Understanding the Dutch Culture
Understanding the Dutch culture | Assignment #4 | Meghan Student number: Lecturer: |
Introduction:
One can study and learn a culture truly only by having a close contact with the local people who hold it. In our case (international students) we have the chance to live in the Netherland for at least four years which is enough time to learn the Dutch language in a decent level and integrate to a certain level into the Dutch way of living.
The first imprint of the Netherlands for me was the neatly formed square shaped green fields and farms that I saw from the airplane window in a splendid sunny day of August while the airplane was approaching the Schiphol airport.
The first impression of the Dutch culture for me was when I heard the captain of the KLM flight welcoming us aboard in Dutch. I was flying with my best friend who is an acrophobic. Still on the ground in Montreal airport my friend looked at me with wide open worrying eyes and said she was afraid that the Capitan was choking because he sounded so and we all were going to die!
Of Couse it is a silly and over exaggerated story. However it is not far from reality for most of the non-Dutch speakers who try to pronounce “G” and “Sch” especially in my Dutch class, they almost choke whenever they try! Luckily for me it is easy since we also have it in Persian. I simply enjoy the slow and neat lifestyle of the Netherlanders. Everyone seems that they enjoy their family time and love to keep their home clean. Whenever I take a bus and pass by homes I see a couple or a three person little family in a very cozy small home. An average Canadian house might be twice of the size of an average Dutch house but they are not as peaceful as Dutch ones. In the Netherlands parents have only one job and most of the people work 8-9 hours per day however in Canada due to wanting a higher life style parents and partners have 2 jobs or more therefore families are not as strong as the Dutch are.
Scheveningen
Introduction:
One can study and learn a culture truly only by having a close contact with the local people who hold it. In our case (international students) we have the chance to live in the Netherland for at least four years which is enough time to learn the Dutch language in a decent level and integrate to a certain level into the Dutch way of living.
The first imprint of the Netherlands for me was the neatly formed square shaped green fields and farms that I saw from the airplane window in a splendid sunny day of August while the airplane was approaching the Schiphol airport.
The first impression of the Dutch culture for me was when I heard the captain of the KLM flight welcoming us aboard in Dutch. I was flying with my best friend who is an acrophobic. Still on the ground in Montreal airport my friend looked at me with wide open worrying eyes and said she was afraid that the Capitan was choking because he sounded so and we all were going to die!
Of Couse it is a silly and over exaggerated story. However it is not far from reality for most of the non-Dutch speakers who try to pronounce “G” and “Sch” especially in my Dutch class, they almost choke whenever they try! Luckily for me it is easy since we also have it in Persian. I simply enjoy the slow and neat lifestyle of the Netherlanders. Everyone seems that they enjoy their family time and love to keep their home clean. Whenever I take a bus and pass by homes I see a couple or a three person little family in a very cozy small home. An average Canadian house might be twice of the size of an average Dutch house but they are not as peaceful as Dutch ones. In the Netherlands parents have only one job and most of the people work 8-9 hours per day however in Canada due to wanting a higher life style parents and partners have 2 jobs or more therefore families are not as strong as the Dutch are.
Scheveningen