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Things from my country (The Netherlands), that would most likely be a culture shock for many other countries :)

Things from my country (The Netherlands), that would most likely be a culture shock for many other countries :)

Hii! I just thought it was fun to share some cultures. Feel free to share things from your own country that might put someone else in a coma haha.

1. Our breakfast is often just a piece of bread with chocolate sprinkles on it.

2. We use our bike for everything. It's literally faster to go by bike than car (unless you go to a different city). There are special bike lanes everywhere and even areas where you can only enter with a bike and not with a car. Especially in the center of cities.

3. To protect the cyclists, a car is ALWAYS at fault. Even if an accident is caused by the biker, the car will be at fault no matter what. It might sound unfair, but this way cars are just really careful around bikers and it prevents a lot of accidents.

4. We are very direct and it is not seen as rude.

5. When it's someone's birthday, we congratulate not just you, but your family and your friends aswell. For example: "Congratulations!" (you will say this to the parents of the daughters birthday). You give basically everyone a hand lol.

6. Coffee shops aren't coffee shops. Coffee shops are shops where they sell weed and joints lol. If you want coffee, go to a cafeteria.

7. Bikers do not wear helmets, unles you're a very small child (like two-four).

8. There is a special exam for all children of age 9-10, where they can get their bicycle diploma. You will learn about traffic rules for cars and bikes and then they will send you off on your own. With your own bike, you need to ride a certain track around the town on your own. A few judgers will be at every corner now and then to see if you know the traffic rules. Once you pass, you get a real diploma.

9. Drinking age is 18 (same for driving a car).

10. Tipping at restaurants is not common at all. I only tip when it's a very good quality restaurant. And most of the times it will just be rounded up.

11. Most people work 40 hours a week and that's it. There are a lot of rules around not overworking yourself and breaks inbetween are a must every three hours (i feel like this is a normal one though).

12. We curse with illnesses and diseases... Like we often use cancer, typhus, tuberculosis as curse words lol.

13. A lot of our windows open inwards, but only the top. So a lot of tourists often think that the window is falling over lmao.

14. We have a lot of public transport. A lot of trains, busses, subways, tram, etc. (this is more European, instead of just my country).

15. Tax is always included in the price. So when you go shopping, you already see the full price (I feel like only America has the tax apart of the price)

16. Healthcare insurance is an obligation for everyone. It's not free, but you HAVE to pay a certain amount a month. Like you need to be insuranced, so it basically feels free, because you can always go to the doctor/dentist, whenever you like. If your household doesn't earn enough money, you will receive the health insurance money from the government instead.

17. We have "kingsday" where we celebrate the birthday of the king. We don't actually care about the king, but it's a day where everyone is free from work. Many festivals and activities are prepared for free. Everyone drinks and celebrates and we have markets throughout all of the country where people can sell their old stuff to earn some tax-free money.

18. Everyone is super tall lol. Tallest country in the world for a reason. I often feel short (I'm 5'10)

19. We have 'The red light district' which is a street for prostitutes. They will stand in the door (half naked) or behind a red light window to try and lure in men lol. Sometimes you're just out shopping and then you suddenly end up in a street like that and just keep walking to get to another street haha.

20. For some reason our houses have huge windows at the front. Like it's literally like an open box and at night the curtains often don't get closed. You can see everything from the outside, but people don't care.

21. To get your driver license, you have to get a real teacher. It's illegal for your parents to try and teach you (unles it's private property). It's very expensive. Just for lesson on average you spend €2000-€3500. The rules are pretty strict.

22. When we meet up with a family member, we give each other three kisses on the cheeks.

Hopefully some of these facts were fun to read lol. They aren't all only about the Netherlands, so let me know which ones you have!

Things from my country (The Netherlands), that would most likely be a culture shock for many other countries :)
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