‘So am I welcome or not?’

At a time when anti-immigrant sentiments are on the rise in the Netherlands, Warman’s books offer foreign students many helpful tips on how to better understand Dutch culture and feel more comfortable while living and studying here.

Marilyn Warman knows all about being a stranger in a strange land. She emigrated to Holland from the US in 1970 and has since made her home here, raising two children. For 25 years she was an active member of Nuffic (Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education).

Although Warman initially started working for Nuffic as an English translator, her academic background in cultural anthropology prompted her to begin writing books about the Netherlands. Her books titles include ‘Living in Holland‘ and ‘What!?? Aspects of Dutch culture that cause friction‘.

“The main reason why misunderstandings arise between people from different countries and cultures is because people have different expectations and assumptions about the other,” Warman explains. She believes that foreigners in a new country shouldn’t expect to experience it as a home away from home, and so too should the hosts always remember that foreign visitors are just different. Warman: “Ideally, this mutual expectation and increased understanding should then be positively reflected in the way people treat each other.”

Warman’s most recent book, ‘What!?? ‘, focuses on the specifics of living with the Dutch: “In my book I point out that if Dutch people find the behaviour of foreign students irritating, this could be due more to peculiarities of Dutch culture rather than anything the foreign student is doing ‘wrong’.”

Many Dutch people are surprised to learn for example that their strict adherence to rules and regulations is unusual. Warman: “To the Dutch, if you apply rules strictly you’re not being inflexible; rather, you’re being fair by treating everyone as equals. Many foreigners however are used to being able to argue their case against rules, and then expect exceptions to be made if they’ve presented a good case. But that’s not how things work in Holland!”

Warman’s publications also focus on how many foreign students often criticize the efficiency of Dutch institutions. In ‘Living in Holland‘, Warman explains that Dutch people are taught that efficiency requires doing one thing at a time. The irony of this, however, is that nowadays many people equate efficiency with multi-tasking and doing as much as possible as quickly as possible.
Good will

With the current emphasis on internationalization at TU Delft and in Holland generally, Warman agrees that although language is a point of difference, English is still an accepted way of communicating in Holland: “For international students it’s probably more important to be able to speak and write English well. But your efforts to speak at least some Dutch will be appreciated as a sign of good will.” Warman believes learning Dutch allows foreigners to make friends with Dutch people more easily and also better understand the culture. “This in itself will reduce friction,” she says.

The Netherlands is now home to many different ethnic groups, yet immigration and integration remains a hotly debated subject these days. As Warman explains, “an immigrant naturalized in the USA become an ‘American’, regardless of their ethnic background. But in Holland, you can become a citizen but you can never become ‘Dutch’, because ‘Dutch’ is also an ethnic identification. So foreigners remain outsiders, or allochtoon. The idea of a multicultural society is defended, but foreigners are expected to assimilate. Such contradictions make these indeed rather difficult times.”

Concerning recent developments in Dutch society, especially regarding the perceived hostility towards Muslims, Warman believes it’s vital for foreign students to know the history of what has happened in the Netherlands over the past six years. For this purpose, she highly recommends the book ‘Murder in Amsterdam‘, by Ian Buruma.

“This otherwise gentle, tolerant and progressive society has been traumatized by the murder of two controversial figures and by the often outrageous statements made by populists,” Warman explains, adding that she believes Holland is currently going through a national identity crisis that seems to leave politicians speechless in the face of right-wing extremists like Geert Wilders.

When asked if this Dutch identity crisis affects foreign students in Holland, Warman maintains that Holland is still an excellent place for foreign students: “Foreigners may be offended by some tough talk, especially now that freedom of speech is being defended so fiercely, but Dutch society remains a non-violent one, governed by the rule of law.” Holland, Warman believes, will remain a very attractive destination for international students.

“The name of the game these days is ‘free speech’, with people daring to say things that they barely dared to think not so long ago,” Warman says. “Tolerance is required on all sides if we are to have fruitful dialogue between people of different cultures.” For foreign students confronted with anti-immigrant behaviour from the Dutch, Warman has a word of advice: “Be ready to exercise your right to free speech. If someone is being rude, just tell them that you were in fact invited to come here and told that Holland was eager to have highly educated people. And then ask: ‘So, am I welcome or not?'”

Marilyn Warman’s books, ‘Living in Holland‘, and ‘What!?? Aspects of Dutch culture that cause friction‘, can be ordered from Nuffic either online at www.nuffic.nl or by telephone via the Nuffic secretary (070.4260260)

For a complete listing of this week’s Study Breaks, go to: www.delta.tudelft.nl

Marilyn Warman knows all about being a stranger in a strange land. She emigrated to Holland from the US in 1970 and has since made her home here, raising two children. For 25 years she was an active member of Nuffic (Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education).

Although Warman initially started working for Nuffic as an English translator, her academic background in cultural anthropology prompted her to begin writing books about the Netherlands. Her books titles include ‘Living in Holland‘ and ‘What!?? Aspects of Dutch culture that cause friction‘.

“The main reason why misunderstandings arise between people from different countries and cultures is because people have different expectations and assumptions about the other,” Warman explains. She believes that foreigners in a new country shouldn’t expect to experience it as a home away from home, and so too should the hosts always remember that foreign visitors are just different. Warman: “Ideally, this mutual expectation and increased understanding should then be positively reflected in the way people treat each other.”

Warman’s most recent book, ‘What!?? ‘, focuses on the specifics of living with the Dutch: “In my book I point out that if Dutch people find the behaviour of foreign students irritating, this could be due more to peculiarities of Dutch culture rather than anything the foreign student is doing ‘wrong’.”

Many Dutch people are surprised to learn for example that their strict adherence to rules and regulations is unusual. Warman: “To the Dutch, if you apply rules strictly you’re not being inflexible; rather, you’re being fair by treating everyone as equals. Many foreigners however are used to being able to argue their case against rules, and then expect exceptions to be made if they’ve presented a good case. But that’s not how things work in Holland!”

Warman’s publications also focus on how many foreign students often criticize the efficiency of Dutch institutions. In ‘Living in Holland‘, Warman explains that Dutch people are taught that efficiency requires doing one thing at a time. The irony of this, however, is that nowadays many people equate efficiency with multi-tasking and doing as much as possible as quickly as possible.
Good will

With the current emphasis on internationalization at TU Delft and in Holland generally, Warman agrees that although language is a point of difference, English is still an accepted way of communicating in Holland: “For international students it’s probably more important to be able to speak and write English well. But your efforts to speak at least some Dutch will be appreciated as a sign of good will.” Warman believes learning Dutch allows foreigners to make friends with Dutch people more easily and also better understand the culture. “This in itself will reduce friction,” she says.

The Netherlands is now home to many different ethnic groups, yet immigration and integration remains a hotly debated subject these days. As Warman explains, “an immigrant naturalized in the USA become an ‘American’, regardless of their ethnic background. But in Holland, you can become a citizen but you can never become ‘Dutch’, because ‘Dutch’ is also an ethnic identification. So foreigners remain outsiders, or allochtoon. The idea of a multicultural society is defended, but foreigners are expected to assimilate. Such contradictions make these indeed rather difficult times.”

Concerning recent developments in Dutch society, especially regarding the perceived hostility towards Muslims, Warman believes it’s vital for foreign students to know the history of what has happened in the Netherlands over the past six years. For this purpose, she highly recommends the book ‘Murder in Amsterdam‘, by Ian Buruma.

“This otherwise gentle, tolerant and progressive society has been traumatized by the murder of two controversial figures and by the often outrageous statements made by populists,” Warman explains, adding that she believes Holland is currently going through a national identity crisis that seems to leave politicians speechless in the face of right-wing extremists like Geert Wilders.

When asked if this Dutch identity crisis affects foreign students in Holland, Warman maintains that Holland is still an excellent place for foreign students: “Foreigners may be offended by some tough talk, especially now that freedom of speech is being defended so fiercely, but Dutch society remains a non-violent one, governed by the rule of law.” Holland, Warman believes, will remain a very attractive destination for international students.

“The name of the game these days is ‘free speech’, with people daring to say things that they barely dared to think not so long ago,” Warman says. “Tolerance is required on all sides if we are to have fruitful dialogue between people of different cultures.” For foreign students confronted with anti-immigrant behaviour from the Dutch, Warman has a word of advice: “Be ready to exercise your right to free speech. If someone is being rude, just tell them that you were in fact invited to come here and told that Holland was eager to have highly educated people. And then ask: ‘So, am I welcome or not?'”

Marilyn Warman’s books, ‘Living in Holland‘, and ‘What!?? Aspects of Dutch culture that cause friction‘, can be ordered from Nuffic either online at www.nuffic.nl or by telephone via the Nuffic secretary (070.4260260)

For a complete listing of this week’s Study Breaks, go to: www.delta.tudelft.nl