Whether you have a Dutch boss, subordinates, colleagues or customers, knowing how the local culture influences the way business is carried out is crucial to successful and effective business relations. 

Leigh is from South Africa. She has been told that she's not really African because she isn't black and is often made feel to like a "country bumpkin" from "the colonies". 

Read about her struggles settling into life here in the Netherlands in the first of a series of Guestblogs written by various internationals for The Dutch Culture Blog.