Living life Dutch-style

As a native Dutchman, my ordinary life is in many ways different from that of my future college life at Centre. In this short essay, I'll give you an in-depth view into my life in the Netherlands, which will only last for less than two months; my last Dutch summer. From Heineken to marijuana, and bicycles to liquorices.

I’ll start right away with the prejudices. Yes, I’m allowed to drink Heineken (or name another brand of beer) and will do so for this last month. And yes, I’ve also done something that is considered legal here (although it actually isn’t, but that’s a whole other story), but I won’t do it again because it’s disgusting (in my opinion). On the other side, I don’t wear wooden shoes all day long (never actually), and I’m not gathering tulips out of my backyard. I, however, do have a panoramic view of a windmill from my bedroom, although that’s not really common over here.

But there are some typical Dutch things you might not know and these things I'll enjoy the most this last summer. One of these things is that since I’m 17 I’m not allowed to drive; you’ve got to be 18 here. So I don’t own a car. The thing I do own, just like every other Dutch person, is a bicycle. In the coming weeks, I'll cycle to my summer job every morning. Even if it rains or there is a hurricane (oh wait, we don’t have hurricanes here), I'll cycle. The best thing is that, no matter how bad the weather is, I love it.

There is also another thing that I'll enjoy this last month, maybe more than everything else (besides my family and friends of course): liquorices. I’m sort of addicted to these sweets. Although liquorices are known in the US, they’re not the same liquorices as the Dutch ones. There’s nothing better than a big bag of Dutch salty salmiac. I'll eat as much as I can this month, even if my stomach disagrees with it.

And with that said, I end with a Dutch farewell: Dag!