ABSTRACT
The woman, a fashion designer, has lived in the Netherlands for a number of years. Originally from India, like her husband and children, she now regards herself as half-Dutch, having adapted, among other things, to language and cooking. When asked (in 2019) what adjustment had been most difficult, she immediately pointed to time. When the Dutch say we’ll meet at 3 o’clock, they mean 3 o’clock. In India, in contrast, “arriving half an hour late for an appointment is totally acceptable, especially when using traffic as an excuse”. She also noted how rare it was for Dutch friends to show up unscheduled, whereas in India it was quite common to say “I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by.” This casualness was another violation of the Dutch sense that life had to be carefully timed and scheduled.
