Pingguo's daughter Ping Hanhan has been smart and clever since she was a child, and at the age of sixteen, she was admitted to Waseda University in Japan. After graduating with a bachelor's degree, www.biquge.info received a full scholarship for a program in the European Union, two years to study European culture, and is about to obtain a double master's degree.

So, Pingguo's first stop was to go to the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is a country where both the mother tongue and the official language are Dutch, but in recent years, the Netherlands has become a popular destination for most Chinese students who speak English as their first foreign language.

Daughter Ping Hanhan said that this is because the Netherlands has a particularly high degree of internationalization, English courses cover almost the entire Dutch education system, and many large international enterprise groups have settled in the Netherlands.

Then, Ping Hanhan combined her experience of studying in the Netherlands and talked about the Dutch English environment in her eyes.

"95% of the people can speak English" is probably the statement that every Chinese student gets when asked. But it's still very vague. Ping Hanhan put forward two concepts of "hard environment" and "soft environment" to elaborate.

The so-called hard environment refers to the level of English courses provided by the school, that is, the English in the classroom, including the level of the teacher and the content of the course.

The so-called soft environment refers to the language environment outside the classroom, and the environment that you come into contact with in daily life, shopping, social entertainment.

The English in the class is very good, and the words that come out of the mouths of the lecturers can be said to be loud.

It's no wonder that it's only a North Sea away from the UK. Some teachers have a bit of an accent, but that's acceptable. Especially when the learning task has been focused on the professional class rather than the IELTS language, all aspects of the human positive factors will be mobilized, such as the European culture of Pinghanhan, when it comes to more professional things, English is just a tool.

The English textbooks of the professional courses are all big bricks, which are enough to slowly wear off.

Therefore, in the Netherlands, they will cherish the opportunity to communicate with the teacher in English during class, and when there is no English TV or newspaper after class, they will naturally devote their energy to chewing on books.

If a foreigner with a certain foundation in Chinese comes to study in Guangdong, perhaps the Mandarin of the local students around you is relatively ordinary, or even habitually speaking Cantonese dialects, you will definitely be confused. But the level of Mandarin taught in the classroom is absolutely top-notch and does not hinder your learning.

When I came out of the classroom, I entered the soft environment of the language, the signs in the corridor were all in Dutch, the school magazine and magazine were also in Dutch, and the Dutch students who were chatting and dancing next to them were also jumping out of the mouth of the "bird language" that they could not understand.

This phenomenon, the more developed the country, the more multi-ethnic and diversified the population composition, whites, yellows, blacks, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas will all see, probably citizens of the country, and have settled for several generations.

Thus, the more ethnically diverse the country, the more "indestructible" the country's Chinese becomes.

When I first arrived in the Netherlands, I thought that people would take the initiative to converse in English when they saw Asian faces, but I was wrong, and there were many Dutch people with the same kind of faces. When the other party is not sure whether I am Dutch or not, I reflexively use Dutch to show politeness and avoid embarrassment.

Because of this conditioning, the babbling toddlers playing in the open space downstairs will also greet you directly in Dutch.

Relatively speaking, in China, if you meet a blonde foreigner or a black person on the street, 90% will not be Chinese, so reflexively, we will warmly send a "Hello"!

In this way, everyone has a bit of a picture of the Dutch language environment. The Dutch language is like an invisible tissue paper around people, everywhere.

Wanting to talk to someone in English became less natural, and it seemed like a formal conversation every time.

Meeting a stranger in the elevator to talk about today's bad weather, meeting a pretty MM on the street to make a joke with a few colors, struck up a conversation with the cashier MM in the supermarket, said a few uncolored jokes, or met a housewife walking her dog to gossip about these things are almost completely rare in the Netherlands.

Therefore, Chinese students often have the illusion that "English is my mother tongue", which is simply a lifesaver.

It is understandable that in China, there are English classes from childhood to adulthood, and there is a good English learning environment.

All kinds of books, magazines, television, advertising pages, brochures and letters sent to your home mailbox every week are all in Dutch.

For example, a foreigner who has learned simplified Chinese goes to Hong Kong and picks up the square characters in the newspaper and feels very kind, and when he reads them carefully, they are all traditional characters, but he actually doesn't understand anything.

This is the current state of the English soft environment in the Netherlands.

Chinese students in Europe regard Europe as China, English is Mandarin, Dutch, German, French and other dialects are all dialects. Hehe.

It's just that Ping Hanhan is an ordinary person who can only speak Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and English from the mainland to Japan and then to Europe, and watching the Dutch speak fluent English, he is envious, and naturally trains Dutch and French hard.

On the outskirts of Amsterdam, Dutch roads are veritable "roads". Every afternoon after work, or on weekends, in the towns and villages on the edge of the city, on the side of the road, you can see the Dutch leading horses of different colors and types, or leisurely walking or galloping passionately, but no matter where they run, these creatures have to take their own "road".

The Netherlands is also a country that strictly follows the rules, and when it comes to transportation, it is reflected in the strict implementation of the rules.

Walking on the road, many roads that are not wide will also be divided into 4 lanes, the middle is the motorway, and the two sides are 1.5 meters wide two-way bicycle lanes. There is another sidewalk, a "horse walkway".

A horse trail, in fact, is a grass path, usually 60 centimeters wide, and due to long-term pedaling, most of it has formed a groove. The horse path is soft and the horse walks comfortably. Riding on the horse path, the rider does not have to worry about affecting the walking of others, and when the horse is in an emergency, it can be solved by the grass by the way, and it will not affect public health.

Strict rules require everyone to go their own way, and the long-term go their own way, and cultivate everyone's sense of strict rules.

In China, the Mongolians seem to be the most horse-loving people, while the Dutch seem to love horses even more.

In modern society, horses have lost their role as a means of transportation and have become purely pets. However, the cost of a horse in a year is much higher than that of an ordinary Mercedes-Benz, especially in the Netherlands.

Therefore, those who can raise and play with horses are at least middle-class or above families in the Netherlands.

The local services for family horse breeding in the Netherlands are particularly sound, and many families no longer keep their own horse pens, rent a single room in the big horse farm, and raise their own horses, leisurely and beautiful.

In the early days of Ping's arrival in the Netherlands, he lived in a dormitory provided by the school's website.

Generally speaking, the house provided by the school is more expensive, but it is usually close to the school building, and the conditions and facilities in all aspects are relatively good, and there is no need to pay for water, electricity, Internet and so on.

Ping Hanhan rented such a room in his first year of school, but unfortunately he shared it with a foreigner. As a result, just three months later, her Chinese passport was gone! The trouble of calling the police and applying for a new passport is simply unbearable.

If you rent a house outside yourself, the rent may be cheaper, but there are a lot of things to worry about.

However, fortunately, the Netherlands is a high-welfare state, with a low rent policy, and the state subsidizes housing, but the application procedures are more difficult and there are some special requirements.

According to the housing regulations, the status of residence in the Netherlands determines what kind of housing can be rented. People who are legally resident in the Netherlands are free to rent private housing, and the rent is determined by both parties, and the price is generally higher.

However, the low-cost housing provided by the state is not available to all people living in the Netherlands, for example, people who come to the Netherlands for tourism or visiting relatives cannot rent it, while ordinary international students can apply.

The basic supporting facilities of this type of housing are complete, and the rent ranges from 100 to 500 euros; For those with low or no income, they can apply for housing subsidies at the same time as renting government-subsidized housing, and the amount is considerable.

For renting government-subsidized housing, the specific regulations and application methods vary from region to region, and you can check with the municipal government and relevant housing companies.

Ordinary international students can also rent a room from an individual, or rent a student dormitory, for a rent of about 100 to 300 euros.

China used to be a bicycle kingdom, but now it's not as good as the Netherlands. Bicycles are now in the Netherlands and have one of the highest densities of bicycles in the world.

On the one hand, it is due to the fact that the Dutch government encourages citizens to use pollution-free transportation, and the Dutch people are also very environmentally conscious; On the other hand, the Netherlands is a small country, and the bicycle is indeed a convenient and practical means of transportation.

Naturally, the main means of transportation for international students is bicycles.

The price of a new bike is expensive, generally around 200 euros. However, second-hand ones are very cheap, and you can buy them for 20-30 euros. However, the lock should be secure, because bicycle theft is serious.

In addition, in the Netherlands, there are also bicycle rental services, and the method is simple and cheap.

Bicycles are available for rent next to every rail station, with a variety of models and accessories, even child seats.

You can rent it for less than 5 euros for a day, and if you can show your train ticket within the validity period, you can also get a certain discount.

In addition, a deposit of between €25 and €100 is required, and proof of identity is required; Of course, after the use of the leased land, it must be returned.

At this point, the Netherlands is already lagging behind China's WeChat bicycle business.

In the Netherlands, it is possible to bring a bicycle on the train. If you own a folding bike, you can handle it as normal baggage. First of all, buy a ticket for yourself at the same time, and then buy a bicycle, and then you must put the bicycle into the luggage car, the blue label makes it easier for you to find your car, it is quite safe to put the bicycle in the luggage car, and there are special bicycle placement devices in some train carriages, and you can't bring the bicycle on the train during the rush hour at work on weekdays; During the summer holidays, you can take your bicycle on the train at any time of the day; The bike ticket costs 5 euros, and the bike ticket valid for a day is more than ten euros.

The bus and tram system in the Netherlands connects major cities and villages. Amsterdam and Rotterdam have fast metro systems, so you can buy a ticket directly from the driver once you get on the bus, but the ticket price will be a bit higher.

The Netherlands, a maritime colonial power in the 17th century, is still one of the most developed countries in the world today.

In the ranking of the world's richest countries, the Netherlands is in the top 15. At the end of 2005, the Netherlands had become China's second largest trading partner in the EU for three consecutive years.

The Netherlands is a great place for people to live.

The environment is beautiful, the standard of living is in the upper reaches of Europe, the homes are comfortable, the social composition is diverse, many people can speak English, it is easy to communicate, and the people come from all over the world.

The Netherlands is located on the side of Germany, Belgium and France, and has a wide range of radio and television programs and a variety of languages, mainly English.

Many of the TV programs are taken from the United States and the United Kingdom, and are subtitled in Dutch rather than directly dubbed, which is more conducive to people's viewing.

Many famous multinational companies were created by the Dutch. Philips, Unilever and Shell Oil, as well as Heineken, to name a few, are commendable.

Visiting the open and particularly dispersed campus of the University of Groningen, Pingguo will be infinitely emotional.

Each building is very Dutch. The pointed gables and the low-saturation exterior colors are very cute and elegant.

It is said that Ping Hanhan said to Pingguo that the University of Groningen is already implementing plans to open a university in Yantai, Shandong Province, China, and may start recruiting the first class of students in 2018.

Yantai University of Groningen will be one of China's ten international joint venture universities, and the Chinese government has no right to interfere with these international colleges. Students have access to Facebook and Twitter, and graduates will receive a Dutch degree when they graduate.

Other foreign universities in the program include the Universities of Liverpool and Nottingham in the United Kingdom, Duke University, New York University and Kean University in the United States, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, and Lomonosoc Moscow State University.

After Brexit, Groningen will be the only university that exists in China that belongs to the European Union.

Pingguo smiled and said: Why don't you go to Yantai!

Ping Hanhan immediately buried his head and said nothing......

In Pingguo's view, Holland, the Netherlands, the country of water.

When a country has water, it has aura. Charming. Delicious and delicious.

As soon as you enter Dutch territory, the sky is over, and after a while, it seems that there is a violent storm outside the window, and the rain line is falling straight down, like a curtain of water.

On a country road that runs alongside high-speed rail transit vehicles, a black Land Rover cuts through thorns and thorns on the waterbed, knocking out thousands of piles of snow.

The natural rivers and canals criss-cross the country.

The far hills and near the ground are dark green and the grass is green, either trees or green grass, and the miscellaneous is the swaying wildflowers of all colors and the flocks of cattle and sheep who happily bow their heads to gnaw grass, quite like the scenery of "the sky is blue, the wild is vast, the wind blows the grass and sees the cattle and sheep low".

Pinggo suddenly remembered the "roots" of the [Dutch] poet Van Hale:

"Root has found a place to live

The tree takes it unwanted

Lift it up to the sky. ”

(Originally published in World Literature, No. 3, 1988)

All the beautiful poetic words are not enough to express Pingguo's state of mind at this moment.

The Netherlands is truly beautiful. Food for thought. Meaningful.

The seaside city of The Hague is the seat of the Peace Palace of the International Court of Justice, which is solemn and sacred.

The sandy beach of Siningen Seaside Park, the post sank into the North Sea. The sea breeze is raging, the drizzle is fluttering, and it is almost deserted.

It seems that on a sunny day, tourists are weaving, laughing and playing. But at this moment, the tyrannical sea breeze seems to be about to roll the fruit into the underworld.