We went out last night. I took time off from the studying (what a total bore I've become) so we could visit friends who live a few streets away. They're British from English and Turkish backgrounds respectively. Their two other guests for dinner were an American guy and his Argentinian boyfriend. So, quite and international collection. The conversation quickly turned to the Dutch and to the usual subject of 'what's wrong with Dutch society these days'. Funny, I've had precisely the same sort of conversations in years gone by, sitting round tables in Vienna with groups of expats discussing what's wrong with the Austria...The comparison is interesting. Austria could be more liberal than Holland now. Anyway, we discovered - to my surprise, actually - that we all think the same: there's definitely something wrong with Holland. Something about the way they deal with foreigners, or anyone who's skin colour is off-white. What happened to the famous Dutch tolerance? Well, as one of our party pointed out, if you look closely at the meaning of the word 'tolerance', you'll discover that it's all about putting up with something; you tolerate something you don't accept! Hadn't thought of that before.
It feels good to have taken a break and come together with some like-minded people (even it is a common fault of expats everywhere that they sit around tables bitching about the local population). One thing we all had in common is that we don't have many Dutch friends. As I pointed out, Pal is pretty well my only Dutch friend (and he doesn't identify himself as Dutch any more). That's it for the moment. Time to get back to this course assignment. I'm in trouble if I can't get the bulk of it down on paper today. And, as luck would have it, it's one of those rare, gorgeous, blue-sky-and-sunshine days here. Hope you're enjoying the same...
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