- Jules & Vincent are talking about Vincent’s European experiences.
- Vincent: …But you know what the funniest thing about Europe is?
- Jules: What?
- Vincent: It’s the little differences. I mean they got the same shit over there that they got here, but it’s just – it’s just there it’s a little different.
- Jules: Examples?
- Vincent: Alright, well you can walk into a movie theater in Amsterdam and buy a beer. And I don’t mean just like in no paper cup, I’m talking about a glass of beer. And in Paris, you can buy a beer at McDonald’s. And you know what they call a, uh, a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?
- Jules: They don’t call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?
- Vincent: Nah, man, they got the metric system, they wouldn’t know what the fuck a Quarter Pounder is.
- Jules: What do they call it?
- Vincent: They call it a “Royale with Cheese.”
- Jules: “Royale with Cheese.”
- Vincent: That’s right.
- Jules: What do they call a Big Mac?
- Vincent: A Big Mac’s a Big Mac, but they call it “Le Big Mac.”
- Jules: “Le Big Mac.” [laughs] What do they call a Whopper?
- Vincent: I dunno, I didn’t go into Burger King. But, you know what they put on french fries in Holland instead of ketchup?
- Jules: What?
- Vincent: Mayonnaise.
- Jules: God damn!
- Vincent: I seen ’em do it, man, they fuckin’ drown ’em in that shit.
- Jules: That’s some fucked up shit.
Tag Archives: culture
Belgium and the Netherlands, so close but so different
I did a lightning trip to Amsterdam yesterday, and was really surprised at the slight but definite changes at the border between Belgium and the Netherlands, even though they’re both part of what is generally defined as the Low Countries and I had made the same trip before. Below some that I could think about:
- Languages: Suddenly people only speak English and Dutch in the train, German and French disappeared (except for the tourists, of course).
- Landscape: Much more channels, bridges and water surrounding you.
- Infrastructure: The train stations look newer. Funnily enough, they also look somehow dirtier.
- Architecture: We went past a few windmills, and there are some definitely distinctive elements of architecture that are not found in Belgium. Brussels is more Frenchified, the Netherlands looks somehow, well, I don’t know how to explain it… German/Nordic maybe? We also passed in front of a couple of mosques.
- Bycicles: I expected that to be part of the Brussels landscape, but it isn’t. In the Netherlands in general but in Amsterdam in particular bikes are everywhere.
Recommended book: “Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind”
I just finished reading this book for my class of Intercultural Management, and I really liked it. There is only one thing that I don’t really understand, and that’s the Uncertainty Avoidance Index, because in my experience Latin Americans are much better at handling unknowns and improvising than say, Northern Europeans, but the book says that Uncertainty Avoidance is much higher in Latin countries than it is in Northern Europe. Will have to think about it.
Another thing I realised is that I understand now why I was able to adapt so well to living in Finland (and now Belgium): I was not raised so much as a Mexican. While growing up my home environment was much more conductive to discussion, and my parents always insisted on us being independent. I’m very glad for that.