In Holland there are a lot of stereotypes about Chinese people. I don’t really want to write about them because some of them might be a bit offending to some of my Chinese readers, and some of the these possible offending stereotypes are true, at least to a certain degree in my opinion. Well, I’m not so long in China yet, so maybe I’ll write about this another time.
Where I do want to write about is the stereotypes Chinese people have about Dutch people, or not really stereotypes about Dutch people, but the things that come to their mind, when I tell them that I’m from Amsterdam. For a lot of Chinese in Wuhu I’ll probably be the first Dutchman they meet, so far I still haven’t met any other Dutch person in Wuhu. I’m still sure that I will, cause Dutch people are everywhere around the world, just like the Chinese. (With a small difference that we don’t open restaurants everywhere.)
So actually this post is just about the (lack of) knowledge Chinese have about my country. Which is actually not so surprising cause I come from a very small country on the planet, and most Dutch people don’t know too much about China either, while China is a very big country. However I wanted to write about this, because on most of my traveling in Europe, and once to the US, people always have the same idea about my country. Especially if I say that I come from Amsterdam… Yep, drugs, weed, red light district and happily enough sometimes they mention great football.
But in China none of these is mentioned. In one month I’ve only spoken to one Chinese guy who mentioned the red light district and that was a tour guide of a big group of western tourist in my hostel in Beijing. In Wuhu however I still haven’t heard it from a Chinese, the other foreigners mentioned it of course. So far the idea most Chinese have about Holland, is a country full of flowers, clumps and windmills. Maybe it’s not so surprising, but for me it’s a bit strange that most Chinese get this idea at school from teachers who most likely never have been in Europe.
I guess it’s a lack of knowledge about my country, or are the Chinese too polite to mention anything which they view as a bad thing, about the place I’m coming from?
Ik ben nu wel benieuwd naar het waarheidsgehalte van al onze stereotypes die we hebben over Chinezen, dus ik zou zeggen: gebruik je Nederlandse blog daarvoor ;)
ReplyDeleteRik
well,i used to ask my best dutch friend about sex :D
ReplyDeletelol
I'm sure for the first half of my life, Holland to me meant windmills, cows and tulips. :D Rather than being stereotypes, I think these are just characteristic things about a country people who've never been to these countries recognize them by.
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily a bad thing. Think Singapore! the most common thing you hear when someone mentions Singapore is that people get prosecuted for chewing gum. It's truly embarrassing and not even true. Comparatively, Holland has got it going good already. :P
Good to see you're enjoying yourself, I wish I was discovering some place in the world now, except I'm stuck here writing lab reports.
Stay save, Ddk! :D
This is a normal phenomenon, that's why people in different countries need to communicate with each other,and that's why you go to China and I come to Holland, right?
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
YI
That's true, Diederik,all I learned from school and daily life about holland are tulips and windmills before I came here.That' s not bad,how beautifull it is!!
ReplyDeletebtw,happly to learn everything goes well with you,take care:)
Qian
Haha, very interesting to read your stories:)
ReplyDeleteWish you enjoy your time there!
Beth