Translated…
A few years ago, my younger classmate who worked for a foreign company, Fang-Ru mentioned how he was in love with a nurse at a hospital. I’d originally thought, that she was talking about the homosexual love from Brokeback Mountain.
After she’d introduced me to the man in the photograph, I’d understood, that she was talking about a male nurse, Jia. He graduated from the nursing department, they’d met on a hiking event, they’d shared several interests, and, talked about everything, fell in love quickly, but bigger challenges came their ways.
As Fang-Ru excitedly introduced Jia to her family, her parents talked down to them, the two elderly couldn’t accept a male, working as a nurse, felt that it was shameful. Every time, when Jia went to visit them, the parents would always try to console him, that while he’s still young, he could get a medical degree, and become a doctor, that way, he would have the income, and the status that people envy. The underlying message was, that they looked down on what he does for a living.
Jia would always smiled and explain to them, that nursing was his joy in life, he loved offering services to others. And, Fang-Ru became, stuck in the middle between her boyfriend and parents, she felt awful, she’d taken the beliefs of Jia, but, she felt helpless, in altering the former generation’s deep seated, deep-rooted biases, and so, they could only, put the wedding plans on hold, and disregarded her parents’ requests, to go out on a blind date, with a doctor that the neighbors told her parents about. She’d held firmly to the belief, that her happiness is hers to take charge over.
Two years ago, Fang-Ru’s mother had a weird illness, her neck would often bend to the side, and she’d started twitching, she’d gone to many hospitals, and couldn’t find the reasons why. In the end, Fang-Ru’s mother let go of her prejudices, and, sought out treatment at the hospital that Jia worked, at his urging. Jia used his connections, to ask the doctors in the areas of expertise, to finally, diagnose Fang-Ru’s mother, got her the needed treatment.
During the time when Fang-Ru’s mother was hospitalized, Jia took good care of her, and gave her tips on how to spend less on the hospitalizations, saved Fang-Ru’s family a lot of money. And, that, was when the elders finally understood, how Jia’s job worked, and, learned that a TON of the families of the patients he took care of offered him thanks; the doctors and nurses at the hospital also commended him on his professional attitude. And, the elders watched this, and, slowly, it’s seeped into their minds.
After Fang-Ru’s mother was discharged from the hospital, she’d agreed to her, dating Jia, and, the two parents also gave them their blessings. In the wedding processions, Fang-Ru’s mother especially thanked Jia for his care over her back then. And now, the in-laws are proud of him, and, believed, that Jia’s belief of giving it all to his patients, they no longer discriminated against male nurses anymore either.
Fang-Ru believed, that this male Nightingale, must be an angel sent from above, to watch over her.
So, it still takes some LIFE-ALTERING experiences for someone, to change her/his BIASES, and, that, is often what happens, because this man was kind and gentle, and, it’d finally made the parents realized, that he very good for their daughter, and, had the mother not gotten sick, then, I would imagine, that this couple would still be fighting with the parents, on the right of them, to be married.
Life, the Obstacle Course 