[:en]One culture chooses to flout law #1 and obey law #2, while another culture obeys law #1 and flouts law #2.[:]
Do you miss it? About homesickness
[:en]People place their home where their parents are.[:]
Explaining the health care debate
Every time I try to explain the health care debate to Dutch people I am faced with the same wrinkled-brow, gaping-mouth, puzzled expression that the Japanese president’s wife, Miyuki Hatoyama, must confront when she starts talking about her latest jaunt to Venus. The whole debate is simply unfathomable to the average Dutchman. Or perhaps I…
The Polder Model in Action
Have you ever heard of the Dutch polder model? It’s a political term referring to consensus decision-making. However, here in Holland, it is used within organizations as well. The idea is that everybody in the organization (yes, including the cleaning staff) gets a say in any decision that will have any effect on them. The…
How to be Dutch
Here’s something I wrote about five years ago, but it still applies! How to Be Dutch There’s been a lot of talk in Holland lately about immigrants and about how and how much we should adapt ourselves into the Dutch culture. Clearly we need to learn Dutch, no question about that. But there’s more to…
