I was at the High-Speed
Rail Station trying to catch the train back to Taichung, when a man who appeared to be in
his thirties approached me and asked:
“Are you an English teacher?” I
looked back puzzled and thought to myself:
“Yes, to some degree, I am, but does it say so on my face?” He continued:
“The magazine you are reading is very difficult, but it seems that you
are very interested in it and you are reading it with ease, what is the article
all about?” No wonder he asked me
whether or not I am an English teacher.
I told him it was about the death of a far right political leader in Austria and how
interesting it was. I answered him as a
teacher should do when she was asked any questions. To my surprise, he asked: “Are you married?” I replied without any
thinking: “Sure I am!” then I felt
funny, thinking to myself: “What on the
earth are you doing here?” Before I
could figure it out, he continued: “You
are so beautiful….” I felt choked and wondered whether I was in a dream. While I was waiting for my train, I could not
wait to tell Shyi-Dong who was attending a conference in Spain about
this interesting encounter. I sent a
text message to him and he replied: “Wow! Congratulations! You do look the same as when you were in your
twenties, but did he ask you about your age?”
This is one of many such episodes that have happened constantly in these last few years. Of course I felt flattered any time when people praised me about my appearance and even happier that I still look good in the clothes I had before I got married. I attribute this to the dance lessons I have been taking for years.
I love dancing with
Shyi-Dong and it is a great source of happiness for me. However, it is a bitter-sweet journey. It is almost like learning English in Taiwan twenty
years ago when there were no good teachers and no good methods. Most people devoted themselves to learning
but ended up with nothing. I am very
happy to have met Radu and Lana because Radu had been trained by their
government since he was seven to compete for his country, Moldova which was part of former Soviet Union. They
reminded me of the coaches Shyi-Dong and I had in London at the World Champion’s dance studio
ten years ago. I have to admit that I am
a perfectionist, and it pains me if something I do is not perfect. Even though competition is not where I wish
to head, I feel frustrated in not being able to get what I have worked so hard
for. Good dance coaches are hard to
find in Taiwan,
it is a very difficult although quite a common problem. Thirty years ago, partner dance was forbidden
in Taiwan;
therefore, the shortage of good coaches made it impossible for the Taiwanese
competitors to win any big titles in World competition. The comments most foreign judges made about
Taiwanese dancers are the lack of musical knowledge and expression of the
dance. Radu and Lana have changed my
perception of dance and have helped me come closer to achieving my goal. Since there are a lot of people like me who
are addicted to dancing and often get no where, I am very happy that I finally
overcome all my major problems and now I enjoy dancing even more than before.
~雍容華貴的華爾滋~
I have dedicated myself to English education since the 80’s, and I noticed how people suffered from improper learning procedures. After trying everything I could think of, I finally found a way which could lead my students to great success in learning English. This makes me very proud. Ever since I entered the world of International Standard Dance, I have always wondered why the learners had to go through the same difficulties as learning English. Is there anything wrong? I am glad that I have found the reasons and the solutions during this bitter-sweet journey. It is difficult revealing my weakness openly; however, I hope that my writing will encourage people not to give up anything they love in their life.
The following articles are the records of my bitter-sweet journey of dancing. Even though I am not a professional dancer, I take great pride in doing it. Eleven years is a long time for a person to keep a hobby passionately. I am very thankful that Shyi-Dong has committed his time to dance with me for all these years. It is not easy for a husband to do it especially when he is juggling his research and administration work every day. Taking dance lessons after a long day at work is extremely difficult especially when all he might want to do is just having a rest. Over these eleven years, Shyi-Dong has become a world famous scientist, and my School has kept its position on the leading edge of English Education. Dancing has played a very important role in our marriage and careers. I know I am definitely blessed to be able to do it, and I would like to share my experience with my friends.
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