(1)
Different Dreams

It was here that I first became aware of the subtleties of 'class difference' (not class struggle but class difference) and the effect of culture and class on (young) people's dreams (i.e. their goals and expectations). Until I moved to Holland I had never witnessed 'class determination' and I remember being really shocked when confronted with it. For me, the difference is/was most apparent in what people dream and how far they dare to dream.

Generalised: Culturally speaking, dreams here are very sober and realistic. Class-wise, dreams here fit within a narrowly prescribed range that belong to a particular class. A factory worker's daughter will not dream of building an ocean going yacht and sailing it single-handed around the world (no matter how 'high' her education). The exact opposite was (and still is) true where I grew up. Everyone 'there' is encouraged to have dreams. And the wilder the better. No dream is ever considered impossible.

(Note: Later I came to see this difference as the quintessential difference between the 'Old' and the 'New' World, i.e. between tradition and refinement on the one hand and hope and opportunity on the other. Have you,
by any chance, ever seen Andy Warhol's Dracula (aka Paul Morrisey's 'Blood for Dracula')? In this film there is a fabulous scene where the young, muscle-bound Joe Dallesandro (as the gardener) argues with Udo Kier, the
old vampire, who, coughing and sick, defends 'old world aristocracy.' I wish I could find a transcript of this scene somewhere. It perfectly epitomizes the difference that I speak of.

(2)
Different Protocols

Another difference: 'There' all the young and hip artists used 'drugs' (at the time I left it was mainly 'reefer' -- cannabis, but also various psychedelics). Here, I was surprised to discover that while 'reefer' was very inexpensive and readily available (basically 'legal') it was not at all cool for visual artists to use it.

(Note: Notwithstanding (marginal) characters like Herman Brood, it still is not. Ever really *looked* at American/NewYork art of the last couple of decades? I would venture that nearly ALL of that art is/was informed by the artist's drug experiences. Think: Kathy Acker's 'Blood and Guts in High School' and add mountains of acid to all the blood and guts... I often wonder why art critics are so afraid of addressing this. And wonder who's going to be the first to write a book about the influence of contemporary drugs on contemporary (North American) visual artists...)

(3)
Different Wildlife (and Media)

Last difference (and surely the most obvious, since I come from Canada): The difference between 'nature and culture.' I remember my first trip to Friesland, where I was to go kayaking with friends for a few days. I was
disappointed. Somehow I had imagined Friesland to be a bit more 'wild' than Friesland turned out to be. Nature here seemed like the 'camping' we did in the backyard when we were kids, with the kitchen door, here called the 'snackbar,' never being more than a few steps away.

But positively: where 'Culture is our Nature,' as is the case in the Netherlands, culture's media (television, newspapers etc.) are much more sophisticated and precise than where 'Nature is our Culture,' absolutely the paradigm where I grew up (Vancouver).