First of all, as we've seen in the Social Networks seminary, you have to spend some times before being hurt by the cultural barrier. This is why 6 weeks (deadline) to write this article are not enough. In 6 weeks, I don't have time to have myself hurted in this barrier and see how things are different over there than in France. And this is only with a longer time spent in this culture that i'm able to see what 's different.
People
Dutch people have some different point of view than french people. Obviously. Moreover, with the world cup Football, people show their hidden cultural aspects more clearly. Even if this could be replace in any other country in the world, dutch people were really hoping that the Netherland's team could win this World Cup, especially with this good start with Spain. I'm not really interested in Football, so I went out with a married friend in Amsterdam to have a drink and spend some times with Dutch people. We went into a huge place full of bar & restaurant. Each restaurant and bars had a Orange flash and lots of little one, A big screen display to show the footbal match and they were all in circle. I mean, you could see every bar in the place because it was in circle.
Me and my Friend Mélanie weren't really interested by the football match. So we were in a bar and got a drink but... In every single goal, the waitress came to us with a big smile and started talk with us about this football match to keep us inform ! That was really glad of her ! My point is, their behaviour when it comes to speak about Netherland become really enthoustiatic and full of energy that it becomes contagious.
They are really proud of their country and their rich cultural heritage, history etc.
Dutch people are really turned on the family aspect. They usually spend their week end or sunday together. But more like a normal thing. One day in the week to gather around a dinner and spend the day together. In france, we used to have this day reserved for laziness and home manual work. Moreover, if they are not at home, you can find them in a restaurant around the city. I'm telling you this because dutch people have a really really weird thing they use to do when they are at a bar outside. When in France we go into a bar we try to have people in front of us to be able to talk to someone while drinking a coffee or strong alcohol. Dutch people think in a different way. They all sit in the same bench faced into the street and they are all watching people crossing the street. So you can have a group of 6 people all looking at the same way and drinking.
There is a difference that i've been experiencing a lot of time and it's still disturbing me. When I meet new peoples i used to say Hello to them with kisses on the cheeks when they are girls. Even if it's normal for a french people to kiss instead of hand shake. But in Netherland, girls also greet with a Hand-Shake. It could be irrelevant here, but i've met a lot of girls, and as my culture is inside of me, it was natural for me. So i went straight into them to kiss them and most of the time, it appears to be a really awkward moment. Because they really don't know what is happening... Then I explain i'm french and I used to do that so, they don't have to be offended. And that I really can't hand shake a girl in a non professional situation. (Even If i did it because I wanted to be part of this Netherland culture). After this experiences, I've noticed something interesting. When you have a cultural issue with someone, things usually follow the one with the most known fact. I mean that french people are really known for kisses on the cheeks to greet. So usually, people accept to follow the most established culture's rules which is kisses.
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