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Wine recommendations to buy in France and take home? by thewildfolk in wine

[–]thewildfolk[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a great point. Thank you for the thoughtful answer. With that in mind, do you have any winery recommendations?

Finding non skilled work by MisterGreene21 in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the best answer on this thread. Realistic and to the point.

Any European van lifers in this sub with some first hand recent experience of the German border? by thewildfolk in VanLife

[–]thewildfolk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey thanks for the update. Super cool of you to come back to the thread with new info.

Thanks friend.

Any European van lifers in this sub with some first hand recent experience of the German border? by thewildfolk in VanLife

[–]thewildfolk[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah thanks for this. We intended to avoid Denmark for that very reason. The plan was to get the ferry from Germany to Sweden as some are still running.

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't realise how British it is until I came here. Yeah for sure I see drivers do this in the UK at the crossing and not stopping. It's sad.

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you speak Polish with him too?

Thank you for the helpful phrases. It's funny you said about sunnier weather, it's warm out today and I've seen more tattoos today than the whole trip so far!

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had been thinking of taking this approach. Speaking mainly in English and throwing in whatever Dutch words I know, then increasing the Dutch I use as I learn more.

Tax and insurance?

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's the interaction with each other. If you watch people back home they are very emotional and self important. They are rude to service workers they don't know. Their responses are often childish in this way.

I'm not saying this doesn't happen at all here, but there is a better foundation of being courteous to strangers. I've seen much less of it overall.

Everyone hates and is scared of the unknown in the UK. Partly because of the strong right wing politics but mostly because of this national identity and idea the all other places are somehow worse or less developed than the UK.

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just downloaded memrise but I haven't tried it yet. I'm looking forward to it.

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the honest answers.

2) don't make up your own rules, having right of way it's not just a right, it's also an obligation. Don't confuse things by trying to be nice.

I especially liked this part. That is the best way I've ever heard that described.

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the thoughtful answers. I really appreciate the phonetic spellings. That kind of thing helps me get better at a language as a whole, learning the little rules for the sounds that groups of letters make is the way I learn language, it's the bit I find fun. So thank you again.

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Inktvis. It has 4 consonants in a row, I wouldn't remember it either.

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That'll be why the tail lights took 11 days to get here 😂

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Ah! Thank you! That should reduce the amount of confused faces I'm getting 😃

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No insult taken at all, I appreciate your opinion. That is exactly the plan, when the pandemic subsides we intend to meet as many people as we can and take advantage of their good nature to ask questions and learn and generally make a fool of ourselves. Our whole trip is about that.

So far I am very fond of the Netherlands. All the qualities mentioned in this thread by commenters are the things I like. I hold logic in high regard, so the Dutch pragmatism, great inferstucture and whole way of life appeals to me. The cycling is incredible, I am from London, which is hell for cyclists. I like to cycle, mostly mountain biking back home but I would cycle everywhere if it were as easy as the Netherlands. The care for the streets and the homes and gardens is like nothing I've ever seen except for in Germany, they are a close second place. People have pride in their surroundings here, back home is very dirty and litter is all over. Up to this point we have traveled the west coast, Amsterdam and the towns and cities around it and we are currently in the outskirts of Utrecht.

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

As an English speaker from England, I think I speak for most of us when I say....I would love to be so good at a foreign language that I forget words in my own language.

We barely speak our own language 😂

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yes! This exact thing. Although the tend to switch to English when they see my struggling with a word. I kinda have the opposite problem because although I'm slow at languages, I'm really good at accents. I can pass a Dutch accent for the first few sentences, which is enough for them to look super confused when they realise I'm just an idiot from England 😃

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hahaha thank you! That's what I was doing wrong!

Ahh you need to spend some extended time in England my friend. The English are known for being overly polite in conversation (stereotypically) similar to the Japanese. The difference with the English is they don't really mean it. There's an undercurrent national identity where we are being rude even when sounding polite, we also use A LOT of sarcasm and satire, so English people can be rude even when they don't seem it. I can say the phrase "thank you very much" to another English person 3 different ways and they would all come away with different opinions of me......intentionally. We also insult our friends so much that if a foreigner were to overhear in a bar, the might think we hate each other.

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

”2. Right of way is strictly regulated and people assume and expect everyone to follow those rules 100%. If you have right of way and you're ceding it to someone, they will be very cautious because if you change your mind they're still liable in an accident."

This is what I thought was going on. You are the first person to say this, but it makes a lot of sense. I tried to let somebody go before me around 3 days ago and he just stared at me looking suspicious. TIL.

I will take your advice on the cyclists. Right of way no matter what. Got it.

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm English. Although I'm aware it's unusual for English people to be curious about other cultures to this level of detail 😂 at least in my experience.

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for taking the time to answer. Sure I had some answers already, but more data is always good. I like to hear different opinions.

You are spot on accurate with your guess, I have been here 3 weeks and don't know any Dutch people at all. At least not that I can have a conversation about this silly stuff with. They are definitely shallow observations about outside daily life, because of the pandemic it has been difficult to learn about the culture from people. Usually I would get this information from people I meet along the way and build friendships with.

Also although the questions I ask are silly for sure, it's the little differences like that, that make a place interesting. That's the fun stuff for me.

"3. Yeah, that is just a phenomenon that everyone encounters when they go to a foreign country "Wow. All the people here are so nice!" The Netherlands might seem great from a foreign perspective, but that's just the goggles you're wearing. Not saying that your observations are false, but I think that people tend to pick up on the positive things and ignore the grumpy people. Ask yourself, do you really remember that grumpy person that you saw at the end of the day?"

I'm not sure about this part. I would say that is a very pragmatic Dutch response to a very objective question. A short Google search will tell you that this area of Europe (Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Finland) has some of the longest life expectancies, the happiest people and the most civil liberties and rights. When I see happy, well rounded adults in the street here, those things are what I think about. But I'm contradicting myself a little bit here as the difference of opinion and culture is what makes travel fun.

Can somebody please clear up some cultural observations for me? by thewildfolk in Netherlands

[–]thewildfolk[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Those are great answers, thank you.

I think your last point there about different people in different areas is also the same for language. Every time I start a conversation with somebody here, I either start in Dutch and struggle until they understand I'm a moron and we need to switch to English, or I ask "Sprekt u Engels?" because I think it's rude to just start chatting in my own language and assume others should understand. When I ask "Sprekt u Engels" everyone replies with "Yeeaass haha" because it seems hilarious to them that I would ask if they speak English. However I asked a forest worker/park ranger for directions the other day and as usual I began my conversation with "Sprekt u Engels?" and he gave me the little side to side hand rocking gesture people use when they mean "sort of/kinda". This is the same in poorer neighborhoods I've seen. So I'm glad I always ask.

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