Within a few months of arriving in NL I attended a free seminar designed for expats. I don't remember the exact title, but I always referred to it as "How not to piss off the Dutch". The main purpose of the seminar was to help non-Dutchies gain some insight into how Dutch society works so as to be able to better integrate.
One part of Dutch culture revolves around not closing your curtains... period. Doesn't matter how close your house is to the sidewalk or what room it is, curtain closing can be viewed as a no-no. The Dutch will wonder "What do they have to hide?".
Now, on the flip side, one is not supposed to look into the windows of houses. This can be quite difficult when someone's living room window is less than 5 feet away from you as you walk down the sidewalk and there is movement in the house (my head almost always moves in the direction of any motion detected in my peripheral vision). Also, residences and businesses can exist side-by-side. One is supposed to look in a store window, right? On top of that, people put pretty things in their windows.. am I not supposed to look at those? (read about this behavior here).
I mention all of this because recently in an NL expat FB group someone asked how the other non-Dutchies were dealing with the heat. AC just isn't a thing here, which I get, because it's not hot for months on end, and the Dutch can be quite a frugal people. Alas, window screens aren't a thing either!! UGH! We opened the windows on Sunday to let in some fresh air and about 100 flies took the opportunity to set up residence.
Anywho... the original poster asked if others were just sitting around their houses naked to get some respite. This led to a discussion about being naked with the curtains open. One person actually replied "You don't have to do these social control things just because they do. We don't have to take on their quirks unless we feel like it!" The irony being he/she is probably one of those people who shakes their head in disgust when Americans "stand out" in foreign countries via their behavior.
I also often read complaints about how the Dutch aren't very welcoming to non-Dutchies. Well... with attitudes like the one above, why would they? If you're going to thumb your nose at the social norms of the natives don't be shocked/angered/hurt if they keep you at arm's length.
(Full disclosure: we close our curtains in the afternoon/evening, but only because the sun shines directly into our apartment making it almost impossible to watch TV or simply be comfortable)
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