Puzzels - Wageningen UR

TYPICAL DUTCH
ILLUSTRATIE: HENK VAN RUITENBEEK
Colourful Pride
Since my first days in the Netherlands, I couldn’t wrap my head around the sight of men wearing
brightly coloured pants. They are everywhere: riding bikes, sitting on grass eating lunch and
parading down the streets. The first time I saw an older gent proudly wearing a bright purple
sweater and red trousers, I thought he certainly wanted to make a statement.
It’s important to state that this phenomenon is not limited to blood-coloured varieties. Dutch
people have been known to like all citrus flavoured pants too. You always find some long-legged
man taking their orange, yellow, peach (or even pink!) counterparts for a stroll in the lowlands. It
seems to me a true cultural characteristic.
Of course there is nothing technically wrong with red or orange pants. However, I can’t lie…it was
really odd at first sight. Especially because in Brazil there is still a traditional prejudice about men
who wear clothes which are not black, blue or white. Men who go around in this kind of apparel
are considered gay and it is even seen as impolite. But my naivety and old-fashioned thoughts are
to be forever lost.
To tell the truth, I joined in this ‘fever’ too. After all, I realized that it is nice way to show your mood
and bring more brightness and happiness to daily life. It was the first Dutch curiosity that made
me scratch my head and wonder ‘what the heck is going on in this country?’ Guilherme Amorim
Franchi, Brazilian MSc student of Animal Sciences at Wageningen University
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 fifty euro and Dutch candy.
KLEURRIJK
Een oudere man in een
knalpaarse trui en een
rode broek. Guilherme
vond het nogal een raar
gezicht en dacht dat deze
meneer een statement
wilde maken. Maar nee,
veel Nederlandse mannen
dragen gekleurde
kleren, geel, oranje en
zelfs roze. In Brazilië is
dat not done. Daar bestaat
nog steeds een
vooroordeel tegen mannen
die geen wit, zwart
of blauw dragen. Die zijn
homo of ze provoceren.
Guilherme waardeert die
bontigheid wel. Zelf
draagt hij ook kleuren en
daarmee kan hij zijn goede
humeur laten zien.