Six Months in the Country of Windmills: Cultural Encounters
Drinking with my schoolmates at a pub
Several months ago, at the beginning of February, my parents and I were hoping my flight to the Netherlands could take off normally, with the idea that once I left China I would have no worries of the virus. It turned out to be a safe journey to the Netherlands but the situation of the virus worsened unexpectedly. Now, with the pandemic having eased a lot in Europe, I am still waiting for my flight in August due to the limited flights back to China. My parents and classmates would joke that we were the most unlucky exchange students. Of course, all of this was unexpected but everyone was suffering. However, I don’t regret this exchange experience and I don’t want regret to take over all the wonderful things I have experienced in this semester, during which I have learned how to take care of myself and deal with solitude and anxiety, and also established a special friendship with my classmates with lots of unforgettable memories. Above all, one of the most valuable experiences comes from the cultural encounters here.
That was one of the first days after I came to Rotterdam. There was a party organized in a bar to meet with the lecturers and our “buddies”, local students in the school. That was also my first time to experience the pub culture in the Netherlands. Though not experienced in chatting with people with beer and loud music, I had to overcome my shyness to make new friends. After talking with several classmates, I greeted one of our “buddies” who happened to stand beside me. He seemed glad that I took the initiative to talk to him and responded warmly. To my surprise, he expressed his great interest in Asian cities and culture and asked me some questions regarding the differences in school life between the Netherlands and China. He also told me that even though he had travelled or lived in different countries like the US and South America, Asia was still a new world for him, which he truly wanted to visit one day. I was very glad to hear someone who lived on the opposite side of the globe show his interests in my culture, just as I was willing to know theirs. For me, this is the most charming thing in cultural encounters, mutual curiosity and appreciation.
This reminds me of a phenomenon that some Chinese parents, aiming to cultivate their children in international background, take them to travel abroad and teach them English at a very young age, but pay little attention to education in Chinese culture or their own culture. It's a sad thing as those children are losing their cultural roots, which is a part of one’s self and also one of the most appealing things in one’s self during intercultural communication.
Another thing I found interesting during this exchange time is the large popularity of K-pop music. Before I came to the Netherlands, I had heard that Korean pop had its large fans all over the world. It was not until I came here that I really witnessed this craze. There were thousands of videos on Youtube with more than millions of views like dance cover of K-pop songs, vlogs of K-pop concerts, and interviews with passers-by about K-pop. Some of my classmates also said they were into K-pop songs. Once my friends and I went to the beach of a lake just near our apartments, we came across several little girls who were also playing with the water. They saw us and greeted us with hello in Korean in a nice and friendly way. I guessed that they knew the Korean words through the Internet and assumed us as Korean people. To be honest, I thought it was fun and the little girls were very cute. It hadn’t put me on the defensive as they mistook us as Korean. On the contrary, I was glad to see Korean pop culture or Asian culture that I was familiar with appreciated by people with totally different cultural backgrounds. I have the same feeling when I see many people lining up for bubble tea here in the Netherlands. Such cultural interactions and appreciation of different cultures are always appealing to me as they have diversified our life and built more bridges among people with different backgrounds.
These are the joyful cultural encounters that I have experienced during my exchange time. Even though the world is still full of disputes, injustice, and discrimination, I still believe that the appreciation of different culture can bring us together and lead to a further and deeper understanding of each other.
Eating dumplings with my Chinese classmates
Photo with the landmark in Rotterdam
Famous Markthal in the centre of Rotterdam
