So a few days after the changing room incident, I can now give perhaps some perspective, or a cereal-box sociological view on why I think so many folks here are so dam rude.. Here goes.
The Netherlands has a "land mass" which is 41,526 squared km (of which 18.4% is water), with a population of 16, 318, 199 ranking it number 59th out of 193 countries for population density but ranking at 132nd out of 193 in land mass. If you compare that to a average sized country in Europe; Germany for example is 349,233 km squared (2.4% is water) with a population of 82,424,609. Ranking it 13th in population density and 61st out of 193 land mass density. The Netherlands is small, add to that the fact that most of the population live in a small area close to the coast consisting of Amsterdam, Utrecht, Den Haag and Rotterdam... A triangle of three provinces out of 12, it gets quite squishy. In fact I was reminded today that Delft has one of the most highly densely populated areas in all of Europe. It is almost impossible to go anywhere in this country without seeing someone else. There is simply no space to be free, alone and relaxed.
Most people who grow up in for example Canada (At least speaking from personal experience) have a invisible bubble around them, there is no colour or shape to it, just a bubble that is understood, the unspoken rule is that you stand at least 1-2 feet away from the person you are speaking with, you say excuse me when you want to get by and you don't reach out and touch or even push people without first saying excuse me at least once.
Here, personal bubbles simply do not exist, at least not in my experience. And oddly the average Dutch person I know is not all that touchy-feely, 3 "air" kisses on opposite cheeks seems to do the trick and as I mentioned before hate being pushed and shoved or being treated rudely.
In the supermarkets, public transportation and normal walks of life it seems very important in life to be first anywhere and no one is going to stand in your way. One of my favorite examples is when you are on a tram or train and need to get off and before the doors are even opened there are people pushing their way on while the rest are pushing there way off... Isn't it logical that if the people getting on waited for those who were getting off it would all go much smoother? Anyway putting away my cerealbox (for now).
And before people start writing me about my opinions, please remember that these are my experiences and feelings, not yours! If you have something to say, get your own blog.
Peace and love.
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