On Our Birthday Party Conversation
The other Sunday my family gathered at one of my aunts' home for her birthday lunch. This conversation was between two uncles, a bio-ethicist doctor and a dentist, and me in Bahasa Indonesia, except for the figuurzaag which is a jigsaw.
Bio-ethicist (B): do you know where to get a figuurzaag?
me: yupe, ace hardware
Dentist (D): yes, or Depo Bangunan (home depo-red)
B: do you know what a figuurzaag is?
me: it's the circle one, no?
B: no, it's the one you pull and push *did the movement*
me: oh, I bought that one for mom in NL
D: what do you need it for?
B: Oh, we have this 3 year old cadaver at the faculty and it's already rock solid. So, I want to cut it into pieces for class.
D: Topographical anatomy?
B: yes
me: why dont you use figuurzaagmachine?
B: the cadaver wont be fit on it
m: yes it will, I think Von Hagen use it with his plastination
B: I need to ask the anatomy guy how to cut it cleanly.
D: yes, ask the guy, he knows which saw you'll need.
The next thing I knew, while I was trying to find one on the the internet Uncle B went to Ace Hardware to look for it with a cousin of mine.
Just another family gathering, huh?
3 comments:
Similar backgrounds running in the family unavoidably results in some kind of shoptalk a family gatherings.
That part I can understand.
But what really surprised me is that a figuurzaag, which I used to think of as primarily a toy for kids, pops up in such a medical conversation. :). And by it's Dutch name on top of that :))
My uncle went to HBS, in fact his 5th year was in Hilversum.. hence the usage of Dutch name:)
I secretly think you and your family are Dutch in disguise :).
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