I really appreciated this post, so thank you for sharing your experience! I am from the Netherlands but also recognized some elements (e.g., my feelings about moving for work or caring about the status/ranking of a university).
Something else I have experienced in the Netherlands is that people are very suspicious of organizations handing out freebies, like EA local groups giving away free books to attract people. Maybe that’s just the Dutch cheapskate mentality, but I have noticed people become skeptical of your approach when they feel you’re not careful about how you spend your money. I think it’s worth considering that this could put some people off and might actually be counterproductive.
Sometimes I also feel kind of uncomfortable about how people from the US can, in my experience, be very “jovial”/outgoing and “give out” hugs much more easily. Something else is that they tend to ask “how are you doing?” as a conversation starter all the time, but the answer is always “I’m good, how are you” and then the conversation turns to what they really want to talk about. Maybe it’s a bit cynical, but if I feel like asking how someone is doing is made such a casual thing and there is not a lot of empathy involved, I become kind of disconcerted (especially if I am feeling kind of low that day but think it would be inappropriate to mention) and wish the other person never asked the question in the first place. I think people in the Netherlands tend to reserve these kinds of questions for when they are closer to someone and when they really have the time to actually listen to the answer, whatever it might be.
All in all, I hope that, as EA grows, people outside of the US/UK might find their own approach to EA and it might feel less like all the other “cool” things that blow over from the US/UK but are not really part of our own culture, and more like something that feels welcoming to everyone.
I share your feeling about free books! It is not super common for Finnish (student) organizations to give out free stuff unless it is for advertisement, so I would also be suspicious if somebody handed me over a free book and would probably not read it if I was not very interested in the contents in beforehand. As an alternative we’ve been selling books for a token sum, hoping it makes students value them more. We’ve also loaned books so that they can be read by many people.
I’ve heard Dutch people pride themselves about their straightforwardness, so I can definitely imagine it feels weird for to say you are doing well if you aren’t. I also have the same feeling sometimes. In Finland I would try to give an answer with some content other than “good” as a conversation starter even if I would aim to sound positive. For example maybe tell about some good thing in my day so that we can talk about it more if with the person if we can’t come up with some more relevant topic.
I also feel like it’s really important for EA folks in different places to find ways to do EA from their perspective, not just copy from preexisting EA culture. Aside from being welcoming, this is also good for the variety of thoughts and approaches within EA.
The idea of selling books for a token sum is really interesting! I usually offer to loan books first indeed.
And I also definitely agree that EA people from different backgrounds can all add something. That’s also why I’m so excited about all the local groups that have popped up everywhere recently :).
I really appreciated this post, so thank you for sharing your experience! I am from the Netherlands but also recognized some elements (e.g., my feelings about moving for work or caring about the status/ranking of a university).
Something else I have experienced in the Netherlands is that people are very suspicious of organizations handing out freebies, like EA local groups giving away free books to attract people. Maybe that’s just the Dutch cheapskate mentality, but I have noticed people become skeptical of your approach when they feel you’re not careful about how you spend your money. I think it’s worth considering that this could put some people off and might actually be counterproductive.
Sometimes I also feel kind of uncomfortable about how people from the US can, in my experience, be very “jovial”/outgoing and “give out” hugs much more easily. Something else is that they tend to ask “how are you doing?” as a conversation starter all the time, but the answer is always “I’m good, how are you” and then the conversation turns to what they really want to talk about. Maybe it’s a bit cynical, but if I feel like asking how someone is doing is made such a casual thing and there is not a lot of empathy involved, I become kind of disconcerted (especially if I am feeling kind of low that day but think it would be inappropriate to mention) and wish the other person never asked the question in the first place. I think people in the Netherlands tend to reserve these kinds of questions for when they are closer to someone and when they really have the time to actually listen to the answer, whatever it might be.
All in all, I hope that, as EA grows, people outside of the US/UK might find their own approach to EA and it might feel less like all the other “cool” things that blow over from the US/UK but are not really part of our own culture, and more like something that feels welcoming to everyone.
I share your feeling about free books! It is not super common for Finnish (student) organizations to give out free stuff unless it is for advertisement, so I would also be suspicious if somebody handed me over a free book and would probably not read it if I was not very interested in the contents in beforehand. As an alternative we’ve been selling books for a token sum, hoping it makes students value them more. We’ve also loaned books so that they can be read by many people.
I’ve heard Dutch people pride themselves about their straightforwardness, so I can definitely imagine it feels weird for to say you are doing well if you aren’t. I also have the same feeling sometimes. In Finland I would try to give an answer with some content other than “good” as a conversation starter even if I would aim to sound positive. For example maybe tell about some good thing in my day so that we can talk about it more if with the person if we can’t come up with some more relevant topic.
I also feel like it’s really important for EA folks in different places to find ways to do EA from their perspective, not just copy from preexisting EA culture. Aside from being welcoming, this is also good for the variety of thoughts and approaches within EA.
The idea of selling books for a token sum is really interesting! I usually offer to loan books first indeed.
And I also definitely agree that EA people from different backgrounds can all add something. That’s also why I’m so excited about all the local groups that have popped up everywhere recently :).