De Telegraaf: Reputatie Nederland slecht. The (short and biased) article talks about how the Netherlands have a bad reputation abroad. Roughly translated, it starts with: “The Netherlands are a country of milk and honey, of windmills, wooden shoes, moats and art. Or are they? Coffeeshops, prostitution, abortion and crime are at least as well-known abroad.” Followed by the opinion of one (!) person who is ashamed of his country’s reputation, because everybody he talked to in the US associated the Netherlands with drugs.

Efectos Especiales

Well, I guess that’s the point of a reputation: you are *reputed* to be such and such. Nothing more. Sure, sometimes the reputation is true, sometimes, it’s hogwash…

I’ve worked for a Dutch company for 3 years, and been countless times to NL. The things people usually point out are more effects/consequences rather than a characterization of the Dutch. People don’t go to bruine kroegen because it’s what the Dutch do; rather people *can* go to these ‘brown bars’ because NL is what it is. Quite a difference.

As a Frenchman, I could confirm the “reputation” that our two countries have: it’s very hard for Dutch and French people to work together. I don’t think it means one or the other – or both – country is bad or whatever, it’s just that the mentalities are so different that working together on a daily basis is a chore.

I spoke with a lot of my non-Dutch colleagues about what felt “wrong” or odd when visiting NL, and we mostly agreed on an apparent lack of basic social skills. While being a very politically-correct bunch, the things you’ll hear sometimes is enough to make you reach for your gun. And what’s up with leaving for the day without even saying goodbye to the people around you? When we had visitors from Holland, we made sure they were taken care of and never left alone unless they asked. Never once was this basic curtesy returned when we visited HQ, which, incidentally, was located in the middle of nowhere. No transportation back to our hotels, nobody offered to give us a ride [and asking directly for one often felt like farting loud], no proposal to get a drink [and let’s not get into the topic of money…].

Yeah, I think the words that would come to mind would be cold, [seemingly] unfriendly/unpolite, and loneliness. I am not saying that French are any better, it’s just that this is what really felt different in Holland…

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