Monday, May 31, 2010

A foreigner in Dutch society - feel free to comment.

"Why do you want to come here? Dutch society is generally hostile to outsiders. In the 10 years I've been here, I've seen the attitude go from apathy and self-absorption to open dislike (even hate) and cultural chauvinism. And, the level of service you got from the embassies is absolutely par for the course everywhere here - hospitals, schools, government agencies, banks. Laziness, apathy and a sense of entitlement are hallmarks of the society..."

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This is part of a comment I received several months ago when I was still in the middle of my application to come to NL. The comment was written by a foreigner who says she's been living in NL for 10 years.

Now that I read it again, I understand what she means. Although I know some very nice Dutch people, I have encountered some 'bad seeds' from her description so far, which unfortunately seems to apply more to the female side of the country.

Apathy
Self-absorption
Cultural chauvinism
Sense of entitlement

Of course, I haven't met the majority of Dutch girls yet, but if out of 10, I see or experience that 3 behave in the manner above, that is already too many.

However, I'm still researching this, and I hope to prove myself wrong by meeting nicer people in the coming weeks through out-of-office classes, mutual friends and so on. I do know some very nice people, but it's hard to focus on the good when you experience some badness regularly.

If anyone has any comment or experience with more than one Dutch person in NL, I'm really open to hearing it to find out more about this.

2 comments:

Mumsy said...

hmm my gd fren thot similarly, that NL, esp rotterdam, is nt such a nice place to live..but there wl b gd in every place..let's hope more gd come yr way than bad

melissa chan said...

agree with mumsy bumsy (there will be good in every place)...but then i know it sucks when you are surrounded by people who annoys you!

i guess no matter where in the world you will encounter different personalities and cultures (e.g. some singaporeans aren't all the friendliest bunch sometimes - you know how they are i'm sure being neighbouring countries, i have come across a few not so nice personalities, on the other hand havemet some very nice ones), not that i have been to NL, but for a change at least you ain't surrounded by the silly and annoying malaysian ways (which are too many to list, but i'm sure you know).

M