Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 04:37:59 +0100 From: Alex de Kruijff <freebsd@akruijff.dds.nl> To: Brad Knowles <brad.knowles@skynet.be> Cc: chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: How do hackers drive? Message-ID: <20031123033759.GF532@dds.nl> In-Reply-To: <p0600200cbbd56e199da1@[10.0.1.2]> References: <20031104192215.GA848@online.fr> <3FA7FEA7.80205@potentialtech.com> <p0600201bbbcdb0e35107@[10.0.1.5]> <20031104201324.GA2654@online.fr> <p06002004bbd1aafe18cc@[10.0.1.5]> <20031108041538.GA806@online.fr> <p0600200cbbd56e199da1@[10.0.1.2]>
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On Mon, Nov 10, 2003 at 05:45:47PM +0100, Brad Knowles wrote: > At 11:15 PM -0500 2003/11/07, Rahul Siddharthan wrote: > > > As I said, if you're planning to spend some time there you'd want to > > learn the language. Just as anyone wanting to spend time in America > > should know English. > > I was trying to emphasize the point that, even if you are told > you do not need to learn the language, you should do so anyway -- for > social reasons, if not practical ones. Now also because of political reason. Everyone needs to be integraded (fit in) in to the population. This not only means you have to learn Dutch. It also means you have to take part in local activities, like celibrating 'Sinterklaas', which is the holy person for the sailors. This includes standing in a harbor when he arives on a boat from Spain early novemeber, when its freezing and poring down on you. Sinterklaas, also known as 'de Sint' (de meand the and Sint is short for Sinterklaas) wares a mantle and a mitre, much like the pope does, only its in read. He has many helpers with called 'Piet' (a groep of them is called 'Pieten' and have total black skin, which are even more black than a negro is. These will give you special candy like 'pepernote', 'taai-taai' and 'marsepijn'. On 5 december you have to set you shoe near a fire place before you go to sleep. This have to be filled with carrots for his horse. You also have to sing a special song for Sinterklaas before you go to bed. One of his 'Pieten' are listening to this. I be happy to send you lyrics of one of two real easy songs. Depending on all of this one of three things happens. The first is that you have done it all good enove and you get some more candy in your shoe. The second is that you get a 'roe' (a buch of thin wooden sticks about 20 inch long). This is a left over of a old tradition where Sinterklaas would spank you with it. Today this serves as a mild warning. If you have done a realy terrible job, then one of his Pieten will come the next day and you go in a cotton sack on the boat to Spain. Bleave me you don't want that! Its expected that you sing 'Dag sinterklaasje' the next day in the harbor to say fairwell. > Frankly, in terms of day-to-day "getting things done" in the > Netherlands, I found that everyone I encountered throughout > Amsterdam, Utrecht, Waardenburg, and all the other towns and cities I > went to/through, spoke enough English that I could get by -- everyone > from gas station attendants to check out clerks at supermarkets and > hardware stores, etc.... This is due to the school. The englisch classes start when you are about then and continue until you at least sixteen. Those who have a high base of education still have to one or two more years. Those who then continue to earn a title also have antoher couple of years of englisch class. The TV also help. A lot is in Englisch and these are not spoken of but subtited. > There are few conversation-stoppers worse than "I'm sorry, I > don't speak your language -- can you speak mine?" So, you miss out > on all the hallway chat, the elevator chat, the smoke-room chat, and > all those little social encounters that can end up making your life > wonderful or miserable, and can seriously shorten or lengthen your > stay at that employer. The smoke-room chat is going to be banned by potitics starting 2004. -- Alex Articles based on solutions that I use: http://www.kruijff.org/alex/index.php?dir=docs/FreeBSD/
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