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

Blogging is Fun!

My beloved father passed away in 1999. If he were still alive, he would probably enjoy blogging very much. Since early childhood, he'd kept a habit of writing diary everyday, and he left with us children volumes of his diary to remember him and miss him. I inherited my father's habit of keeping a diary after he passed away. Now I use the weblog to document my thoughts day in and day out.

After I became a full time housewife five years ago, one of the most FAQs among my friends is that how I spend so much time alone at home. I always respond lightheartedly that the advancement of internet provides the solution. I rediscover myself and others in the global village through blogging. And I welcome all of you to the fun blogging world where the personal medium is now the message.

We are now living in a world which is flat and where we can reach one another within a click of the keyborad. In addition to words and photos, we can also share our artistic and theatrical videoclips with people on line instantly. On top of that we can receive comments from family and friends and get a global presentation to people of the same interest and passion.

The world is changing very fast. Thirty years ago, we were excited about the fax machines. Today we are blogging on line. The blogging history itself is short, less than a span of 10 years. From late 1997, Jorn Barger first used weblog, till the middle of 1999, Peter Merholz converted weblog to "We Blog" to make blog a new verb, even in toastmasters, the first article about blogging was published in April 2005, "Get Blogging" by Babara Adamski, CTM. Let's take a look at "Blogger" Babara mentioned in her article for example, it is a rather user friendly blog hosting service. Once you get linked to http://www.blogger.com, just follow the three easy steps, 1. Create an amount; 2. Name your blog; 3. Choose a template, then you can create your blog.

I recalled when I was invited to give four sessions of GMP inspection training in English in 2005 at NLFD (National Laboratories of Food and Drugs), I recommended GMP inspectors construct a blog among themselves to share inspection experience, enhance GMP report writing skills and enjoy GMP inspection. No matter whether it is about planning, on-site inspection, discussion and documentation, the on-line knowledge sharing and management is the key to successful GMP inspections. Ever since, I myself have become actively involved in building blogs to share and to disseminate information to people in the global village.

For novice bloggers, there are many free blogs available, Yam Blog, Xuite, Pixnet, Wretch, Blogger, just to name a few. At the moment, I keep several blogs with different themes, The Spirit is written in English to share my everyday life in general; The Class of 1973 is written in Chinese to connect my college classmates; Golden Ladies Clogging Toastmasters is written mainly in English to report the Toastmasters magazine reading activities, Be Earnest is written in Japanese to reflect upon the weekly PHP magazine reading activities, and Sherry Li's Library is written in English about the comments of the books I read.

I blog therefore I am. I'm happy that I was given a chance to talk about "Blogging is fun" at the joint meeting of Grand Toastmasters club and NLFD Toastmasters Club, Thursday evening, September the 27th. I thank Erick Suen, DTM, founder of NLFD Toastmasters Club to be my written evaluator of my c-9 speech "Persuade with Power". I hope I can persuade the toastmasters into taking action to construct their blogs to open their worlds to others and to add another new dimension to their lives. Sherry

Moon Festival 2007

This is the longest moon festival in Taiwan, four days off, from Saturday till Tuesday. Most people take advantage to return to their hometowns. My husband and I decide to stay in town on the day of a full moon in 2007.

Day 1 (Saturday) Autumn Outing Day of Grand Toastmasters Day

At 10:10, we got on the Keelung bus for Jinguashi(金瓜石), an old gold and copper mining town on the north-east coast of Taiwan. The bus was packed with foreigners from all over the world. The majority was from Japan, because of Hou Hsiao-hsien's (侯孝賢) film--A City of Sadness (悲情城市). I was happy to have a chance to hone my languages in both Japanese and English. With a lot of activities going on the bus, we invited a Japanese passenger to answer one of our table topics question, we listened to Helen Lin, Grand's President 2004-2005, about her recent adventure in NY, the one and half hours ride seemed short and quick.

After a super sumptuous lunch (12 dishes of local delicacies) arranged by diligent Carrie Chiang, Incumbent MVP, we hiked up the hills to Gold Ecological Park. When the other members were having the relaxing afternoon tea, I helped four members put on summer kimono to have photos taken in front of the Crown Prince Chalet. Five of us, including Judy, Yvan, Helen, Erin, and I, were a little crazy posing in the rain for a long while, but it was fun and memorable. Then we divided into two groups. One continued the chatting at the teahouse, the other headed for Jiufen (九份) to find the scenic spots in Spirited Away (神隱少女) directed by famed animator Hayao Miyazak (宮崎峻).

Day 2 (Sunday) Holiday Hiking Ritual

My husband and I left home at 11 o'clock for our Sunday hiking ritual along the Hsin-tien River. On our way, we saw the huge amount of water released from the Green Dam where I used to go swimming in summer. The river became muddy and surging like Yellow River because of the heavy rain in the mountains for the past few days.

After a pleasant five kilometers walk in this beautiful autumn weather, we stopped by a small temple near the Cat Guardian Rock(貓巡岩) for lunch as usual. There were not many people today. It was a cool and peaceful Sunday with the whole hiking trail of falling leaves to myself.

Day 3 (Monday) A Canine Story

My husband and I visited the Mountain Tea Farm, ten kilometers from Hsin-tien, today. We discovered the hidden and magnificent hiking trail overlooking Emerald Dam (翡翠水庫) ten years ago. Nobody knows this secret and secluded part of the forest except a few local resident farmers and their pet dogs.

It has been two years since we last went there. The mountain views are pretty much the same as before. After we hiked for one hour, we reached a remote mountain hut where we usually have lunch. But no sooner had we arrived at the hut, we were surrounded by four tamed dogs immediately. Judging from their healthy appearance, they must be fed by some hunters regularly. The dogs should be of a family, a father, a mother, and two sons. The baby dogs approached us in a playful mood to win our trust. The mother dog sat afar to wait for our signs. The father watched us further away on the outskirts, just in case!

Trying to avoid the dogs, we decided to seek for a new location for lunch. But, no matter how far we walked away, how hard we tried to get ride of the canine family, we were followed by four of them, in different directions. Finally the dogs gave up, and we settled for a bamboo forest for our barbecue. As soon as my husband opened his backpack, he realized that one big chunk of prime steak was devoured by a baby dog at the remote mountain hut. The dogs were shrewd and fast indeed.

I didn't know the mother dog was sitting persistently and patiently about three meters away from me all the time. Just about I sank my teeth into a juicy rib eye, my husband mentioned that desperate mother dog behind me. I turned around and saw her waiting like my faithful body guard. As a female, I felt certain sympathy and compassion for her. And I left her with most of my food. After lunch, she limped along with us all the way down the mountain trail. Her front left paw was gone and she had to walk on her three legs. What a dog she is! No wonder human beings like dogs. They are the best friends and companions of people.

Day 4 (Tuesday) Moon Gazing Night

Helen invited us to her home for dinner to continue our endless chatting among Grand's members. We talked about Ang Lee's new film Lust, Caution (色，戒). Eric Chou, Incumbent Area H1 Governor saw the film and praised Ang Lee's interpretation of a true story that took place in Shanghai during the Second World War. He was extremely pleased with the three great lust scenes in bed in the movie, and we could do nothing but opened our eyes to echo his excitements.

After drinking, eating, watching photos of photos, replaying Grand's 30th anniversary DVD, we left Helen's sweet home at a quarter to nine. The full moon shone brightly in the dark blue sky. What a night of lust it is to be caressed by the autumn breeze with a full moon shining my way home on Moon Festival 2007! Sherry

老人與琴

在老人院裡，看到一張與其他老人不太一樣的臉，那是一張充滿了生命熱情的臉。原來他不是院裡的老人，而是和我們一樣，也是來老人院，為院裡的老人慶生的。

老人開心的抱著他的三弦琴，為來唱歌表演的志工伴奏。閉上眼睛，聽著四○年代的老歌，加上三弦琴的琴聲，讓人有時空倒轉的感覺。

八十六歲的黃老先生告訴我們他的故事。他是彰化人，家境很好，從事建築業。三十六歲太太就「回去」了。兒子和一個女婿也很早就「回去」了。「喝酒」嘛！你知道建築業都拼酒。我一個女兒嫁新加坡商人，她很孝順，接我到台北來住，不讓我回去，老人解釋他孤獨在台北的原因。

臺灣沒有幾個人彈得比我好，撫著三弦琴，他很得意的說：「現在還有很多地方廟會都還來請我去表演，我會談奏整套歌仔戲曲」。「三十多年前，我還去沙烏地阿拉伯表演。很轟動！他們都不放我回來，還有兩個當地女人迷上我…一個叫『瑪麗』的好喜歡我」…老人陶醉在往事中，禁不住眉飛色舞。

他應該很英挺迷人，我從老人現在的臉和身材來想像他五十左右壯年的模樣…「但是我一直沒有別的女人，我三十六歲就喪妻」，老人很專情的說。

望著他抱著的那支修長的三弦琴，那就是他一直以來挑動他生命力的愛人吧！我想。 Lydia

In Good Shape

Slim body! Slim body! It was a popular phrase of a TV soap opera a couple of years ago. Why was it so popular? It might be because everybody wanted to trim his or her body. In this modern society, everybody, not only woman but also man, wants to be in good shape.

It has been more than eight months since golden ladies joined a clogging class together at the beginning of this year. Though we meet only once a week to practice clogging dance Monday evenings after work, it helps us keep in good shape. My main purpose of learning clogging is to shape my body, but I also cherish any opportunity to promote and perform clogging dance in public, which enables me to gain more stage experience as well.

After our splendid clogging belly dance show at Legacy Toastmasters Club's 10th Anniversary Party on April the 20th, our upcoming performance will take place at the Northern Nursing Home tomorrow afternoon, September the 19th. For the past two weeks, Jennie, our clogging dance instructor, Sherry, Lydia and I have put on our clogging shoes regularly and spent much time rehearsing and rehearsing two lively songs, "Sweet, Sweet Smile" and "Let's put the Western Back the Country". It is our wish to bring the joy and happiness to the senior residents at the nursing home on their September birthday party.

No matter how nervous I get before performing, I always feel very happy while dancing on stage. In our real life, we face challenges everyday. We have no way to escape. We can only feel the fear and take the challenge anyway! Fear is after all not a bad thing. I notice that I make a great deal of improvement after each performance. It is because once I have a goal in mind, I have a direction to achieve it to the best of my ability. I am glad that I have the opportunity to entertain elderly people at the nursing home.

When I read the Viewpoint of Chris Ford, the newly elected International President, in Toastmaster Magazine September issue, I can't agree with him more about "Shaping Ourselves, Shaping Our World". While we clog to get into shape and stay in shape, we hope we can encourage more people to clog with us to get into shape and stay in shape physically and mentally. Michelle Liu

A Thai Woman-Wipha

I love Taiwan, especially this year. We have one typhoon holiday a month. In August, we were given one day off, because of super Typhoon Sepat. Last night, I came home late after clogging dance class, my husband told me that there would be no schools and offices the following day due to super Typhoon Wipha. And it poured whole night last night. I couldn't help wonderfing where the massive amount of water actually came from in the first place.

It was quite and peaceful this morning when I woke up at eight thirty (late, I know), no winds, not much rain either, not so much like a typical typhoon day. I googled the meaning of Wipha on line, and found it is a name of woman, contributed by Thailand, and pronounced wee~faa. Luckily, I found a Youtube videoclip of Typhoon Wipha taken in Okinawa this morning. It was a humorous reporting of Typhoon Wipha on site. I thank her for sharing the local information and condition. I think I should do likewise in Taipei. Then we can have a typhoon report relay, to share a real on-going natural story with people around the world.

Actually, it rained in Taipei whole day yesterday. When the postman rang once at ten o'clock in the morning, I rushed downstairs to answer the bell. I was so surprised when the postman handed me a big package in the rain! I unwrapped the beautifully wrapped box instantly to find an exquisite Japanese dancing fan along with a hand written letter from a dear Japanese friend in Tottori Prefecture. He congratulated on my obtaining of Natori in 2006, and apologized that he couldn't make it to PHP annual conference in Nagaya, October 20th, 2007, due to his health condition.

Now, while I'm looking at the satellite image of Typhoon Wipha, I shall say she is like a powerful and beautiful Thai woman dancing in the huge blue sky with her long chiffon drifting behind her. I hope she would care for the living beings living along the coastal area of China and have mercy on them today and tomorrow.

A Thai Woman-Wipha

I love Taiwan, especially this year. We have one typhoon holiday a month. In August, we were given one day off, because of super Typhoon Sepat. Last night, I came home late after clogging dance class, my husband told me that there would be no schools and offices the following day due to super Typhoon Wipha. And it poured whole night last night. I couldn't help wondering where the massive amount of water actually came from in the first place.

It was quiet and peaceful this morning when I woke up at eight thirty (late, I know), no winds, not much rain either, not so much like a typical typhoon day. I googled the meaning of Wipha on line, and found it is a name of woman, contributed by Thailand, and pronounced wee~faa. Luckily, I found a Youtube videoclip of Typhoon Wipha taken in Okinawa this morning. It was a humorous reporting of Typhoon Wipha on site. I thank her for sharing the local information and condition. I think I should do likewise in Taipei. Then we can have a typhoon report relay, to share a real on-going natural story with people around the world.

Actually, it rained in Taipei whole day yesterday. When the postman rang once at ten o'clock in the morning, I rushed downstairs to answer the bell. I was so surprised when the postman handed me a big package in the rain! I unwrapped the beautifully wrapped box instantly to find an exquisite Japanese dancing fan along with a hand written letter from a dear Japanese friend in Tottori Prefecture. He congratulated on my obtaining of Natori in 2006, and apologized that he couldn't make it to PHP annual conference in Nagaya, October 20th, 2007, due to his health condition.

Now, while I'm looking at the satellite image of Typhoon Wipha, I shall say she is like a powerful and beautiful Thai woman dancing in the huge blue sky with her long chiffon drifting behind her. I hope she would care for the living beings living along the coastal area of China and have mercy on them today and tomorrow. Sherry

One Page A Day

"Life is a foreign language; all men misprounce it." - Christopher Morley

I am an enthusiastic reader of Toastmaster magazines. Early this year, I invited six female veteran Toastmasters from various clubs to form Golden Ladies Toastmasters Reading Group. We read the most current issue of Toastmaster magazine every month. I also construct this blog to document our reading activities.

I am glad the promotion of Toastmaster magazine reading on the web receives a positive response. To be more proactive, I am now carrying the most recent Toastmaster Magazine in my bag. Whenever I am with toastmaster members, I'll take the opportunity to initiate an impromptu reading relay. Whenever I am with non-toastmasters, I'll use the magazine to introduce toastmasters clubs. Whenever I am alone at a coffee shop, I'll place the Toastmaster magazine on the table to identify myself.

Last Wednesday, September 12th, I invited Grace, Billy, and Gina, three senior members of Grand Toastmasters Club, for lunch at Ikari Cafe near my home. It was a nice gathering to congratulate Grace on her construction of the first blog. We talked about how to improve the club quality, how to convince members to construct their blogs, how to build the team spirit. Before we ended our lunch, we tried a reading relay of "Preparing a Speech in 5 Minutes" by Sid Gilman, DTM, page 14 of Toastmaster magazine August issue. It was a successful reading.

Grand Toastmasters Club will have the annual autumn outing Saturday after next. I plan to encourage all participants to try another reading relay of page 14. Just think about it, if all toastmasters can read a page a day, then every member can finish the entire copy of the magazine in a month. Isn't it wonderful to make it a habit to read a page a day? I hope Grand Toastmasters Club can become a club of readers of Toastmaster magazines. From readers, to writers, to speakers, there is no doubt Grand will be the most admired Toastmasters club in District 67.

For non-native English speakers, the Toastmaster magazine is the best reading material to improve our language skills. Many articles are written by outstanding toastmasters. From time to time, there are articles for non-native English speakers. Take the article "Sounding Good in English" written by Katherine Meeks, for example. Reading Toastmaster magazines is one of the best ways to improve our language proficiency and upgrade the quality of our club meetings.

On the fourth floor of Taipei 101 (the world's highest building), there is a bookstore. I like the store name Page One. I like the catch phrase of Page One. Every book starts with Page One. Why not pick up your magazine from the shelf? Start with page one, and read a page a day! Let's do our best to pronounce our life well, even it is a foreign language!

尾崎 豊のシェリー

シェリー
作詞/作曲：尾崎 豊

シェリー　俺は転がり続けて　こんなとこにたどりついた
シェリー　俺はあせりすぎたのか　むやみに何もかも　捨てちまったけれど
シェリー　あの頃は夢だった　夢のために生きてきた俺だけど
シェリー　おまえの言うとおり　金か夢か分からない暮らしさ

転がり続ける　俺の生きざまを
時には無様なかっこうでささえてる

シェリー　優しく俺をしかってくれて　そして強く抱きしめておくれ
　　　　　おまえの愛が　すべてを包むから
シェリー　いつになれば　俺は這い上がれるだろう
シェリー　どこに行けば　俺はたどりつけるだろう
シェリー　俺は歌う　愛すべきものすべてに

シェリー　見知らぬところで　人に出会ったらどうすりゃいいかい
シェリー　俺ははぐれ者だから　おまえみたいにうまく笑えやしない
シェリー　夢を求めるならば　孤独すら恐れやしないよね
シェリー　ひとりで生きるなら　涙なんか見せちゃいけないよね

転がり続ける　俺の生きざまを
時には涙をこらえてささえてる

シェリー　あわれみなど受けたくはない
　　　　　 俺は負け犬何かじゃないから
　　　　　 俺は真実へと歩いて行く
シェリー　俺はうまく歌えているか
　　　　　 俺はうまく笑えているか
　　　　　 俺の笑顔は卑屈じゃないかい
　　　　　 俺は誤解されてはいないかい
　　　　　 俺はまだ馬鹿と呼ばれているか
　　　　　 俺はまだまだ恨まれているか
　　　　　 俺に愛される資格はあるか
　　　　　 俺は決してまちがっていないか
　　　　　 俺は真実へと歩いてるかい

シェリー　いつになれば　俺は這い上がれるだろう
シェリー　どこに行けば　俺はたどりつけるだろう
シェリー　俺は歌う　愛すべきものすべてに
　　　Wow･･･

後書：去年の八月、名古屋トーストマスターズクラブの犬塚操夫さんが台北に旅行した時、鎌田昇の記念プレゼントも持って来ました。わくわくして、奇麗に包装されたバッグを開けたら、すぐに、涙に溢れて、胸一杯でした。誰でも、同じ反応ではないでしょうか、トーストマスターズの友情に対して。

私は、幼い時、父からシェリーという名前が付けられました。英語の名前ですけれども、よく使っています。鎌田昇さんのお蔭で、尾崎豊さんのシェリーを知りました。そして、前日日本衛星放送で、尾崎豊のニューヨークでの旅する記録も見まして。鎌田さん、有り難うございました。また、来月名古屋へ行く時、直面に鎌田さんにお礼を申し上げたいです。

クロッグダンス

タップダンスの中には、いろいろな種類があります。例えば、アイルランドダンスとか、 ジャズダンスとか、そして、クロッグダンスもあります。わたしはタップダンスを始めるのは、二年前のことでした。グランドトーストマスターズクラブ三十周年記念祭り（二千五年五月）のために、ジャズダンスを習い始めました。それ以来、ずっと、タップダンスに夢中し続けてきました。

去年の半ばから、トーストマスターの友人の薦めで、クロッグダンスに変わりました。実は、タップダンスの中に、一番好きなのはやはりクロッグダンスです。理由の一つは、スクエアダンスに似っているコーラーがいますから、ステップを覚えなくても大丈夫です。そして、コーラーのコーチはいつもステップシートをくれって、楽です。もう一つの理由は、みんな笑顔しながら、カントリーミュージックにあわせ、踊ります。ちょと、まじめ気味な日本舞踊と違います。

クロッグダンスは運動ともいえます。いつも、どこでも、一人で練習することができます。バースを待つとき、電車に乗るとき、頭の中に、ダンスのステップを数えながら、暗記して、そして、足をちょっと動いて、いつの間にか、目的地につきます。つまらない時間はまったくありません。

去年十二月、ニュージーランドにいて、オークーランドにあるクロッグダンスクラブに見学したこももあります。同じステップですから、コーラーに従って、すぐに、皆と一緒に、タップダンスができて、たのしくて、友達もできました。日本には、スクエアダンスの人口が多いですが、クロッグダンスする人方は何人でしょうか。今年十月に日本へいく時、一応、クロッグダンスの靴をもって、クロッグダンスクラブを探してみようかと私はおもっています。

いま、台湾のトーストマスターズにクロッグダンスがだんだん流行ってます。クロッグダンスはトーストマスターズにふさわしいからです。皆、楽しく、リズムを感じて、下半身を動いて、足も、心臓も、丈夫になれば、体もスマトになります。

将来、チャンスがあれば、トーストマスターズ大会はもちろん、老人ホームとか学校までも、出演したいです。そして、トーストマスターズメンバーが集まって、アメリカの大会に参加します。プロのコーラーと切磋琢磨することを楽しみにしております。

日本舞踊

私は四年前から、聖書と祈りの会の友人に誘われて、台湾千鶴流の日本新舞踊を習い始めました。週に二回、先生の教室に通って、稽古して、去（二千六）年十一月の末、台北の国軍英雄館で披露する舞台に立って、名取りを取りました。

ちょと、高雄で行っていたディストリクト６７秋季大会後一週間の土曜日、北九州トーストマスターズクラブのメンバーの今村亮、小林英治、鴛海正樹さんは三人わざわざ台北においで、わたしの出演を応援してくれて、心より、感謝しております。出演した後、台湾と日本のトーストマスターズ同士と一緒に舞台挨拶して、とてもすてきです。

日本舞踊は贅沢な趣味だと思います。毎月先生に差し上げる謝料金を始め、着物や帯などを買うのも随分お金がかかります。盛大な公演するとき、化粧を担当する方とか、着物をきつける方とか、全部日本から協力してくれました。本当に大変ですけど、いい記念でした。トーストマスターズの口癖のように言う、Learning by Doing、そのとおりではないでしょうか。日本文化と歴史に一段と馴染みになる近道の一筋ではないでしょうか。

それでは、さっそく当日の出演の録画は貴船の宿と千姫、ぜひ一度どうぞ、ご覧ください。

後書：日本舞踊のお蔭で、京都トーストマスターズクラブ五周年記念祭り（二千六年五月）と台湾Legacy Toastmasters Club十周年記念祭り（二千七年四月）で出演したこともあります。日本の伝統芸能を身につけ、お祝いすることができて、最高です。今度、名古屋トーストマスターズクラブ周年記念祭りに、ぜひ日本舞踊を出演させて頂きたい気もします。

家族の絆

台湾には、本省人と外省人という、二つのグループがあります。本省人とは、明清時代の時には、中国南部沿岸から、渡ってきた閩南人です。台湾に住んで、百年以上になっていて、日本の殖民地時代（1895-1945）に、日本文化や、さらに、日本人の名前も身につけている人々で、ほとんど親日派です。外省人とは、一九四九年に、大陸各地から、蒋介石と一緒に台湾にきて、暫く台湾に住んだら、将来中国に戻りたかった人々で、ほとんど親米派です。過去六十年以来、残念ながら、本省人と外省人と仲良くしてこなかったんです。いろいろな原因があるので、言葉をはじめ、考えとか、生活習慣などが違って、まるで二つの世界の人間です。選挙するときは、今までも、本省人と外省人の差別のことが話題になります。

私の両親は、二人とも、一九四九年台湾に参りました。だから、私は外省人と呼ばれています。主人は本省人です。四人兄弟の末子として、幼い時から、ずっと、外省人の女の子に憧れていました。私は、日本語のお陰で、舅と姑に愛されているというより、尊敬されています。いつも、彼らと日本語で話し合っていてからです。外国語の勉強のメリットの一つではないでしょうか。衝突するときには、潤滑剤があるからです。

台湾では、年輩の方々は日本人がすきです。特に、男性は日本人の女性を嫁にしたかったんです。日本の女性は優しくて、美しいです。いつも、おとなしく夫の側にいて、「はいはい」と言います。うちの主人は若いですけど、日本女性も好きです。だから、わたしは、日本に旅することとか、言葉の学習することとかには、主人は、全面的にサポートしてくれます。

家族の絆には、必ず縁があります。だから、家族の心と心を繋ぐことは大切なものです。思いやりの心をお互いに育み、偏見の壁を乗り越え、一緒に夢を叶えていきましょう。主人の幸せは妻の幸せです。妻の幸せは家族の幸せです。家族の幸せは世界の平和のもとです。

最優秀者の笑い--Young & Pretty

私は今晩、我がクラブで、笑い話コンテストに挑戦しました。コンクール参加者が三人しかいなかったんですが、わたしは幸いに最優秀賞をもらいました。すごく、うれしかったです。

実はですねぇ、コンテストに出る前は、なかなか自信がなかったです。スピーチの内容がおもしろいか、意味深いかと悩んでいた。もしかすると、演壇にたつと、突然に真っ白になったら、どうするのか？結局、その心配はいらなくても、いいわ。トーストマスターズのメリットといえば、やはり会員達の応援と協力をくれることです。スピーチの最初から最後まで、ずっと、全員が笑ってくれて、そして、演説者も落ち着き、いい成績がでます。

誰でも、笑い話ができると、わたしは信じています。日常生活の中に、ちょっとした心がけがあれば、必ず、面白い所がたくさんあるでしょう。ユーモアスピーチコンテストに参加して、良かったとおもいます。いつも、ユーモアのある話を考えて、上手く人と付き合って、いい社会を作るのに貢献したいと思います。

Sherry: Mirror, mirror on the desk! Am I Young and Pretty?
Mirror: Who are you? I can't see your face. You are covered by the big hat and sunglasses.
Sherry: Alright, it's me, Sherry! Am I young and pretty as always? (Sherry takes off her hat and glasses)
Mirror: Well, tell me first, do you want a lie or the truth?

Last Sunday, I asked my husband to take a walk with me along Hsin-tien River. Before we left home, I asked him.
Sherry: Honey, should I wear a hat or carry an umbrella?
Husband: Sweetheart, your face is dark enough. It won't get any worse!

Monday evening, when my husband arrived home to find the living room covered with daisy petals on the floor. Because every daisy gave me the same result, "he loves me not." So I didn't give up till I became too tired to count on daisy petals. I went to bed with a moisture mask on with a hope to look young and pretty.

Tuesday I went shopping for my clothes for our in-house speech contest. The sales lady looked at me with an admiring smile, "You really have a good figure for women like your age!"

Do you want to look young? Do you want to look pretty? I do, certainly does every woman. But aging is inevitable. My nightmare started ten years ago.

When Grand had an autumn outing to the National Museum of History, our handsome OJS Billy looked at me astonishingly and announced loudly, "Sherry, you have gray hair on your forehead." From then on, my young and beauty confidence index dropped dramatically. Friends and strangers remind me of my age regularly and irregularly.

Take Toastmasters for example, we are competent communicators, right? At our last meeting, a fellow toastmaster from China Toastmasters Club sat next to me. When he saw the photo sticker on my camera, he asked if I was with my children. When I said no, he then asked if I was with my grandchildren.

Talking about aging, I shall say it is good to be a woman. I can dye my hair. I can have a fact-lift. It is alright for women to take any action. But, for a poor old man, what can they do when they get old, gray hair, falling teeth, poor eyesight, and impotence!

Recently, I've found a way to feel young and pretty. It is the best medicine and I'd like to share with you. It is the theory of relativity. Everybody knows Albert Einstein. He once explained the theory by saying, "when I sit next to a beautiful woman, one hour is like one minute. But when I sit on a hot pot, a minute is like an hour."

I started visiting the nursing home as a volunteer three months ago. Whenever I visit the nursing home, I gain my youth back. Among the wheelchair-ridden and bed-ridden residents at an average age of 80, I find the secret to become young and pretty.

Sherry: Mirror, mirror on the desk! Am I young and pretty?
Mirror: Depending who you are with! When you are among kinder garden children, you're not, but you are young and pretty among the elderly at the nursing home. No matter what your age is, you're as young and pretty as you used to be and as you'll be. You are young and pretty in your heart, in the reflection of the mirror.
Sherry: I think I look young and pretty with my hat and sunglasses on. (Sherry puts on her hat and sunglasses)

笑い話

笑い話に苦手だと、わたしは正直に思います。みんなはそう思っていませんか。人は生まれてから、ずっと、まじめな人間になるように厳しく育てられますから、人を笑わせる能力が別に重要ではない、と考えられてきました。ですから、いまさら、ユーモアは人間関係に良いとか自分の健康にいいと言われても、ユーモアのある人になれるのはそんなに簡単ではないと思います。皆さん、そう思いませんか。

私はトーストマスターズクラブに参加以来、二十一年目になります。毎年十一月のトーストマスターズ全国大会の笑い話コンテストに出る勇気がなかなか湧いってこなかったんです。今年は、一応、クラブのユーモアスピーチコンテストに挑戦します。明日の夜に行き、先ず会員達と一緒におお笑いを練習しましょうか。優勝したら、クラブの代表として、エリア、ディビジョン、最後に、ディストリクトの全国秋季大会で、一番笑い話の上手なメンバー達とステージに立ちます。冗談ではないですよ！笑わないで下さいねぇ！

一心不乱

数年前に、トーストマスターの友人からカシオの電子辞典をもらいました。それ以来、常に、日本語の勉強に欠かせない小道具がかばんの中に入ってます。分からない日本語を聞くと、すぐ、電子辞典で意味をさがし、とても便利です。

今日から、その電子辞典の功能を和英から国語に切り替え、より一層日本語に親しみたいです。そして、本棚から、前に勉強してた日本語の会話の本をもう一度読み直します。なんとか、日本語に好きになりそうです。台湾は日本語の習ういのにいい環境があります。わたしが日本語をアプするのは夢ではないです。できれば、焦らず、慌てず、あきらめず、頑張ります。

外見と中身

言葉は力があると、Elizabeth Martin さんは八月号月刊のトーストマスターズ誌にそう述べました。人間は言葉を通し、お互いに協力することができます。要すると、トーストマスターズは言葉をうまく使役することです。そして、話す言葉と書く言葉は違いということも分かります。

二千一年、私は台湾師範大学の交換留学生として、一年間京都立命館で勉強しました。英語を日本語に翻訳するの授業を受けていたとき、先生は日本語に必ず三つの記号がある、つまり、カタカナ、ひらがな、と漢字と強調してます。三種類の記号を混ぜている文章は、日本人にとって、読みやすいです。意味の中身ではなくて、文字の外見も大切です。それは、全部漢字に馴れている私に苦しいです。

個人魅力

日曜日の台北の午後は大雨でした。何処へも行けないので、退屈そうな一時ですが、Talking Toastmasters Podcastの最近の国際電話訪問で、人間関係の専門家の意見を聴き、嬉しいです。世界中のトーストマスターズが皆大家族の一員として、繋がっていて、本当に良かったです。

Eva Kihlstromさんは八月号月刊のトーストマスターズ誌に『あなたはカリスマがある』という文章があります。その魅力は練習すれば、するほと、上手になれると言われってます。常に、自分の表情と声を豊かにして、心より笑顔で周りの人と付き合って、だんだん自信が湧いてきます。来る日には、かならずカリスマが身につけるようになります。

誰でも、カリスマが欲しいです。自分の感情を相手によく伝えられます。どうぞ、添えている隠喩の練習を試してみませんか。作家になりたい私にとっては、すごくいい練習です。

後書："Never before was so much owed by so many to so few" (Winston Churchill to Royal Air Force), appeared twice in August edition, one in "Do you have Charisma?" by Eva Kihlstrom, page 20, third column, the other in "Sounding Good in English" by Katherine Meeks, page 26, left column.

友情の輪

一日の試作がブロゴにのって、すぐに名古屋クラブの犬塚操夫さんからコメントをもらいました。すごくうれしいです。実はですんぇ！昨夜一所懸命日本語で夢を見みたっかたのに、結局は英語と中国語の夢でした。悔しかったですが、言葉の使いはやっぱり簡単ではないです。ローマは一日にして成らず。

家に、日本の衛星放送を毎日すくなくとも、二時間ぐらい見ても、まったく、ちんぷんかんぷんです。そして、いつも、日本語と英語の間に迷って、二人の恋人がいるみたい、どちらがいいですか。欲張りのわたしが、いつ、二人にも愛されるのか。 シェリー

読書の秋

一日の今日は、八月号月刊のトーストマスターズ誌を入手することができて、嬉しかったです。そして、今日から、自分の考えを日本語で書き始めます。来る日には、作家になっているかもしれません。シェリー