CultureShock! Netherlands contains all the essential information that will help you settle effortlessly into the land renowned for its tulips. Discover the importance of the country’s many windmills, canals, polders and dykes and understand how the amazing feats of hydraulic engineering have shaped the physical landscape. Learn more about the Dutch people, their Calvinist attitude to work and the concepts of overleg and gezelliheid. Benefit from the practical advice on housing, transportation and education as well as the information about the many cultural activities the country has to offer.
Hunt Janin is an American writer now living in south-western France. He specialises in international issues and has written or co-authored nine books and nine magazine articles. Hunt has an MA in political science from the University of California (Berkeley) and was a Fellow at Harvard University and a Tutor at the Civil Service College in London. For 25 years, he served as a diplomat in Washington, DC, India, Ghana, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Nepal. He is married to Corinne Janin-Nuis, a former member of the Netherlands Foreign Service. Thanks to her, he has many Dutch friends and visits the Netherlands frequently. In the future, Hunt and Corrine plan to spend part of each year in the Netherlands.
Ria van Eil spent the first 22 years of her life in Amsterdam, where she met her husband Adrian, an officer with the Netherlands Foreign Service. For 23 years, she served with him abroad in Switzerland, Belgium, the US, France, Russia, the UK and Suriname. Deeply interested in peoples, languages and cultures, she managed to get work permits for every country in which they served. Capitalising on a life-long interest in France, she graduated in French language and literature during their time in Paris. Ria and Adrian now live in The Hague. In the near future, they intend to move to France, where Ria now spends part of each year.
Ria and Hunt met at the Netherlands Embassy in London in 1991, where Hunt’s wife Corinne was also posted.
