那一日苗疆春暖，芳華十八

文 / 王湘玉、林敏華、蘇昭蓉、陳文淑、白偉麗，67級

要復出40年前運動會小會舞的徵召有如青天霹靂！音樂、舞步無一記得！但那張當年在司令台前的「大會報告」照片中的確有我和白偉麗丶陳文淑。曲、舞都是新編！看著在台南的三人傳來的練習影片練舞步，記好著圓椅代表自己的位置…。第一次五個人全體練習是表演的前一天晚上，也才看到三人為旅居海外的我和偉麗所細心張羅準備的道具和服裝。

完成了表演，鬆了一大口氣！舞步想必是不如當年輕盈，心裡滿滿的裝著同學們溫暖的鼓勵，想著2018能再踏上18的舞台，真是一段美好的回憶！(文/王湘玉，67級)

一直感謝上帝賜給我跳舞的細胞，讓我熱愛她，享受她!!看著昭蓉和文淑熱心地籌措糾集重聚會上要表演一段當年青春的大會舞曲，我便自告奮勇地說願意插一腳，也因而能和昭蓉、文淑、偉麗、湘玉一起完成這個美麗的使命，當年雖然沒有和大家同班，但一見如故，和湘玉原來還是鼓號樂隊的隊友呢!!很興奮參與了這個苗疆春暖的舞蹈，真的是美好的回憶!!預備的過程中，大家分工合作，真不愧是南女人的精神啊!!不論是音樂、編舞、服裝、道具竟然就是這麼水到渠成，Wonderful! ( 文/林敏華，67級)

這一次重聚會，我把心思都擺在我們的「苗疆春暖」，沒能好好去參與合唱團的演出，對於40年前的舞步，記憶猶新，人卻是歪頭縮脖，不再輕盈，很担心跟不上大家的步伐，幸好這一關通過了，知道自己就是不服老，還要跟大家老在一起呢！(文/蘇昭蓉，67級)

1977年的大會舞表演是在高三上學期，三個班120人的努力成果，來到2018年五位志願軍上場重聚會的舞台，有了鎂光燈掩飾我們40年來智慧的皺紋，即使穿不下當年的校裙，大家也盡力舞了一小段青春的記憶，校友們讚賞的掌聲，真的成就了我們繼續邁向健康重聚50的動力！
有妳們真好！人生的美妙在於處處有驚喜，只要懷抱著可能性，南女一直給我們機會！(文/陳文淑，67級)

When Chang Yi Ling （陳一玲） contacted me 6 months ago about our high school’s 40th year reunion, I wavered for months, not sure whether to go or not.  It has been exactly 40 years since I left Taiwan in February 1978, about 6 months before my graduation.  I took out my old high school photos and could not remember many names. Nor could I recall specific encounters with individual school mates during my two and half years at that all-girl high school in Tainan. I wondered how my classmates have changed and whether they still remember me and whether I could recognize their faces now. The photos brought back memories of a folk dance we performed at the Tainan City sports stadium, the annual track and field Olympic game we partook and the drama competition we were asked to create and perform. I remember that our class selected Pinocchio, a Disney’s folk tale of a wooden boy who lied and caused his nose to grow. Pinocchio ran away for a wild adventure and fell prey to evil and dangerous merchants but he finally redeemed himself and became a real boy after demonstrating bravery and rescuing his father from the stomach of a big black whale.  I remember spending hours putting together the play, searching for appropriate music to accompany the various plot lines, and begging classmates to take part and assuming the character’s true nature and acting without fear.

Su ZhaoRon （蘇昭蓉）the reunion organizer who was in my 67-311 class, said I was the class leader, a role I honestly had no memory of. I did not think I was popular.  There was also one event that I could never forget– a speech contest in front of the whole school of more than 1000. As I recall, my brain froze and went totally blank as I walked onto the stage; I could not find a single word to say and stood for what seemed like the longest minutes in my life. I ran off feeling thoroughly humiliated and went sobbing in my history teacher’s (teacher Liu Shu Wen) dorm room until I could no longer breathe.  I wonder if anyone else remember that episode which remains vivid in my brain. As I looked back, the experience still aches.

Dancing has been one my passion since childhood. When ZhaoRon （昭蓉）suggested that we restored and brought back the old glory of our folk dancing competition for the reunion celebration, I signed up enthusiastically.  It would be fun, I said to Wang Xiang-Yu, （王湘玉）another fellow dance partner from that folk dancing gig 40 years ago.  In addition, I had hoped to reconnect with long lost school mates by collaborating on this project.  Having lived abroad for four decades, I wonder sometimes where I belong. My Chinese has grown embarrassingly rusty. I have forgotten many words and often stutter when I speak as I search in vain for appropriate expressions.  I wonder if I would I be a stranger to people whom I would meet at the reunion and whether I would be accepted. At the same time, I wanted my two boys of mixed heritage to know where I came from, to experience Taiwanese culture and to feel connected to the place I once called home.  On an impulse, I volunteer to have Tristan (白源）my younger son of 22) play for our dance performance, which ultimately led to his older brother (白嶺-Ethan of 28) producing the musical number we used for the dance. We started with a simple folk melody which I found on the internet called “The Sun Has Risen.” （太陽出來了） Ethan then used an electronic key board to add additional dialogue and to mix various sound tracks together, including bells, drum and Tristan’s violin paying the main theme. It took some time and much arm-twisting, including bribery of a delicious Thanks-giving meal and mother’s gentle nagging. I felt much relieved after （陳文淑）  Chang WenShu’s blessed the hastily put together song for our dance. 

With WenShu’s ( 文淑）master-minding the dance choreograph and the costume design, we came together as a well-oiled dancing troop; our moves may not have been perfect, but we did it with so much joy and confidence. Look at all the smile at the end. Furthermore, it was more than the steps and the formation – we had so much fun, getting together the day before, doing the final touches and trying our costume and rehearsing as a group for the first time. We talked, laugh and talked more let’s into the night as time seems to fly by. In the process, I also found my history teacher who consoled me in that fateful failed speech episode years ago and whom I have missed so much ever since I left in 1978.

My family came as guests to this beautiful city of my birth place – Tainan and were welcomed and embraced with open arms.  My husband and two boys even got an importune architecture tour of the old Tainan City from a resident expert, the unassuming celebrated author – Fish’s husband （魚夫.） We left with tremendous appreciation for the beauty of the City and its people and a gratitude for the warmth and love so generously given by all those we met, not to mention the many delicious meals and “little eats” we shared with  many friends and family. As my eldest son Ethan said after watching and recording our final performance at the reunion, “Mom, you guys are pretty cool.”  🙂

With all our . (文/白偉麗，67級)

苗疆春暖 影片連結

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