The other day during a meeting my one (Dutch) colleague made some comment about his "Dutch bluntness", which is something I've heard a lot of (Dutch) people say, both over there and here.
For example, if they say something really terse and bitchy to you and you object, I noticed they always are like, "That is how we Dutch are."
This could include after they gave me an unsolicited opinion about the U.S.
So, when I was over in the Netherlands, I tried an experiment.
"So what do you think of our country?", someone would say.
"Oh," I'd be like, "People are unfriendly, self-righteous, and kind of racist."
At that, they'd usually be silent.
Then, I'd be like, "But women seem to be more equal here, and you have nice bar food."
At that, more silence.
"What?!?", I'd be like, "I thought you guys valued bluntness! Or is that just for you, and not for others?"
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4 comments:
Did I ever tell you that Russ works for a dutch company (Philips) . there are a lot of "Dutch" comments at his work.
What do people say?!??!?! Do they trash the Dutch? I hope so.
oh they trash the dutch. it was culture shock for some of the higher up women in the company. the dutch men treated them like secretaries from the 1960's. At one point HR had to explain to the dutch (all are men) that just because someone was a woman did not mean they could be sent to fetch coffee.
No way! And one of the positive points from my trip to the Netherlands was that I felt that women were more treated as equals there, and seemed better integrated into high-power jobs.
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