The Mystery of one cookie 🍪
Dear Adventurer,
I'm writing to you from a small café in the south of the Netherlands where I just witnessed something that left me completely puzzled. Something so simple that you've probably seen it a thousand times without noticing: one perfectly lonely cookie next to a cup of coffee.
Nobody's going to tell you this in travel guides, but...
The ritual nobody explains
Here's the secret I discovered by accident: in the Netherlands, coffee comes with ONE cookie. Just one. And nobody asks for more.
Between you and me (and this postcard): The first time I thought it was the café being stingy. The second time I thought it was coincidence. But after ten years here, I understood I was witnessing something much deeper than simple pastry service.
It's a life philosophy served on porcelain.
The revelation in my Spanish class
It all started making sense when I brought sweets to my students. While we watched movie trailers, I put the container on the table and waited for the familiar chaos.
But nothing happened.
Each child took exactly one. No glances at the container. No mental calculations about second chances. Just that quiet confidence that one is perfect.
In my beloved Dominican Republic, those sweets would have disappeared among laughter and outstretched hands. That beautiful avalanche of abundance we know so well.
Only we know this: It wasn't different, it was revealing.
The philosophy of the perfect cookie
Days later, at a painting workshop, the same ritual: cookies at break time. One per person. Not one more, not one less.
Not out of stinginess. Not because of unwritten rules.
But because of something that took me years to understand: an invisible respect for what's shared. A form of elegance that says "there's enough for everyone when each person takes exactly what they need."
Where I grew up, abundance is generosity. Here, balance is love.
The postcard that changes everything
Between us, adventurer: This isn't about cookies or coffee. It's about discovering that the world has a thousand different ways of being generous.
The Dutch style whispers where we sing. It finds richness in moderation, strength in subtlety. It doesn't need excess or performance. Just that calm confidence that enough is truly enough.
While the world screams "more, more, more," this lonely cookie taught me something revolutionary: the elegance of just right. The art of taking exactly what you need and discovering it's perfect.
The secret between cultures
Ten years here and this simple observation still surprises me. It makes me dance between my Caribbean instincts (take three, just in case!) and my adopted Dutch rhythms (one is enough, thank you).
Only we understand this magic: That beautiful tension between who you were and who you're becoming isn't conflict. It's pure richness. It's the dance that happens when two life philosophies meet in your heart.
Sometimes it means taking one cookie and discovering it's exactly what you needed. Other times it means noticing how your hands, accustomed to expansive generosity, learn new ways to love.
My discovery for you
Every small cultural difference is a window. The way we serve coffee, offer sweets, or share spaces... everything tells a story about how we see the world.
Next time you see a lonely cookie next to a coffee, remember: you're witnessing a life philosophy. One that says elegance isn't about having more, but about knowing you have exactly what you need.
Have you noticed any similar ritual when you travel? Something that at first seemed strange but later you discovered was profoundly beautiful?
My secret for you: In the smallest differences hide the greatest revelations. In one cookie, an entire world of meaning.
With love from my small Dutch village,
PS: The next postcard I'll tell you why the Dutch celebrate birthdays in a circle and how that changed my understanding of community. Spoiler: it's not what you think.
