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December 17, 2016

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The Builders of a Nation

By Debrah Roundy | December 17, 2016, Saturday | Print Edition

THESE are the excerpts from the winning piece by Debrah Roundy in the “Shanghai Get-Together 2016”— the 4th Writing and Photography Contest. 

THE older women of Shanghai are incredible. I'd like to introduce you to them from the eyes of a foreigner.

Everyone loves a story and my story begins like this. I arrived in China to teach at SJTU. We were housed on the lovely SJTU Xuhua campus. My husband and I were the only foreigners we knew and we did not speak Mandarin (Putonghua).

I would go out each morning for a walk. It was lonely. I started noticing older women dancing in the park on the campus.

The teams moved as a group synchronizing their steps and movements. They flowed together like water in a spring rippling back and forth. They took out swords and their swords reached for the sky as they hit beautiful poses. Then the fans came out. Oh, they were so beautiful. We do not dance with fans in Idaho. The gentle fans would catch every breeze and ripple. Then there was the Kung fu fans that would crack like a whip and demand your attention as the women stood looking like royal birds with their fan plumage held high. Sometimes there were long tail fans that were so lovely as they fluttered in the wind. Tai Chi and Qi Gong exercises were done also.

It took me several days to get up enough courage. I had no words to use. Then one morning I wanted to join so much. They were doing such a beautiful dance, all moving together in harmony like a lovely river rippling forward. I pointed to them, then to me and shrugged my request. They waved me over. I was not very good as a dancer, although I had once been a dance teacher I had not danced for fifteen years, but now I was happy with them.

These women supported me. When I did well they cheered me on. When I fell, we all laughed together as I brushed myself off and tried again.

One day our dance team leader, Ms Chen, got a sparkle in her eye. Usually when her eyes sparkled there would be a dance we had not done for a long time. But this time it did not happen. She was watching and thinking. What was up? I could not ask, I could only speculate.

Yes, something was up. We would dance in The Colorful Stage, a community dance program. Would I dance? Of course. I had not danced on the stage since I was 35 or 36 when I danced with one of my students who needed some support.

It was fun to be a part of something again. Soon there was the chaos that ensues when a group of people work together. I think there were four teachers in the group and teachers tend to be strong minded. Everyone had ideas and many different ideas were tried. Some worked some didn’t.

If I missed a day I had better keep my eyes open because I never knew what changes would be made. It was so nice to be a part of a team. They really were a team with a colorful stage as the goal to shoot for.

Night rehearsals were extra fun. We would go out to the SJTU Square and dance under the street lights. I even had a small solo though I think any dancer on the team could have done better than me. Still I dance with my heart and loved it. I felt alive again. My husband joked, you have three sisters in your family in America, but in China you must have about fifty and it is true, the ladies are all sisters who support each other.

Four years have passed and I have continued with my dance groups, there are three now. I see the teams with new depth. These women who flow together are representatives of all the mothers of modern China. Many of them gave their youth working in the fields feeding a modern China, they married and raised their child to be an exemplary citizen. They worked in the factories and businesses and gave their beloved China their all. They are the builders of a nation.

These wonderful women are open-minded and show their children and grandchildren how to be friendly with others from other places, to embrace the world and its diversity. What an incredible example they are. And they are united.

We danced in the Guinness Book of Records challenge. It was amazing. The entire Bund filled with women who knew how to work together. I thought there would be chaos with that many women, but it was organized, everyone went to their places and, with the wisdom that comes with age, stayed, chatting quietly or practicing.

The rain was pouring on us yet no one lost their temper or complained. They worked together diligently until we reached success. I was so proud to be a part of them, showing the women of the world what the women of China could do.  

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