Alok Lele (24) from India is following the Master’s program of Computer Science. He has lived in the Netherlands for nine months now. Which is short enough to be amazed regularly at the special habits of the Dutch. For one, he used to double up laughing initially when his professor, before answering a question, would support his chin using his thumb and fist, point his index finger up against his nose, pout his lips, say ‘uhhhhm’, look up at the ceiling in a deep study and sigh and puff a few more times. “What in heaven’s name is there to be seen on the ceiling?”, Alok wondered, while looking up to find the answer.
By now he has found out that this is what the Dutch do when they have to think about something.

Gestures are strongly culturally defined. For instance, the Dutch easily get confused by the Indians who wiggle their head from left to right to confirm something. The Dutch interpret this gesture as meaning the opposite. For the Dutch putting a finger across their lips means ‘hush, be quiet’ and waving means ‘greeting someone’, but in other cultures these gestures may mean something entirely different.

Thus, for the Greek waving your hands with the fingers spread is downright insulting. It is a sign of great contempt and means ‘moutza’, i.e. I am throwing a handful of dirt into your face. Giving someone the thumbs up for okay is not understood like that everywhere either. In some parts of the world this gesture is tantamount to ‘the Dutch middle finger’.

So it cannot hurt to be attentive to this in an international environment! (HB)