Growing up in the Netherlands, I never realized how spoiled I was. After living in Northern Ireland for 4 1/2 years, I totally do now.
The Netherlands is an extremely well-organized country. Except no one living there seems to realize it. I certainly didn't! Take for example public transport. In Holland, people complain about it. Trains are running late, buses aren't clean enough, it's too expensive. A train runs 5 minutes late, and I would have been the first to whine and complain about it, 5 years ago. Never mind the hundreds of trains that do run on time, the one that is 5 or 10 or 30 minutes late would make me forget all about the rest.
To compare, I shall tell you a little story of what happens on a typical bus ride from my town to Lurgan, where I go to college one day a week. The bus I prefer to take leaves at 9.30AM. Usually, it will arrive in town around 9.20, 9.25. But it will be parked across the road for a good 5 minutes, if not more - I think they might change drivers or something, cause the Ulster Bus office is right across the street as well. Normally, the bus will then drive around the roundabout to get to my side of the street anywhere between 9.30 and 9.45. Yes - I have watched the bus being 15 minutes late even though it was parked across from me the whole time.
Anyways, when the bus comes to my stop, the driver parks it and gets out. There's a little shop next to the bus stop that sells magazines, newspapers and candy bars. The driver, not even bothering to lock the doors, enters the shop, and reappears 5 minutes later while chewing on a candy bar and reading the paper with one eye. THIS WHILE IT IS ALREADY 9.40!! He'll get back on the bus, spread the paper out over the steering wheel while scanning the headlines, and when he has finished his candy bar, he'll finally start letting people on.
The first time this happened, I was standing at the bus stop impatiently tapping my foot. I was beyond shocked to see the driver go into the store, and even more to see him reading the paper. Like, he was 15 minutes late already!!!! But when I looked around at the others waiting for this same bus, no one seemed in the least surprised or shocked. In fact, no one seemed to really care. And none of the passengers made a remark to the driver about his being late. Not a single person.
Also, let's not forget the time my bus and a bus coming from the opposite direction stopped in the middle of a country road, with the two drivers opening their windows and having a jolly little chat with each other for a good 4 minutes. I was nervous about other cars, but again, I seemed to be the only one.
Now, if a bus in the Netherlands was 15 minutes late and the driver took even more time out to buy himself a snack, you can count on it that every single passenger would be complaining to him. In fact, several would probably contact the bus company, and it would be entirely possible that the driver would get fired. But here? No one even raises an eyebrow. Dude, we should be lucky buses are even going - it's like no one expects them to be on time. No one seems to be in a hurry, either.
I am getting used to this mindset now, but it certainly is a world of difference from Holland. And the funny thing is, I can't even really decide which one is better. Sure, Holland sounds better. More buses and trains, and most leave on time. But everyone is always in a hurry, always stressed, and people have a real habit of whining and complaining about everything. Here, there are only a few trains, nowhere near as many buses as in Holland, and the buses we do have all look like they have been in use since the '70s (I'm not even exaggerating here), but everyone is relaxed, people always have a smile on their face and time for a little chat, and in general, they seem to be in a far better mood. I don't know....but I might be leaning to the relaxed and friendly attitude - even if it means I am now always running late as well. ;)
This entry has been cross-posted from Nothing Less. If you want to leave a comment, feel free to do it here at LJ, or at the original NL entry. :)
