Keep Your Head Down!

Continuing the "Everyday Conversation" theme, "Rambo's" task was to make an appointment with the doctor, then create a dialogue for the meeting and act it out with a partner. He chose this theme because he has problems with his heart and wanted some help with his choice of words.

Before I continue, let me explain why I have nicknamed him "Rambo":

This man is well-built, with broad shoulders, and obviously not someone to mess with. This image is softened by an array of fetching curls on the top of his head, and a pair of big blue eyes. He's a teddy bear, really but still, I wouldn't want to run into him after one of his drunken evenings!

Rambo supplied us with some background information, explaining what his regular check-ups entail: stripping off to his underwear, being rigged up with a heartbeat measuring device and spending twenty minutes on a fitness bike, trying to keep going at a steady pace.

 

He's not too impressed by the bike. 

Once, he told us, the doctor wanted to look "down there" and check his prostate. "No-one goes down there without giving me a kiss, first!" he exclaimed, pointing to his groin. 

"Do you want to be kissed by your doctor?", I asked. "Wouldn't you prefer a pretty nurse?"

"My doctor is a woman", he grinned.

I felt embarrassed at having made such an assumption, thereby proving to be a traitor to my Sistahs. I covered up quickly by pointing out to Rambo that, in German, there are separate words for male and female doctors – to avoid future confusion.

After the class, during which I had attempted to help Sammy on his way along the dating trail, Rambo hung back and chatted for a while. 

"I don't believe in internet dating, he snorted. "I prefer to look a woman in the eyes. Actually", he added. "I look at their feet". I hardly dared ask him to elaborate. Was I conversing with a foot-fetishist?

"You can tell everything from a person's feet", he continued. He demonstrated as he explained.

"If a woman's feet are full-square, facing you, then she's interested in you. If one foot is pointing towards another man, she's interested in him and you can forget it. Words don't tell you anything", he continued. "If you want to know where a person is at, look at their feet!"

The next time I go on a date, I’ll sit modestly, head bent. Perhaps this will compensate for my unintentionally sexist assumption about Rambo's doctor.