Adapting to another culture

I remember going to Germany the first time after the euro was introduced. It felt so good not having to convert from German marks to Dutch guilders anymore when I asked for ein Kaffee. I felt like a true, satisfied European silently humming An die Freude between sips of coffee. Of course it was still a hassle in France, because they didn’t change I had to do math in order to understand deux quatre vingt dix sept. And let’s leave out the British, because they seem to prefer it that way.

But it felt brilliant! I was still a teenager and I didn’t have a great deal of experience with money, but I still felt so connected to those proud French and cold Germans, seeing them using the same currency as in little old Netherlands. Of course, before using euros we already had much in common like speed limits and driving on the right (again, leaving out the British), but that all felt less obvious to me. I guess because it didn’t stand out before.

In contrast, the differences when living in Florida are obvious. Daily things like dollars, imperial, adding tip and saying “How are you?” to complete strangers. In the beginning you tend to compare everything with back home to make sense of it. Thinking, “That is like 20 degrees centigrade” or reminding yourself that it’s just their way of saying “Hello”. But after a while you grow tired of subtracting 30 and then halve every time. You start to notice 70 fahrenheit is near room temperature and when if it is up to 100, back home old people would probably start passing away.

That’s when it becomes really fun. Not the expiring grand folk, but when you stop comparing things with what you know. The notion that 20 miles per hour is safe for a school zone without wondering how fast that is in kilometers. Or the price of a coffee compared to a bag of apples, or a home cooked meal compared to eating out. Sure your phone quickly converts anything you want, but some things are not so easy to relate. A ‘safe’ speed is not a universal constant, and eating out is not the same as going to a restaurant.

I suppose I am starting to let go of some of my Dutch customs to make room for new views and experiences. It is changing me, but that happens all the time. I wonder where it ends though, and how soon I’m going to regard this new culture as my own. Not all Dutch traditions are mine too and this country is too diverse to absorb all off their habits. For now I just try adopting those that suit me and see where it ends.