It was a joke!

National-Sarcasm-Society
Originally uploaded by tartarfan.

I had dinner yesterday with a friend of mine (let´s call her Miss M) who is visiting Amsterdam. We went for dinner to a fabulous Turkish-Moroccan food hall called Bazar. Beer, falafel, humus, olives. As good as it gets.

I and Miss M started discussing about Finnish sense of humour. Example from a few days back might explain this. Miss M has a another friend (non-Finnish, let´s call him Mr G) living here in Amsterdam. Miss M gave my number to Mr G so we could set a place and time for a meeting. Following text message correspondence:

Mr G: - Hey, this is Miss M´s friend Mr G. Has she arrived? Should we get together this evening?
Me: - Sure. Just picking her from the station and then we will have some dinner. Should we meet around twelve at xx?
Mr G: - Sounds great.
Me: - Ok then. Should I ask Miss M to come along?

Me and Miss thought this was superfunny. I would have answered a message like that with the following:
"Well, if you have to. And hey, someone has to pay the drinks."
Mr G answered:
"How could you not?"

Not the first time this has happened. The odd thing is that this never happens with Slavic or British people. Miss M said the same. We are constantly in situations where people just do not get our black humour.

p.s. If you want to understand what I was writing about, go and see the film called A Good Woman that is based on Oscar Wilde´s Lady Windermere´s Fan. A few quotes:
"If the skeletons are rattling in the closet, why don´t you let them dance?"
"My own business always bores me to death. I prefer other people´s."
"It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious."
"Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about."
"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes."