{"id":7475,"date":"2011-09-23T11:17:06","date_gmt":"2011-09-23T09:17:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/?p=7475"},"modified":"2011-09-23T11:42:36","modified_gmt":"2011-09-23T09:42:36","slug":"have-i-been-living-in-the-netherlands-too-long","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/archives\/7475","title":{"rendered":"Have I Been Living in The Netherlands Too Long?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A friend shared this article<\/a> on Facebook earlier and the list made me laugh a bit because a fair few of them really do apply to me!  Some not, but many\u2026 oh hell yes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry, I just had to stop at number 81 and come back up here to say that this is quite possibly the most ridiculous NL list I\u2019ve ever seen, but since I actually GOT to 81 I am too stubborn to stop, and therefore, I insist on still sharing it with the rest of you.  I should have read the entire thing before running to my blog to post it but I didn\u2019t, I read the first few and was all \u201cYAY this is great!\u201d.<\/p>\n

Not great, not great at all.<\/p>\n

**************************************************************************<\/strong><\/p>\n

1\/ You have a bike \u2013 I do!! I haven\u2019t been riding it much lately though. :\/<\/strong><\/p>\n

2\/ You even know how to brake using retropedaling \u2013 My bike has brakes on the handlebars. So, no.<\/strong><\/p>\n

3\/ Walking from your faculty to the cafeteria has become unimaginable. You take your bike, even if it\u2019s for 50meters \u2013 This one would have to be a no too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

4\/ Eating 7 slides of bread for lunch doesn\u2019t scare you anymore \u2013 Eating even two slices scares me, but that\u2019s my low carb diet.  I can\u2019t deny that the Dutch are a VERY HIGH carb country!  It\u2019s all about the boterham!<\/strong><\/p>\n

5\/ By the way, you stopped eating warm lunch. You just eat bread \u2013 I do eat warm lunches but it\u2019s not the norm here.<\/strong><\/p>\n

6\/ You know what a kroket is, and you learned to avoid the orange ones \u2013 Yep, but I avoid them ALL.<\/strong><\/p>\n

7\/ It doesn\u2019t surprise you anymore to eat at 18:30 \u2013 This one is very true! If we haven\u2019t eaten by 7pm we are starving.<\/strong><\/p>\n

8\/ You drink beer \u2013 No country will ever make me do that. Yuck.<\/strong><\/p>\n

9\/ You got used to trance and electro music \u2013 Even though my husband loves it, I still hate it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

10\/ You don\u2019t cheat on the train, because controllers are EVERYWHERE \u2013 Absolutely, it\u2019s not worth the risk!<\/strong><\/p>\n

11\/ When the cafeteria is crowed, you line up neately with the others \u2013 It\u2019s just the right thing to do!<\/strong><\/p>\n

12\/ You used to use cash all the time, but now you have a pin card \u2013 I am always the one at a dinner with friends who smacks my forehead and says \u201cI forgot to get money out, I\u2019ll have to pin!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

13\/ You think ducks are cute \u2013 I always did.<\/strong><\/p>\n

14\/ As soon as the sun pops out, you make a barbecue, even if it\u2019s 10\u00b0C outside \u2013 If we had a garden, I totally would.<\/strong><\/p>\n

15\/ You think 15\u00b0C is warm \u2013 I\u2019m Canadian, 15 degrees is warm!<\/strong><\/p>\n

16\/ You know winter stops in May, and not March as everywhere else \u2013 Oh this is rubbish, April is beautiful in the Netherlands!<\/strong><\/p>\n

17\/ You don\u2019t remember what a moutain looks like \u2013 I remember, I also remember there\u2019s an N in it. MouNtain.<\/strong><\/p>\n

18\/ You still don\u2019t know how to speak Dutch. But your English has improved \u2013 I speak\u2026 Dunglish.<\/strong><\/p>\n

19\/ You know what Surinam is. And where it is \u2013 Yeah I know where it is, because I just Googled it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

20\/ You never go out without your bike lights \u2013 I don\u2019t take my bike lights usually, that would require actually taking my bike too!<\/strong><\/p>\n

21\/ You think butter in a bottle is normal — Wtf? Are we talking about the same country?<\/strong><\/p>\n

22\/ You know that all the guys are in Delft. And the girls, everywhere else, especially Leiden \u2013 I\u2019ve been married pretty much since I got here, I dunno where the guys are.<\/strong><\/p>\n

23\/ You go to Leiden on Saturday \u2013 No, I don\u2019t. Should I? What is in Leiden on a Saturday?  Is there something I should know?<\/strong><\/p>\n

24\/ You\u2019ve been to a flower park, and thought it was cool \u2013 I admit it, I\u2019ve been to Keukenhof once. Ok twice. FINE THREE TIMES!<\/strong><\/p>\n

25\/ You\u2019re ok with having only one flavour of ice cream (the white ones) \u2013 I most certainly am not!<\/strong><\/p>\n

26\/ You don\u2019t even bother to ask \u201cdo you speak English?\u201d, you just speak English right away \u2013 Isn\u2019t this something you do more when you first get here, rather than when you\u2019ve been here too long?  This isn\u2019t true\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

27\/ When you go to the cinema, you are ok with being told where to sit \u2013 I kind of prefer it, to be honest. <\/strong><\/p>\n

28\/ And you wouldn\u2019t dare sit anywhere else \u2013 Not after seeing people being told to move that time, I wouldn\u2019t.<\/strong><\/p>\n

29\/ You have finally accepted the fact that Gouda is cheese \u2013 I don\u2019t get it\u2026 when was it not cheese?<\/strong><\/p>\n

30\/ Paying 6\u20ac for a meal in the cafeteria seems normal \u2013 I don\u2019t eat in a cafeteria but if I did I don\u2019t think I\u2019d kick up a stink\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

31\/ You know how to repair a bike \u2013 Yes, by saying \u201cHoney, can you fix my bike?!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

32\/ You eat potatoes at least once a day \u2013 No, but I think a lot of the Dutch do!<\/strong><\/p>\n

33\/ You always check the weather before leaving home \u2013 Yes, and usually regret it because it\u2019s rarely ever right anyway and changes every five minutes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

34\/ You know what it is being late and having to wait for a boat to cross the bridge \u2013 I live in Rotterdam Zuid so yeah, had my share of moments waiting for the Erasmusbrug to close!<\/strong><\/p>\n

35\/ You can drink milk at any time of the day \u2013 Can\u2019t everyone?<\/strong><\/p>\n

36\/ Sometimes, you only drink milk as lunch \u2013 What weirdo wrote this?  I\u2019ve never seen anyone have only milk as lunch.<\/strong><\/p>\n

37\/ You have tried karnemelk at least once \u2013 No, I still haven\u2019t. I keep meaning to but never get around to it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

38\/ You start liking dropjes \u2013 Blech, I tried loads but still am not a fan.<\/strong><\/p>\n

39\/ For you something sweet means straubwaffels \u2013 I have never tried a straubwaffel but Stroopwafels are great!<\/strong><\/p>\n

40\/ Spring means flowers blooming and construction sites opening up all over the place \u2013 Yes, and home renovations, so our flat is always noisy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

41\/ Being tall gets a new meaning \u2013 Yes, it\u2019s called being a giant.<\/strong><\/p>\n

42\/ Blonde is back to being a hair-color, not a concept \u2013 Yeah, it\u2019s sort of the norm here.<\/strong><\/p>\n

43\/ you have 4 seasons in one day \u2013 On a GOOD day!<\/strong><\/p>\n

44\/ you can start a mail to your teacher who happens to be a doctor by \u201cyo, wassup doc\u201d (exaggeration can get the message through) — Huh? This doesn\u2019t make any sense\u2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n

45\/ You think that paying to use the toilets is normal. \u2013 It is normal here, it also ensures a CLEAN toilet, so I can live with it. I know the fact that I said that proves this one.<\/strong><\/p>\n

46\/ You know that kapsalon is not a typical turkish dish, but a hairdresser \u2013 Okaaay\u2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n

47\/ You start to think that the strange position of the hole in the WC is not that disgusting \u2013 I\u2019ll never stop being disgusted and annoyed with the shape of the toilet bowls here.  I would always rather that than some of the toilets (ie\u2026 holes in the floor) I\u2019ve been forced to use in France though!<\/strong><\/p>\n

48\/ You find it easier to find a good joint that a good coffee \u2013 I don\u2019t look for joints or coffee.<\/strong><\/p>\n

49\/ You have the AH bonus card \u2013 Doesn\u2019t everyone? <\/strong><\/p>\n

50\/ Your windows have no curtains, and you don\u2019t care \u2013 They do, and I do.<\/strong><\/p>\n

51\/ If your windows have curtains, you don\u2019t use them, and just don\u2019t care who might be looking at you \u2013 I have them and I care.<\/strong><\/p>\n

52\/ For you, light rain is not rain \u2013 Rain is rain\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

53\/ Professors write a \u201cwell done\u201d comment in your assignment and still grade you with a 6 \u2013 This is starting to make more sense to me, I\u2019m starting to think it was written by some college dude. Explains knowing where all the girls are at.<\/strong><\/p>\n

54\/ You can drink beer in the cinema (good) — I suppose I could if I wanted to, which I don\u2019t.  Yep, definitely a college dude.<\/strong><\/p>\n

55\/ 10\u00b0C is warm enough to wear a short or mini skirt \u2013 Nobody wants to see me in a mini skirt.<\/strong><\/p>\n

56\/ You can ride your bike in the rain, wind and even snow — I don\u2019t ride it in the sun, I\u2019m not riding it in any of that shit.<\/strong><\/p>\n

57\/ guys are very cute \u2013 A gay college dude? <\/strong><\/p>\n

58\/ you can ride your bike wearing skirt (if you\u2019re a girl), a suit or even high heels (if you\u2019re a girl) \u2013 Enough with the bikes already!<\/strong><\/p>\n

59\/ When you start having strong opinion even if you vaguely know the topic — I suppose so.. <\/strong><\/p>\n

60\/ When you \u201cwash\u201d the dishes with soap without rincing them \u2013 I don\u2019t know how to rince dishes.  I rinse them though\u2026 with water.<\/strong><\/p>\n

61\/ \u201calstublieft and dank u wel\u201d are the only dutch words you know \u2013 Again, how is this something that says \u2018in the country too long\u201d???<\/strong><\/p>\n

62\/ You aren\u2019t surprised anymore that the disco closes at 4 (but it still pisses you off) \u2013 I WAKE UP at 4\u2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n

63\/ You learn to bike without using your hands on the handle \u2013 Again with the bikes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

64\/ You go to the market and you only buy the stuffs that fit in you bike \u2013 *sigh*<\/strong><\/p>\n

65\/ Riding a bike and driking coffee\/smoking\/eating lunch at the same time is not a problem any more \u2013 We get it, BIKES. If you like bikes, you\u2019ve been here too long BIIIIIIKES.<\/strong><\/p>\n

66\/ You reformulate the saying \u201cif you drink, don\u2019t drive\u201d by \u201cif you drink, don\u2019t ride\u201d \u2013 I have never said that but I guess I would in the right circumstance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

67\/ You\u2019ve been asked where the coffeeshop is \u2013 I may have at some point, I don\u2019t remember.<\/strong><\/p>\n

68\/ You start wearing orange during soccer events, even when you\u2019re not dutch \u2013 Guilty!<\/strong><\/p>\n

69\/ You get used not to use napkins when eating. You just eat dirtily. \u2013 Is this English? Wtf\u2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n

70\/ You know what GVD stands for \u2013 I do.<\/strong><\/p>\n

71\/ You can never predict the weather and can not believe the weather forecast anymore \u2013 We already addressed this one didn\u2019t we?  Someone ran out of ideas at 45 I think!<\/strong><\/p>\n

72\/ You wait for the light to go green before crossing the street, even if there is no car \u2013 It\u2019s the rules!<\/strong><\/p>\n

73\/ You sometimes eat only with a spoon \u2013 Dutch people are more weird than I thought. I never heard of this.<\/strong><\/p>\n

74\/ You tried fried fish from the caravans at least once \u2013 No, and I never will.<\/strong><\/p>\n

75\/ You clap the lecturer (just because he\u2019s been speaking for 2 hours) \u2013 Yes, at photo club meetings. If someone does a presentation isn\u2019t clapping polite?<\/strong><\/p>\n

76\/ You run to Albert Heijn at 21.55 to get some beer for the party that night \u2013 Oh yes, all the time. *sigh* COLLEGE DUDE. This is a \u201cYou know you are 19 in the Netherlands\u201d list, not you know you\u2019ve been here too long list.<\/strong><\/p>\n

77\/ Trees planted in straight rows\/ aka the forest\/ seems normal \u2013 Huh?<\/strong><\/p>\n

78\/ You think you understand why they don\u2019t serve coffee at coffeeshops (but you\u2019re not sure yet) \u2013 Again, a newbie mistake, no? Not that you\u2019ve been here too long. <\/strong><\/p>\n

79\/ You steal a bike at the station because the night before someone stole yours \u2013 Whaaaaaaa?<\/strong><\/p>\n

80\/ You think it is okay to eat multicoloured sprinkels on bread for breakfast \u2013 No, I don\u2019t.<\/strong><\/p>\n

81\/ You use 9292ov.nl to go to the supermarket \u2013 Yes, because that\u2019s something people do when they\u2019ve been here too long? <\/strong><\/p>\n

82\/ You know that the wind blows in your face regardless of the direction in which you are biking \u2013 No, only when I bike into the wind.<\/strong><\/p>\n

83\/ You don\u2019t even try to park in an unauthorised area just to \u2018pick something up in 5min\u2019, because you know you will get a ticket in 30secondes \u2013 I don\u2019t drive, but this spelling is starting to drive me mental. UNAUTHORIZED!! SECONDS!! Spell check much?!<\/strong><\/p>\n

84\/ When you move out of your apartment<\/a>, you know you might have to take the floors with you \u2013 This one still boggles my mind.<\/strong><\/p>\n

85\/ Stepping in doggiepoo on the sideawalk becomes almost a daily thing \u2013 Don\u2019t even get me started!<\/strong><\/p>\n

86\/ You end up eating super greasy food at 5am at FEBO or ALEV (Delft) — No I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve ever done anything at 5am in Delft, I live in Rotterdam.<\/strong><\/p>\n

87\/ And after that, you manage to bike home still completely wasted and go to class at 8:45 \u2013 Oh FFS did someone get this list from a TU Delft forum or something?<\/strong><\/p>\n

88\/ You need an appointement to talk with your friends. Or your mother. \u2013 I make appointments (NO E) yes, but I\u2019m starting to like it that way.<\/strong><\/p>\n

89\/ You enjoy making tourists jump off the bike path \u2013 Umm, no, not usually.<\/strong><\/p>\n

90\/ You paid more for the lock of your bike than for the bike itselft \u2013 Doesn\u2019t everyone?<\/strong><\/p>\n

91\/ Real bread? You\u2019ve made your peace with it. It doesn\u2019t exist \u2013 What is the bread we eat made of? Lego?  Clearly this person has never experienced Wonderbread.<\/strong><\/p>\n

92\/ You know that the Netherlands doesn\u2019t have a special dish. They just fry everything \u2013 Hello, Stamppot??<\/strong><\/p>\n

93\/ You know getting a couch will be difficult because it doesn\u2019t fit through the door. Windows maybe? \u2013 This happens in every country.<\/strong><\/p>\n

94\/ You\u2019re ok spending Queen\u2019s Day in the train because people are walking on the rails \u2013 No, I\u2019d never be ok with that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

95\/ Yap, Joost and Jeroen are the names of most of the Dutch guys you know \u2013 How does this say I\u2019ve been in NL too long? <\/strong><\/p>\n

96\/ when the sun pops up all your Dutch friends are wearing beach flip flops \u2013 Uh, I guess.. <\/strong><\/p>\n

97\/ Dutch people ask you why don\u2019t you speak Dutch? \u2013 They do that no matter how long you\u2019ve been here.<\/strong><\/p>\n

98\/ You still don\u2019t speak Dutch but watch silly Dutch TV shows like Take me out and Single \u2013 Yes, I\u2019ve done that from time to time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

99\/ You have been in a relationship with at least one Dutch person \u2013 I\u2019ve been in a relationship with a Dutch person since the day I got here. Again, nothing to do with how long I\u2019m here.<\/strong><\/p>\n

100\/ You are used to people bumping into you abruptly on the street, yet never saying sorry \u2013 Nope, still not used to it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

**************************************************************************<\/strong><\/p>\n

What a stupid, STUPID list this is\u2026 I almost feel ashamed for even posting it but I am because I spent the time writing those answers.  I\u2019d love to know who wrote this list, I get the feeling it was that drunk college dude from Delft who just biked home at 5am after seeing all those girls in Leiden.<\/p>\n

Mother of GOD, I have seen some silly shit in my day but this is bad.  Actually I take it back, this couldn\u2019t be a college guy. There\u2019s no way they\u2019d let the person who wrote this into college\u2026 no way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A friend shared this article on Facebook earlier and the list made me laugh a bit because a fair few of them really do apply to me!  Some not, but many\u2026 oh hell yes. I\u2019m sorry, I just had to stop at number 81 and come back up here to say that this is quite …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[181,90,218,57],"class_list":["post-7475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-tantrums-rants","tag-frustration","tag-idiots","tag-memes","tag-rants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7475"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7484,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7475\/revisions\/7484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}