“Look at those clothes. Her pants are all, like, ripped up!” The two girls in front of me are giggling. I wonder how they would react if I let them now that I can understand English perfectly. The newspaper in front of me covers my already annoyed face. “I saw people with those kind of jeans before but it’s, like, so trashy to walk around in them.” Grrr… “I wonder where she bought them, probably some cheap store. It’s so funny how Dutch people are always thinking about money.” More giggling. For their information, these jeans come from Levi’s and they were incredibly expensive for a student. And I LIKE them ripped up!! “That bag she was carrying, it’s also torn up. Do you think she is like the kind of person who likes vintage?” I peek at my bag. Alright, it is a bit torn up, but it was my dad’s old bag from when he had to show up for military service. And it’s the only bag that is almost entirely water-resistant I have without being all plastic.
“Well, I’ve seen so many Dutch people who don’t have any sense of style…” Says the girl wearing an all pink outfit for which she paid way too much, and which is about three sizes too small… “Yeah, that’s true. You know what’s funny as well? That they are so terribly bad at speaking English. I mean, come on! It’s like, the most spoken language in the world!” I bet the Spanish and Chinese won’t agree with you Stupid. And I’m really being annoyed with all those ‘like’s in her sentences. I lower my newspaper a bit, so I can look them in the eyes. I’m almost ashamed by the fact that their hair is almost as blond as mine, thanks for confirming that stereotype…
“Well, their newspapers are also soooo boring. I mean, first it is in Dutch which is such an ugly language,” Alright, I can’t deny that entirely. “and furthermore, there are almost no big pictures or big gossip stories in them!” How can you tell? You don’t even speak Dutch! “Message to all passengers, the next stop will be Amsterdam Amstel. If this is your destination, have a nice day!” Finally, my stop. I start folding the newspaper to leave it behind for someone else to read it when the train starts to hit its breaks. When I stand up, I look at the two girls. “Well, this has been a fun ride. I hope you two have a nice stay in the Netherlands. Good day.” The look on their faces made it all worth!
