Uitgang

equals

Two words have baffled me for 2 years . . . and still do.

Not those two, but these two.

Duwen is Dutch for "Push".

Trekken is Dutch for "Pull".

Naturally, these signs are on nearly every door of every public building - the grocery, the pharmacy, the flower shop, the bakery, etc.

Every time I approach a door I have to stop and think, then translate in my mind whether to duwen or trekken. As with most everything else "European", doors almost always open opposite of what I'm accustomed to in the States.

It seems my daily routine turns into a conversion pickle . . . like

> 10 kilometers is the same as 6 miles - this has begun to make some sense to me as we drive down the highway and stay at about 120 kph (75 mph)

> 1 inch is equal to 2.5 centimeters - whatever a centimeter is

> a foot is .30 meters - this really means absolutely nothing to me

> everywhere we use a period in writing numbers, here they use a comma - like € 1,20 is $ 1.20

> 20 degrees Celsius is the same as 68 degrees Fahrenheit - I still have trouble with this

> 113 grams is a 1/2 cup - trying to figure out a stick of butter is just another reason not to cook

> 37.9 liters is equal to 10 gallons of gas - and costs 3x as much

> a hectare is 2.5 acres - I really like for everything to be in "football field" measurements

> even simple numbers are said in reverse - 25 is said as "five and twenty"

> a 2,000 sq. ft. house is . . . actually I have no idea, but I do know I wear a size 37 shoe (zeven en dertig) and I don't even have to think about that one.

So, I'm constantly converting, converting, converting in my little mind because I'm too old to forget what I've always known. About the only thing I can buy without thinking is a 1 liter Coke and of course shoes!

I'd say 99% of buildings here have doors that push to enter and pull to exit. If you think about it, that's exactly the opposite of what you do in the States. When you enter a McDonald's or the UPS store, you always pull on the door. Always. When I leave the frituur's down the street (which I often do), I have to pull the door to get out.

I began to ponder why this was such a problem for me here. Not just the duwen and trekken part, but how I naturally want to do just the opposite.

Well, I found out that there's a reason. No, it's not because I'm too old to learn something new. In the U.S., there is an OSHA standard on exits. Yes. There are numerous regulations regarding exits in public buildings, but the one that explains my continuous problem is that exit doors must always open outwards and must close automatically after you exit. Safety first. Big government at work again - thank goodness.

I had no idea. So I feel a little better about always trekken when I should be duwen and duwen when I should be trekken. You'd think after 2 years this wouldn't be so difficult. But for me, it is just another daily conversion.

If only all the doors here looked like this . . .

Frituur :)