If I were to compare Manila to the city where I live now -Assen, the examples I can come up with are in extremes that you can imagine these two cities in opposing poles. In general, Philippines and The Netherlands are so different in many ways. For almost a month of inhabiting Assen , I can already name heaps of things that are so unlike to what I have been accustomed to in Manila. It makes me think of a game I played as a child- the opposites game. How I played it with my playmates ? Well, we would say one thing and would mean the opposite and it would carry on for the entire day. Now in real life, I want to think that I am just playing the opposite game. The only big difference is that I am a full grown adult now and I am no longer pretending of the opposites because the present situation now is that whatever I can see , feel, hear, touch are this time the opposites of what I have learnt and understood by heart. What strikes the most is that this is the reality now for me but I prefer to think of this reality as the opposite game. That way it is just like swallowing a sweet sour candy instead of a jagged bitter pill. Though every once in a while this reality attacks viciously on my awareness as I ponder to myself- ' for how long do I have to play this game?' Surely, it does not just last for a day because maybe I will have to play it for the rest of my life. Then my panic self posts the next question, " how long does it take YOU to endure this game?"
Anyway, to lighten things up, I try to put my analytic cap on while looking at how interesting it can be to experience the 'opposites':
HEATER vs AC
Let's take one good look at -TEMPERATURE. Say someone from Manila would like me to give them a vivid description of Holland; as quick as a speeding bullet, the cold temperature is the very first thing that will come to my mind. At this exact time in Manila, people are screaming 'Ang init!' (so hot) while the Dutch curses 'zo koud!' (so cold). The summer weather in Manila is scorching hot that everyone there must be seeking the comforts of their air-conditioned rooms in 16-degree temperature. Now here in Assen the outdoor temperature is 18 degrees and where am I? I am in the refuge of our cozy home with the heater on at 18 degrees. Come to think of it- warmth and humidity are so scarce here that for each time I turn the heater on means adding more digits to our electric bill. Contrary to tropical Manila , a higher Meralco bill means regular use of the AC overnight!
THE DUTCH TREAT vs THE FILIPINO TREAT
In the Naar Nederland book I remember reading this - 'Je krijgt maar een koekje bij de thee'. This statement points to a commonly known dutch habit where a cookie is usually offered next to tea or coffee. Often referred to as the dutch treat and widely understood by many as being stingy. In Tagalog , we say 'kuripot'. On my husband's defense, " it is not stingy but conserving " , a practical habit that may well be traced back to its low country origin of flat and below sea level areas. Polders and dikes made most of Holland up, als het staat onder water! (or it goes underwater) and a big percentage of its land mass were reclaimed out of lakes and seas. Flooding became obviously a common disaster between the 11th century until the early fifties. The Dutch must have felt painful losses but they also realize that suffering is optional so the problem was dealt with thorough care and it brought great impact to the development of their commerce, infrastructure and economy. Due to flooding, livelihood then must be rather difficult thus I speculate it must have lead these people to become practical rather than extravagant.
Sufficing the cookie-tea example, I got a better view of the 'dutch' treat in action when I was invited in a birthday party. First of all, attending a birthday celebration for a true-blood pinoy like me is like entering an eat-all-you can restaurant. Other than carrying a gift and a mental list of karaoke songs, the most important thing to remember is to arrive at the function with an empty stomach. A pinoy birthday is celebrated with glorious, upsized courses that is beyond measure. In Holland unfortunately, birthday and feast are two things that do not go together. Make this a warning to everyone- never attempt to skip your regular meal before attending a dutch birthday party. Here is how a feestje (party) is celebrated in Holland :
-guests greet the celebrant, 'Gefeliciteerd!'
-everyone stay around the living room
-beer and nibbles are served
-everyone are engaged in uninterrupted guttural chit-chats
-beer is finished
-time to go home
**To be continued on my next post - The opposite game 2
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