The Last Clogging Dance Class of 2007

I was in Red, from head to toes, a red wig, a red sweater, a pair of red stockings. I had a wishful thinking I could bring fortune to golden ladies clogging toastmasters wrapping myself in red at the last dance class of 2007, on the New Year Eve.

My aggressive and ambitious New Year resolutions for 2008 are:

1. Form a Toastmaster Magazine Reading Group for Young and Pretty;
2. Produce a Shakespearean Play with Toastmasters;
3. Blog 100 articles in Japanese about Toastmasters activities;
4. Hone communication and leadership skills;
5. Develop dancing and singing talents.

It won't hurt to follow the Chinese tradition to wear in Red on the New Year Day to get a good start. I am looking forward to a prolific and fruitful year of 2008.

WHQs of Golden Ladies Toastmasters

Last month, I must have visited Lydia so often that the concierges of her mansion can address my name. Many thanks went to Lydia for provide her home for golden ladies to read and to rehearse various shows. Lydia's place is like Golden Ladies' World Headquarters.

The grand masion of Lydia's is like a six star hotel. The huge bronze gate opens automatically when guests arrive. I always tend to walk taller than usual. The gorgerous bouquet of exotic flowers on the marble table in the center of the lobby, the sparkling chandelier on the high ceiling, the glistering floor are a tempting stage, I can't help imagining me clogging nimbly and skillfully on the luxious Italian marble mosaic, articulating each dance step with precision and accuracy. It is a moment of exhilaration and ecstasy. I shall take a bow when I hear a big round of applause. Then I take the elevator to Lydia's European style living room.

When Toastmaster Kanai and her husband arrived at Lydia's masion for the year end karaoke party this evening, they were so impressed that they felt delighted to be invited to a Castle in Taipei. From the facade to the interior, the details of Lydia's mansion are more than a castle. No wonder whenever Lydia offers her sweet home for Toastmaster Magazine reading gathering, all golden ladies nod their heads instantly.

Many thanks to Harry and Lydia for their generosity for golden ladies to feel at home when invited to their grand mansion. The world headquarters of golden ladies toastmasters is one of the best in essence and in spirit in the world.

Toastmaster Magazine Reading Gathering in December

Golden ladies had their second Toastmaster Magazine reading gathering in a row this month. We wished to finish reading the December issue before the end of the year. Trini selected "four" articles for us to read, including 1. Who's your audience?; 2. Size up your audience; 3. Projecting Power on the Podium; 4. Reframing three major fears about public speaking.

Four ladies showed up for the reading gathering, Trini and I remained till the last minute (Lydia and Irene left early to prepare for the following karaoke party of 20 people). Trini and I even read beyond the assigned four. I recommended Trini to watch Al Gore's Oscar wining movie "An Inconvenient Truth" and to read Past District 45 Governor Carl Duivenvoodern's inspiring article about his front row seat at the world's most famous multimedia presentation. "An Inconvenient Truth" is the most powerful presentation I've even seen in my life. Every word in Gore's presentation touched upon my heart. I sincerely hope Gore can receive the Golden Gavel Award from Toastmasters International 2008.

The intimidating year end reading gathering was followed by a grand Karaoke party at Lydia's place. International Director George Yen and his lovely wife Jorie, Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Educational Marian Hsiao and her loyal husband, and many D67 dignitaries were on the invitation list. Six golden ladies dressed up for the fun and entertaining evening. We drank, ate, danced, and fought for microphone without knowing how fast time flied.

Before the year end party came to an end, Toastmaster Rikuko Kanai was so happy to be among the passionate Taiwanese toastmasters family members, she announced she would join us as a member. The karaoke party started before 7 and ended after 11. The five hours straight party was the best new year gift to all participants. Thank you, Harry and Lydia for your hospitality and kindness to bring together toastmasters from different corners. Wish every toastmaster a happy, prosperous and fruitful 2008!

The Grand Hotel

Toastmaster Kanai Rikuko, President of Kyoto Toastmasters Club 2004-2005, flew to Taipei from Kyoto with her husband Nobu for four days vacation this afternoon. As the Charter President of Kyoto Toastmasters Club, I am happy that I can say goodbye to year 2007 and welcome year 2008 with my fellow toastmaster member and her family together.

Two years ago, Rikuko invited Nobu to Taipei for the first time for Christmas holidays. The lovely couple loved Taipei so much that they came back for the new year holidays this year. As they've planned this trip for more than six months, I decided to put on my best shoes to spend their first evening in Taipei doing something extraordinary and unforgettable.

Nobu was pleased to walk along Chung-shan North Road with two beautiful toastmasters in his arms. After a sumptuous dinner at Taipei Story House next to the Taipei Metropolitan Gallery, the singer of the house band looked at our fancy outfits and asked us if we had any requests. I took off my bodylength black satin overcoat and showed off a strapless black velvet evening gown while asking for a chacha. No sooner than later, Rikuko and Nobu, the veteran ballroom dancers, deomonstrated an impromptu chacha in the garden. We received a surprising round of applause from the band and customers at the Landis Restaurant. The singer wished us a happy new year while we left Taipei Story House.

As a senior member and also the Past President of Grand Toastmasters Club, I thought there would be no better place than Grand Hotel to welcome Rikuko and Nobu back to Taipei. Harry Fang, Taiwan Council Governor 1999-2000, joined us for a drink at the piano bar on the first floor. When Harry and Lydia, Nobu and Rikuko took to the floor, they wowed the entire bar. Trini and I enjoyed watching them move their bodies to the music elegantly and skillfully.

It was an awesome evening of toastmasters gathering. I am happy Taiwanese and Japanese toastmasters are getting closer and closer. I hope there are more exchange activities between District 67 and District 76 in the years to come. When Language is no more a problem, distance is no more an issue, we proud toastmasters are making our world a better place for all.

髮膠情人夢

「髮膠情人夢」的表演終於圓滿結束，大夥兒總算鬆了一口氣。想當初幾個月前黃金女郎籌劃在C部聖誕轟趴表演的「群星會」，因為秋季大會出現類似的節目，而不得不放棄。所幸Sherry提早結束她的日本行，提出「髮膠情人夢」舞台劇的構想，她身兼編、導、演，一手策劃包辦這個節目。短短一個月之內，完成這個不可能的任務。她的才藝實在叫人佩服的五體投地。

每位表演者也都各展才華。Irene的演出令人驚艷，能唱、能跳、能演。一開場就成了所有目光的焦點。以她的美麗和姿色，年輕時如入演藝界鐵定是顆閃亮的大星星。

Kate和我的舞蹈動作，則以我爵士舞教室所學的舞序為基礎，再根據歌詞稍作修改。Kate的驚人學習能力，認真態度和天生的舞台魅力，是我所望塵莫及的。說到我的姊姊Leeling，就要替她拍手叫好。這是她的處女秀，以我所了解的她，當天下午的表現真是很了不起，完全不像第一次登台。至於我自己，幾年來學舞的基礎使我的舞姿線條較流暢美麗，讓台下的媽媽看的很開心。這還要謝謝Sherry提醒我邀約媽媽來看兩個女兒同台表演。

Linda的表現真的就像Trini所說的是一匹大黑馬。她一出場，整個舞台就是她的。台風及自創舞蹈、舉手頭足都能抓住全場眼光，確實是個舞台皇后。

最後Sherry的壓軸秀，黑人的裝扮創意十足。她把那個角色的自信、勇敢不與世人一般見識的不凡氣度表演的可圈可點，就像她本人一樣的與眾不同。走下舞台與觀眾一起跳舞，把氣氛帶到最高點。掌聲與歡笑聲揮去這一個月所有的辛苦與不快，心中開始計劃弄個莎士比亞劇。這就是這位才女不凡之處，真是要為她喝彩！

我們的恰恰舞是依據圓舞的舞序，有別於一般社交舞。倒也彌補了人數太少的缺憾，在短短的時間內學會並記住這些舞序，對於這群非科班出身的黃金女郎還真不易，我不能不再為大家拍拍手！By Lydia Lin

Dancing is...

Dancing is a combination of beauty and energy. It requires a lot of practice.

Last Friday, I took a half-day off from work in order to rehearse the dance for Division C Christmas Party next day. I didn't have the chance to rehearse the group dance with other golden ladies at all. It was like I was going to deliver an unprepared speech – the feeling panic, uncertain and reluctant. I kept telling myself I would be fine, a Toastmaster member should be able to take any challenge.

Lydia and I wasted no time in chatting but practice and practice. The videoclip Sherry uploaded on the YouTube greatly helped me. I learnt a part of the dance in advance. We were quite happy with the outcome of three hours sweating. We learnt the group dance and managed to complete the 2nd part of our dance.

The moment had come. Irene's smooth flow of dance and fully displayed body movement arouse the excitement from the floor. Linda's performance was full of energy. From the audience scream, you would know how she attracted the audience. How could the audience move their eyes from Lydia who showed the beauty of dance with her sophisticated technique? Sherry is the symbol of creativity, the focus of the spotlight. I memorized all steps; somehow, I felt my dance lack of power. I recalled what Lydia said while we were rehearsing. "When you sing or dance, you need to put your heart in it."

Yes, Lydia was right. Not only for singing and dancing, "heart" is important for everything. The Division C Christmas Party has driven me to take the action – to learn 'jazz' with my heart. By Kate Hsu

A Proud Taiwanese Toastmaster

It was a rainy and chilly evening when I left the demo meeting of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Toastmasters Club on March 6th, 2007. I felt warm and contented in my heart that I could do something for my country as a common civilian and as a veteran toastmaster. I wrote an article, Let's Put Taiwan on Stage, about my feelings the following day and posted it on Grand Toastmaters Club's blog. Samuel Wu, Deputy Director General of Foreign Service Institute gave me a call immediately after he read the article, and encouraged me to submit the article to MOFA News and Report. I was thrilled and flattered.

Let's Put Taiwan on Stage was accepted and published in September issue. It was the first time I received a small amount of income from writing an article on a blog and got it published, nevertheless I felt much encouraged to keep on writing to promote Taiwan and toastmasters to people around the world.

Foreign Service Institute adopts the toastmasters education program to train 40 newly recruited foreign service people at the beginning of the year. The training program lasts for six months, then the trainees will be dispatched to MOFA offices around the world. MOFA Toastmasters Club is therefore unique in its kind. It is different from odinary community clubs and corporate clubs.

MOFA toastmasters club needs the support and guidance urgently from other toastmasters clubs members to run demonstration and regular meetings. Even though MOFA Toastmasters Club's predecessors members turn over completely, the new members have excellent language proficiency and they are fast learners. I hereby solicit senior toastmasters in Taipei to visit MOFA whenever possible. Just think about it! When our foreign service people can master their communication and leadership skills in their respective fields, aren't we the proud Taiwanese toastmastes behind them?

A Merry Christmas 2007

On Christmas Eve, I made chicken soup for dinner at home. It was a silent night and a holy night for two. While all is calm and all is bright, I thanked my husband for being the No. 1 fan of me. Without his support to download the hairspray movie 2007 and rearrange the music for golden ladies toastmasters, the debut musical at Division C X'mas Party last Saturday afternoon wouldn't have been possible.

I also thanked golden ladies toastmasters for making our show happen. Irene Chen prepared CDs and played Tracy Turnblad cheerfully. Linda Tseng interpreted Velma von Tussle impeccably. Kate Hsu and Lydia Lin were the best council girls in town. All golden ladies are not only the actresses but also the directors of their individual shows. As for me, I felt big, blonde and beautiful on stage because there were many helping and clapping hands behind.

Sophia Chen, a professional make-up artist and hair stylist, visited Grand Toastmasters Club as a guest for the second time. She lent me her precious cosmetics and taught me how to become a chocolate girl the day before our show. Cecilia Lee, the better half of Harrison Lee, DTM, came to the back stage to help me put on Shu Uemura's purple and feather Eyelashes. Angela, daughter of Trini Ding, DTM, brought her laptop all the way from home to party venue solve the technical audio problems of magnifier at the last minute.

Christmas 2007 is special in many ways. I delivered a musical. I became a chocolate girl. I had dinner at home with my husband. I am a fortunate woman surrounded by friends and family. I wish everybody a Merry Christmas 2007.

Toastmasters and me!

I sat at the movie theatre by myself the following night after golden ladies decided to present HAIRSPRAY at Division C X'mas Party. I was excited because I love musicals. When the light was off, the movie was on, my body started moving with the music from the first minute to the end. I bought the CD right after I saw the movie. I was going to play Tracy Turnblad, the fat and short girl who dreamed to be a dancer on TV. I looked at myself in the mirror.., I am a slender.. Will I make it? Maybe a TRACY LOSING two thirds of her WEIGHT after a harsh diet regimen.

It took me one week to get familiar with the music and another week to memorize the lyrics. This is much more than what I've expected to learn a new song. Being a career woman, I work overtime most of the time. On top of that, I need to look after my wheelchair-ridden mother. Needless to say, there are house chores at home. With little spare time left, I choreograph the dance steps on the subway and during lunch hours. When I think of good steps in bed, I will jump to dance. I didn't want to disturb my family, so I use my imagination and creativity to dance on my mind most of the time.

It was frustrating in the first couple of weeks. I forgot the lyrics while I danced. I forgot the dance steps while I sang. When the first rehearsal arrived Monday evening, the 17th, I was totally in a black out and a failure. What an embarrassment I had. I was disappointed and upset about myself. I didn't want to fail my partners. The Christmas party is around the corner. We don't have time for extra rehearsals. What am I supposed to do?

The dress rehearsal was scheduled Wednesday night, the 19th, at Lydia's home. I must be prepared for this one and only chance. In two days, I tried my best to convert myself into a different person, a cheerful and fun loving Tracy in front of golden ladies, and I made it. I received a round of applause from my partners. I felt more assured and uplifted to open the Hairspray to impress my toastmasters fellows.

When the stage director announced, "Three, Two, One", I took to the floor, I became Tracy Turnblad. I heard the beat, that rhythm of party hall. I got my hairspray, I was actually dancing on stage. I know every step. I remember every word. I see the party lights shining ahead. Followed me, all golden ladies exerted their best efforts to put on the most exciting and entertaining Hairspray musical to the audience.

I found TOASTMASTERS SPIRITS engraved into our bodies, each of us learned COMMUNICATION by being SUPPORTIVE and COOPERATIVE. We LEARN TOGETHER & GROW TOGETHER. We grabbed the chance that Trini arranged for us and shaped ourselves. What a wonderful environment we have in Toastmasters. The Christmas 2007 is another colorful page and sweet memory to me and all GOLDEN LADIES. By Irene Chen

Division C Christmas Party 2007

Golden ladies can do anything, golden ladies dare to take challenges and develop potentials. Except pursuing intellectual delights, they cultivate different skills, too to make their lives more fun, colorful and enjoyable. Talents are in everyone's genes, the passion of dressing up and performing our talents on stage is in everyone's bones. Having performed on stage for quite a lot of times mostly doing clog dance, golden ladies tried something completely new this time, a Musical -Hairspray, for Division C Christmas Party.

The idea was first brought out by Sherry, always ahead of others in ideas. She saw the movie on her flight back from Sapporo to Taipei, was enchanted by its great tension, lively music and dramatic feature. It was not easy to make it possible in shortly one month; compiling music, character depicting, costume designing, posing, and choreographing etc… Yet, golden ladies managed to overcome the obstacles despite their busy schedule.

The program was a big success. Their performance was unexpectedly amazing and a knock-out. It amazed and opened the audience's eyes. The music was lively and cheerful, the costume was selected for the maximum stage effect and the performance was overwhelming. Everyone danced and posed self-assuredly. No one could believe they did the choreography by themselves.

Irene – The lovely and cute Tracy Turnblad
Kate and Lydia – the gracefully sexy Council Girls
Linda – the new sexy queen Velma von Tussel
Sherry – the most daring and wildest Motormouth Maybelle

What a sensational combination! I am happy that they helped enrich Division C Christmas Partys program and entertain the audience completely. Pity that I couldn't take any part in the musical due to my duty for the whole party, yet enjoying their performance and making record of it cheered me up a great deal and gave me a sense of pride, too.

Again golden ladies demonstrated they are versatile and talented. And again Golden Ladies turned a new leaf, wrote a new page for our book of life. What's next? One thing we are sure is that we will keep exploring our talents and cultivating all the possible skills for the next challenge and fun. Trini

Big, Blonde and Beautiful

Life is layers of memories. As we move a step further into the future, we unveil a shade of the myth in our past. Like peeling an onion, we get to the core when our life comes to an end. If I hadn't played the role of Motormouth Maybelle in the Hairspray Musical at Division C X'mas Party this afternoon, I wouldn't have realized my deep root in Africa.

Queen Latifah played the role of Motormouth Maybelle in the movie of Hairspray 2007. She is big, blonde and beautiful, I want to copy her to the best of my ability. After I put on dark foundation, wore a blonde wig, walked on stage, surprisingly I should see my past on wide and open savanna. The fortuneteller was right, I was an African female runner in my previous life. The long forgotten memory came back to me. I wish Albert Einstein could provide a reason for the transcendental connection to the past.

Then the good old days in New Orleans flashed back to me. I was suddenly enlightened why I chose to study at the Graduate School of University of Louisiana Medial Center. I ruminated the Creole cuisine at the French Quarter. I heard the jazz on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. The Blue echoed in my ears and tears flooded in my eyes.

The older I get, the more I enjoy the stage. The collective energy from the audience uplift my spirit to a new level high. The emotions on stage always transcend me to another unknown world once I was familiar with. I feel recharged after each performance on stage. The Hairspray gave me a key to know more of my past. The dark skin is the first chapter of another huge book waiting for me to uncover. I shall keep on reading, traveling and running, one day in Africa in person, for sure! Groovy, Baby, Groovy!

Life is but a play, one act after another. While I thought I could put on a few pounds to become a real sweet chocolate girl after Division C X'mas party, I saw Tina Turner Live on TV, when I got home. After I poured myself a glass of Bourbon on the rock, I sat on the couch and watched Tina's body languages. I was totally mesmerized by her voice, movement, and beauty in early 70's. The Rock Diva of All was tall and thin and powerful. I watched her show with my eyes opened wide till midnight. I found a new role model to emulate. In my dream, I became tall, blonde and beautiful Iman Abdulmajid on the runway and I saw David Bowie waiting for me at the far end.

Speak in Music (Hairspray Flyer)

Who wants a twig, when you can climb the whole tree?

The curtain will soon be on. The audience will open their eyes. Golden ladies are putting on Hairspray at D67 Division C X'mas Party this coming Saturday afternoon. It is their first musical in public. It is meaningful for them to learn the communication and leadership skills in Music. It is challenging for them to master the melody, the rhythm, the action and the words at the same time, let alone the facial expressions, hand gestures and vocal variety.

Synopsis
In early 60's, women don't have rights, blacks are segregated, big girls are monsters. Tracy Turnblad, a white fat and short teenager who loves to dance, changes everything in Baltimore in 1962. She goes for an audition at a TV station. She walks into the black community to integrate with them. She converts the most popular TV dancing show from one Negro day a month to Negro days year around. She encourages her mother to step out of her tiny cleaning shop to embrace her size of 40.

Cast
Tracy Turnblad ... Irene Chen



Velma von Tussle ... Linda Tseng

Council Girl 1 ... Kate Hsu



Council Girl 2 ... Leeling Lin

Council Girl 3 ... Lydia Lin




Motormouth Maybelle ... Sherry Li



Ladies and Gentlemen, Golden Ladies Toastmasters present you the Hairspray!

First Show--Irene (two minutes 10 seconds)
Props: Candies, School Bag, Hairspray, Radio, Pop Hair
Voice in: Tracy, Wake up, It's 7 O'clock followed by "Good Morning Baltimore"

Second Show--Lydia & Kate (2 minutes 15 seconds)
Props: Dress, furry scarf, high-heel shoes
Voice in: Look, Who's that new girl? Followed by "The New Girl In Town"

Third Show--Linda (2 minutes)
Props: Baton
Voice in: Ladies & Gentlemen, welcome to Miss Baltimore's dance classroom followed by "Miss Baltimore Crabs"

Fourth Show--Sherry (two minutes 30 seconds)
Props: Pecan Pie, Sugar, Chocolate Swirl, Pink Lipstick, Blonde wig
Voice in: Are you all hungry for some good fun? followed by "Big, Blonde, and Beautiful"

Fifth Show--Group Dance (two minutes 42 seconds)
Voice in: Now, everybody, come dance on the floor and have fun! Followed by "The Nicest Kids in Town"

Music Off, End!

Special thanks go to Golden Lady Trini Ding, DTM, the Incumbent Division C Governor for offering us the wonderful opportunity to perform our first musical in public and to deliver our speeches in music. Golden ladies, go, go, go!

Peace Toastmasters Club's Year End Meeting

As promised, Toastmaster Watanabe brought three toastmasters friends from Tokyo to Taipei to attend Peace Toastmasters Club's year end meeting this afternoon. Frankly speaking, I wouldn't have skipped the clogging dance class this afternoon if Toastmaster Watanabe were not in Town. But, I must say it was one of the most exciting meetings I've ever attended. It was inspiring to listen to the speeches of young and old Toastmasters, Taiwanese and Japanese, especially during the Christmas season.

Toastmaster Watanabe Yoshihito came to Taiwan 8 years ago for the first time with a tour group of toastmasters members from Nagoya. In the past 8 years, Toastmaster Watanabe has invited many Japanese toastmasters to Taiwan and has contributed a lot to the development of Japanese speaking toastmasters in Taiwan. He is a precious Japanese toastmaster friend to us Taiwanese.

Friday evening, I put on Mrs. Santa Claus' Outfit to wait for Toastmaster Watanabe and his clan at the New World Hotel. After dinner at a huge teahouse in Hsi-men, we went to a nearby TGI Fridays for the second party. What could be a better place than TGI Fridays to welcome dear toastmasters friends from Japan on Fridays? We ate, drank and talked till midnight.

As usual, there is a dinner banquet in honor of VIPs from Japan after the year-end meeting. Toastmasters Murata, Agioka, Yoshimura joined the meeting and party for the first time, they became family members immediately. We ate, drank, sang, danced for two and half hours. The Karaoke machine didn't stop from the beginning till the end. I bet it was the first time the restaurant made so much fortune from a Karaoke machine. We made a record in year 2008. When toastmasters are together, the time flies on the double!

Thanks to Toastmasters Watanabe, Murata, Agioka, Yoshimura for bringing the Christmas joy to us in year 2007 and wish everybody a merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous year of rat!

I Have A Dream--A Christmas Party in the 60's

Golden ladies will put on "Hairspray" musical at Division C Christmas Party Saturday afternoon, the 22nd of December. Hairspray won 2007 Hollywood Film Award. The story is about Tracy Turnblad, an overweight teenager who wants to dance on TV in 1962. With her determination, Tracy makes it on the Corny Collins Show and changes it to an integrated one for black and white.

In 1962, I was a second grader and most golden ladies were in elmentary schools. I remember well that I opened my eyes widely in fornt of my neighbor's television in the living room when Taiwan Television (TTV) went on air. It was everything for me to watch television after school everyday. I wasn't as initiative as Tracy to take the move to go for an audition to dance on TV, but I believe, as middle-aged women, golden ladies are happy to present a show of young girls of ideas and dreams.

In a 15 minutes show, we will have "Good Morning, Baltimore", "The New Girl in Town", "Miss Baltimore Crabs", "Big, Blonde, and Beautiful", and "The Nicest Kids in Town". It is our hope to bring the good times of the 60's to our fellow toastmasters, to share the hope and spirit of the people in the 60's, and to leave a big footprint for ourselves like Neil Armstrong did for mankind on the moon on July 20th, 1969!

In fact, golden ladies have planned the show for more than two months. We thought about performing the famous "Star Gatheriing Show" of TTV of the 70's. We even finalized the songs and singers we would copy. After seeing similar show at D67 Fall Convention Party in Ta-chia in November, we decided to work on another more exciting, thrilling and inspiring one. There "Hairspray" came along. Life is really full of wonders. Everything seems to be predestinated to make the life fulfilled in the best and most reasonable sense!

If you're free Saturday afternoon, the 22nd of December. You must not miss Golden Ladies' "Hairspray". You will see the costumes of the 60's, the exaggerated hairstyles. On top of that, you shall have a good chance to dance for fun!

From Tragedy to Triumph

Sherry had been enjoying her study of TM magazine for one hour when I arrived at McDonald at 12:40. She invited all golden ladies to dress in red in order to celebrate the Christmas. In a red Chinese style jacket and a matching beret, Sherry looked so cute; somehow, the jacket might be too warm for the temperature of 21 degree Celsius.

Trini waited for us at another McDonald and spent another hour finding the way to join us at Hsin-Tien Cultural Center. She was like a nightingale chirping on the tree while she complained about her poor sense of directions. Her mouth watered when she saw the lunch box and desserts, and there was a moment of silence.

It took us only about 30 minutes to discuss the magazine. The reading efficiency explained the good preparation of the golden ladies. I recommended golden ladies to read an extra article by Darcy Keith. My niece had the same "From Tragedy to Triumph" experience.

Twenty years ago, on the way home from an outing with her newly wed husband, my niece was pulled out the car when their car hit a truck and got stuck under it. She groaned, "Ouch, it hurts!" Then she lost her consciousness. She went back to work two weeks after a brain surgery. Her brain was damaged. She lost her abilities in speaking, thinking and walking. She seemed to change to another person. A pretty, cleaver, and promising young lady was gone. Eventually she got a layoff and followed by a broken marriage.

For many years she struggled to get out from her pain. With the love and encouragement from her parents, she finally regained a normal life. She married again and has a lovely daughter now. The above two cases teach us one lesson. No matter what happened, we must not lose faith in ourselves, the positive attitude can convert tragedy to triumph. I admire Darcy and my niece for they are great warriors.

Joining the golden ladies' reading group has benefited me a lot. We learn, we laugh, we dance, and we brainstorm together. Their devotion to enrich the life has influenced me. Thank you, golden ladies. By Kate Hsu

Toastmaster Magazine Reading Gathering in December

The more we read, the faster we read. From the beginning, it took golden ladies more than two hours to complete reading three assigned articles in a magazine, then one and a half, then one hour. It took them less than 30 minutes to finish reading three articles in November issue this afternoon. I conclude there are three reasons. Golden ladies study the magazine hard at home in advance. Golden ladies synchronize one another in thinking. Golden ladies have something else on their minds.

I invited golden ladies to come visit my secret garden where the camellia was in full blossom on a sunny and warm winter afternoon. As the hostess, I opened the reading gathering by sharing my listening to the interviews of the authors on talkingtoastmasters. I encouraged golden ladies to follow Kristen Johnson's steps to plant a shill in the audience to create a theatrical effect for prepared speeches or party shows. Linda liked Dana LaMon's "Making the Moment Meaningful" particularly. Kate studied beyond three articles and recommended us to read Darcy Keith's "From Tragedy to Triumph". Her niece had the same experience recovering from a severe car accident. Lydia came late, but claimed she had looked up every new word in the magazine in the dictionary. We took turns giving her a vocabulary test and she passed with honor.

At Page 30, the last page of November issue, we saw our flag standing on the stage behind the board of directors in action at the International Convention in Phoenix, Arizona, in August. George Yen looked smart and handsome in green jacket and yellow tie. Golden ladied yelled aloud, "We love you, George!" in unison.

After reading the magazine, we finalized the roles for Hairspray we are about to perform at Division C Christmas Party, Saturday afternoon, the 22nd of December. Each lady has a role and we need to get together more often to rehearse the group dancing. Thanks to Irene for preparing the CDs and lyrics, so that golden ladies can work on their own, shake the body and dub the song in front of the mirror at home. December is a month of synchronization, a month of total presentation, and a month of joy and bliss.

PS:It was the first time golden ladies had the monthly reading gathering photo taken without the magazines in hands.

Toastmaster Magazine Reading Gathering in November

I've never felt happier attending our monthly toastmaster magazine reading gathering before. I just came back from one-month solo traveling in Japan. It felt great to be back in Taipei, to be among the warm and passionate golden ladies.

Lydia invited us to her mansion for a pot-luck dinner for our toastmaster magazine reading gathering in November. Michelle bought a huge box of assorted sushi on her way back from Yi-lan. Irene spent hours making curry chicken. Trini prepared stired fried cucumber and sweet and sour cabbage. Lydia made a huge pot of beef soup. The dinner table was decorated with delicious home made dishes. The strong and warm sensation of homecoming from the cold country to our north was beyond description.

At dinner, Trini, the Incumbent Division C Governor and Co-chair of D67 Spring Convention 2008, solicited our support of an extra educational workshop by the keynote speaker Rory Vaden before the Convention. With no reservations, I volunteered myself immediately that I would escort Toastmaster Vaden if needed. The other golden ladies jumped at my proposal and asked for a share of the privilege to accompany the young and handsome 1st runner up of 2007 World Championship of Public Speaking.

In stead of studying three articles Lydia assigned, Some "Free" Advice by John Cadley, page 16; Political Communication: The Power to Change the World by Linda McGurk, page 22; and YouTube Your Way to Better Speaking by Carmine Gallo, page 26 for two hours, we cut it short to less than 30 minutes. The first article was about shopping, and we didn't know what it had to do with toastmasters. The 2nd and 3rd articles are valuable reference articles if we could spend more time reading all the citations.

Harry Fong, the better half of Lydia, joined us for dinner after attending the autumn excursion with China Toastmasters Club members to Chu-ming Gallery in Jin-shan. We were happy to have him with us for a pleasant talk. A heavy-weight toastmaster, he mentioned about Michael Porter's "Strategy", the essence is to make a choice. I thought of Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken on my way home. I need no strategy to get home, because there is only one way!

We are the World!

I am grateful to the big Toastmasters family. No matter where I go, I feel at home attending the local toastmasters clubs meetings. It is the Toastmasters who enpowers me with the sense of "We Are the World". I walk into the communities, I chat with local residents, I feel like a family member of the world. We are not alone. We have family and friends around in the world.

Traveling solo is not easy, especially for a middle-aged woman, in a foreign country. I don't know the social codes in depth, I don't know the language well, but I have a strong motive to see the world with my eyes, to hear the world with my ears, to feel the world with my body, and to love the world with my soul.

In the past month, I've received countless helping hands from strangers and acquaintances. Some helped me carry my heavy luggage at the train station, some offered inspirational words, some gave encouraging smiles, some showed warm gestures. I remember each and every of them. I am indebted to all of them for a pleasant month in Japan.

We are the world; We are the children; We are the ones who make a brighter day; So let's start giving; There's a choice we're making; We're saving our own lives; It's true we'll make a better day; Just you and me!

If there is anything I can do to the world, I won't hesitate. If there is anything I can do to the world, I will commit myself to it. I am the world. You are the world. Together we make our world a better place for all.

The Language Acquisition

We are Home sapiens. We are able to communicate with languages. It is one of our natures. We were given with the oral power and ability the day we were born!

The matter of the language acquistion is about the opportunity and responsibility. If we were born in China, we would read and write in Chinese. We speak Chinese with the people around us. We watch Chinese TV, we set our mind in Chinese. The language is natural and invisible, it is part of us without a second thought.

But, if we want to become a Chinese literate, that's another story. We must study hard and control our minds. We must read as many good books written in Chinese as possible. We must make friends with good Chinese speakers. Then we can excel ourselves to become outstanding Home sapiens in linguistics.

Learning a foreign language is likewise. We make the best use of our opportunity to acquire the language, then we shoulder the responsility to perpetuate the essence, spirit and beauty of the langauge. We must set our mind, drill our tongue on contant basis, then we excel ourselves to become sophisticated Home sapiens to build up a diversified and colorful pluralistic society.

After studying so many foreign languages, I find the most challenging ones are children talk and intimate pillow talk in a foreign language, because of lack of resources and opportunies, of course. The road to langauge acquistion is straight forward. Use it or lose it, no matter if it is a mother tongue or an acquired one.

Sapporo Pioneers Toastmasters Club

It was a posh meeting venue, located on the 2nd floor of Linkage Plaza next to Sapporo TV Station. The meeting room of 50 people was bright and white. The whiteboard, the tables, the chairs, were all in white. I arrived at the Sapporo Pinoeer Toastmasters Club 50 minutes in advance. I turned on the lights, sat in the room feeling excited that I could make it to the one and only Toastmasters club in Hokkaido this evening, the 14th of November, before returning to Taipei tomorrow.

President Sayama arrived ten minutes after me. He took my advise to rearrange the room layout for a change. As two early birds, we had a chance to discuss the toastmasters activities in general. I told him that I was very optimistic about the potential in developing Toastmasters clubs in Hokkaido. The Sapporo Pioneer is a small club but of great quality, I'm sure it will play an important role to give birth to many Toastmasters clubs in the north country of Japan in the future.

Nine members showed up for the meeting. In two hours meeting time, I could remember all their names. The meeting started on time, followed by the opening thought of Toastmaster Tobino. After Toastmaster Nakayama, Toastmaster of the Evening, introduced the meeting program, Toastmaster Uraguchi announced the Word of the Day, POSH.

I was delighted to deliver an impromptu speech on my journey in Hokkaido for five minutes before the tabletopics session. The tabletopics master Mano invited all members to comment about the Beaujolais Nouveau, which was due to lanch tomorrow, the third Thursday of November. After 10 minutes intermission, two heavyweight prepared speakers Konichi and Sato were on stage. Both of them are advanced speakers. Toastmaster Konichi delivered her fourth speech "The Press Conference" of Communicating on Television. Toastmaster Sato delivered her third speech "The Demonstration Talk" of Speaking to Inform.

I was honored to invited to add a few words after the general evaluation session. Of course, I expressed my thankfulness to my fellow toastmasters members for their posh achievements. And I encouraged them to form a Toastmaster Magazine reading group among themselves and listen to Talkingtoastmasters for the interviews with the authors of Toastmaster Magazines.

After club meeting, we went to an Izakaya for the second party. Toastmaster Ikeda was the only male among four female members, Nakayama, Konishi, Sato, and me. The Izakaya was so warm and cozy, the waitress was so sweet and friendly, the food was super delicious. While most members drank Oolung tea, I challenged a bottle of Japanese sake. I even thought about performing a short clogging dance upon request (Yes, I'm obsessed with clogging dance, and I carry my clogging dance shoes whereever I go).

We didn't leave the Izakaya untill almost 11:30PM. We hugged one another and bid goodnight in front of the Izakaya. I was told that it would snow tomorrow! Toastmaster Konishi offered me a lift back to Sapporo House. I wore a big posh smile into my dream!

Communication and Leadership Skills

If reading, writing, speaking is a matter of constant drilling and practice, so is traveling. The more often we hone our skills, the better we acquire the skills along the way.

The traveling exercise is simple and straightforward. I get up before the sun rises, I get on the train, I doze off, I get off the train, I find a hotel, I walk the city, I go to bed after the sun sets. Everyday I have a new chapter in my travelgue.

From the first Chapter in Nara to the last chapter in Sapporo, I spend hours on the trains, I walk hours in the cities. In addition to a mileage collector of the Japan railway, I'm the walker of city avenues, country alleys and mountain trails in Japan. I don't know how far and how many miles my feet sweep the falling leaves on the land everyday. I can think of nothing but move forward to the next station. I am given a new chapter everyday and I fill it with exciting pages of memories and stories. I am ready to take another challenge of traveling exercise in the near future.

The toastmastering exericse is much the same. Everyday we open our eyes, we're on the track of communication and leadership training. We act, interact, react with people around us, and we fill our days with interesting stories and memorable memories. I am ready to write another chapter of toastmastering exercise tomorrow.

Edo Wonderland--Noboribetsu Date Jidai Mura

I've been thinking how to package Golden Ladies's Singing Show at Division C Christmas Party in December. It wouldn't be fun and amusing if we only copied the stars on Taiwan Television in the 70's. It might be more entertaining if we could insert a few tricks to add value to the show, such as the sign language to start our show and the clogging dance to end it.

Three stage shows were displayed at Edo Wonderland this afternoon. They are the Japanese Culture Theater, History Theater and Kasumi Ninja House to showcase the lifestyles in Edo period (1603 to 1868). Each lasted for 2o to 25 minutes. I watched each and every of them with attention. I liked the Ninja show the most, especially the fighting of ninjas in a dark and mysterious three dimensional old fashion house. Sometimes the ninjas fought on stage, sometimes on the ceilings, sometimes on the floor.

The training of the ninjas must be hard. Ninjas (patient men) learn not only the martial laws, they also learn the meditation. They are practically acertical. They eat little, they sleep little, they are invincible.

I know I can't be a ninja. It is not that I am not patient, it is that I couldn't walk through a tilted house of ninja at the Edo Wonderland. I became nausa and dizzy immediately when I got into the tilted house. I guess I am not built to live in a space out of spatial balance. I wonder how ninjas can fly on the ceiling, walk on the wall without making any sound.

Maybe I should invite golden ladies to go to a ninja school with me. If we can present a ninja show at our graduation ceremony, that would be awesome and super entertaining!

Budget Traveling in Japan

It is expensive to travel in Japan, the transportation expenses, the accommodations cost, the entertainment fees (food, drinks, admission fees to galleries and museums). Most Japanese are conversative about traveling, they don't want to end up in debt after an expensive tour, let alone their Taiwanese neighbors.

Being a foreigner, I could purchase a Japan Rail Pass at home. The JR Pass offers a quite reasonable discount of transportation fee. The more I travel in Japan, the wiser I use the trains, the hotels, the supermarkets, and public facilities.

I always keep budget traveling in mind. No matter how much I had in my pocket, I tried to save every penny for the rainy days and for the future trips. I wouldn't use cash or charge unless it was absolutely necessary. I waivered a mobile phone. I refrained from internet cafe. I visited the local markets for the fresh fruits and vegetables to supplement the vitamines and minerals. I went to the convenient stores for instant rice, noodles, soup to fill in my empty stomach. I stayed at youth hostels, reasonable hotels to contain the accommodation cost. I stayed with friends if they have an extra bed to offer.

I'm thinking maybe toastmasters can learn from their Rotarian counterparts to provide homestay services to fellow members, to promote culture exchange activities among member. We can encourage more foreign toastmasters to visit our clubs in Taipei. I'd be more than willing to offer my sweet home to traveling foreign toastmasters in town.

While traveling, life is about simplicity, necessity, accessbility and flexibility. Even though it is hard to reduce the amount of clothes, shoes, and accessories for a woman traveler like me, I've learned how to break down a long journey into several short ones. I find a center location to deposit the heavy luggage and carry the light backpack to move around in surrounding satellite towns.

Internet is no doubt a must. I felt secured and at home being able to answer emails and blog at the most welcoming free internet at the local hotel. I felt good and relaxed sitting at a small and quiet corner to connect myself to the family and friends around the world.

Japan Rail Pass--Your Sight-seeing Passport to Japan

As a foreigner, I highly recommend the special ticket offered by Japan Railways (JR) Group to travelers from abroad.

I purchased a 21 days JR Pass (Green) for 79,600 Japanese yens in Taiwan before my departure. After coming to Japan, I really made good use of it. I traveled from the south to the north, from the west to the east. It is very pleasant riding the state-of-the-art bullet trains to see the beautiful scenery in Autumn while receiving attended service from beautiful and friendly stewardess on green cars.

JR also offers special tickets to locals, but at a higher price. Take the recent one フルムーン 大人の旅は、グリーン車に乗って スローダウンしたら、新しい景色が見えてきました for instance, for couples at added ages above 88, they are entitled to enjoy 12 days JR Couple Pass (Green) for 124,400 Japanese yens for two persons.

Even though a 21 days JR Pass (Ordinary) costs 21,900 Japanese yens less. I like the green better. That is right, I am an adult, I like to have a bigger seat, I like to read the in-train magazines, I like to listen to in-train music, I like to have a cup of complimentary drink from a beautiful stewardess as soon as I am seated. But on top of that, I can find a space easily to house my luggage.

If you have a chance to visit Japan for sight-seeing in the future, don't forget to purchase a JR Pass before your departure from your country. There are two types, Green and Ordinary available. Each type comes as a 7-day, 14-day, or 21-day Pass. You will certainly enjoy the All You Can Ride experience to get on and off the trains at any station your wish! I wonder if JR group would consider lauching a 90 days Pass for foreign tourists, I'd be the first one to get it for sure.

The Productivity of Japan

Japanese are no doubt the most diligent people in the world. When I visited the elmentary school, I saw the principal and the teachers work long hours after school. When I rode the train, I saw the conductor check the timetable and road signs with care. When I stayed with a friend of mine in Tokyo, she never returned home before 9PM. She is an OL working at an overseas bank in Tokyo. Everybody in Japan seems to be hustle and bustle doing something. Just pay a visit to any train station you will see what is on my mind.

The transportation network is so well organzied and connected in Japan that people can get to almost everywhere at late hours in a big city. Tokyo is the city to showcase the efficiency of manpower. Skyrise building are lightuped till midnight, thousands of thousands salary men are burning the midnight oil in this huge power engine. Tokyo is not built in one day!

But, I think the productivity of Japan will be further upgraded if there is a Toastmasters arena for Japanese politicians.

While traveling from the south to the north, from the west to the east of Japan, I see many hard working Japanese people. They get up early and get home late. Some even stay away from home for a long period of time. These hard working people are the key to the success of Japanese economy. But, when they turn on TV, they can see nothing but frustrating news in politics. I thought Japan should be different from Taiwan, a small island full of scandals in politics. Aren't politicians supposed to work for their people?

A Welcome Party at Hotel Appeal--November 2, 2007

I'm always looking for the opportunity to promote Toastmasters clubs when I travel in Japan. Whenever I meet with English speaking Japanese, I would switch the topic to Toastmasters.

At the welcome party for Korean delegates from Wo-chou County, the sister city of Gonohe Town, I was set at the same table with all the educators, mainly the principles of elementary and high schools in Gonohe. I reminded myself of behaving properly and talking politely in front of the principles. I kept searching in my little head for the right Japanese words to break the ice with the big heads of Gonohe Town.

Alcohol is no doubt a great catalyst to break the ice. Drinks are more welcoming than food at a welcome party, especailly for Japanese. Tonight, I witness how similar Japanese and Koreans were, by the appearance, the language and even the drinking etiquettes. Nomura Maiko, a fifth graders teacher at Kamiichikawa Elementary School in Gonohe invited me to the welcome party. Nomura sensei told me never pour my own drink. I needed to wait for someone else to do the pouring. And when pouring a drink, I must always hold the bottle with two hands. I knew already "Kanpai" meant drink as you wish for Japanese and Korean, but I just kept the habit of drinking bottom up. Nomura sensei opened her eyes to my drinking capacity. I guess I just inherited my father's genes of north coutnry (my father was born in Beijing!) and it was a great pleasure to drink with people of a kind.

I became a differnt person when Principle Saito Masae of Gonohe Junior High School spoke English with me. Principle Saito used to be an English teacher. I was so impressed with his English langauge proficiency. When we began talking about Toastmasters, I was in such a great mood that I talked faster and faster to cover from the communication manuals to the club management. Principle Saito mentioned that he might have time to do something for his community after he retires next year.


Nomura sensei gave me a lift to Makiba onsen for the night. While we were in the hot spring, I thanked her for inviting me to Gonohe for the fist time while thinking of the possibility of giving birth to Toastmasters clubs in this north country.

Hachinohe Toastmasters Club

I took Shinkansen to Hachinohe, the northernmost station. At the information center, I met a lady who spoke English fluently. I thought there might be a chance to establish a Toastmasters club in Hachinohe.

Misawa Toastmasters Club is holding its biweekly meeting this evening at the Misawa Air Base. I think it is not open to the public, therefore I don't get any response from my inquiry of participating in their club meeting.

I took the advice from the lady at the information center to walk along Tanesashi Shore in the afternoon. After lunch, it started raining. I could see nobody on the street in a remote small town. I was lucky to find a community center to find a shelter for the rain. The man at the center gave me a spare umbrella upon my request. I thought it might be possible to charter a Japanese speaking Toastmasters club in town.

I arrived at the Toyoko Inn in dark, but in time for complimentary curry rice dinner from the house. I spotted a foreigner, and asked him if he spoke English. He is Abdul Rahman Hassan, from Maldives. He is at Hachinohe on a training program at a fishery factory for a month. I felt relieved that I could switch my mindset in English for a change.

Hachinohe (八戶) is the biggest town in east Aomori along with eight towns, namely ichinohe (一戶), ninohe (二戶), sannohe (三戶), gonohe (五戶), rokunohe (六戶), shichinohe (七戶), kyunohe (九戶). The names of the towns reminded me of Jiu Fen (九份) in Taipei.

Nikko is Nippon!

I went to the guiding light (Nihon no hikari) in Japan today. On the local train from Utsunomiya to Nikko, I sat next to a friendly couple. The wife nodded at me when I approached an empty seat next to her. When I overheard their conversation, I couldn't resist the temptation to ask which language they were using. It turned out to be English. Without hesitation, I greeted them by saying Aloha to them when they told me they were from Hawaii.

They just arrived in Japan yesterday. The wife was eager to share the traveling information with me. She advised me to pay a visit to Matsushima and showed me many beautiful photos she took of the colorful deciduous leaves in Matsushima. I reciprocated them with my wonderful and cheerful adventure in Karuizawa.

When I told them that I am a dancer, the wife encouraged me to visit Hawaii to learn Hula dancing. She mentioned that the Hula dancing focuses more on the hand gestures. And the most exciting talk between us was about toastmasters. They told me there are many toastmasters in Hawaii, and they welcome me to visit the beautiful islands of Hawaii one day. We ended our conversation when the train arrived in Nikko.

On my way back from Nikko to Tokyo, I saw an advertisement of Azuma Asobi-No-Mai dance of Nikko Toshogu Shrine (the world heritage). I hope I will have the chance to visit Nikko again to see the dance and to learn the dance.

Toastmasters in Tokyo

It is challenging to navigate in the subways maze of Tokyo, a city of people mountain and people sea. No matter where I go, I see the flow of people, in all directions, I feel like an ant wandering in the underground labyrinth of a huge factory full of layers of layers of conveyors.

Toastmaster Tommy Tomohide was waiting for me at the south gate of Shinjuku station when I rushed to meet him from Tokyo Midtown. Tommy came to Taiwan with his wife Rika Tomohide, the Incumbent Council Governor of toastmasters in Japan nine years ago. They are the pioneers to build the toastmaster bridge between Taiwan and Japan.

Whenever I am in Tokyo, I always meet with Tommy and have a cup of coffee with him. Tommy took me to an Izakaya for dinner near Shinjuku station. After dinner, we went to a cafe pub for a couple of drinks. And He wrote me a note on the pad. What a sweet memory!

Tommy and Rika are running their company Speaking-Essay to provide training courses to clients interested in upgrading their personal performance. They are also prolific writers in communication and leadership skills. If you are interested in their books and services, please contact Tommy Tomohide.

株式会社スピーキングエッセイ
代表取締役 大嶋友秀
〒223-0061 横浜市港北区日吉4-14-12-402
TEL:045-560-5925 FAX:045-560-5926
http://www.speaking-essay.com

D76 Division D Evaluation Contest in Inuyama--October 14, 2007

Toastmaster Otera, EVP of Kyoto Toastmasters Club, picked me up at APA Hotel early Sunday moring, October the 14th. We then drove to Kyoto Train Station to pick up Toastmaster Kanai. While I was waiting for Kanai san on the street across from the train station, I looked at the sign of the Japanese retaurant where we had the second party after Kyoto's 100th meeting. I was happy that I made it to Kyoto again in year 2007.

The drive from Kyoto to Inuyama was smooth and fast. Kanai san and I spent most of the time talking about the winning strategy at the Division D Evaluation Contest in Inuyama. We also talked about the pros and cons establishing a Toastmaster Magazine reading group in Kyoto Toastmasters Club. Otera san listened to two former Kyoto presidents talking eagerly without much interruption.

When we entered the restaurant of Inuyama Convention Center, five toastmasters from Nagoya Toastmasters Club were having lunch there, including Toastmasters Yamanaka, Inutsuka, and the others. I was thrilled to see them again in Inuyama. It was my third time to Inuyama, believe it or not!

Division D Evaluation Contest in Japanese was organized by Nagoya Toastmasters Club this year. I gave a greeting message in Japanese about the my encounter with Japanese toastmaters after Area 41 Governor Suzuki's opening message. Toastmaster Yamanaka Takaaki gave an inspiring speech about Autumn as a test speaker. He just came back to Japan from a long journey in Europe, and he compared the differences in cultures and languages between Europe and Japan. As a veteran toastmaster, Yamanaka san was poised and wore his trademark smiles during his speech. I wish once day I could become a target speaker like Toastmaster Yamanaka at an evaluation contest in Japan.

It is not to my surprise that Kanai san took the first place at the evaluation contest. I was impressed with her performance and I wish her all the best at the District 76 Evaluation Contest 2007 in November in Awaji. (Toastmaster Kanai Rikuko placed the 2nd at D76 Evaluation Contest 2007 on Awaji Island, November 17th, 2007.)

After the contest, 20 toastmasters remained for a tea party at the restaurant of convention center for an hour. Inuzuka san, Ogawa san, and Mr. and Mrs. Nakamichi invited me to Ibushiya, a warm and cozy Izakaya in Inuyama, for dinner. We ordered assorted sashimi, beef potato, radish salad, shrimp fried, barbecue chicken, tea rice, so many dises to remember! I started with beer, then switched to sake, and concluded with oolong tea. As the humble guest of honor, I can only wait patiently for them to come to Taipei to reciprocate their generosity and friendship.

My third visit to Inuyama was not short. I stayed in Inuyama for two nights, had a improv talk on the community radio station for 15 minutes, bought two colorful dancing kimonos, and made it to last day (May 11 to October 15 of each year) of Cormorant Fishing on the Kiso River.

D76 Division E Evaluation Contest in Fukuoka--October 27, 2007

When Professor Murata met with me at the lobby of Rihga Royal Hotel at 10 o'clcok Sunday moring, she was impressed with my two huge suitcases plus one back pack. With her helping hands, we transported the cargo smoothly on the sky corridor to the adjacent JR Kokura station. When we arrived at the station, President Moe and Toastmaster Nakashima of KitaKyushu Toastmasters Club were waiting for us. Toastmaster Oshiumi joined us at the next station on the way to Hakata.

Prosident Moe was a kind gentleman to help me carry the biggest suitcase on the train. He was not left with much room with a suitcase by his chair. We sat next to each other with the aisle in-between, but we talked cheerfully and happily just the same, about life in Japan and in US. I was most eager to remind President Moe of the judging criteria of evaluation contest.

Time flied fast when toastmasters engaged in public speaking business. In no time, we arrived in Hakata Station. Professor Murata, a good planner and action taker, seemed to know everything and everywhere. As soon as we arrived at Hakata, we followed her steps to a Japanese restaurant, all you can eat, for only ￥700 per person.

Then we rushed to catch the city bus to Fukuoka City Women's Education Center. On the bus, the toastmasters clan of five was phenomenal. As natural and trained improv performers, we laughed all the way till we got off the bus (it must be a relief for the bus driver to get rid of us). I was planning to perform a manzai, a duet stand-up comedian show President Moe in English and Toastmaster Oshiumi in Japanese when I return to Kitakyushu Toastmasters Club next year.


President Moe claimed the second place of Evaluation contest and Toastmaster Laura Grahan from Hiroshima Toastmasters Club was the champion. After the contest, Laura and I took shikansen together. We kept talking for more than an hour till she got off at the Hiroshima Station, and I kept smiling till I got off at Okayama station.

PS:My impromptu table dance during the evaluation break was surprising to many Japanese fellow members in the south, but it was the most memorable and daring toastmaster-in-action in my life!

Kitakyushu Toastmasters Club

I attended Kitakyushu Toastmasters Club meeting this evening, the 26th. Toastmaster Oshiumi gave me a lift from Hotel to University.

Kitakyushu Toastmasters Club--October 26,2007

It rained when I arrived at Kitakyushu Toastmasters Club this evening, the 26th. Toastmaster Masaki Oshiumi gave me a lift from Rihga Royal Hotel to the meeting venue at University of Kitakyushu.

Toastmaster Rio Imamura and his wife Tamiko were waiting in the meeting room when I walked in the huge and bright seminar room. I felt welcome instantly. President Albert Moe and other toastmasters arrived one after another and greeted me warmly by calling my name. I felt like a Toastmaster celebrity from Taiwan because of Toastmasters Imamura and Oshiumi's publicity before my arrival. It felt good to be famous, to be honest.

I was thrilled and obliged when Professor Murata asked me to fill in the slot of tabletopics master for the evening. I asked three questions, about the Moji Harbor, Horoscope, and Taiwan-Japan relations.

President Moe was given an opportunity to evaluate four prepared speakers (two CC manual speeches and two CL speeches) to get ready for the competition at Division E Evaluation Contest in Fukuoka tomorrow afternoon. I couldn't refrain from offering my suggestions as I was sitting right next to him. Of course, I hope with eager he could claim a trophy for Kitakyushu Toastmasters Club.

It was nine when the meeting ended. A group of eleven members went to a nearby steak house for the second party, and the big dinner didn't end till eleven o'clock. Upon my request, Professor Murata even agreed to join the third party adventure to a pub in a noisy red light steet full of night clubs in Kokura. Unfortunately the ideal place was booked out for the entire evening, and we decided to call for it a night.

Kitakyushu Toastmasters Club is unique in a way, it is a balanced club between faithful senior citizens and enthusiastic junior members. There are quite a few University student toastmasters, most of them major in international relations. I am glad that I finally made it to Kitakyushu Toastmasters Club in 2007.

Top of the World

For people in the north hemisphere, going south means going under. But my first trip to the south of Japan was fantastically going up, up in the sky. It is because I spent most time on the top of the buildings, mountains, looking down at the beautiful cities.

Peace in Hiroshima

President Kumiko Tanimoto waited for me at the South Gate of Hiroshima Train station at two o'clock sharp Wednesday afternoon, the 24th of October. I was late because I had to run from the North Gate to the South Gate through the underpath. I saw Kumiko with Toastmaster Magazine October issue in her hand, I could recognize her immediately. I thought it was a fantastic way to greet fellow Toastmasters from aboad.

Toastmaster Fujiyama met us at the Ferry Terminal on Miyajima. How lucky she is to live on the island, a sacred place in the ancient times. Toastmaster Fujiyama was the District 76 representative to compete at the Annual Convention in Washington. She is energetic, enthusiastic, and confident.

When Toastmasters are together, they speak the same Toastmasters language, and they have fun among themselves. That's what we did most of the time, talking, laughing, and toastmastering.

The Second Visit to Shimonoseki

In less than two days, I visited Shimonoseki for the second time. I first visited the city on my own Tuesday, the 23rd, and with Toastmasters Masaki Oshiumi and Rio Imamura of Kitakyushu Toastmasters Club Thursday, the 25th.

If I weren't a Taiwanese, I wouldn't have visited Bakan (old name of Shimonoseki) in the first place. I had a mixed feeling when I walked on Li Hung-chang Alley (李鴻章道) in Shimonoseki. The narrow and wanding Mr. Li Alley on the hill around the grand and luxurious Spring Sail House (春帆樓) was to protect Mr. Li from being attacked by ambushed Chinese and Taiwanese. Mr. Li signed the peace treaty with Japanese to give Taiwan away in 1895.

I learned more about the importance of Shimonoseki in Japanese history when I revisited this harbor city with two senior Toastmasters. I bet nobody can tell a story about Shimonoseki better than Toastmaster Imamura. He wrote an essay about Shimonoseki for his Alma Mater magazine in English four years ago as attached.

I'd like to express my gratitude to Rio and Masaki for showing me around Shimonoseki and Chofu. I know more stories about warring period in Japan. I became more interested in the modern history of Japan, China and Taiwan.

Kan-Mon Strait by Rio Imamura, Kitakyushu Toastmasters Club

There's an old Japanese proverb "He who controls "Kan-Mon" controls Westerly Japan. And there was actually a clan who carried the precepts into practice. The Ouchi Clan, in the 1500s developed Yamaguchi in Kyoto fashion, and it thrived until the Mohri Clan took it over.

Kan-Mon, a narrow strait famous for a rushing tide, is where Japan proper and Kyushu come within a stone's throw of each other, at the edge of the wide open Seto Inland Sea.

The name represents two cities sitting vis-à-vis; Kan, meaning a toll station Shimonoseki, the westernmost end of Japan proper, and Mon, representing Moji (short for a gate keeper) on the Kyushu Island. Moji today is a part of Kitakyushu City, as it merged with five other cities into one.

The wonder of the strait, about 10 kilometers long, is the change of current direction, 4 times a day. At full tide, the current runs east to west, while at low tide, the reverse way. The speed varies, according to season, from 0 to a maximum of 10 knots. In addition to light houses along the strait and bends, many guiding lights and floating buoys assist navigators. Kan-Mon enforces vessels over 10,000 tons to hire legal pilots. The Japanese Maritime Safety Agency cautions that collisions and other maritime accidents are frequent.

As the strategic cross point of the King's ocean lane between Kyoto (old capital of Japan) and Dazaifu (the old administrative capital of Kyushu), Kan-Mon Strait has seen myriads of historical events since the legendary days of Empress Jingu (AD 193). Japan had relations with the old three kingdoms of Korea and went to war with Shilla which rose in power from 300 to 500. Between 800 and 900, Japanese envoys to China in the Sui and Tung Dynasties headed for the East China Sea.

In 1185, the Heike Clan perished in the Dannoura (today's Shimonoseki) Sea Battle in a loss to the Genji Clan. The three sacred emblems of the royal court sank with the infant Emperor Antoku. Mongolian envoys made no return journeys through until Kublai Khan sent his troops to Hakata in 1274 and again 1281. Taiko Hideyoshi Toyotomi invaded Korea in 1592 and 1597.

Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Mohri Clan who sided with Toyotomi, in the last Tokugawa-Toyotomi Battle, was confined to a smaller province as an outsider lord and, an insider Ogasawara Clan arrived at Kokura Castle as the gate keeper to watch for the Mohri Clan as well as for the entire Kyushu occupied by many outsider clans like the Mohri Clan.

In the 1860s, many foreign vessels made port-calls at Shimonoseki. Not following Tokugawa Shogunate directives, the anti-foreign Mohri Clan in Shimonoseki started firing, without notice, at foreign vessels sailing through Kan-Mon and was revenged by 17 French, Dutch, British and American vessels, and eventually by the Tokugawas. However, at the dawn of the Meiji Restoration (1866-1868), it was the Mohri Clan who besieged the castle of the Ogasawara Clan in Kokura, now in Kitakyushu, and eventually deposed the Tokugawa days.

In 1895, a Treaty at Shimonoseki concluded the Sino-Japanese War.

In 1905, the ferry first operated between Shimonoseki and Pusan, Korea, till the end of WWII. During wartime, the Strait turned into a hazardous graveyard sea of mines and ships. Of the 12,000 mines laid around Japanese oceans by the Allied, 6,000 were targeted for Kan-Mon.

Today, four under-the-sea tunnels and one bridge connect Kan-Mon Strait requiring no more ferry ride. One of the four tunnels is for pedestrians only. Three others are as follows in the order of the opening year:

Opening Use Total length Under the sea
1942 Regular Trains 3,600 meters 1,140 meters
1958 Vehicles 3,460 meters 750 meters
1974 Bullet Trains 18,713 meters 880 meters

The reason the bullet train tunnel 4 times longer than the other two is because it is deeper than the others in fear of the possibility of earthquakes. The bullet train tunnel is 24 meters deep, while the other are two 7 meters. I have often traveled on the bullet train through the said tunnel. You feel not much of an impact as it takes only 15 seconds to cross through the tunnel.

The Kan-Mon Bridge was opened in 1973, one year before the bullet train tunnel. The length of the suspended bridge* is 1,068 meters and the clearance of the bridge from the sea level is 61 meters.

*Comparison with other suspension bridges

Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Japan 3,991 meters (1998)
Humber Bridge, UK 1,410 meters (1981)
Verrazano Narrows Bridge, U.S. 1,298 meters (1964)
Golden Gate Bridge, U.S. 1,280 meters (1937)
George Washington Bridge, U.S. 1,067 meters (1931)

This year, Kitakyushu City added a new offshore airport like Kanku Airport readily serviceable 24 hours. The air and railroad passenger traffic will not be dealt here.

The average number of vessels sailing through Kan-Mon Strait is 700 daily. In 2001, the vehicles passing through the Kan-Mon Bridge and Kan-Mon Tunnel were 15 millions and 10 millions respectively. In view of the heavy traffic, there are voices calling for a second bridge.

Kan-Mon scenery fascinated me, although I am not a native. I decided to relocate here when my sister-in-law took me and my wife to Mekari Shrine overlooking Kan-Mon Bridge and Strait. My wife said she wished to come fishing here every week. It is 10 years almost passing and I shall soon become a full-fledged Kitakyushuan.

My Senpai (senior alumni) and a famous writer Ryotaro Shiba wrote: "My favorite is this Bakan (old name of Shimonoseki) Strait with quick streams. "Nature" should be moving to appeal humans. Here at Bakan, even big boats with foreign names wrestle with currents, in full engine and screw, overpowering and negating human life and events.

A vagabond Haikuist "Santoka" made the following Haiku here: "Revisiting Kan-Mon on another rainy day". We are in the rainy season right now. Santoka is gone but the rainy season returns.

Queen Alice at Central Airport

Four Toastmasters in Nagoya area showed up at the 26th PHP Annual Convention in Nagoya Saturday afternoon, the 20th of October, including Kato Yoshiko (the convention simultaneous interpreter), Sawaki Hiroko, Ogawa, and I. Toastmaster Sawaki is even considering joining PHP Friendship Club Association.

I got to know Toastmaster Sawaki better when we bumped into each other in Dunedin, New Zealand, in January this year. We happened to sign up for the same peninsula tour coincidentally the day before. She arrived earlier in the morning and called me on the van, I was thrilled to meet a friend from afar to keep each other's company in a cold summer day on South Island.

Toastmaster Sawaki came to Royal Park Hotel in Nagoya Tuesday afternoon, the 16th of October. She took me to a coffeehouse at the train station and chatted with me for two hours. Then she took me to "Sans Frontier", a fancy restaurant on the 10th floor of the twin-tower building for dinner. In order to reciprocate her generosity, I invited her to Queen Alice of Central Airport to see the beautiful sunset at the beautifully designed and constrcted international airport in Nagoya.

We walked into Queen Alice at five thirty, the sun has already long set (the sunset hour was 4:30). But the panoramic view of the glittering early night was magnificent. We both ordered French cusine with a good white wine to spend our great evening together. While overlooking at the take off of international and domestic airplanes, we studied the airplanes of different nationalities.

I must say that Queen Alice is the best restaurant in the airport in the world. The view was good, the food was good, the atmosphere was good. On top of that, I love their service. The waitor who served us was a handsome and friendly young man. He speaks English very well, and answered many of my crazy questions. After dinner, Hiroko and I even got a special oolong tea as the complimentary drink from the house. I left a long thank-you note to the restaurant manager, praising their excellent customer service at Queen Alice.

After arriving at Meitetsu Station, I looked at my watch "22:30", and I started running hard on the dark alleys. I knew the directions and distance, but I fastened my steps. I didn't want to get to the Aichi Youth Hostel at the last minute of 11PM curfew.

The following day, I gave myself one day off to tour the beautiful Nagoya on my own. I returned back to the Dotour, the popular coffee chair store near Nagoya TV Tower. I walked up to the 2nd floor to see the beautiful view of green trees on the famous brand shops Boulevard. To my disappointment, the 2nd floor was full of heavy smokers. I had no choice but order a cup to coffee, sit by the door, watch the pedestrians, and plan what I could do in the coming month!

Kyoto Toastmasters Club's 100th Meeting

I almost fainted when I saw a huge welcome poster with my name on it. When I walked into the bravura banquet room where Kyoto Toastmasters Club's 100th meeting took place, I didn't expect it would be a special event for my home coming, I thought it would be one of the ordinary regular Saturday afternoon meetings.

On the 13th of October, I arrived at Kyoto Train Station before noon, rushed to the hotel to get changed, ran into Toastmasters Fujita and Muro at the lobby of Campus Plaza, took the elevator to the 3rd floor with them together. Everything was like yesterday, when I was an exchange student of Ritsumeikan University, when I was the President of Kyoto Toastmasters Club seven years ago.

Then I saw "Welcome Sherry, Kyoto Toastmasters Club 100th Regular Meeting, October 13, 2007" on the front wall behind the lectern. Wow, that certainly helped me break the ice easily with new members. I pointed at the poster and mentioned my name, feeling like a Hollywood celebrity in Kyoto!


As an old fellow toastmaster as well as a speical guest from Taiwan, I was given a lot of privileges to deliver an opening speech, to perform a clogging dance, to take the assignment as a language evaluator. Toastmaster Akiko Ogawa picked up my digital camera on the table and took many photos of me. Wow, I have never seen so much of my Acting in Toastmasters before.

After meeting, 17 members and 1 guest got together at our familiar Japanese restaurant for a sumptious dinner. Then Toastmasters Raoul Nivon, Sato Kazumi, Shimada Shuzo, Ohtera Shozo, Matsui Keizo, Sato Tomoyuki, sweet guest Rika and I ventured into a new Karaoke for sanjikai, a third party, in a row. Incumbent President Nivon accompanied me back to my hotel to put a perfect ending to a memorable and fruitful Kyoto Toastmasters Club's 100th meeting of speaking, listening, thinking, dancing, eating, drinking and singing! I thank my members from the bottom of my heart!

I'm coming, Kyoto Toastmasters Club!

I am feeling excited. Early tomorrow morning, I'll fly to Japan to explore many unknown cities in the south and in the north of Japan for two months. But the main reason for me to go to Japan is none other than attending Kyoto Toastmasters Club's 100th meeting this coming Saturday, October the 13th. As the Charter President, I won't and shouldn't miss the opportunity to have fun with my club members.

I was given a chance to demonstrate clogging dance during the 30 minutes intermission, Immediate Past President Sato Kazumi informed me of the good news. I decide to invite members to clog with me to The Carpenters' "Sweet Sweet Smile". It is an easy 8 beats (four counts) dance. The music is familiar to everybody. I will demo the basic steps, including basic, double, triple, fancy double, push off, brush up, clog over vine. As long as our members can master the double (clog) step, they are okay to move on and dance on their own. The clog step is called shuffle in tap dancing term.

In addition, I hope our members can learn to read the cue sheet. So that we can exchange good clogging dances on YouTube in the future.

Cue Sheet of Sweet, Sweet Smile
EASY + LINE DANCE, CHOREO BY: Janice Jestin, Yuma, AZ 85365
SEQUENCE: AB AB BREAK B A* Wait: 8 Bests

INTRO: 2 Turkey Basics, Triple Stomp Stomp (forward), Triple (back )
PART A: Charleston Brush , Burton Around (1/2 R) Ds-Stomp/H- Stomp/H- Stomp/H, Joey; triple Repeat
PART B: Drag & Loop DS-Dr-S(xif)-Ds-Sl-S(xib)-Ds-Dr-S(xif)-DS-RS, Long Charleston (1/2R) Triple, Repeat
BREAK: Rooster Run DS-DS(xif)-S(ots)-S(xib)-S(ots)-S(xif), Rocking Chair (1/4L), Total 4 times
PART A*: Replace last Triple with Triple Stomp-Stomp

What a Birthday Party!

It was the day when all the waitresses stood in line and said in chorus "Happy Birthday to you". That was what happened when Virginia and I left TGI Friday this afternoon. Virginia and I were born on the same day. We decided to celebrate our birthdays together.

It's the first time for me to celebrate the birthday with another person born on the same day. It was fun and interesting looking at and talking with the person who shares many similar characters. We talked loud and we laughed a lot. Virginia took photos of each dish. We took photos of each together. The waitresses can feel the happiness of two crazy middle-aged women.

The reason why we chose TGI Friday to celebrate our birthdays is because of the free birthday desserts. When Virginia and I asked for the surprising desserts after lunch, the waitress didn't even bother to verify our IDs. The chocolate brownie topped with a scoop of vanilla pecan ice cream was the sweetest birthday gift from TGI Friday. What a decision we made to have an oral sensation of excitement and enjoyment! Next year we must invite more golden ladies to join us!

After lunch, Virginia and I went to Bo-ai Elementary School upon Trini's invitation. I talked to her English class of six graders about my visit to a class of fifth graders in Hachinohe (八戶) in Japan in early November. I gathered many greetings cards from Trini's class for my friend's class in Japan. Hopefully I can bring two elementary school students together in the future. It was a 15-minutes talk and it was ended with "Happy Birthday to You" song by a class of thirty-five youngsters and sweet Teacher Trini. What a unique Birthday for Virginia and me! I love the way to turn 52 today!

Typhoon Krosa--A Crane in Khmer

It is not a coincidence, one super typhoon holiday a month this year in Taiwan. After super typhoon Sepat in August, followed by super typhoon Wipha in September, now the Super typhoon Krosa slammed Taiwan Saturday, October the 6th.

Krosa is as powerful as its two predecessors, if not stronger. It covers much bigger area with sustained winds of over 240 kilometers and gusts of over 270 kilometers per hour. The name of Krosa is assigned by the Hong Kong Observatory, means crane in Khmer. What a unique name! What does a crane have to do with a super typhoon?

While most people could enjoy watching TV during typhoon holidays, I would do likewise only if I could receive proper image from my satellite TV. It is too bad that whenever there is no peace in the sky, I see only the warming signals of bad resolution on the screen. That's why I end up sitting in front of the desktop, nagging about the extra holiday on weekend.

According to "Supertyphoon Krosa, Typhoon Alley and Global Warming" in the Daily Green Friday 10/05/07, Eric Berger made a memorable observation: "If you were going to create a new island I would not recommend placing it several hundred miles south of Japan." Typhoon Alley, the busiest region south of Japan, east of the Philippines is home to the strongest and largest storms of all. Sepat, Wipha, Krosa were all born in this region of Typhoon Alley.

In less than a week, I shall embark upon my journey in Japan for two months. I am flying north to venture out of the typhoon alley. Chances are, I won't experience more intense storms this year. But my family and friends are in Taiwan and I shall be worried about them even I am away from the Typhoon Alley.

We don't have to be a storm pundit to know that soon we might expect one super typhoon holiday a week, in ten or twenty years. The global warming is teaching us a good lesson hard. We must take actions collectively and diligently to treat the earth nice and gentle before we discover another planet to dwell at.

Being a rebellious middle-aged woman, I won't stay home, especially on the typhoon holidays. If the coffeehouse is open, you'll find me there sipping my hot latte watch the pedestrians dance in the wind with their 7-11 raincoats on and/or their colorful umbrellas in hands. Care to join me, golden ladies or friends of golden ladies?

The One in Life

Golden ladies have a monthly reading gathering. It usually takes seven ladies one week of emailing to settle upon an appropriate date. The location of reading gathering is another challenge. There is a saying, the success of business is based on location, location, location, so is the reading gathering. If the location is right, it would add much value to perfect our monthly gathering. Time, place, people are three factors of each successful encounter.

Every month seven golden ladies take turns hosting the reading gathering. The hostess finds the location and recommends three articles to read. As most ladies are career women, Lydia joined me to shoulder the responsibility to find the locations since her retirement in August. We took initiatives to search for good locations for our future gathering while satisfying our stomachs. Lydia recommended The One on Chung-shan North Road (中山北路) for lunch today. She invited Harris, her high school friend who she had not seen for more than 30 years.

I thought about arriving late intentionally, but I changed my mind to be on time, because punctuality is a good virtue. When I arrived at "The One" at 11AM sharp, I saw a man in his 50's waiting in front of the restaurant. Without much thinking, I approached him by calling his name. Harris was astonished and tried to avoid my mini skirt which he confessed later was too short for a mature woman like me.

Lydia joined us within less than one second, so I didn't have the opportunity to practice a succinct icebreaker speech with Harris, a college English professor. When the waiter sat us to a table by the window overlooking the maple tress on Chung-shan north road, right across from Hotel Royal Taipei, I was amazed at the location for our future reading gathering. I like the interior design of The One, a sense of Zen in a spacious four stories building. The rest room is surrounded by blackboard where patrons can express their emotions while waiting in line to satisfy their biological needs.

Before lunch was served at 11:30, Lydia and Harris caught up with each other by talking about the old days and about their children. Harris talked mainly about his two daughters, Lydia about her two sons. They spent quite some time sharing their parenting stories. As an outsider of no children, I picked up a book about the tree houses from the shelf, imagining myself in a hideaway high above in the woods.

But it is no fun to have two talkers in the three's company. Luckily, I bring Toastmasters magazine September issue with me. Isn't Harris an English professor an ideal Toastmaster member? I introduced myself by showing him the Toastmaster magazine. After luncheon, I even encouraged him to read "The Body Language Myth". It would certainly be nice if Harris could help charter a University Toastmasters Club his school in Tao-yuan in the future.

Harris, Lydia and I didn't leave The One till 3:30PM. We talked for four and half hours straight. It is a valuable afternoon to listen to a middle-aged man talking about his responsibilities, his interests, and his desires. Harris is humorous to share about his secrets how to guide his students (mostly girls) to grow and to achieve in the field of English literature. Why don't you visit his blog for yourself when you have time. Don't miss the chance to meet with Harris next time when there is an opportunity. I'm sure you can learn and gain as much as Lydia and I did today.

Who is watching?

I uploaded two videoclips of golden ladies' clogging dance performance at the monthly birthday party of nursing home on YouTube as soon as I got home Wednesday, September 19th. Jennie (clogging instructor), Michelle, Lydia, and I performed Sweet Sweet Smile and Let's Put the Western Back the Country cheerfully and we won a big round of applause from the audience. The hours of rehearsal paid off. The elderly were pleased and we made progress in clogging dance.

I received many compliments from members of Hsin-tien Volunteer group the following week at the annual joint volunteers meeting in Hsin-tien Friday, September the 28th. I received more compliments from members of Hsin-tien Volunteer group at our monthly meeting, Monday, October the first. Many volunteers mentioned their interest in learning clogging dance with me.

Lydia and I went to the nursing home this afternoon. We received compliments from the caretakers about our clogging performance. Many of them expressed their interest in learning the clogging dance with us. I demonstrated a few basic steps and they picked up very fast. When I told them about the videoclips, they were eager to watch us on YouTube. I am sure these caretakers from the aboriginal tribes would make an excellent clogging team in the future, because they are born singers and dancers.

Even though there are less than 100 viewers of our videoclips on YouTube at the moment, but I believe many people would like to learn clogging dance if we show them what clogging dance is. Take the volunteers and the caretakers for example, they don't get access to the computers as regularly as we do, they would click to enjoy our performance if they are told how. Just imagine, if we act upon every invitation possible to promote clogging dance to people in Taiwan, we would motivate more people to clog on their feet. By doing so, they would have healthier legs and they are more likely to move around on their feet till one day they expire, so do we.

Clogging dance is one example how much human beings love to imitate. If there is a huge market of clogging dance, there is also a huge market of toastmasters at the nursing home. If we can motivate the elderly to stand up and speak up, we can help them regain their confidence. It would be awesome if we can nourish the positive thinking spirit in the elderly. It would be less painful for them to leave this world, because they are ready to take the challenge in another world ahead of them with our hearts with them.

Toastmaster Magazine Reading Gathering in September

Today is Sunday, the last day of September. After having been waiting patiently for Kate to come back from her two weeks trip to Norway, seven golden ladies finally had a happy reunion in black at Cafe' Encounter from 4 till 9PM. During the five hours gathering, we talked for less than one hour to cover two issues of Toastmasters magazines, both August and September. The rest of the time, for the first time, we opened our hearts to one another to disclose our feelings about "Lust and Love", "Affairs", and "Marriages".

The five articles we were originally required to study at home are "Put Your Audience in Your Speech" by Kevin Johnston and ennille-Lynn Millo; "Preparing a Speech in 5 minutes" by Sid Gilman, DTM; and "Sounding good in English" by Katherine Meeks in August issue and "Shaping Ourselves, Shaping Our World" by the newly elected International President Chris Ford; "Body Language Myths" by Dave Zielinski in September issue.

Golden ladies are golden, because we are flexible, decisive, and inquisitive. We can always reach the consensus among seven of us at once where there is a call. And we decided that that it's enough once we studied the assigned five articles at home. In stead of five, we ended up touching upon one--the cover story of September issue. We concluded that Z rule of eye contact is worth trying, W and M should be another alternatives to nod our heads at one time, and shake ours at the other. We were more eager to make the better use of our time to talk about something hot and and more significant in life.

No doubt at the moment, the most heated topic is Golden Lion Film "Lust, Caution" by Ang Lee. People talk about it during lunch break, at dinner, mostly among women. Everybody was impressed if not excited about Tony Leung's good body, and Ang Lee's three exquisite love-making acts in bed. Everybody seems all of a sudden at ease to talk about lust and to be in love of lust! What an intriguing coincidence that golden ladies dressed themselves in black to mourn for those in lust and to be cautious not to be caught!

"Lust, Caution" is said to be based upon a true homicide event during the World War II in Shanghai. While most people in Taiwan talk about the three lust scenes in the movie, I am intrigued by the mental state of the prototype of the leading actress Cheng Ping-ru (鄭蘋如) and her Japanese mother.

Ping-ru's mother is Kimura Hanako (木村花子), an educated Japanese woman, who married a Chinese in Japan, moved to China with her husband, passed away in her 80's in Taiwan. Ping-ru speaks fluent Japanese and was brought up in a Japanese environment. She joined Chinese secret service agent in college. Her mission was to kill Ting Muo-tsen (丁默村) who worked for Japanese secret service agent.

I'm curious if Ping-ru and Muo-tsen speak Japanese from time to time in private? What is it like for young Ping-ru to sleep with a middle aged spy (a liar)? Dave Zielinski mentioned in "Body Language Myths", our bodies betray us onstage. Do our bodies betray us in bed, too? No matter how good the secret service agents are at deciphering the body languages of liars, they can't resist the temptation of lust. Young and Pretty Ping-ru was killed at age of 26 for her failure of ambushing Ting. Ting reported her immediately to get her killed to end the lust between them if not love.

If we put the nationalism aside, I am simply intrigued by the complex feelings among Chinese, Japanese and Taiwanese for the past century (from 1895 till now). Sherry