For this new column, we are inviting Synergy members from around the globe to tell us their perspective on living in the Netherlands. This edition, we asked Marleen to write something on the differences she noted when moving here from Germany.
"When I arrived in the Netherlands a bit more than three years ago, I didn’t know much about the country in general. Even though I am from Germany and I grew up only 600km away from Nijmegen, I always assumed that the culture must be about the same and the language easy to learn. So, it was quite a moment when I met my mentor group with mostly Dutch students and I realized that I couldn’t understand anything at all. Everyone would talk English to me and try to teach me some Dutch (my first sentence in Dutch was “frituur is cultuur”) but overall, there were more differences between Dutchies and Germans than I expected.
Firstly, Dutch people only eat a very small snack for lunch, like a toasty for example. In Germany, I was used to getting a real meal at around 1 or 2 and then something smaller for dinner. That difference is especially important for me because I do get hungry in the middle of the day. Secondly, in the Netherlands everyone sends Tikkies for everything. We do not have that system in Germany, so we would not care that much about paying back 2€ to a friend immediately. I like how easy it is to pay without cash, but I think it’s also nice to sometimes invite a friend or to get invited.
After all the memories that I have made in the Netherlands, I do feel like this is my home for now. I don’t get confused anymore when people arrange their chairs in a circle to for me unclear purposes and I love eating pepernoten in the winter. For all other internationals, I recommend learning the language as much as possible (it takes some time but it’s worth it), and I suggest reading the book “Why the Dutch are Different” by Ben Coates. But most importantly, enjoy your time in the Netherlands!"
- Marleen Ungerathen
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