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diemkay 's review for:
The Undutchables: An Observation of the Netherlands: Its Culture and Its Inhabitants
by Laurie Boucke, Colin White
Someone American who’d lived in the Netherlands for two decades recommended this book to me when I moved. It’s a very short read but also dated, however “recent” the edition you have. It was a cringeworthy read.
Other than things that can’t change too fast, like houses and shape of toilet bowls, only a handful of remarks seemed to me to stand the test of time.
One, the suggestion that Dutch people are open to new trends and ideas, and that each generation brings with it something new. It’s for this reason the book editions date so fast: attitudes and behaviours move on fast, and diversity is a catalyst.
Two, the notion that the Netherlands is a self-regulatory society “not governed by speeches from above.” It’s (still) apparent once you make friends or work here that coercion isn’t part of the fabric, and you learn to understand the subtle difference between consent and consensus.
Oh and a bonus one: dogs still ride in bike baskets.
As of the 2020s there are probably better books and expat blogs out there to help you understand cultural differences, wherever you may be from.
Other than things that can’t change too fast, like houses and shape of toilet bowls, only a handful of remarks seemed to me to stand the test of time.
One, the suggestion that Dutch people are open to new trends and ideas, and that each generation brings with it something new. It’s for this reason the book editions date so fast: attitudes and behaviours move on fast, and diversity is a catalyst.
Two, the notion that the Netherlands is a self-regulatory society “not governed by speeches from above.” It’s (still) apparent once you make friends or work here that coercion isn’t part of the fabric, and you learn to understand the subtle difference between consent and consensus.
Oh and a bonus one: dogs still ride in bike baskets.
As of the 2020s there are probably better books and expat blogs out there to help you understand cultural differences, wherever you may be from.