The wow factor

Returning to Holland seems to be getting progressively stranger as time goes by. You would think that one would get used to how things are different from back home, but you really don't. Or at least, I don't. I only seem to find more things that are weird different.

Every time I'm back here, there is a whole slew of other odd things that I don't remember noticing before. Things that make me go "oh wow", and have everyone around me turn around and stare (which will then elicit another "oh wow" from me, and then more people will stare, and well, it just gets really odd from there).

So anyway, the reason I am in Holland right now is not a well-deserved vacation. Of course not! DixieChick doesn't believe in well-deserved anythings (I am more of the "Work until you die" lifestyle), but because I was invited to speak at a conference in the Netherlands this week. And not only did I get invited to come over, the organizing university also offered to pay my airfare. And, no, I am not kidding. Someone wants to hear me speak so badly, they will pay me. Can I have a really loud "wow"? So I booked a ticket at the speed of light, and here I am. Severely jetlagged, and apparently also a little culture shocked.

So what were some of today's "wow's"?

Well, for your convenience, and because I am a type A personality, I have a created a small list.

1. This one is not necessarily related to Holland, but I just had to include it. Have airlines been reducing leg room in the past months or what? Because, wow, I had to just about put my legs up behind my ears to lay back in my seat, and I'm a measly 5'4". It made for great yoga, but did very little for my ability to sleep, as my knee/hip/thigh/calf would take turns aching, wake me up, and force me to shift my legs onto my shoulders, or in my lap, or some other odd contortionist-like position.

2. Now my second one is related to Holland. Did you know that Dutch people dress up to go shopping? For real. I went into town today, and there was no one, and I mean no one in jeans, or shorts, or a "I went to the Great Smokey Mountains and bought this crappy Dollywood memento" t-shirt. At all. All the women looked like they were off to parties in cute little skirts, dresses, while the men wore nice slacks, capris (that was another wow! right there), button-downs, or brightly-colored polos.

3. The Dutch dress down for weddings. While we were having a coffee on one of the many little outdoor cafes every Dutch town has, we saw two wedding parties come out of the town hall conveniently located next to our little cafe. And although the brides looked awesome, the guests looked well, like they were going shopping. They weren't in jeans (obviously), but there were no pretty dresses, no nice hairdoes, nothing of the sort.

4. The Dutch are really fashion-conscious. You may recall husband-dear and I last visited in Holland in March, and it seems as though the fashion has changed completely since then. While in the US we are apparently stuck in the early 2000s, since my clothes from that era are still considered hip, here in Holland they have moved on up. While skinnypants were all the rage in March, now all the women were sporting leggings. White skintight leggings. With a dress or a skirt over it. Yes, I said leggings. And I said skirt. And scary as all that may sound, I will bet you a pound of Dutch cheese that in three months it will all have changed again. Which I guess is a good thing if you're like me, and you don't like leggings. But I could see how it might be a bad thing if you're Dutch and you feel pressured into updating your wardrobe every six months. Let me tell you, I feel really lucky to live in a part of the world where updating is something you do maybe every ten years, and where the 80s still live on.

So, yeah, I had some definite fashion-shock today. Now excuse me while I go hunt through my lugagge to see if I brought -anything- that will make me blend into the crowd a little better.