Student
Typical Dutch

Wet hair

The winter is over in Wageningen, and now we can all – occasionally – enjoy the beautiful sunlight. But last winter I noticed something which seemed very strange to me: most Dutch people don’t dry their hair before they go outside, not even when it’s very cold.

After swimming or showering, Dutch women just make a pony tail or a bun and don’t even put on a hat when they go out. In my country, we always first dry our hair, stay inside for the next two hours and put on a hat or cap before we can go outside. This takes a lot of time. According to our ancestors, we do all this in order to prevent – I don’t know – inflammation of the brain or a fever.

If you sit next to an open window with wet hair, the draught will kill you, we are taught. I asked a couple of Dutch girls if they are not scared of catching a cold or something, but they said no, and told me they think it is fun when their hair freezes sometimes.

I tried once to go outside while my hair was still wet – it was 15°C – and it felt okay. But if my grandmother had seen me, she would have panicked and called the doctor immediately.

Maja Tisma,

MSc student of Tourism, Leisure and Environment,from Croatia

Do you have a nice anecdote about your experience of going Dutch? Send it in! Describe 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 euro and Dutch candy.

NL: Natte haren

Afgelopen winter zag Maja Tisma in Nederland een verschijnsel waar haar oma de kriebels van zou krijgen: meiden die met nat haar buiten lopen, zelfs als het vriest. Vrouwen in Kroatië leren dat ze na het badderen eerst uitgebreid moeten föhnen, nog twee uur moeten wachten en ten slotte een muts of pet op moeten zetten voor ze naar buiten gaan. Welk onheil ze hiermee precies voorkomen, is Maja niet helemaal duidelijk. Iets met hersenontsteking of koorts. Ofzo.

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