Crossing cultures: a Dutchie’s perspective on UK culture

The main thing I noticed about the British culture is the contradiction between the well-known ‘stiff upper lip’ way of getting through the day and the way more free and open nightlife. Whilst in the day Brits 1) form one line for a desk with three cash registers and only go to the one which is free when it’s their turn, 2) wait happily in line in the supermarket until the cashier has greeted the current customer, then at his/her ease scanned the groceries, helped packing, waited until the customer was fully done and said goodbye even if the queue has extended itself past the product shelves and 3) say sorry to every single person they bump into on a busy street, on which people walk in every direction possible, because there is no specific side for a certain direction, the British nightlife is one whole different story. First of all: the girls, although the Dutch stereotype of the British style of clothing for women is tent-shaped flowery dresses and knitted woollen sweaters, British girls are actually really fashionable. Maybe a bit too fashionable for us, because what is worn when girls go out makes the Netherlands look conservative. Usually it’s girls in really short dresses and skirts plus high heels, minus anything remotely warm (even in winter) that decorate nightclubs around the UK. Additionally, the atmosphere is a lot more friendly and open. In the Netherlands you usually stay with your own group of friends when you go out, in the UK however you can make contact with other people more easily, and they accept you in their group instead of looking strangely at you and turning away. Mind the guys though; sometimes they take this principle a little too far, resulting in them chasing you for the entire night.

Another aspect of the open culture is that besides saying sorry when bumping into people on the street, people also ask about each other. When I say people ask about each other I do mean people they know ofcourse, asking people about their life’s after you’ve just bumped into them is taking it a bit too far. Usually asking people about how they are currently doing is done in the shape of ‘Y’allright?’ This has become kind of a catchphrase and to tell the truth I still haven’t entirely figured out how to answer this accordingly, especially since the person you’re talking to is generally 10 meters further up the street by the time you’ve devised an answer. Effort wasted. Still, it looks a lot friendlier than the typical Dutch say-hi-and-walk-on strategy.
 

So the UK culture is definitely more hospitable and approachable, that’s 10 points for our beloved Hofstede, who lists the UK has a relaxed, less stressful country where inequality between people is minimised. As so often, things are not what they seem, I must say however that like Mrs. Bucket (pronounced ‘Bouquet’) in the television-series the Brits are good at ‘keeping up appearances’ though even I have yet to experience one of those candlelit dinners.