e-magazine
Quake Shocks Sichuan
Nation demonstrates progress in dealing with severe disaster
Current Issue
· Table of Contents
· Editor's Desk
· Previous Issues
· Subscribe to Mag
Subscribe Now >>
Expert's View
World
Nation
Business
Finance
Market Watch
Legal-Ease
North American Report
Forum
Government Documents
Expat's Eye
Health
Science/Technology
Lifestyle
Books
Movies
Backgrounders
Special
Photo Gallery
Blogs
Reader's Service
Learning with
'Beijing Review'
E-mail us
RSS Feeds
PDF Edition
Web-magazine
Reader's Letters
Make Beijing Review your homepage
Hot Links

cheap eyeglasses
Market Avenue
eBeijing

Expat's Eye
Print Edition> Expat's Eye
UPDATED: May 27, 2008 NO. 22 MAY 29, 2008
Feeling at Home
A German finds solace with a Chinese dentist
By SIMONE KUSSATZ
Share

I'm German. Not that this means a lot to other people, but it means a lot to me. Because being German has always made me feel humble about my identity. In a broader sense, it means I'm from that country with the dark history, where a group of bad guys blindly followed a megalomaniac who played a main role in the feature "World History."

Being German requires that one be particularly careful and sensitive when one voices an opinion about the cultures and races of others. Carrying this historical burden on my shoulders makes me sometimes weary. Often, I feel inferior to people from other cultures. Because, honestly, who wants to belong to a country that's known for its creation of concentration camps, instead of architectural sights like the Villa Borghese or the Chateaux de Versailles?

Being born and raised in a country where there was the possibility that your teachers, your neighbors or schoolmates could have been raised by Nazis made me want to escape from it. Therefore, I lived in America for many years, before I came to China to teach.

And here I'm in my eighth month in Xiamen, south China's Fujian Province. I first taught German, and now oral English. Looking back at these eight months, I'd say, I'm grateful for the opportunity China has given me, but I've also had some bad luck since getting here. I faced the difficulties of a contract that was changed after my arrival, two stolen wallets, containing my credit and bankcards, my California driver's license and Social Security Card, plus two stolen cellphones. And now because of the Olympics, I have had difficulties in getting a new visa until my contract ends in July. Also, being used to a vegetarian diet makes my stay in China anything but easy. However, being on this side of the world, I was finally able to see the Great Wall and to walk through old Shanghai and the Forbidden City. And during these trips, I made two great discoveries--the Muslim Market in Xi'an and an art district called "798" in Beijing.

On top of it, I finally received my first dental crown made in China. There was an ad on the Internet, saying best dental care in Xiamen by a dentist who speaks English and who had studied in Maryland. This seemed like the perfect place for me. There was this feeling of familiarity due to his years where he lived in America, and the possibility to communicate in English.

Two ladies wearing what looked like flight attendant uniforms staffed the reception of the dental surgery. When I eventually met Dr. Y., I wondered why he wasn't as talkative as German and American dentists are. Instead, he did something I've never seen anywhere before. He shot photographs of my full face from all angles, as I was biting on a piece of rubber, before diving into my mouth with his camera. Afterwards, we sat silently at his computer, where he uploaded the digital images. One picture he left in its original format, while the others he cropped. I was wondering if I had accidentally walked onto a film. These pictures weren't me. There was a face of a beast on them, a new "Hannibal Lector." Feeling distressed by the sight of them, I then walked to the other room, where his colleague, Dr. R., started with the treatment.

"This teeth needs a crown."

"Teeth?" I said. I don't have money for more than one crown. I thought only one tooth needed treatment.

"One tooth," Dr. R. corrected himself.

"How much will it be?" I anxiously asked.

"It's 1, 200 yuan ($170) for the cheapest filling, 1,500 yuan ($214) for a German filling and 4,000 yuan ($570) for a gold filling."

"Okay," I said. I don't have money for the gold ones, I'll go for the German one. But I only have 400 yuan ($57) on me."

Dr. R said, "You can pay us next time."

This topped my American experience, where a dentist in Brentwood refused to treat me once, because I couldn't pay her $1,000 in full. She made me leave her office in pain. And due to this, I found myself two weeks later, collapsing in a pharmacy in Westwood and waking up in an emergency room at UCLA medical center.

And while I was thinking about my dentist experience in the United States, Dr. R. numbed my gums and shortly after began drilling. Meanwhile, his assistant turned on a computer screen. It was positioned in front of my own face. And then, suddenly, when I heard the sound of familiar film music and I saw a theater curtain opening up with the words Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer underneath, and Tom and Jerry chasing each other, I knew I made a good decision by coming to China despite all the adversities that had come my way.



 
Top Story
-Too Much Money?
-Special Coverage: Economic Shift Underway
-Quake Shocks Sichuan
-Special Coverage: 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Sichuan
-A New Crop of Farmers
Most Popular
在线翻译
About BEIJINGREVIEW | About beijingreview.com | Rss Feeds | Contact us | Advertising | Subscribe & Service | Make Beijing Review your homepage
Copyright Beijing Review All right reserved