Gui Jing: a strong, generous and brilliant man
His early student life in Pullman WA, (September – December, 1985)
In fall of 1985, Jing and I were both admitted to Washington State University (WSU), Physics department for him, and Electrical Engineering for me.
WSU is located in Pullman of Washington State. Pullman is a small university town along the eastern border of the State. It had a population around 24,000. Among them, 10,000 were college students. The population has hardly changed over past twenty years.
Jing had a remote relative in Pullman, operating a Chinese restaurant on the Paradise Street. The restaurant is named the East West Tea House.
Jing went to Pullman in early September when the fall semester just started. I arrived in Pullman at the end of the month due to delayed paper works. Jing and I shared a two-bedroom apartment above the Tea House. We were so thrilled to study and live together in Pullman.它乡遇故人is one of four happiness in Chinese.
A student life in a foreign country is always tough at the beginning. We experienced a culture shock, we had a language barrier, we faced a heavy class work in an entirely new setting, and we lost the comfortable family life by leaving behind our loved ones in China.
However, Jing is a fighter. He was taking every challenge well. In addition, he had a more ambitious goal in mind. He was not satisfied with the program that Physics Department offered. So he continued his search for a university that fit him better.
In most late nights, after finishing the homework, after previewing second day’s program, and after writing to his wife, Liu Xin, he continued the tedious work we are all familiar with: typing application letters, filling out application forms and organizing school credentials.
His hard work eventually got rewarded. He received an admission letter from one of the prestigious universities: UC Berkley. But Jing had to face a tough financial decision. With his excellent grades at WSU, Jing had secured a scholarship for the following semesters. Going to Berkley, however, he would have to start all over again.
Jing had confidence in himself. He knew he had to get the best education he deserved. He made up his mind regardless of financial gains and losses. He decided that he was going to Berkley.
Nevertheless, the road to Berkley didn’t seem smooth at the beginning. In an early January cold morning, Jing, our roommate, Allen and I set out to Spokane airport. The airport is about 75 miles north of Pullman. Allen was driving his old pickup with three of us jammed in the cockpit and Jing’s luggage in a covered pickup bed.
January weather in eastern Washington could be treacherous. Early morning fog could condense on road surfaces and form a thin layer of ice. We call the ice “black ice” because it is hard to tell its existence. About ten miles away the airport, Allen got overconfident. When going through an underpass, we suddenly felt that car swung to one side. Jing was sitting in the middle. He quickly reached out his arms, holding down both Allen and me, yelling “watch out!”
It happened in a split of a second. The truck hit a sharp slope on the side of the road, turned 360 degrees, and amazingly stood back on its feet when we opened our eyes. The bed cover was tossed on the road, but Jing’s luggage stayed inside the truck bed. Fortunately, all three of us suffered only minor bruises and scratches.
The truck was not drivable after the accident. So we had to return to Pullman for the night.
Second day morning, we went to the greyhound bus station in Pullman too see Jing off. We stood in a cold and windy weather, waved our hands to say Good Bye and Good Luck, and saw the bus slowly rolled out the station.
Jing was a kind and generous person. He was popular and well loved. We all have many good memories about this fine friend. Today, I share this piece of his life to salute and celebrate him. His high spirit toward to life and strong determination for success has always encouraged me in the past, and will continue doing so in the future.
Daqing Hou,
January 7, 2009