Holland, let's get it started

I'm now in Holland enjoying the pleasure of the dutch life and discovering the secrets of the dutch culture.

So far so good I shall say. I arrived in Utrecht on the 29th of August, and moved into my flat on the 31st. I live in a house with more than 30 people from all around the world (for one of our assignments i wrote an article describing my hall, I'll upload it later)

Not only was I disoriented by the jetlag (I landed from chicago on the 27th) but Holland is nothing like Chicago, France or England

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First the language: when i arrived in Rotterdam, i felt confused, I wasn't expecting people to talk english nor french, i didn't know where to go to catch my train to Utrecht nor how Dutch people say the word Utrecht. In fact, saying Utrecht with an english/french accent but trying to sound Dutch is a lot harder than I thought.

Once in Utrecht and after a few days i realised that everybody talks English here, and if someone doesn't there is someone around who understands english.

Utrecht is small, houses are small, the canal is tiny (but very pretty), shops are little, but the Dutch are uncommonly tall!!! how can those giant people fit in such a tiny country where everything is pocket-sized.

What strikes me the most about Dutch people is their k

indness. I believed English people were very nice, that Chicagoans were even nicer. But Dutch people are lovely, warmhearted and always happy to help.

The culture, here is completely different, to me it's the country where nothing matters, nobody will pay attention to what you do, they are very chilled out and easy-going (unless you are on their way when they cycle). You can sit on the back of someone's bike, helmet aren't compulsory, you can smoke weed everywhere, drink alcohol in the streets, forget your pack of cigarettes on a table for 2 hours and find it intact when you come back. Basically, everything is normal and even the craziest thing seem unsurprising to them.

One of the first i did when i arrived is getting a bike. Public transport is very expensive (every i get on a bus you have to pay at least 2.20€). There are bikes absolutely everywhere, we always have to be careful when crossing a street: check cycle-path, cars, buses, tram, and then you can cross the road safely (hopefully)

My course is very interesting so far, lecturers are great. We get to do a lot of assignments, rather unusual but I'm not complaining, it's great to feel that you are actually learning something and doing something concrete.

My coursemates are lovely as well, we are not very numerous about 16 people in my class. Everybody seems to have the same state of mind about studies and partying. We get to know each other a little bit more everyday/night.

I'm thinking of going to Munich for the Oktoberfest, we are probably going to rent 2 cars and go there during a week end.