by Willem van Hoorn | Dec 5, 2022 | Life in Netherlands, Dutch Culture, Expats Netherlands, Settling In
Among other things, the month of December will be marked by the winter solstice, at least in the Northern hemisphere. After that moment the days here will slowly get longer again. And that is another way of saying that, at this northern latitude, they are currently...
by Willem van Hoorn | Sep 5, 2022 | Dutch Culture, Expats Netherlands, Settling In
I once witnessed a little incident, dear friends. And it gave me quite a bit of food for thought. I will detail the incident first, and then share the little contemplation that it brought to me. I was in The Hague for a work meeting. My way back home started in a...
by Ariel Slaughter | Jul 4, 2022 | Career, Career Restart, Dutch Culture, Expats Netherlands, Job Search, Settling In
Every month the ‘We are Not Alone’ Newsletter (WANA) delivers a fountain of helpful resources and information to the inboxes of thousands of internationals and Dutch alike living in Brabant. The newsletter is produced by the collaborative efforts of a diverse team of...
by Willem van Hoorn | Jul 4, 2022 | Dutch Culture, Expats Netherlands, Settling In
I’ve mentioned it in earlier blog posts: when you talk cultural differences, you talk ‘comparison’. The characteristics of a particular culture are usually not defined in absolute terms, but in relation to other cultures. A culture is more this or that compared to...
by Willem van Hoorn | Apr 4, 2022 | Dutch Culture, Expats Netherlands, Settling In
Soon after the publication of this blog post, the ‘Keukenhof’ will once again open its doors to the public, after a long winter break. And when I say ‘Keukenhof’ (pronunciation: [ˈkøːkə(n)ˌɦɔf]), I also say ‘one of the best known Dutch tourist attractions’. It is...
by Willem van Hoorn | Feb 23, 2022 | Dutch Culture, Settling In
A recommendation that I sometimes give to international friends and colleagues is this one: ‘If you want to start a conversation with a Dutchman, just say something about the weather. Before you know it you will have a conversation going on’. The weather makes a...
