Song Yang had been in London for barely three days when he saw an older man struggling alone with some heavy suitcases on the subway. He was 19, did not speak English well, and did not know anyone in the city. Even so, he stopped to help.
That man was Johann “Hans” Hodel, a 66-year-old Swiss retiree, with no family, no partner, no children. Hans’s gratitude turned into an invitation: he offered Song free lodging in exchange for help with household chores. What began as a practical arrangement gradually transformed into something neither of them knew how to name at first. When Song was in a traffic accident in 2001 and ended up in the hospital, it was Hans who appeared by his side and helped him win the compensation case. When Song returned to China in 2007 with his master’s degree, he did not forget the old man who had been left alone in London.
In 2008, Song paid the equivalent of 16.000 dollars for surgeries to treat the hip condition that limited Hans, and took him to live with his wife and son in Zhengzhou. Hans taught the boy English, Spanish, and German, and volunteered to teach the neighborhood children. On December 2, 2013, Hans Hodel died at the age of 80 surrounded by the family he chose. Representatives of the Swiss Embassy in China were present at his funeral. A few minutes with some suitcases. A lifetime of gratitude.
