The food – Not that Dutch food is really all that gourmet. Actually it is kind of bland. But the QUALITY of the food is better. And food goes bad.. quickly… like it is supposed to. Like food from our public markets do if we don’t eat it in a few days. Which makes me wonder. What the hell are we doing to our food to make it stay fresh so long? I mean I have had those carrots in my fridge for a month now and they aren’t limp at all.
- The transit system – It actually works most of the time! You can get from A to B pretty easily. City to city travel is simple. And if you don’t want to take transit there are BIKE paths EVERYWHERE.
- Bikes and biking – This ties into the comment above. Yes. Bike paths. Everywhere. It is totally glorious for someone like me who is used to cars pushing me off the road onto the side walk. They just make it easy to bike there. I love it! And I love all the sexy men and women with firm butts and long legs on their bikes.
- The markets – One euro for a box of mangos. Really. The markets are actually cheap and filled to the brim with good food. Mmmmm.. and then there are fabrics and import stuff.. and bellydance supplies and antiques. All cheaper than you would pay for it in a store. Which makes sense right? Because you aren’t paying high rent for a store front. Why are things more expensive at markets here?
- The price of alcohol – You know I don’t even really drink any more so why would I like this? Well. I don’t know. Happy husband??? Cheap alcohol makes for fun parties and for some reason the lower prices don’t mean people drink more. Well… maybe they drink more often but I don’t see the same kind of sloshed fubar behaviour I see here. Maybe it is because we can’t afford to drink here very often so when we do our tolerance is all low and we get messy drunk. I just like how alcohol consumption is handled there and I think it has something to do with how affordable and readily available it is.
- Dutch people’s sense of humour – Ummm ya… they aren’t very politically correct by Canadian standards, it is true. But they are funny and don’t seem take life quite so seriously. You just don’t see people get their knickers in a knot in the same way they do here. They just seem to poke fun at everything and everyone including themselves. I like it.
- The focus on family – I don’t even really need to comment about this. Family is important. End of story. Even if they drive us crazy. I feel this attitude is lacking a little in Canada. Maybe it is because we are so spread out many us never see our families.
Dislike
- Having to pay to use the bathroom – Every Dutch person I have talked to seem to accept this as reasonable because you need to pay to keep your bathrooms clean right? Whatever. I don’t pay for bathrooms in Mexico and they are dirty. I don’t pay for bathrooms here and they are clean. Sorry. I don’t buy it. If I spend money in your establishment I sure as hell don’t think you should charge me to pee. Besides… I pee far more than the average person in the day. Always have. Small bladder? I don’t think I should be financially penalized for that.
- The lack of trees – I miss the trees when I am there. I love trees. It is a very deep thing with me. It just isn’t the same without them. Especially the evergreens.
- The lack of mountains – Flat gets boring after a while.
- The fact that when I smile at people in public they rarely smile back – This is just a cultural thing that seems to be about respect for privacy. In some ways I like the personal space you get when people don’t connect in public. It is kind of nice not always having the freak on the bus talk to me too! But I miss the smiling. It seems a little cold out without it.
- The SMALL cups of coffee served with only one sugar, one creamer.. and a cookie I can’t eat – Ya… I like my coffee BIG and SWEET and STRONG! Especially if I am paying 2 euros for it. And the cookie is a nice idea to help combat coffee breath but I can’t eat wheat. How about some minty chocolate instead?
- The lack of bathtubs – I know, I know.. the average bathroom there is too small to fit a bathtub. But god damn I miss a good soak when I am there. Showers just aren’t the same no matter how much you try to dress them up with fancy salt scrubs.
- The fact that my allergies are just as bad there – Wet and damp equals mold. The Dutch houses are pretty mold free from what I can tell but the molds that I react to on the outside vegetation are just as bad there. Mold spores are in the air and my nose plugs up just as bad there as it does here.
- Damp cold icky wind in the winter – Ya… so it is wet, grey and damp in the winter. And then this damn cold wind gets added into the equation. It is just a little depressing. Our next holiday is going to be somewhere warm.
- Wheat and dairy – Gluten free and lactose intolerant are pretty much unheard of there. I just give in when I am there and eat what I am served. Congestion follows. It is funny though. I will say no wheat, no dairy and I get looked at like I am an alien. Then I get served rice pasta with cheese sauce and a side of bread… and some soya milk for my coffee. They try.. really they try. But they just don’t get it (well except for you Wendela).
- They’ll yell at you in public, especially the oldies – Direct is.. well direct… and sometimes you do something stupid so you get yelled at. Dutch becomes an incredibly ugly language when it is being yelled. I am far too sensitive for that sort of thing. Although I appreciate the honest communication my conditioning to have stupidly polite manners makes the yelling unbearable. I cry. Luckily the yelling happens less often now that I sort of know my way around and have a better idea of what to do and not do when in the Netherlands.
Filed under: Family, Holidays, Humour | 1 Comment
Julia dream, dream boat queen. 