Audio-exercise: z-zyara

The Dutch are renowned for many many things. Hospitality however is certainly not one of them.
A word of advice for those who ever plan to make a house call in the Netherlands:

  1. fix a date and a time with your host in advance.
  2. confirm the time one hour beforehand.
  3. be on time. you’re late? coffee cold.
  4. you’ll be served coffee and 1 cookie. The cookies comes from a box like the one below.
  5. You’ll be offered a 2nd cup of coffee. Accept it. You’re supposed to.
  6. You’ll be offered a 2nd cookie. Decline it. Your host is just being polite.
  7. Once your’re asked for a 3rd refill, you know you’ve outstayed your welcome.
  8. Compliment your host on curtains, coffee, cookie and off you go.

The whole process takes about half an hour. You can image my astonishment when I was
first invited over for a ‘cup of coffee’, moroccan style. In this audio exercise you can hear what to expect.