Deep thoughts, cheap shots, and bon mots: Reflecting on my experience

Sorry for the delay; the final blog is finally here! While writing the blog was fun each week in the Netherlands, I have been a bit less motivated to put this last entry out so quickly given that I now have plenty of free time (and wifi access). While I was wwoofing, I’d often cobble together a blog entry during one sitting in an hour or less, determined to share the current leg of my journey before new experiences flooded my short term memory. Writing the blogs quickly helped me keep an accurate journal of what happened on my trip, but sometimes came at the expense of grammar and fully thought out ideas.

I’m hoping this last entry will feel a little more thought out than some of my hastier posts. Since I’m focusing on a more holistic version of my experience, it should not matter too much that I’m writing this two weeks after I crossed the Atlantic (the ocean, not the left-leaning media outlet). My goal here is to share my thoughts on wwoofing, living in the Netherlands, and my own personal growth. At the end of the post, I’m also going to include the much anticipated (so I hope) ranking lists of some of the things I repeatedly encountered on my trip, so make sure to read until the end. Finally, shoutout to Scott Ostler for inspiring the title of this post. Anyone who has read the sports column in the SF Chronicle sometime in the past 30 years will recognize the name. All credit for the title goes to him, so please don’t go after me for copyright infringement (if anything this blog may garner more attention to his columns; after all I have a large group of loyal readers).

Farming

I did not have that much prior farming experience heading into my trip. I’ve spent plenty of time gardening in the backyard with my family, and have volunteered a few times for a day on a farm, but nothing more than that. Wwoofing doesn’t expect people to have extensive farming experience, which was why I was excited to try it. Nothing I did on any of the three farms was very technical anyway, it was always more focused on just having an extra set of hands to help out.

Not needing much experience to work on the farms had its pros and cons. On the one hand, I could begin working right away to make an impact, keeping me busy. On the other hand, I didn’t learn as much as I had hoped to because the work was often basic. I made sure to be curious, and asked lots of questions about why we were doing things the way we were, but received mixed levels of answers. Sometimes I’d spur someone to go on a long tangent about soil quality (often claiming their own technique’s superiority), but other times I’d receive a very curt Dutch answer.

As a principle, I usually don’t blindly follow instructions if I feel like I don’t understand the intent or purpose behind them. This is always received differently depending on the person and context. In high school and college, deeper questioning was usually encouraged, as it showed a good grasp of the material and desire to learn more. In a more professional setting (like during my internships), I learned to scale back my questioning a little bit, showing that I can be independent in my projects. Even if my questions weren’t procedural in nature (ex: how do I use this Excel formula), but more thinking-based (ex: why did you decide to ask that question to a client), I had to scale them back altogether to not risk bothering my boss too much.

On the farm setting, I set out to lean towards the school level of questioning, since I was there to primarily benefit myself, and I would benefit more the more I learned. I felt there was no harm in trying to ask as many questions as possible, since the worse outcome, being “fired,” was not a huge deal for me. In the end, I felt like I asked a good amount of questions, but didn’t get the amount or quality of answers I was looking for. This is fair, since at least in my experience in the Netherlands, it felt like a lot of farming technique was based on vibes (or maybe “previous experience” is more accurate). The farmers didn’t break down each step in their process to analyze it, they just kind of went with what felt right. I’m sure their “feel” for things is a lot more in tune with what actually works than mine at this point, but I definitely improved my own “feel” for farming over the 6 weeks I spent on farms.

Shifting gears a little bit, the workload on each of the farms was always manageable for me. I didn’t leave Fruitweelde because the work was too hard. Weeding or squashing bugs was never physically demanding work for me; it was more mentally numbing. Walking up and down endless rows of plants while completing the same task on each one was kinda painful for me. On the other two farms, we would switch tasks every few hours, and each task required more thinking (operating a chainsaw, climbing trees to prune them, etc). While listening to podcasts helped dull the tedium of squashing bugs, it felt like I was dissociating myself from the task I had travelled so far to learn: farming. I was more focused on listening to my podcast and trying to understand why Henry Ford wanted to further his ill-advised plantation in the Amazon than learning about why the only way to stop bugs from eating berry plants was to squash them one by one. The long days of dull tasks brought me back to my summer stocking shelves at Whole Foods. Back then, I wasn’t allowed to listen to music or socialize with my coworkers, but I could talk to customers (and I had the added incentive of a paycheck). Once I saw the connection to the prior experience I hadn’t enjoyed, I knew I had to leave (and of course the poor conditions helped accelerate my decision).

On the other two farms, there were some tasks that were quite physically demanding. Carrying a 30 pound chainsaw for several hours does get exhausting. Bending over to plant rows and rows of potatoes made my back sore. However, these never bothered me too much, as I always felt mentally stimulated. I enjoyed solving the mini problems that came up (ex: how do we cut this tree to get it to fall where we want) and finding solutions to them. Most of all, I loved when there was an attainable goal for finishing each project. Planting 11 rows of potatoes or 15 trees was challenging, but they had a clear end. Picking bugs off of thousands of plants was much more daunting, and harder to complete with the knowledge that I might never finish (more bugs would hatch as we worked). I’ll stop railing on the bugs now, but you get the point.

Public Transit

I could have chosen to wwoof almost anywhere, but I chose the Netherlands. As you may recall from my Why Wwoofing? page, one of the main reasons I chose to visit the flat northern European country was for its impressive transit infrastructure. Not only is the Netherlands a haven for biking, but its train and bus systems are some of the best in the world. Again, I’ll plug the Not Just Bikes youtube channel here as a great place to look if you want to learn more.

I’ve always been fascinated by effective urban design and city planning, and the more I’ve learned, the more I’ve realized how inefficient most American cities and suburbs are (I’d also recommend listening to one of my favorite podcasts on this subject: 99% Invisible). Good transit infrastructure doesn’t have to be limited to lots of bike lanes. Frequent bus and train service are also integral. In Chicago for example, it’s relatively easy to commute into or out of the Loop via train, but trying to go anywhere else via public transit is painful. In the Netherlands (and Denmark), I could take a train, then get a timed transfer onto a bus, and arrive in the middle of nowhere with ease. This route can be possible every 30 min – 1 hr, not just a few times a day (looking at you, Chicago Metra weekend service).

Denmark was quite impressive from a public transit perspective as an American, but everything I had heard told me that the Netherlands took everything a step further. From youtube, podcasts, and a urban transport class I took in Copenhagen, I knew I wanted to continue to learn more about the best of urban planning and design, and the Netherlands was the logical place for me to visit. Let me emphasize that when I say the Netherlands, I am not talking emphasizing Amsterdam with a secondary focus on everywhere else. While Amsterdam is designed well, some of the smaller and even more rural cities in the country are just as impressive. While smaller rural cities in the US are synonymous with cars, it is quite possible to live without a car in a small Dutch town. Bike lanes straddle most roads, frequent bus service is available, and most of the country has trains that can get you to Amsterdam or Schiphol airport in under 2 hrs.

I’m not going to take any more time here to compare transportation in Europe with the States, since they’re honestly not comparable given how much better the European system is. Most Americans would be quick to jump to the conclusion that the European systems are not possible here because of American geography, climate, or government, but the research tends to show these are not impassable obstacles.

Regardless of if efficient transportation systems could be adopted in the US (which they can), I wanted to visit the Netherlands just to see how relatively well things could operate. This is not to say transit is perfect there; it can be expensive, delayed, and crowded. These shortcomings are pretty small though when compared with the benefits:

• Clean trains, buses, and trams
  • Trams actually have 2 attendants on board to help people (aka tourists) who needed help with tickets or directions (safe to say I had no need to talk to them)
• Easy intermodal connections
• Frequent service
• Handicap accessibility (buses lower to sidewalk level, etc.)
• Architecturally interesting stations
• TV screens with live maps aboard trains (small thing, but I enjoyed it)

People are incentivized to take public transit when it’s nice. When driving, you have to focus the entire time (allegedly) you’re behind the wheel, and have to worry about parking when you get to your destination. Neither of these is a concern with good public transit. Of course, the reliability, safety, and accessibility of Dutch systems make this true.

Food

I have both good and bad things to say about food in the country. To start off with the good, I like the European model of grocery stores much more. For starters, shopping at a grocery store there was much cheaper than back home. Even though the Dutch cost of living is pretty high (look at housing and taxes), food seems to be subsided (you could always find a nice baguette for 1 euro). Food in grocery stores always felt high quality, no matter where in the country I was. Grocery stores are much smaller in Europe, but there are much more of them. This way, you can pick up a few items from the store (most likely Albert Heijn; it felt like there was one on every corner) on your way home from work, school, or even a farm. Since items contain less preservatives, it makes sense to buy fewer products more often so that you always have fresh food on hand. Buying in small quantities works perfectly when you can ride your bike to the store. It always felt very satisfying to park my bike right in front of the store, take my pannier bag in with me, fill it up for 20 euros, and then slip it right back on my bike and head to the farm. Going to the grocery store in Chicago requires a lot more planning, since I feel like I have to buy enough food to make the journey worth the effort.

Ok, now I’ll share a more negative thing about Dutch food: it’s usually pretty bland. While the Netherlands didn’t feel as homogenous as Denmark, on a scale of whiteness, it’s still much closer to Vermont than California (trust me on that link, it’s worth it). While the lack of diversity doesn’t hurt the availability of interesting cuisines (The Hague in particular was awesome for the availability of unique cuisines, which could be expected given the presence of international government officials), it does hurt the flavor of said interesting cuisines. The Indonesian food I had on the beginning of the trip was amazing, but even the so called spiciest dish didn’t make me break a sweat. Typical Dutch cuisine usually isn’t that exciting. There are unique dishes like bitterballen (meatballs) or stroopwafel (the better version of United Airline’s snack), but most of the time you’ll see people eating cheese sandwiches or putting hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles) on their buttered toast. I wonder what they put in the hagelslag that makes everyone so tall.

I’ll share one more positive aspect of Dutch food, which isn’t Dutch food at all: döner kebab shops. This fast-food style of Turkish cuisine isn’t special to the Netherlands; I’ve seen it in every European country I’ve been to. Every town seems to have at least a few of them. All I want is for more to open in the US. For 10 euros, you can get the biggest portion of gyro meat slathered in lettuce, tomatoes, and sauce, and then wrapped up in a pita or served on top of frites. It’s not the most beautiful dish of food, but it’s the tastiest and most filling dish you can get for the price.

The Dutch Experience

I have a few random other things about the Netherlands I’d like to share here, some positive and some negative. I’ll start with Dutch people themselves. Like some of their neighbors (looking at you Deutschland), the Dutch are known for the curtness. While we like to sugarcoat things here in the US, the Dutch call things as they see them. If you’re doing something wrong, like the number of seeds you put in a hole or the amount of meat you put on your sandwich, you’ll be sure to hear about it immediately. This can work well in some contexts. I often wish people would get to their point quicker while talking in the US; there’s often a lot of superficial fluff buttressing the main point a speaker is trying to make. That being said, there are times to use that extra fluff to be supportive in difficult or uncomfortable conversations. In my limited time in the Netherlands, the only time I saw any fluff was on the back of a sheep. In other words, no conversation was sugarcoated. My experiences in the US and the Netherlands seem to occupy opposite ends of the “how fast you get to the point” spectrum; I think somewhere in the middle would be optimal.

Being an outsider in the Netherlands was also something I took note of. My experience may not be representative for everyone, since to start off I have the typical Dutch build (tall and white). There were some times when people thought I was Dutch and began a conversation in their language, which of course stopped immediately after I said anything in response. Usually people were willing to talk in English (virtually everyone can speak English there), which was nice compared to other places I’ve been (looking at Paris this time). Back to my main point here, I did feel like an outsider many times. Even when I hung out with Owen and his friends on King’s Day, the conversation tended to move towards things I had no understanding of (the Dutch school system for example). They were nice enough to have those conversations in English, so I can’t complain too much, but it felt weird to try and engage in a conversation I knew nothing about.

An aside: I did sense that school was much less of a stressor for them than for me back in the States. Dutch society places a lot less pressure for students to study at the highest level and get the highest earning job out of school. Students are encouraged to take time off between high school and college to explore and find out what they are passionate about.

I think I’d want to live abroad again at some point, but navigating a new city as an outsider always crosses my mind. Even if I’d be able to have a job down the road that can relocate me to another country, there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to find a community there. Amsterdam does have a large ex-pat population, but my goal of moving somewhere else would not be to find other Americans. I’d want to be embraced into the culture, and learn more about their way of life. While I love Northern Europe for its sleek infrastructure and moderate climate (a very hot take, I know), the cultures there are not known for being the most lively or embracing of foreigners. Copenhagen gave me similar vibes. While Denmark’s consistently ranked as one of the happiest countries in the world, you wouldn’t feel it while walking around the city. I’d say “contentment” or “fulfillment” is a much better word to describe the Scandinavian countries’ version of happiness. Good health care, unemployment benefits, social security and childcare among other things allow citizens of these places to focus more on what they enjoy doing (which I’m guessing is not worrying about medical bills).

Another aside: As I debated with classmates in my Danish history class, we could never fully agree on whether the Nordic Model (ie welfare state with market economy) needed a homogenous society to succeed. It was hard to ignore the possibility that Denmark and its neighbors’ high levels of equality could be related to their lack of diversity. People with the same cultural background and upbringing have less to disagree about. Of course, Sweden and Germany have welcomed their borders to more immigrants in recent decades, and their societies have not fallen apart, so…

Circling back to my point, I brought this up to show that some of these countries aren’t as accepting of foreigners due to a potential underlying fear they could ruin the good thing those countries got going for them. I’ll cut this off here before I get any more political, but I will make clear that I do support immigration. It’s also worth noting that I never felt any anti-immigration rhetoric in Europe as strongly as I do in the US, which of course is the country built by immigrants.

To wrap things up on this first half (sorry) of my final blog, I did enjoy my experience. I wanted to farm to get my hands dirty, and temporarily break my routine of work behind a desk. I see the importance of knowing where our food comes from, and think there is immense value in taking time to learn outdoors (shoutout to Danish forest kindergartens here; kinda jealous I didn’t go to one, maybe my kids will one day). I got to travel the Netherlands and see an efficient public transport system that made so much sense. I also got to experience another new culture, giving me more perspective on my approach to life. Like I discussed in my Why Wwoofing page, I was happy to travel slowly and appreciate the smaller things. Given I have a healthy body and wallet, I hope to continue exploring the world in this way.

The Fun Part

Thanks for reading through all of that; I know it was a lot, but it felt important to share some broader musings on my adventure. Here’s the fun part now: I’m going to rank three different groups of things I met, visited, or drank during my trip. Unfortunately a list of train stations didn’t make the cut; I felt like they were all pretty similar at the end of the day (which is by design). No technical metrics were used to create these rankings, so do with them what you will. Hope you enjoy!

Animals

Attractions

(from worst to best)

I’ve also included links on each attraction’s name to the blog it was discussed in.

Beers

I didn’t write down tasting notes for all of the beers, so I don’t think a ranking would be fair. I’ll just include pictures and descriptions where I can; this list is not exhaustive. Take note that every beer has its own unique-shaped glass it is meant to be served in.

Thanks for reading! A quick note here: I’m planning to turn this blog into a physical keepsake book sometime in the next year. Don’t worry, I’ll go back and edit any typos I made in earlier posts. I don’t want to pay to keep the website up forever (it should be up until March 2025), but want to have a copy of my memories. With that being said, I’m planning on putting all of your comments into my physical edition, so feel free to go back and add any comments you want me to reread in 20 years (let’s keep it civilized though).

I hope you’ve enjoyed traveling vicariously with me. It’s been a lot of fun to write this blog, which has served as a new creative outlet for me. We’ll see what the future holds, maybe I’ll start up a different type of blog. Looking ahead to the short-term future: I’ll be graduating from Northwestern in just a few weeks. I’ll then be stationed for a few months in SoCal and the Bay Area, where I’ll be spending time with family and friends. I’ll end the summer with a 3 week trip to Central America before I head back to Chicago and begin my next chapter in energy consulting.