International Pioneering – China Segment 1: Our Helpers, by Priscilla Hofert
Submitted October 2022
Mr Wang was in the department of Foreign affairs at Tianjin Medical University. He helped us in getting our visas and our various documents to show that we were professors . When we returned to the States, he took us to the bank where we changed Chinese money into American dollars which happened twice a year for 11 years!! One winter when we had tickets to return to China from the States, John woke at 3AM the morning we were to
leave on a 6:30 AM plane. He checked our flight and, Oh No! The flight had been cancelled! It was imperative that we notify Mr Wang so his driver would not meet our plane that had been cancelled. Here it was, the eve of their MOST PRECIOUS holiday, The Chinese New Year! Luckily, John had Mr. Wang’s phone number so he could call him, and luckily he answered and got the message. Our driver was most gracious, saying that because it was the holiday, the traffic was much lighter than usual, so the trip took much less time. Therefore, our dear driver could still be with his family for most of that special day.
Dr. Chu was the best speaker of English in John’s Pathophysiology class that he taught for 11 years. In this picture she was spearheading one of many trips which she helped plan for the class. She was a delightful and most cheerful person whom we grew to adore.
Mr Guo, was in charge of helping the Foreign Students who were attending Tianjin Medical University. For ten years, foreign students were encouraged to come to get a medical degree. They came from many Asian and African countries. It was a challenging job, as sometimes the students would get drunk and then fight each other over racism or nationalism! Even our group gave him some problem… Once in visiting a Buddhist holy place, we all admired the huge and sacred tree, which we wanted to see more closely, so we then walked around it. Lo and behold, Mr. Guo was charged money for each one of us who circled the tree! We, the ignorant foreigners, had unknowingly cost him (the Foreign Affairs Department) money. He just smiled and laughed as he explained our blunder to John.
John & Mr Wang, Dr. Chu & John, then Mrs & Mr Guo below.
