May 19 2008
Winterberg
The prospect of undergoing surgery in a foreign land can be somewhat alarming. One often presumes that medical specialists are more reliable and more competent in one’s own land than in an unfamiliar country. Still, one can overcome anything with a sense of humor.
Act I - Discovery
Doc: “Wir wissen nicht genau was es ist, also wann Sie nächste Woche kommen, machen wir die OP, und dann sehen wir. Aber kein Panik, es ist kein Grund in der Saar zu springen!
Me (to Sab): “Huh? What’d she say?”
Sab: “She says they’re not quite sure what it is, they’ll find out when they do the operation, but don’t worry, it’s nothing to jump in the Saar about..”
Me: “Oh well that’s good.”
Act II - The Paperwork
Nurse: “Do you have any allergies?”
Me: “Yes. Apples and apricots.”
Nurse: … writes down ‘Apfel und Aprikosen..’
Nurse: “Any hearing impairments?”
Sab: “Uh, she speaks English?”
Nurse: … writes down ’spricht English..’
Nurse: “Any special considerations, like a rug to pray on?”
Me: “Uh, no…”
Nurse: “Any addictions?”
Me: “Yes, the Internet. I need it through an IV.”
Nurse: “Ah sorry, ‘fraid I can’t help you there. Anything else?”
Me: “Coffee?”
Nurse: … writes down ‘Kaffee’
Nurse: “I think we can manage that.”
Act III - Aftermath
Sab: “Are you okay? How are you feeling??”
Me: “..chapstick..”
2 Responses to “Winterberg”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
its very interesting point of view.
Nice post.
realy gj
thank you 
Jenni, you are used to speak English with everyone and forget that German is the moter tounge (and mostly the only Lanuage people can handle. So its pretty its not unusuall and helpfull to write the German Term. Or what would you think if theres an Entry: Attention Allergies against: 苹果 and Μήλο if theres a Patient peakin only Chinese or Creek?
To the First part…well German in gernell and Doctors in Special sometime seems to have no empathy
Hey hey, I think you got me wrong here. This post was for my family, none of whom speaks a word of german.. the back-and-forth translations here were just to point out that the entire exchange took place in german, not english as I used for the important parts of the dialog.
Also, I tend to view the light-hearted banter with the nurse and the doctor quite amusing and empathetic; American doctors would never write ‘apples and apricots’ when something like ‘penicillin’ was expected, nor ’speaks English’ for serious hearing impairments.
And then, since I came out better than expected, I’d say the moral of the story was that (these) German doctors, at least, were quite reliable, competent, and with a great sense of humor to boot.