This week Charles and I took a two day course from the Royal Tropical Institute called Understanding the Dutch. This is something my work sponsors for expats and partners to help them get accustomed to Dutch culture.
All in all, the course reaffirmed a lot of the things I have already observed about Dutch culture: organization, equality, bluntness, and this idea that the service provider (not the customer) is king. We did some role playing (mostly focused on dealing with customer service situations) and had a Dutch lunch at De Lof der ZotHeid in Den Haag which included...
-Tomato soup
-Herring
-Croquettes
-Veal and mashed potatoes
We also looked at some of the main symptoms of culture chock. Apparently it is easier to adapt in a country where the culture is very different from your own as opposed to one which is very similar because your expectations are more realistic. Apparently the whole process takes about a year on average. So you will have to check back with us in a few months to see if we are on schedule.
One thing that were very fascinating to me were the history of the Dutch political system. It seems like this is really a time of change and this country is facing a lot of difficult issues. I am almost motivated to keep taking Dutch just so I can follow local politics.
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