In Wageningen I rarely see anyone carrying a ‘proper’ wallet, one with cash in it and lots of cards. It surprised me at first, since back in Indonesia, I used to take my wallet everywhere and anytime, full of bank notes, coins, and many cards such as an ATM card, my driving license, student card, hospital card, and membership or discount cards for stores, the library, the skin center, the sports centre, etc. In total, I carry 18 cards around in my wallet. So I have to use a big bag if I want to carry anything else too. Not to mention that if I want to carry coins as well, I have to put them in a separate pouch.
What I love most about living in Wageningen is the simplicities, like my tiny, cute wallet
Here, I don’t need to carry all that around with me. All I need to bring is my student card and pinpas, as non-cash payment is accepted almost everywhere. What surprises me most is that even at the market, most of the stalls welcome non-cash payment. So a tiny pouch is my mate during my time in the Netherlands. I only need to bring my old big wallet when I travel to other cities, so I can take along my ov-chipkaart and residence permit.
This is what I love most about living in Wageningen, a small city yet so peaceful. I love the simplicities, like my tiny, cute pouch. Goodbye heavy wallet!
Atina Rosydiana, an MSc student of International Development Studies, from Indonesia
Do you have a nice anecdote about your experience going Dutch? Send it in! Describ an encounter with Dutch culture in detail and comment on it briefly. 300 words max. Send it to resource@wur.nl and earn twenty-five euros and Dutch candy.
**NL: Miniportemonnee
Munten, bankbiljetten, rijbewijs, bankpas, bibliotheekkaart, ziekenhuiskaart, kortingskaarten… Wanneer Atina Rosydiana in Indonesië op pad ging, had ze altijd een dikke portemonnee bij zich. In Wageningen nam ze aanvankelijk ook steeds die volle beurs mee, tot ze ontdekte dat ze vrijwel overal met haar pinpas kan betalen. ‘Zelfs op de markt verwelkomen de meeste stalletjes pinbetalingen.’ Dus nu neemt ze alleen nog meer een klein mapje mee met haar pinpas en studentenkaart erin. ‘Ik houd van de eenvoud hier. Dag dikke portemonnee!’