Straight and small - very Dutch

When I first came to Holland in August 2004 I was confronted with many new things. One of those things was the particularness and precision of the Dutch. They are extremely clean and tidy people. The Dutch like straight lines.

I first noticed it with the cars. European cars, generally, aren't smoothly curved and soft and fast looking. I first noticed that European cars are like boxes on wheels. They look ugly and unstable. Straight lines. Of course, it's not as bad now as when I first came. I don't know if that's because I don't notice it so much or because curvy cars are becoming more common. You'd have to ask a Dutch friend, I suppose. Most of the cars are also very tiny. This is because of the very expensive gas that it takes to run the car. If they have a big car it uses more gas and isn't very handy. I think that the little cars are also great because of the tiny roads in Holland.

Yes, the roads are little. I remember one day when I drove on the Dutch road system. Actually, it was the only time I've done it. It was terrifying! Oh, yes, not only are the Dutch roads tiny, but they are also the least straight thing in the entire country. They turn here and there, (ninety degree turns aren't uncommon). In fact, the Dutch also use very many traffic circles so that they don't have to use the less handy traffic lights. With the traffic circles you can go when there's time to go (SCARY!!!!!). The city that I live in has three traffic circles that are very close together. I get very sick while trying to read in the cars here. I get sick just sitting in the cars sometimes! Of course, if a road is straight then it's probably a very small road (except for the highways of course). When I say a that they're small roads I mean that they are two-way roads that are large enough for one vehicle. Somehow, the two cars heading in opposite directions always manage to pass one another with no harm done. I like to relate it to the "translating" that Phillip experienced in the book of Acts.

The Dutch houses are very small, also. However, I'm going to save the description of that for another post. Not todays.

I will now return to the topic of "straight". The Dutch are very orderly people. They don't do well with chaos at all, especially in the appearance of everything around them. I realized this most while being driven from Amsterdam, one day long ago. I was looking at the beautiful scenery. I saw wide open fields that were seperated by small ditches filled with water (called a slought and always very straight). The fields were dotted by all sort of cattle...cows, sheep, goats, and horses. There was often a windmill standing serenely nearby. There would also be a quaint and perfect little farm house. And then, beyond all that I saw a forest.

Forests, as you probably all know, are un-ordered and chaotic. There are trees growing from everywhere and in every direction. There are fallen trees, short trees, tall trees, and dead trees. There are small bushes in between all the trees. Forests are not even close to being precise and ordered.

But that is not what I saw from the car as we drove along. When looking at the Dutch forests one will see a straight row of trees, maybe even two rows. These trees are evenly spaced and exactly the same height. They are the epitomy of perfectness. They run the length of the forest, as far as you can see. How on earth they did it, I'll never know. But they did it. And with the few rows of perfectly spaced trees the chaos of the forest behind is well hidden. When I noticed that I realized what a very precise and orderly society that I was about to enter into. If I had not found this part of the culture absolutely intruiging then I would surely have found it intimidating. I am not that orderly kind of girl, though I often wish that I was and often try to be. I do think, though, that the ordered facade of a forest was a great example of the Dutch desire for everything to be neat...or as they'd say, "netjes".