Midnight Rambler Explains Dutch Stuff

Ah, finally something that non-Dutch people might consider "exotic": Liquorice

Oh, man, I remember having Rumanians over for some student exchange. Yes, the first thing we did was offer them some liquorice, and yes, it was hilarious.

Thermal underwear is exactly what I am talking about. Where do I buy it here?

Unless you're British, obviously. But even then, ours is different. Mostly in longer black tubes, or Liquorice allsorts.

I'm not Dutch, but I'd guess outdoor clothing shops are a good place to start.

Clothes stores in the city centres should stock them as standard in the underwear section (but, not, obviously, the boutiques). Or, out-of-town retailers. But, it won't be the kind you're used to, going by those pictures. They usually come in white or grey, for starters. Vests and stuff.

What's foreign about liquorish? <confused> I love that stuff! Be it either savoury, sweet or in stick! (In Yorkshire, you can still get actual sticks. As in "of wood".)

Oooh: Pontefract cakes... new craving... I need to find me some this week...

edited 19th Jan '13 2:43:03 PM by Euodiachloris

I will have to look for that then. Argh, spending money.

It's Kendal Mint Cake weather, Euo. If you can find some...

edited 19th Jan '13 2:43:37 PM by Greenmantle

I have a feeling this is not the typical sweetened gummy candy variety Americans are likely familiar with.

Wow mind blown. Savory Liquorice? Would that be that heavily salted stuff that tastes like your sucking on gummified sea water?

Okay, I really should get down to writing that food episode, seeing as this thread seems to be about food now xD

@Teufel: Another thing usually considered exotic by foreigners is hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles). We eat this on bread. Most other nations know it only as cake decoration, or not at all.

Also, Cats, protip: if it says 'grill' on the package, it usually means it's been grilled, not that you have to grill it. And like Kayeka said, thinly sliced meat = sandwich filling. Look elsewhere in the supermarket for dinner meats.

edited 19th Jan '13 3:27:18 PM by MidnightRambler

Gummified sea water? Uh... No... it doesn't taste like that. It... tastes of salty liquorish: nice 'n aniseedy with a salt tang.

By the way, how does the Netherlands cope with snow? How much disruption is there to flights, railways and on the roads?

Well, I don't know about air traffic, but I do know that the trains are very, very sensitive to the weather. Seriously, one snowflake on the tracks makes for total MAYHEM at the train station.

I fell off my bike, almost got hit by a bus, and was abandoned by my group. I won't be able to make any friends here because I can't keep up with them.

Owwwwwwww, sorry to hear that. Yeah, the Dutch are very bike-heavy folk, so they aren't used to people that aren't as good at it as they are. I remember having to leave a human breadcrumb trail in order to pick up a recent migrant who also got left behind unnoticed.

Try not to get discouraged, though. Migrating anywhere comes with a pretty shitty period where you don't get what's going on, and unless someone made it their problem to guide you through it, you'll probably end up left behind a few times, in more sense than one.

But things will get better, eventually. You'll start picking up cues, find a few people you are comfortable with, and be a mostly normal resident sooner or later.

If I might ask, what are you doing here, exactly? Considering you are living around Leiden, I take it you are here to study?

Yes I am here to study.

These are also migrants. They just don't care about me. I just don't matter I guess. I think they were getting sick of me being unable to keep up.

Everything hurts and everything sucks.

edited 21st Jan '13 1:32:07 PM by ohsointocats

Just keep it together for now. Migrating is stressful enough as it is, and the weather doesn't make things much easier, but all that is temporary.

Have you joined a student club or union yet?

[air drops in emergency hug package for Cats]

edited 21st Jan '13 2:14:09 PM by Kzickas

@ Cats:

Do what Kay says.

Time for some Training, Cats. It's the only way you'll be able to keep up. Training.

Training from Hell.

edited 21st Jan '13 2:35:26 PM by Greenmantle

Yeah no I don't want to die. My insurance does not cover that.

Insurance?

* Hmmm? *

Incidentally, how does the Dutch Healthcare system work, and how does it compare to the National Health Service?

edited 21st Jan '13 3:02:04 PM by Greenmantle

It works quite well, really. All Dutch citizens are required to be insured by law, and people below a certain income level will can get some extra money from the government to pay for it.

If you are ill, you go see the so-called "huisarts" (house physician), which is a physician with a very broad education, operating from a small practice generally in or near a housing area. If the illness is something small, he'll prescribe you the medicine required. If it requires some more specialist work, he'll refer you to a nearby hospital.

How much must be paid for such a visit depends on the patient's insurance, or, to put it more accurately, the patient's "own risk". "Own risk" is the amount of money the patient agrees to pay for healthcare themselves, up to a maximum of 500 euros. If the required care is more expensive than the "own risk", the insurance will cover it. the higher the "own risk", the less a patient will have to pay for insurance each month.

I admit I never needed to see much from this system, but I don't hear a lot of complaints form people that do either. The very idea that someone doesn't get the care they need is more or less alien to the general Dutchman.

Cats - if you get really desperate for the thermal underwear you can always order it online from the UK. A lot of UK companies have no problem with shipping to the Netherlands.

edited 21st Jan '13 3:36:21 PM by Bluesqueak

Yeah I guess the only way I've ever been able to meet people is when someone decides that I'm too pathetic and they think it's their duty to put up with me.

Then don't feel too proud to accept their offer. I totally get how it feels (being autistic doesn't do wonders for your social life), but you are all alone in a foreign country, so you can use all the support you can get until you finally get a grip on the way of life.

But really, try joining a student club or union. Those guys usually have some sort of system in place for the newbies to feel at home, either through shared activities or some sort of mentor system. It might really help you out.

I give up.

Wanna talk about it?