“Many people are shocked by the Dutch culture when, arriving on a date, the woman has to pay for the coffee herself. A Dutchman will not offer to open the door for a lady, hand over a coat or even carry a heavy bag. If you go somewhere together, you will split the fuel costs,” says Lithuanian writer Rasa Sage.
What does the Netherlands look like to a Lithuanian? Contradictory. It’s hard to get used to the language, even harder to get used to the food. “At first it seemed like it was artificial, synthetic. Fruits and vegetables are like plastic, bread is like paper, eggs are tasteless,” says Rasa.
Dutch men are mostly kind, sensitive, involved in raising children, but at the same time cultural differences are hard to understand. “The Dutch are probably the only people in the world who do repairs when they’re not needed yet. Budgeted, frugal. Such contradictions. Being a foreigner, it took me a while to figure them out.”
