Why the Dutch are So Thin
When I first arrived in this country, I was in shock and awe at the lack of large people. Well, let me clarify - upwardly, the Dutch are large. Outwardly, they most certainly are not. I've blogged before about the portion size of food. But now, in our new, small "country" town, Dan and I have been realizing there are other reasons for why the Dutch are so thin. Here are our top three.
1. Holidays are not spent shopping or watching movies or evacuating the cities for the beach. On the most recent holiday here (Second Easter a.k.a. Easter Monday), our friends (who are in their 60s), came by and asked us if we would like to go for a walk. "Sure," we said, and then we prepared ourselves for a walk around the town. I should have known better when I heard him mention "finding a route," but it just didn't sink in. We finally knew we were in trouble when Lana asked, "Do you have good shoes? Like these?" And she was holding up a pair of galoshes. So, we spend Second Easter driving out to the forest, and then walking through fields and wetlands, greeting the dozens of other Dutch - young or old - who were out on their holiday walk. The walk was only 6 km, but the galoshes were certainly necessary!
2. Holidays are also spent bicycle riding. Then again, most any day is made for bicycling! Also on Second Easter, one of our co-workers rode his bike to a birthday party. He mentioned it was a bit long - it took him 3 hours to get there, but only 2 hours to get back.
3. It'll take a lot to top this one - another friend said while he was in university, he would ride his bike home for the weekends. Thing is, home was 152 kilometers away. It took him 6 hours to get home. And then he had to get back.
P.S. It was verified by other Dutch that "going for a walk" (on a Sunday or holiday, especially), did indeed mean going to the forest and walking - the longer the better!
1. Holidays are not spent shopping or watching movies or evacuating the cities for the beach. On the most recent holiday here (Second Easter a.k.a. Easter Monday), our friends (who are in their 60s), came by and asked us if we would like to go for a walk. "Sure," we said, and then we prepared ourselves for a walk around the town. I should have known better when I heard him mention "finding a route," but it just didn't sink in. We finally knew we were in trouble when Lana asked, "Do you have good shoes? Like these?" And she was holding up a pair of galoshes. So, we spend Second Easter driving out to the forest, and then walking through fields and wetlands, greeting the dozens of other Dutch - young or old - who were out on their holiday walk. The walk was only 6 km, but the galoshes were certainly necessary!
2. Holidays are also spent bicycle riding. Then again, most any day is made for bicycling! Also on Second Easter, one of our co-workers rode his bike to a birthday party. He mentioned it was a bit long - it took him 3 hours to get there, but only 2 hours to get back.
3. It'll take a lot to top this one - another friend said while he was in university, he would ride his bike home for the weekends. Thing is, home was 152 kilometers away. It took him 6 hours to get home. And then he had to get back.
P.S. It was verified by other Dutch that "going for a walk" (on a Sunday or holiday, especially), did indeed mean going to the forest and walking - the longer the better!
posted by Beth at 8:48 PM
1 Comments:
Holy cow! That's incredible! All of it, but especially the part about biking six hours home. I'm amazed. Baby Stafford will need cycling shoes right away!
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