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Welcome to Cologne!
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How to Make A Finnish Woman to Go to the Dentist
Crazy days. Let me tell you. A lot of things happened. Mari and I are hosting an American refugee now. I assisted a dentist during a complicated tooth operation. Two very good friends of mine fell in love with each other. And more... . I've thought about writing my own soap opera. Maybe this is the beginning. So ... just read on ,enjoy this crazy story about crazy people in a crazy place, and let me know what you think.
How did it all start? Sitting in front of my black laptop in a dull office a few days later, it's difficult to untangle the threads of the recent events. Let's start in the beginning. About two weeks ago Pia - Mari's friend and Colleague from Finland - arrived in Cologne. Immeadeately after Pia's arrival, Mari awoke from a long dream of silent melancholy. Talking in her mother tongue all day long and having a mate from her home, she suddenly felt alive again. Pia, Mari and I drank a lot of beer, sat by the Rhine river at night, talking endlessly and enjoying the warm summer evenings.
This photo shows Pia (left) and Mari (right), enjoying some regular drinks in a regular Cologne Kiosk. Mari and Pia talked a lot about their work because there were many problems at the office. I don't want to go into detail too much here. Unfortunately German people are not very open-minded when it comes to understanding people from other cultures, at least that's the impression I have, working in a German office. The Finnish are probably the most open-minded and understanding people in the world. With a few exceptions. Just don't mention Sweden and don't try to make fun of their country. These topics can change a smooth and friendly conversation into a battlelike discussion.
As time went by, Mari and Pia addressed the issues to their manager. Change crept into the workplace like a snake. Things were already getting better after a few days, although Pia had to confront her ignorant colleagues with the truth several times. One thing you should know about Germany: people her don't like to be confronted with the truth. In the process of confrontation, they may act as if they would understand you and listen to you. But most of them don't. They will always remember this direct confrontation from your side and take it as an insult. Maybe sometime they will "pay you back". "Mobbing" is a serious problem in the German work place.
After one and a half weeks of fun with Mari and Pia, something serious happened. One night - Mari and I had just rented a movie - Mari received an SMS from Pia saying: "my tooth really hurts and I feel like fainting." Pia had had a serious tooth operation a few days ago. She was in incredible pain afterwards but tried not to show it. Evidently the German doctor who carried out the operation had not done a good job.
It was around 10 p.m. . We told Pia to come down-town so we could see an emergency dentist. She didn't want to come at first. She tried to convince me that she would be ok for the night and just go and see a doctor the next day. Knowing the Finnish stubbornness from Mari, I told her that this is serious and she could even die from a blood poisining. So she agreed to come.
Just in case this ever happens to you while you are in Germany, you should call the next hospital and ask them for the emergency dentist who is on duty. You should speak German or try to get some help from a German speaker.
Around 10:30 p.m. we met down-town at the Rudolfplatz. Pia didn't look good at all. She had troubles walking. So we left for the dentist right away. Arriving at the dentist's office, nobody was there. We called him on his cell-phone and told him it was a real emergency. He arrived 30 minutes later. When we saw, all three of us thought the same:"This guy doesn't look like a dentist." He wore a pink polo-shirt, jeans and black, worn-out adidas tennis shoes with white stripes. His face was burnt dark from enjoying the sun and he had long, almost black hair.
A Crazy Dentist
He said hi to us and lead us into the office. We informed him that he would have to talk in English. No problem, he said in English. He guided pia to the operating room. Then he asked us, if we wanted something to drink. "Cola or water? Of course the cole is sugar-free." We choose cola and walked back to the operating room where Pia was already waiting for us. The dentist started his preparations and asked us a lot of questions. "What do you do?", "What did you study?", "How do you like Cologne?". He tried to take the pressure away from Pia, who was quite nervous and didn't like to go to the dentist in general. Then he asked: "So... who is gonna assist me during the operation?". He looked at Mari and I. Pia looked at Mari and at me. Then I looked at Mari. Then I looked at the doctor and said: "I will."
"This is one of the craziest things I've ever done", I thought, walking across the room to give the dentist a hand. I held the
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