Yesterday I helped out during a meeting between German buyers and Chinese suppliers. The meeting was going well, not much translation was needed because the supplier spoke perfect English, so I was mostly resting in a corner. There were also some other Chinese girls in the meeting, mainly the buyers "helpers" (when it comes to translating and price negotiating). When we had a moment to rest the supplier suddenly turned to them, started to chat in Chinese and showed something on her neck. I was kind of tired so I didn’t pay any attention.
However, moments later the Chinese girls suddenly told us all (in English):
-Our supplier has a tumour on her neck!
-WHAT?! We all said, chins dropping to the floor.
The supplier proceeded to show us all a rather hefty lump on her neck. We were all kind of flabbergasted.
-We all have to convince her to go to the hospital! The Chinese girls continued.
-WHAT? We all went again. You haven’t seen a doctor yet?
-Eh… I am too busy… I have so much to do at work! The supplier said.
-Too busy to save yourself?! One of the German buyers said. You should not be in this meeting but at the hospital.
-Well I will go soon… the supplier said evasively .
It was hard to go on with the meeting after that “bomb.” I could hear the Chinese girls telling her after the meeting: “you have to go, this is nothing to joke or laugh about. You have to go!”
Let’s all hope she will.
Who’s too busy to save themselves? That’s just incredibly sad.
o.O Wow, not sure if this should be called dedication or stupidity!
ReplyDeleteThat's rather disturbing. A business meeting would be the furthest thing from my mind if I had a lump on my neck.
ReplyDeleteAlso, why is it everyone's job to convince this woman? It seems like they had told her already and she blew them off so they were relying on the opinion of foreigners to sort of shame the woman into going.
That's just weird.
My ex-boss is exactly the same kind of woman. And she also got a tumor(on her chest). We call this kind of persons as 工作狂，they put their jobs in the first place, not their lives.
ReplyDeletekanmuri -I would call it fatal dedication...
ReplyDeleteBrad -It was kind of disturbing. But in a way, I am glad at least she shared.. she seemed so ashamed when she saw out reactions.. we were all like: "what are u doing here! Go to the hospital NOW!" and that must have made her feel a bit like an idiot.. well, anyways, I hope she goes!
马麟 -工作狂?! My oh my. There's a name for that kind of behavior. Disturbing.
This reminds me of a saying I came across in Chinese which goes: 'When you're young, you use your health to earn you money and when you're old you use your money to buy you health.' But this women clearly doesn't understand this principle!
ReplyDeleteShe is obviously looking for encouragement to prompt her into seeking treatment. She is probably not too busy but rather too scared to find out that it is what she is expecting it to be. I also have a lump which I might still be avoiding having investigated if I hadnt been encouraged to go for treatment by people I had spoken to.
ReplyDeleteOh, I did this so many times.... I mean postpone my personal issues because of my work. Especially not too many places are still open after 18:00 in Sweden.
ReplyDeletei think she's in a total denial and too afraid to see a doctor for a diagnosis, so she uses work as a distraction, well, i can clean my house all day if i'm getting really really stressed, and in a way, i can forget the cause of the stress for a while.
ReplyDeletei m not sure if she has any family, normally a family member would be the one to drag her into the hospital. We don't know for how long the lump has been there, but if it has been there for a few years and with a visible size, it may very well be a benigh one.
if it happened to me, i m not sure if i will go see a doctor straight away, or need some encouragement from others, or avoiding it like this girl. But i guess it does take some bravery to hear the true verdict, especially one thought it could be one's own life or death.
btw, i still find it bizzare, how she brought up her own personal health condition in a business meeting, was it cuz her voice speaking differently, so the Chinese girls picked it up and asked her?
I can understand where the supplier is coming from. Sometimes your body gets in the way, and you just ignore it.
ReplyDeleteIt is rather odd that she chose that forum to discuss here health issues. I wouldn't expect that. In any case a tumor won't kill you immediately. She'd have at least enough time to complete a few more deals!