Lesson of the day

I firmly believe you should spend each day of your life trying to learn one new thing. It can be something really simple, like what the lowest level on a PS2 game looks like, or something a little more complicated, like how to use scallograms to create a reliable scale. Yesterday, I learned three important things:
1) Some things never change
2) I look American
3) Southerners may actually be a lot more direct than you think

Yesterday I decided to visit the department where I used to work before we moved to the US. I’ve kept in touch with a lot of my former co-workers, either through joint research efforts, or on a more personal level, and so it seemed like a good idea to stop in and say hello. The moment I walked into the building it was like I was transported back in time; everything was still exactly the same, down to the messy bulletin boards and the smell of cleaning fluids. There were a few new faces, and some people had moved to different offices, but besides that very little had changed within the department. While it’s nice to know some things don’t change, it’s also slightly odd that while you’ve gone and changed your whole life around, these people, whom you all know very well, haven’t changed one iota in their daily routine; they still bicker over classroom assignments, share pots of coffee, and all have lunch together.

While at the department, I also discovered that apparently I look American now. I think I had at least five people tell me that yesterday, and I’m still not quite sure what to make of that. Should I be proud? Ashamed? Should I even care at all? Above all, it’s slightly confusing, I mean, since when is there such thing as a generic “American look”? I know that Dutch people have this idea of Americans as overweight, sneaker-wearing, fanny pack-toting people, who at times dress like it’s the 1980s, but unless I’ve lost my mind and no one has told me, I don’t think I’m any of those things. I was thinking about this yesterday as I pondered my jeans, crocs, and hoodie, and decided that it may have something to do with the extent that you care about what you wear. Having been in Holland for a week now, I think I can come to the tentative conclusion that Dutch people generally always care about what they look like. It doesn’t matter whether they’re merely heading to the post office or the dentist, Dutch people will usually carefully consider their outfit. Conversely, I think, after considering my pajama-clad students, that Americans don’t always care. Sure, when the time is right, every southern woman will pile up her hair and her make-up, pull out that skirt and shirt, and find herself a nice pair of shoes and hose. But whenever a southern woman has a day off and only has to run to the store, she won’t spend more than five minutes deciding what to wear (if that). After all, it’s only the grocery store clerk, or your professor and your fellow-suffering students who will see you. I think I’ve slowly begun to pick up on that attitude as well. Although I don’t think I will ever run to the store in my pajamas, I have begun to notice that when I don’t have to dress up for work, I don’t really care about what I put on. Sure, I’ll probably still look alright (I don’t really own a fanny pack for starters), but I really don’t care. So yesterday, it probably wasn’t the fact that I was wearing a hoodie and jeans and crocs, it was the fact that I really didn’t care what everyone else thought of me. Now if this finding is actually true, then not only have I finally achieved what I've been trying to do since I was a teenager, but I guess I would also have to say that I’m proud to look like an American.

And lastly, I know I’ve spent a lot of time in this blog lamenting the fact that southerners can be so indirect, and I’ve probably also mentioned from time to time that Dutch people are a lot more direct in their daily conversations. But yesterday, I’ve had to slightly revise that opinion though. Sure, Dutch people will say things that southerners wouldn’t even dream of saying, such as the former co-worker who commented on my crocs by saying “I’ve heard they’re really comfortable, but I don’t want to try them on because then I may find myself agreeing, and I think they are just too ugly to wear anywhere”. When you think like a Dutch person, that comment is actually fairly acceptable. Think like a southerner, and your ruffled shirt just ran for cover. But on the other hand, when push comes to shove, I found that my former co-workers are less likely to address issues that are really important because they are somehow afraid that they will upset the applecart. No one will talk to the professor who never shows up unless he absolutely has to. No one will mention the mistakes made by the administration. No one will stand up for their or the department’s rights to money or faculty. Now I don’t mean to imply that people at my school in Georgia are constantly battling every wrong, but I do believe they are more likely to speak up. In the week before I left for Holland I had a very straightforward conversation with our dean about my position and salary next year, and now that I’ve spent a few hours at my old work, I think I can safely say that I would have never dared to be that direct with anyone there, let alone someone high up like the dean. For all their charms and manners, I think southern people should not be underestimated, while it sometimes seems that Dutch people are more bark than bite.

So those were my three lessons of the day. Since that’s two more than the norm, I think that I get to play dumb today!