The Dutch are renowned for many many things. Hospitality however is certainly not one of them.
A word of advice for those who ever plan to make a house call in the Netherlands:
- fix a date and a time with your host in advance.
- confirm the time one hour beforehand.
- be on time. you’re late? coffee cold.
- you’ll be served coffee and 1 cookie. The cookies comes from a box like the one below.
- You’ll be offered a 2nd cup of coffee. Accept it. You’re supposed to.
- You’ll be offered a 2nd cookie. Decline it. Your host is just being polite.
- Once your’re asked for a 3rd refill, you know you’ve outstayed your welcome.
- Compliment your host on curtains, coffee, cookie and off you go.
The whole process takes about half an hour. You can image my astonishment when I was
first invited over for a ‘cup of coffee’, moroccan style. In this audio exercise you can hear what to expect.