An Israeli Osteopath

By Susanna Calimani*

Yesterday I went to the osteopath for the first time. I am often in pain with my cervical nerves and the doctor told me that physiotherapy was not enough. Out of all the osteopaths in Frankfurt, I happened to have an Israeli osteopath, he asked me whether I speak Hebrew, I asked him whether he speaks German, when and why he decided to live in Germany, if his family and friends are all doing fine with all these fires and arsons, if he misses Israel, if he goes back often, if he ever thinks of going back. While wringing my neck, he told me he came to Germany many years ago to study and join his ex girlfriend, and then -pulling my left arm- they broke up but he stayed longer, and longer, -popping my vertebrae- and longer; now he lives in Wiesbaden and comes to Frankfurt -perforating my shoulder blades- to work, he misses Israel a lot, his family is in Galilee and they are -stretching my right hip- doing fine, and yes, he thinks of going back home every day. Like almost everyone around here. 
Then I stopped asking questions, not really for a matter of privacy, but rather because men -no matter where they come from- are not multitasking, especially if they gesticulate a lot while talking…

*Susanna Calimani is a wandering economist currently based in Frankfurt.