Day 24, 6 July:

At Utrecht University my classmates and I were greeted with tea, the promise of an umbrella, and a welcoming-warning lecture (by guest lecturer Prof. Dr. Wiljan van der Akker) discussing the way in which the brain creates stereotypes ("fits things into boxes") in order to cope with the trauma of newness. In other words: the longer you're in any place, the more its stereotypes go away. To me, in relation to Holland, this was a little funny. I think the Dutch expect to be stereotyped - justly, perhaps they are all over Europe - but in California, I for one have never been aware of their stereotypes. It wasn't until the readings that I realized what they all were - and because the readings sought to clarify, justify and somewhat purify them, I came to the Netherlands with a more balanced but still biased preconception. I understand, for example, that while the Dutch can be seen as "cheap," it's more considerate to think of them as "thrifty." (In any case I appreciate economical people).

The lecture was on one hand a promotion of the university and its zealous attitude toward rankings, and on the other hand a discussion on the differences between American and Dutch education. What's most fascinating is how much gender differences in cognitive development affect the results of the respective systems. Females mature earlier, so in Europe where children are given placement exams at an earlier age, they are more successful; males mature later, finding more success in America where we tend to "procrastinate" testing. The Professor concluded that the European high school system is the biggest obstacle towards adopting the Anglo-Saxon higher education system - I wonder if other European professors find such an adoption desirable, if even this conclusion valid.

Afterwards, around a flattering lunch we had the chance to speak with Dr. Wiljan van der Akker. He was a charismatic, worldly person. He took a year off in high school for charity work in Ecuador, a feat which he explained made his résumé all the more impressive. The most interesting thing he discussed was the linguistic arrogance of the French, a people who he called "horrible." (I wonder if he's spent more than six months there). Apparently they haughtily believe that one day, the world will all speak French. I wondered, in response, if the Dutch have a sort of pride/arrogance as a people of polyglots. I wouldn't blame them. I'm ashamed that the American majority is so monolingual.

We then went around the city, stopping by two unique museums: the Museum Starrenwacht and the Museum Speelklok. The former was a space and weather exhibit housed in something of a 16th century fortress, topped with a revolving dome in which a giant telescope was housed. At the latter we took a tour of automatic music-playing machines throughout history, from carillons to jukeboxes to full-on mecha-orchestras: everything after the automaton and before the amplifier. We also spent a few minutes at a botanical garden, a beautiful place that we had little time for. The rainy weather was perfect for both the plants and our umbrellas. In addition we toured an academic hall by the Dom church and tower, as well as the physics building, campus and library of Universiteit Utrecht.

Dinner, on the Dutch department, was by the canal at a pannenkoekenrestaurant called De Oude Muntkelder. It surprised a lot of students that Dutch pancakes aren't all meant for whipped cream, syrup and strawberries, a la IHOP. In fact my pancake was cooked with spek & champignons, served with a glass of amstelbier. I was tempted to try some of the unheard-of combinations, especially bacon and raisins, but I resisted for what made great comfort food. Dutch pancakes are a simple, practical, eatable meal. It does justice to the [reader's] claim that Holland is modest with its gastronomy.