Remembering an Incredible Month

I have been an avid journaller for as long as I can remember. I have 30+ journals filled with memories, thoughts, dreams, heartaches, prayers, and records of meaningful conversations. For me, journalling is a way of processing through life, from the little details to major events. One of my favorite things to do is to spend an afternoon reading through old journals…although I only do it every once in a while. I LOVE reading them and remembering what different times of life were like, and laughing at how such small things seemed so huge at the time!  It’s also so fun to look back at how much I’ve grown as a person and all the big things God has done in my life.

All that to say…since I finished up the last pages of a journal today (I love getting to start new ones!), I spent some time looking back at what I wrote in the past few months. This one was a journal I bought at the Van Gough museum in Amsterdam, and starting writing in it half-way through my month in the Netherlands. That month was incredible, and I would go back to the Netherlands in a heartbeat if I had opportunity! After my trip, I made a long list of 75 differences between Dutch people and American people. Reading through it makes me miss the unique Dutch culture! I though it would be fun to share a few of these differences with you. If any of you have been to the Netherlands, feel free to add to this list!

(I have no idea why these numbered points are so small…??)

1. The Dutch are tall.
2. The toilet flushers seem to be different in each bathroom!
   
3. To turn on a light, you push the switch down rather than up.
4. Everything is small and compact.
5. The stairs can be incredibly steep!
6. Everyone rides bikes…even men wearing suits and women wearing dresses!
   
7. Dutch are more fashion-oriented, Americans are more comfort-oriented.
8. The Dutch are healthy and fit, only a small percentage are overweight.
9. It gets dark around 11pm in the summer and the sun rises at 4:30am!
10. They do not wear white tennis shoes or white socks.
11. Clothes dryers are very uncommon; clothes are hung outside to dry.
    
12. Dutch women are not concerned about their hair and hardly wear any makeup
13. The Dutch have the most amazing pindakaas!
    
14. The Dutch don’t eat very many sweets. A typical dessert for them is plain yogurt.
15. The Dutch view Americans as very hospitable.
16. Talking on a cell phone in the Netherlands is illegal. Instead, they hook up their phones to the car and talk hands-free through the car’s speakers!
17. In the Netherlands, bikers have their own lanes on each road and even have their own traffic signals.
18. Shopping malls are more classy/upscale in the Netherlands.
19. Dutch meals include a lot of bread and spreads: bread with cheese and jam, or bread with butter and chocolate sprinkles.
    
20. Straight hair is uncommon for Dutch women.
21. Hitchhiking is normal in the Netherlands.
22. It’s challenging to find public toilets in the Netherlands, and you have to pay to use them.
23. There are no screens on windows in the Netherlands.
24. Overall, the Dutch use fewer appliances; most don’t have air conditioners or dishwashers.
25. Shops in the Netherlands close at 6pm, but stay open later on Thursdays.
26. The Dutch greet each other with 3 kisses on the cheek.
27. Owning a car or even having a driver’s license is uncommon for the Dutch.
28. Americans greet each other with much more enthusiasm than the Dutch.
29. To the Dutch, our prayers in English are beautiful and poetic.
30. The Dutch believe Americans use a much larger vocabulary.
31. The Dutch are much more direct in their language.
32. The Dutch can get anywhere by train/public transportation, and travel much more than Americans.
    
33. The Dutch are fluent in multiple languages.
34. Opportunities for kids to be in sports/music groups are rare.
35. Dutch Christians place more emphasis on prayer, the Holy Spirit, and experiencing God, and American Christians put more emphasis on knowing the Bible.
36. Dutch women are much more independent and generally will not accept help from a man.
37. It is typical to go out for coffee/drinks before a meal, and then again after a meal.
38. There are canals all throughout the major cities in the Netherlands.
    
39. There are some incredibly beatiful gardens in the Netherlands
    
    
40. To get coffee, you should not go to a coffee shop…you must go to a cafe (otherwise you’ll get drugs!).
    

Later I will do a post about a week of my trip that I spent in Norway…but here’s a sneak photo of the beautiful Norway!