Questions about the Netherlands

Post by NiceTry;3158990
It seems you got a good translation tool  #4 means pretty the same as u said.

I think you'd better learn some Chinese if u r reallly interested in China and wanna learn more about China/Chinese culture.

btw, welcome to the Chinese forum

Thanks! Yea I'm planning to do a language course at Zhejiang University next summer, to get a basic level of Mandarin. Hopefully the application will succeed. Maybe someday I'll be able to speak that fascinating language!

Post by moonlightbird;3159079
Questions about the Netherlands? I have many. Why the country is so flat. Why the dutch people are so tall? Why they like the cheese so much. The more smelly the better.

Haha ok, let's see what I can do

Why is the country so flat? Basically the Netherlands is a river delta, like the Pearl River Delta in Southern China or the Mississippi Delta in the US (New Orleans). Almost all of the soil comes from the rivers, some from the sea. The North Sea itself is very flat and shallow as well, it has been dry land during the last Ice Age and flooded afterwards. On this shallow sea the rivers deposited some soil, but rivers can't create hills from flat land. Only in the Limburg province (Southeast) there are some low hills, which existed before the rivers created the rest of the country. Some parts of the Netherlands have been dried up by building dykes and pumping out the water (the entire Flevoland province and several smaller areas in the West of the country), these former lakes are now very flat land as well.

Why are we so tall? That's very hard to say Some say that it's because of our diet. Already 3 centuries or so ago Dutchmen ate a lot of dairy products (cheese, milk, butter) which may stimulate growth. But maybe it's just coincidence.

So it's true that we eat lots of dairy products, especially cheese. Actually Dutch cheese usually isn't very smelly, typical Dutch cheese is solid, yellow and slightly salty. Most famous smelly and molded cheese types are from France and Italy (but they are popular in the Netherlands as well). I guess it's an 'acquiered taste': people who never tasted molded cheese during their childhood often don't like it, but people who grew up with it (like me) get used to the taste and many actually like it. And ofcourse a big difference is that most Europeans have evolved to be able to digest dairy products well, while in China most people can't digest it very well.

Post by sammila;3159106
oh maybe i can answer for u ?
why they country is so flat? i dont know
why the dutch ppls are so tall? cos they eat alot potato everyday :P

why they like cheese so much? cos..haha LEKKER!

I disagree about that. I heard that they eat a lot of cheese

Post by Pendragon;3158957
I can't really read Chinese..But I have a translation tool in my webbrowser (it's called "Chinese Pera-Kun"). When I point my mouse at Chinese characters it suggests English translations. Sometimes these translations don't make sense, but in short sentences they can help. So I found which button is 'post reply', which thread is called 'life in the Netherlands' etc. But for example I don't know what post #4 means, something about Chinese and Dutch people being confined to their group, maybe in harmony in their own group?

That is cool. Welcome
Have a great time here

wow... that's cool for you to enroll in this forum. Perhaps most Chinese who would like to learn Dutch and stay in Holland never thought about to do that. I always deleted invitations such as Zopia, Hyves, linkedIn and etc. So Pendragon...welcome! Acutally most people of this forum are good at English, some are also good at Nederlands..We are willing to help you to know more about China, Chinese.

Why is the country so flat? Basically the Netherlands is a river delta, like the Pearl River Delta in Southern China or the Mississippi Delta in the US (New Orleans). Almost all of the soil comes from the rivers, some from the sea. The North Sea itself is very flat and shallow as well, it has been dry land during the last Ice Age and flooded afterwards. On this shallow sea the rivers deposited some soil, but rivers can't create hills from flat land. Only in the Limburg province (Southeast) there are some low hills, which existed before the rivers created the rest of the country. Some parts of the Netherlands have been dried up by building dykes and pumping out the water (the entire Flevoland province and several smaller areas in the West of the country), these former lakes are now very flat land as well.

Why are we so tall? That's very hard to say Some say that it's because of our diet. Already 3 centuries or so ago Dutchmen ate a lot of dairy products (cheese, milk, butter) which may stimulate growth. But maybe it's just coincidence.

So it's true that we eat lots of dairy products, especially cheese. Actually Dutch cheese usually isn't very smelly, typical Dutch cheese is solid, yellow and slightly salty. Most famous smelly and molded cheese types are from France and Italy (but they are popular in the Netherlands as well). I guess it's an 'acquiered taste': people who never tasted molded cheese during their childhood often don't like it, but people who grew up with it (like me) get used to the taste and many actually like it. And ofcourse a big difference is that most Europeans have evolved to be able to digest dairy products well, while in China most people can't digest it very well.[/quote]

Thank you for your reply. From your writing style, I assume that you are serious, open minded and well educated dutch people. Hope all your dreams come true one day! Lykke til!

Amazing that you found this forum.  I have a weird question. I noticed that S-sized clothes are rare here. I guess during your growth, there should be a time, this size comes into play. How do Dutch people make the transition of clothing from a kinder to a jongen?

Post by Pendragon;3158780
Hi everyone, I'm new here. I'm a Dutchman from Utrecht, the Netherlands, with a strong interest in China.

If anyone has questions about life in the Netherlands then maybe I can help, feel free to ask anything.



By the way if this post is inappropriate here please tell me. Unfortunately I can't post in Chinese, I only speak Dutch and English.

Hi everyone, thanks for the welcome!

Post by Mandy_lulu;3161130
We are willing to help you to know more about China, Chinese.

That's great, thanks!

Post by Nicklas82;3161550
Amazing that you found this forum. I have a weird question. I noticed that S-sized clothes are rare here. I guess during your growth, there should be a time, this size comes into play. How do Dutch people make the transition of clothing from a kinder to a jongen?

You know, I asked myself the same thing. A few months ago I tried to buy a t-shirt for my brother, who's a bit shorter than me. But I couldn't find size-S anywhere. I asked about it at two shops, they told me they didn't have any and couldn't explain why. Their advice was to look at the largest 'children's size', which is almost identical to size-S. But it's a bit strange, why should adults have to search in the children's sizes?
It seems a recent thing, I have several clothes of size S myself so they must've been for sale some time ago. Maybe it's a temporary issue.

aha. interesting.  hope they can introduce more S-sized clothes. a lot of nice clothes are starting from M only, which make my shopping often very frustrating..

Post by Pendragon;3163169
Hi everyone, thanks for the welcome!


That's great, thanks!


You know, I asked myself the same thing. A few months ago I tried to buy a t-shirt for my brother, who's a bit shorter than me. But I couldn't find size-S anywhere. I asked about it at two shops, they told me they didn't have any and couldn't explain why. Their advice was to look at the largest 'children's size', which is almost identical to size-S. But it's a bit strange, why should adults have to search in the children's sizes?
It seems a recent thing, I have several clothes of size S myself so they must've been for sale some time ago. Maybe it's a temporary issue.

when i was in China, I can only buy m-size clothes, or even L-size. But since I came to Holland, I have to wear s-size. But it is very easy to buy s-size, most shops are available, such as Zara, H&M...But I am not sure wether LS is male or female. If you are male, probably it is difficult...

I have question!

I am student in here and I am doing a parttime job( 10hours /week) I would like to know, in the following year, I would like to get my tax back , but someone told me, i f I want to get the tax back, I must have a special insurance for part time job. But I just bought the normal student insurance. So  I would like to know how the real situation is `````