I have learned more about
routine
in the last months than I ever thought I would.
On several occasions I have been asked how something is done in America,
and each time I say
"well, everybody does different stuff."
But the thing is that in the Netherlands,
Everybody does the same stuff.
Bread | Potatoes | Cheese | Mayonaise-based spreads | Cruesli | Peanut Butter | Chocolate | Coffee | Tea
Orange juice | Apple Juice | Milk | Yogurt | Apples | Bananas | Greens | Sausages | Beer
I used to think that Mark was unique in eating in the same 5 things every day,
but now I know that he is just a little bit Dutch.
There are assumptions & structures about coffee, laundry methods (big topic for another day),
transportation, abiding by one's agenda, weekend fare,
and of course,
potato time...which is dinner,
held squarely each day between 5-6pm.
Maybe this is just what anthropologists call 'culture'?
As a person who has never much cared for rules, I have seemed to have walked very ironically into
a RULE ORIENTED land,
and I find myself managing, mostly, to doe normaal.
I'm not going to argue with chocolate on bread for breakfast, for example.
But some days, when my mood is right,
I cycle on the sidewalk with my head held high, and
I dare the Dutch to tell me what they think I must & may do...
which, of course, they will.
routine
in the last months than I ever thought I would.
On several occasions I have been asked how something is done in America,
and each time I say
"well, everybody does different stuff."
But the thing is that in the Netherlands,
Everybody does the same stuff.
Bread | Potatoes | Cheese | Mayonaise-based spreads | Cruesli | Peanut Butter | Chocolate | Coffee | Tea
Orange juice | Apple Juice | Milk | Yogurt | Apples | Bananas | Greens | Sausages | Beer
I used to think that Mark was unique in eating in the same 5 things every day,
but now I know that he is just a little bit Dutch.
There are assumptions & structures about coffee, laundry methods (big topic for another day),
transportation, abiding by one's agenda, weekend fare,
and of course,
potato time...which is dinner,
held squarely each day between 5-6pm.
Maybe this is just what anthropologists call 'culture'?
As a person who has never much cared for rules, I have seemed to have walked very ironically into
a RULE ORIENTED land,
and I find myself managing, mostly, to doe normaal.
I'm not going to argue with chocolate on bread for breakfast, for example.
But some days, when my mood is right,
I cycle on the sidewalk with my head held high, and
I dare the Dutch to tell me what they think I must & may do...
which, of course, they will.
