Finally, I ACTUALLY made it to the Netherlands

Ya, last time that I said I was going to the Netherlands, clearly I was mistaken. However, this weekend, I really was there, all the way in the North. Click here to see a map (or paste into your browser):

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mapshells/europe/netherlands/netherlands.htm

I was just above the "H" in the word Netherlands, by a town called Akkrum. Note: Aachen is directly East of Maastricht.

So first impressions:

1) Damn man, there are a lot of languages in Europe. As soon as we crossed the border, everything was crazy talk. But everyone knows German (and a little English) so we got along fine, at least the other people I was with did. By the way, I went sailing with some people from my lab (pics on Wed). People love McDonalds up there (we ate there twice), which has a slightly different menu than the US version and is much more swank. The one we went to had four or five plasma tv screens showing tv and ads for McD's food. And just so my father knows, the Dutch call French fries "Franse Frjites" or French fries, not fried potatoes.

Also, what was quite cool was I realized with a little German and English, you can sort of understand Dutch. Plus, the cooler thing was that you could see how English evolved out of German and these other Nordic languages. Best example is "school book." In German that is "Schule Buch" and in Dutch "School B...k" (I don't remember book). Anyway, my point is "schule" has evolved to "school" (both of which are not pronounced the same as school in English), which eventually made its way to English. It feels like your seeing how cultures evolved thousands of years ago, only your seeing it in life, not in a book or tv. Maybe that's only cool to me (it sounds lame when I read what I just wrote).

2) There is no longer any doubt in my mind why the Dutch are such damn good sailors. There is water everywhere. First, the land is totally flat. Second, there are canals and lakes and ports, etc, all over the place. Everyone, where I was, owned a boat and many had their own docks. You paid a toll when you went under a drawbridge by placing the correct change into a clog (ya, the wooden shoe) that the coductor swung out to you with a long fishing pole. I think you could go miles and miles inland in the Netherlands with a boat; the canals connect cities and all roads that cross the canals have drawbridges. So I am not surprised that these people "found" Manhattan and the Northeast of America through the Brit Henry Hudson, nor am I surprised that they somehow, amazingly, had a continuous shipping route from Amsterdam to the East Indies.

3) I may have gotten my first taste of the German culture (more likely I am stereotyping). But the story is funny anyway. Short story, I've probably reinforced the stereotype that all Americans are cowboys, and he's subliminally reinforced in me that all Germans hate uncertainty.

Long story: (Probably better on the phone, so skim if you get bored)
First of all, everyone I went on the trip with is a native German, so I didn't understand much that was said, but I understood more than I thought, and learned a lot. So that was cool. Second, the boats we were sailing were slightly different than what I am used to. They were about 19 feet long, had a main (large) sail, and a smaller one in front. They were never taken out of the water and had a trolling motor at the back (used for docking and disembarking). Added bonus, we slept in them just like you would in a tent; after throwing a cover over the boom (a metal beam that holds the bottom of the sail parallel to the water surface), the sunken part of the boat that you normally sat in was easily large enough to fit two sleeping people. Camping on the water is quite nice, as long as you are docked in calm waters, which we were. Also , the boats required two people to operate them.

Third, the guy I was sailing with, I think, no offence Mattias (if you ever read this), is not the typical German. Germans, I am told, tend to be formal, meticulous, sort of anal (they always have "their papers in order," so to say), and risk adverse. Mattias, I think, was like that, plus he's an electrical engineer, so maybe more so. By the way, I keep saying I think because since I don't really understand what people are saying, it's hard to get of an idea of the personality of people, or German culture in general. On the other hand, I wouldn't say that I am exactly the average American. As most of you probably know, I have a tendency to sometimes not think about the risks enough and tend to be a little too "chill" about things that could go bad. So together, it made an interesting mix.

Anyway, I am totally not used to these boats (setting the sails, using a motor, making all these knots, rigging the boat, etc.) Mattias knows all this stuff, so I'm thinking, "He must be a pretty good sailor." Plus, I know he's taken this course on a big boat in Mallorca. So I leave the sailing to him. First day, the wind is a little strong, we get everything ready, he starts to sail. We are doing alright, I guess, he is sort of talking to himself "So, so, so..." and then he decides that we need to put down the sails. The wind is too strong, we are trying to go against it - we should use the motor. I try and do this, don't understand what he is saying (he's speaking German), don't understand how to put down the sails - we lose control of the boat and go into land. We are stuck there until some Dutch sammarians (excellent sailors) pull us out.

Ok, second try that day, he sails, it's a little easier, we are going alright, and I notice that he is totally uncomfortable. I realize, that although he knows all these knots and stuff, and has sailed on large boats (maybe 50 feet), he doesn't know how to really sail or actually control a boat. In fact, he hasn't really sailed too much at all. Shit, I'm thinking, if I knew that I would have taken the boat earlier - let him do all the knots and rigging, and I'll control the boat. I know how to sail a boat like the one we were in pretty well. So I take the reins, do some normal stuff, get the boat leaning a little, nice and fun....then I'm saying lets make the sail bigger, go faster, attack the wind. He's not liking it. Alright, we go back.

Skip ahead, skip ahead...we're docking (I'm not exactly used to this by now). I am controlling the motor, he jumps out to tie the boat down - I'm thinking, "Not too bad. Good shit." Basking in my success, I forget to jump out myself and tie the back of the boat to the dock. So the boat is slowly drifting towards another, docked boat. He starts yelling at me, "Spence, you're going to hit another boat!!!! Tie down the back!!!! Hurry!!!" I jump up, look at the boat we're approaching at like 0.5 mph, think, alright no big deal, I'll just push us off the other boat when the time is right. This is no good, "Spence, what are you doing!!!!! Go to the other side and tie down the boat!!!!!" I'm looking at him, as I am untangling the rope I ultimately need to use, like "What is the emergency? Nothing's gonna happen. Plus, I have to untangle this mess." Anyway, I got the rope untied, and tossed it to someone who tied the boat down. Pretty anticlimatic story but it kinda exemplifies the difference in personality, and maybe, but I think I am stretching it, the difference between American and German culture. Either way, I've probably reinforced the stereotype that all Americans are cowboys, and he's subliminally reinforced in me that all Germans hate uncertainty.

4) Last thing. I've also, I seriously think, propogated my first real stereotype about Americans. I am pretty sure that one of my labmates is convinced that all Americans have bad eating habits and eat with their mouths open. Thanks Mom (sarcasm) and sorry Nate (sans sarcasm).

Again, pics Wed. spaeter