"Marijuana – the best job for Ivan!"
This is roughly the translation of a favorite saying of local drug dealers. As is known, the Netherlands remains the only country in Europe where soft drugs are permitted. A small joint can be freely smoked here in any coffeeshop. These establishments are easy to distinguish by the incredible number of antique pipes, little mushrooms, and hemp twigs in the windows. The regulars of these places catch the eye – phantom-like people with vacant stares and gray-green faces. Every European drug addict considers it a point of honor to "let loose" in Amsterdam. The enterprising country only grows richer from this.
With a permit, cannabis can be grown legally. However, the potion is sold even cheaper under the counter on the street. It is this raw material that grows on underground plantations, which, by the way, are equipped with the latest technology – with alarms and video surveillance. They are usually located in garages, basements, and attics. Naturally, the state fights against unauthorized drug trade, but, as is known, demand creates supply. Because of the risk, such work is considered the highest paid. Moreover, it is not hard – it is not like planting onions behind a tractor.
The password for recruiting labor is a characteristic finger gesture resembling scissors. After all, it is with scissors that the soft buds of cannabis are cleaned. As a rule, trusted, well-known people are recruited for such work and taken to the work site in a covered van. Or they are blindfolded – so that they don't remember the way. A newcomer has little chance of getting such a job. In case of exposure, a foreigner faces mandatory deportation (for such an activity in Germany they would be sent to prison, and in Thailand they would be sentenced to death). The owners of such plantations are pursued by Interpol, the police conduct searches, arrest them, and fine them. But once I myself witnessed that just two days after a plantation was raided, the same "bosses" came and recruited new workers.
Unfortunately, there are entire castes of our compatriots who do nothing else but work "in marijuana". Despite the fact that the workers are watched, many manage to sneak out a few grams – for themselves or for sale. The author was lucky enough to get onto one of these plantations and observe how seedlings are planted and the harvest is gathered. By the way, it is harvested every 30-40 days.
On one of these trips I even brought a camera with me and, taking advantage of the "boss" stepping out, photographed one of these "death factories" – my journalist's zeal kicked in. The risk, of course, was there, because in case of exposure we could face not only the loss of our wages. But I never took advantage of my "legal" right to try the forbidden fruit for free.
An old radio for a euro, clothes – for free
The true essence of the local mentality can be understood at the annual traditional fairs – "kermises", which are timed to religious holidays. Perhaps it is here that you can see cheerful and carefree Dutch people – in everyday life they are reserved and taciturn. Preparation for the holiday begins on Friday afternoon. For the first time in my life I watched streets and sidewalks actually being washed with soap. Foreigners love the "kermises" very much. The fact is that here you can buy old things for next to nothing (from 1 euro): clothes, dishes, electrical goods, and so on. Our compatriots try to get clothes directly from the second-hand bales that conscientious owners put out near their homes for donation to charity funds.
On weekdays, the Dutch are an example of hard work and endurance. They start working very early – at six in the morning. Every two or three hours there is a mandatory break; you can have a snack and a smoke. For them this time is sacred; sometimes it even seems that if a fire broke out, no one would lift a finger. Construction and repair work is done, as in our country, by "moonlighters". That is, having, for example, the qualification of a painter and knowing the local technology, you can earn up to 70-100 euros a day.
To find such work, I used a very simple method. Having gotten used to the local greetings, I set out in search of work. When I saw a concrete mixer in a yard, I would approach and simply offer my services. For long searches, it is advisable to have a bicycle. By the way, the Dutch themselves prefer old "fiets" – it turns out they have less chance of being stolen.
The country still feels nostalgia for the local currency – the guilder. They say that the euro enriched the rich and ruined the poor. However, the high exchange rate of the euro somewhat calmed the "Dutches" (the self-designation of the Dutch). Everything in stores is very cheap. I spent only 20-25 euros a week on food.
Open windows to the world
The Dutch decorate everything they can with live flowers: houses, fences, buses, streets, and squares. And house facades look like true masterpieces of landscape art: with decorative trees, fountains, and waterfalls.
Contrary to popular opinion, the most traditional Dutch foods are not cheese, but potato sticks – "patat" and lightly salted herring – "haring". They are eaten with a bit of condiment (onion, pickle) from stalls right on the street, and always with hands. On The Hague's posh embankment, fish eateries stand tightly next to each other for a kilometer. And everywhere there are crowds of people. And the famous Dutch cheese is more often used as an appetizer; they dress soups and salads with it.
Anyone who has visited Holland for the first time will certainly notice that local residents do not draw their curtains. At one time, the Spanish inquisitors, who previously owned the Netherlands, taught the Dutch this. Fearing conspiracies, they forbade local residents to close the curtains on their windows. The Inquisition has long been forgotten, but the habit of living with open windows remains. By the way, on the website www.oknadok.ru you can choose the highest quality windows for your home!
The Dutch, as it were, demonstrate their openness. It is gratifying that now our compatriots are also taking advantage of this hospitality. It is only a pity that for now, for the most part, we are forced to study the world by building up calluses on our hands.
Mikhail ROMANYAK.
Specially for «Zagranitsa».