Whenever I am asked if I want something brought over from England I reply instantly with Branston Pickle. That’s it. Since moving to the Netherlands in 2000 my care packages have shrunk dramatically. Here’s why.
The Effect of Culture Shock
When I first moved to the Netherlands I imported just about everything and anything from England.
Take hair mousse as an example. I used a specific brand of hair mousse for my curly locks. The brand name I can no longer remember, but I do know it was the ONLY mousse I could use. And it wasn’t available in the Netherlands. Every trip back, or every visit from family, meant the transportation of a few bottles of this particular hair mousse.
Crisps needed to be flavours that you just couldn’t get in the Netherlands (which to be fair back then amounted to plain or paprika flavour).
Stock cubes had to be Oxo.
I could only make gravy with Bisto.
The mustard standard was Colmans.
Crumpets were suddenly essential.
Life wasn’t worth living without a pack a ginger nuts at my side.
The list went on. The care list was long.
Culture shock was alive and kicking and I needed things around me that reminded me of ‘home’. I was homesick, plain  and simple. Everything from England was so much better than anything in the Netherlands. I was deep in the frustration stage of culture shock. Culture shock can be debilitating and creates the need for enormous care packages. Just go with it.
Adjustment
I realised at a certain point that my care list was getting shorter and shorter.
There were hair products that replaced the mousse I had always used.
The crisp flavour section had widened in the Netherlands, and I adapted to the local selection. it seemed that prawn cocktail crisps are actually not that tasty.
Stock cubes are stock cubes. Add water, make stock. The brand became irrelevant.
I realised I didn’t need Bisto. There’s a Dutch equivalent. Or, guess what, I can make my own gravy from scratch.
Colmans mustard is still an essential part of my grocery list, but these days I can get it in my local supermarket.
Crumpets are a nice to have once in a while, but not essential.
I altered my grocery list to the supply in the local Dutch supermarkets. I found replacements. And I tried new products. I was in the adjustment stage of culture shock.
I adapted. Because that is what you do when you move abroad. Quite frankly, life abroad sucks if you don’t.
Acceptance
My care packages today are so short because my ‘home’ has shifted. The Netherlands is now my home. This is where my life is and everything on my grocery list can be found locally.
Everything except Branston Pickle that is.
7 comments