Kristine Hymøller

August 10th 2008

Age: 36
Nationality: Danish
Occupation: Artist
In Amsterdam: 8 years

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
To study at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy.

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
Art, music, Galleries, food and Bars.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
Great, in the sense that people use a lot of colour and mix
styles much more than in Denmark.

Did your style of clothing changed since you live here,
and because of what? These can be emotional, cultural
reasons or practical reasons such as weather or
availability.
I guess living in another country will always influence you.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
I like to look at all cultures and sort of mix it a bit, but Dutch
I don’t know.

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
I did know that..., well in a way, as I said, I think people mixes
their style of clothing more here. I think I see a lot of people
dress kind of awful and great at the same time, which I think
is the tendency of a big city. Amsterdam is a small city with
a big city spirit.

Christian Degen

June 30th 2008

Age: 29
Nationality: German
Occupation: Graphic designer
In Amsterdam: 1 year

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
Love.

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
Building up my company, playing football in Westerpark, cycling
through town and areas around Amsterdam, going out for dinner,
especially with my girlfriend.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
For sure the most interesting town in the Netherlands, sometimes
cool, sometimes boring, Dutch people are not the most
fashionable people.

Did your style of clothing changed since you live here, and
because of what? These can be emotional, cultural reasons
or practical reasons such as weather or availability.
Before I moved to Amsterdam I lived in Barcelona so I wear
more warm clothes now. Also, since I live here, I have more
meetings with clients and because of this I wear more
nice shirts.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
Maybe I am, it is difficult to say now, but afterwards I can
probably say that special things had an influence on me.

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
Since my girlfriend is busy with this project I am more aware
of it but Amsterdam always has been an international setting
for me. So many different people give the town a nice
touch, it makes it an attractive city to live in.

Ingunn Jónsdóttir

June 28th 2008

Age: 24
Nationality: Icelandic
Occupation: Product designer
In Amsterdam: For 10 months

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
Me and my boyfriend decided to move away from Iceland.
We wanted to go to a new place to continue our studies and
to experience something new. We have been to Amsterdam
on a vacation and liked the city a lot. Though Iceland is a
big country, it has very few inhabitants and Iceland is very
isolated. In my opinion it is very important for everyone to try
to live somewhere else than at home. It widens your understanding
on so many things.

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
I like to go to museums and exhibitions, concerts and to
the markets. They are a source of inspiration for me, places
to gather energy from. Dappermarkt is my favorite market.
There I feel like a citizen of the world.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
In shops I see a lot of the same kind of clothing.
Generally I think people here could take more risks
in the way they dress.

Did your style of clothing changed since you live here,
and because of what? These can be emotional, cultural
reasons or practical reasons such as weather or
availability.
I more often buy my clothes at markets than in shops.
But I cannot say that this has changed my style. Still I think
I have a more relaxed attitude here towards my style than
in Iceland. There I more often wore high heels and fancy
dresses. Also I have to say that in December it was very
cold for me here in Amsterdam and then I had to wear all
my clothes at the same time to survive.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
It is difficult for me to judge how the different cultures have
influenced me. But one example that I can mention is the
food. I eat different food here, more fries, herring and stroopwafels
than at “home”. I now have a poffertjes pan and I bake
them from time to time. And it is not all Dutch food I eat.
Since I moved here I have also tasted very good food from
different countries. The diversity here makes it possible
to get to know people from everywhere and their culture.

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
I knew that there were a lot of nationalities here. For example
I heard about a small neighborhood where about a hundred
languages are spoken. I want to live there.

Hélène Alti-Diao

June 8th 2008

Age: 29
Nationality: Burkinabè, French
Occupation: Export function: customer service
In Amsterdam: 5 years

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
Love!!

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
Cycling, going out with friends, eat appeltaart,
movies and parties.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
There are many different styles, from very casual to totally funky.
They dare to do more with colors than in France, but it isn’t
always very stylish; more provocative than anything else actually.

Did your style of clothing changed since you live here, and
because of what? These can be emotional, cultural reasons
or practical reasons such as weather or availability.
Not that much, except that I always have an umbrella in my bag.
I do not mind wearing mini-skirts now, while in France people
are more conservative about showing their legs - and in
Burkina-Faso even more.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
Not really, although I am now totally addicted to cycling, and
convinced that if the whole world would cycle as much as people
do in Holland, we will not hear anymore about global warming...
Now I really consider my bike as part of myself.

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
I’m not surprised, Amsterdam is a great mix of people, that’s
what makes Amsterdam so special; very different from the
rest of Holland.