Dutch and TOUGH

Dutch children are indistructible. I`ve seen them many times running around in t-shirt, while I was freezing in my coat and scarf. I wonder if it`s something they eat that make them so strong, maybe hagelslag or potatoes. Must be their Viking`s genes.

When  I was a child, my mother used to dress me with more than one coat to keep me warm, and always try to protect me from the world and weather. She still does it actually, even now that I live 1000 km from home. Italian moms are in general very protective, they will always stop their children from doing something dangerous, or catching cold.
I`ve noticed that here children grow up freely, and learn by experience. At the end, who cares if their hands are a bit more dirty and their knees a bit more scratched? That is just life.

Just an example: I`ve been in a recreation ground for children in my city. I was used to italians ones, where you can find just slides and seesaws; That one here in Netherlands was like a surviving camp, an Hunger Games training. It was fu**ing dangerous!!! I`m a teenager and I consider myself quite brave, but i was actually scared!!
So, do not go to a dutch recreation ground if you`re not sure you can face it.

Haydèe

Dutch and "HONEST"

Dutch people like to be just the way they are. They think to have the right to do so. They don`t say something nice that they don`t actually believe. They won`t try to make a good impression on you. They won`t change themself to make you happy. They feel that their opinion of themself is more important than yours.

For this reason I`ve seen more diversity and originality among the young people here in the Netherlands. And I realised how strong  the conformism is in my italian city. How people always try to go with the mass.

When dutch people want something they usually get it. When they believe something, they say it. And they are proud of it. They don`t like to be told what to do or how to behave. They don`t even follow the recipes for cooking, cause <Who says that I`ve to cook in that way? I like it in this other way!> and that`s why it`s so common to put salad in pasta (as an italian I still suffer for their disrespect for pasta).

Sometimes, yeah, it can be rude, and uncompromising, and but they call it HONESTY.

Haydèe

Dutch and...

Hoi people! I`m on holiday finally!! So I`m gonna have more time to write on this blog, and I want to write about how dutch people are and what they usually like.
One of the things that I`ve discovered going abroad is that you cannot define a person just because of her/his nationality. As I wrote in my first post, living in foreign countries means forget your prejudices, and get to know people as individuals. It`s not possible to say that all dutch people are like this or that.
Neverthless I`ll try to explain some aspects and things that I`ve discovered, that are not true for every dutch but could be for a big part of this amazing folk.
Just a remark: I live in Zeeland, in the south of the Netherlands, in a small town. Here in the neighborhood there are like just farms and cows and sheep, and people are probably quite different than people in big cities or Amsterdam. Like more quiet and warm I think... 
So wait for details about dutch people in the next posts!

Doei doei! 

Haydèe

People.

If you are going on an exchange, you must know that you`ll meet people that will consider you just as someone who is passing by, and isn`t worth to be talked to. People that will make fun of your country or your accent, behind your back. People that will make you feel stupid, because after 3 months in the Netherlands you still can`t do your dutch tests. Those people don`t deserve your attention.

You will meet others, that ask you questions, all the time. About your italian school, your family, that guy that you were dating back in Italy, your experiences. They will keep you sane, happy and in love with your native country. People that try to learn some italian words, and proudly keep reapeting <Io mangio un tramezzino>. People that <What am I going to do when you`ll be back in Italy?!>. People that I will never thank enough for being my friend.

 I didn`t expect it. I didn`t expect to have someone to miss from the Netherlands. I didn`t expect to be so happy, and lazy, or to fall in love with nutella and beer. I thought that all the challenge was leave your country and move to another place. But now I know that the most tough part will be go back home, and leave the life that I`ve built here. The people that I`ve met and I`ll meet, the friends that are part of my life and that I will never forget. And even if I don`t want to, I `m going to leave behind most of them. Cause the time flies and nobody has already invented the teleportation.

Haydèe