I also think in Dutch at times, as well as one or two other languages besides English.
So I understand "Dutchness". And "Dutchiquity".
And can empathize with "Dutchotics".
The BBC and other news sources mention a Dutchman who took flight to Changsha in Hunan to meet his on-line girlfriend, and spent ten days at the airport waiting for her. He was eventually hospitalized in desperate need of a shave, and possibly a serving of frikadel and fries with a dollop of mayonnaise on the side, OR raw herring (met uitjes).
Cite:
Alexander Pieter Cirk, 41, recently flew from Holland to Hunan province in the hope of meeting his online girlfriend, a Chinese woman known only as Zhang.
...
He refused to leave the airport for the next 10 days, and was eventually taken to hospital suffering physical exhaustion, according to reports by Hunan TV.
End cite.
[SOURCE: Dutch man waits in airport - BBC.]
Dude! You're letting the side down! We Dutch are lousy at the romantic thing!
What to you may have seemed like a lovely spontaneous gesture comes across as creepy and stalker-type to the rest of the world. You know, the "normal" people? We Netherlanders are a phlegmatic and reserved bunch, except for our generous allotment of perverts and degenerates, and such free-style single-mindedness is something we do best when building strandbeesten and painting daffodils in riotous impasto.
You know, calmly private obsessive neuroses.
Flying to Changsha is the equivalent of slicing off your ear to give to someone. The left ear.
Entirely aside from which, internet romance is ridiculous, and something best suited to desperate crazy people.
Love must start with a real-world meeting, and continue from there with visits to coffee shops, eateries, parks, and museums, as well as long walks, or periods of contemplation. It need not be calm, controlled, and predictable; it may in fact be wild and adventurous.
But loony behaviour and anarchy are to be avoided.
Flowers, candy, and joyousness, could and should crop up.
Along with restrained spontaneity.
Never ears.
長沙、楚國。
What he should have done, by the second or third day, when it became apparent that Miss Zhang would not show up, was depart from the airport, found lodgings, and visited the city. There are museums there detailing the rich history and glorious past when the Chu state was one third of China, and reading about the Warring States period (戰國時 'jin gwok si') is boundlessly fascinating.
They have good food there too, and while it likely cannot be as good as Cantonese Cuisine (粤菜 'yuet choi'), a culinarily inclined Dutchman should easily discover new and exciting eating opportunities, all the way from Yuelu (嶽麓 'ngok luk'; "summit foothills") in the East to Liuyang (瀏陽 'lau yeung'; "bright sunlight") at the western extreme.
He could have visited the West Lake Pavilion (西湖樓 'sai wu lau') and dined with five thousand other people. It features both Hunanese food (湘菜 'seung choi') as well as fine Cantonese dining.
The Window Of The World park (長沙世界之窗 'jeung saa sai gaai ji cheung') might also be fun. It's kind of like Madurodam, but built large.
Undoubtedly great photo ops!
Eat, drink, take pictures, read, and buy trinkets.
Absorb some of the local culture.
Talk to people.
Enjoy your stay.
==========================================================================
NOTE: Readers may contact me directly:
LETTER BOX.
All correspondence will be kept in confidence.
==========================================================================
No comments:
Post a Comment