An Introduction to ‘Going Dutch’

Hi!

My name is Sarah and I have been living and studying in the town of Maastricht, Netherlands at University College Maastricht for a little over a month now. “Why are you going THERE?” was the question I was asked over and over again by friends and family. How did I end up in this small country that is only an afterthought to most people? Truthfully, that was the first question we all seemed to want to know about each other when I initially met the other UC students on this program. For many of them? Certainly the idea of the “legality” of certain drugs. For myself? Not so much. The simplest answer is that I wanted to study in a country where I could enroll in an immersion program in a local university, but have everything be taught in English. You might be surprised, but those requirements seriously limit one’s options. I had always heard amazing things about the Netherlands, but nothing too specific, maybe because I have also heard that Dutch culture is hard to pinpoint. Armed with only this knowledge before coming here, you can imagine that I was a little nervous and had absolutely no idea what to expect. My goal by the time I return home in December? Be able to better explain what being Dutch is all about.

What comes to mind when you think of Holland? Windmills, clogs, tulips, and maybe prostitution, the red light district, legal drugs, euthanasia, and political acts of violence if you’ve been paying attention recently.

The truth about Holland? (Holland, by the way is technically not an accurate name to describe the whole country. It describes two provinces of the country, Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland-North and South-the area where Amsterdam is located. The rest of the country is made up of other provinces and they all belong to “the Netherlands.) Holland has a few well-placed windmills, probably more so in rural areas and not the cities I’ve traveled to. Clogs are sold in tourist shops, and I’ve heard are now only worn in remote villages. Tulip bulbs are sold everywhere to tourists, and I’ve heard the Keukenhof tulip fields outside of Amsterdam are a beautiful sight to behold in the springtime. Unfortunately I won’t be here then to see them! I have ventured to the Red Light District during my time in Amsterdam and while it was wild and unlike anything I’ve ever seen, I believe it is an afterthought to the Dutch people, hardly defining their culture in any way. I won’t go into all of the Netherlands’ political issues now, but just know that they have their share of problems as well, they just aren’t broadcasted on the world stage because as one of my teachers interestingly put, “Largely, the world doesn’t care what happens here, and most of the time we are okay with that.”

Also, to clear up drug legality: marijuana and other “soft drugs” are not legal in the Netherlands. The law is just formed in a way that allows the government to turn a “blind eye” and spend most of their time on more serious issues of crime and punishment. “Coffeeshops”, the names of the locations that sell pot to the public, are highly regulated and allowed to possess and sell only a certain amount at a time to people over 18. Coming from a typical Dutch position of practicality, the government believes that the regulation of the sale of “soft drugs” leads to less addiction to “hard drugs” such as heroin and cocaine.

I have also noticed that Dutch society is one of great contrast and contradiction, as so many things are. In general, I would say the Dutch place high emphasis on order. The Dutch are obsessed with clocks and time keeping. The train system here flows smoothly and predictably. Trains are NEVER late, if they are there is much upset among the waiting travelers. In the California, the limited amounts of trains available to travel on are practically presumed to be late, and in my experience they always are. Public transportation is just looked at differently in Europe, but especially in the Netherlands the punctuality plays a role of utmost importance. This makes the whole experience of train travel much more pleasant if you ask me! However, in contrast the schedules at my school were not given to us until days before our first class. Not only did was this in itself short notice, but the school was so unorganized regarding class timetables and locations that our first week was canceled so they could be put in order. (No complaints there!) What a large contrast to Santa Barbara, where months in advance we choose a schedule, some of us (or most of us) picking our classes according to the days and locations. Of course, UCSB’s size is not comparable to UCM, which is a small college of around 400 that is part of a university of thousands.  The point is I have seen the many ways that Dutch society flows in perfect, regimented order and also experienced many things that seem to totally go against that grain.

That barely scraped the surface as an introduction to the Netherlands, but I hope it gave you a better idea of where I am coming from and what I am experiencing!

What comes to mind now when I think of the Netherlands, the country that is slowly but surely starting to feel like a second home? Practicality and pragmatism, slow meals, beautiful sunsets, bikes, canals, amazing cheese, a hub of internationality, and some of the most friendly and welcoming people I’ve ever had the chance to meet.

2 Responses to “An Introduction to ‘Going Dutch’”

1. paula o says:

   September 30, 2009 at 3:44 pm

   Loved your description, and the brevity of it. Contrasts are all around us aren’t they?
2. La Tina Berkley says:

   October 2, 2009 at 4:25 pm

   My baby is all grown up! Enjoy your life. Send me postcards.