the netherlands, part 3: when in doubt, bring up sports

I tend to struggle with conversing with new people. Part of it just comes from my shyness, but an even bigger part, I think, arises from a lack of common ground. Good conversation is based around topics that all the participants have some interest in. When you're among your peers, it's normally not too tough to find something to talk around for at least ten minutes or so. It can be more difficult when you're talking with someone with whom you have no obvious connections.

As an example... one of my nights in the Netherlands, Marike and I had dinner at her parents' house outside Rotterdam. Both her mother and father were tremendously generous and friendly. But when Marike, our only link, wasn't present, conversation sometimes lagged. I remember, in particular, a few awkward moments as I sat with her dad at the table after eating.

Pretty soon, though, we hit upon the solution the awkwardness: sports. Apparently, as in the U.S., the typical male in the Netherlands is at least passively interested in sports. And in the Netherlands, like most of Europe, the sport is voetball. I brought up Bergkamp's goal against Argentina back in '98 (about the only play from that World Cup I remember). That led to a comparison of soccer and American football, professional athletes' salaries, the Tour de France, bikes (this was the Netherlands, after all), and so on.

So. Are there guys that don't like or know about sports? Of course. I know plenty of them. But if you're ever struggling for conversation with a Western male, sports is probably about as safe a bet as anything.