[Editor’s note: NSLI-Y scholar Deja shares how her love of hip-hop helped her make new friends and understand youth culture in Taiwan. We are especially proud of her for her pro-active approach to making new relationships. The following story is in Chinese and showcases her excellent written language progress. An English translation follows below.]
By Deja, NSLI-Y Taiwan, Academic Year Kaohsiung 2015-2016
(English translation below)
我來自美國的密西根。我非常喜歡跳舞。嘻哈就是我最喜歡的，這種美國方式的。我觀察到在台灣，嘻哈音樂很流行，連高中學生都知道。 在高雄有一個地方叫文化中心，我常常看到有很多年輕人在那個地方練習跳舞。我覺得文化中心是一個很有特色的地方。那裡不但是藝文活動和看演出的地方，也是年輕人聚會的好地點。我本來覺得台灣年輕人是因為嘻哈音樂在世界上很流行就喜歡。也許不太了解嘻哈的意思， 後來跟一些年輕人一起跳舞之後，才發現，原來他們是真的對嘻哈很了解也感到興趣。我剛剛來到台灣的時候， 我很想念美國方式的跳舞，音樂和唱歌，而且我還沒有認識台灣朋友， 所以我覺得很孤單。當我的老師告訴我有關文藻社團的活動， 我很開心， 因為我覺得社團活動可以讓我多認識新朋友。在社團招募的時候，我看到很多唱歌的社團還有台灣式跳舞的社團。
我什麼社團都馬上報名， 因為我真的想要交朋友。 我最後看到的社團是一個breaking社， 讓我非常開心。在美國我會跳breaking， 而且breaking是很流行。我很好奇台灣怎麼可能有跳breaking的人。 我想如果我能夠認識跳breaking的朋友， 我應該會覺得很熟悉而感到安心。
第一次的社團練習上，我看到三個台灣男生， 他們跳舞跳得非常棒. 我主動介紹我自己，然後表達我想要和他們一起練習的想法。我告訴他們我在美國也跳breaking。那個男生非常客氣也有禮貌，邀請我和他們一起練習。這個男生是我的第一個台灣朋友， 他對嘻哈很有興趣。他告訴，他從國中的時候開始跳舞也接觸到嘻哈，嘻哈就像是他的生命一樣。
台灣人都很客氣， 從我來台灣到現在，我跟這些朋友的關係越來越好，他們也跟我有一樣的興趣。比如說嘻哈和breaking，我很高興我認識了這個社團，才有機會看到台灣的Bboy 和知道嘻哈帶給台灣人的影響。謝謝高雄。下面有我聖誕節的表演照片跟影片。
I’m from Detroit, Michigan, United States of America. I really like to dance, and hip-hop is my favorite. I have observed that in Taiwan hip-hop music is very popular. Even high school students know about it. In Kaohsiung, there is a place called the Cultural Center. I often see a lot of young people practicing dance there. I think the cultural center is a very unique place. There are not only cultural events and performances to watch, but there are also young people who gather, making it a good place. I thought that young people in Taiwan would only like hip-hop just because it’s a popular thing right now. I also thought that they maybe don’t quite understand the meaning of hip-hop. Later after dancing with some younger Taiwanese friends of mine, I found out that they are really interested in hip-hop and have a moderate understanding of it.
When I first came to Taiwan I missed the American way of dancing, music and singing. I also didn’t know any Taiwanese people at the time, so I felt very lonely. When my teacher told me there was a Wenzao club fair I was very happy, because I thought that community activities would allow me to meet new friends. During the sign-up time at the club fair, I saw a lot of singing clubs and Taiwanese dance clubs.
I immediately signed up for just about every club, because I really wanted to make friends. I finally saw that they had a breaking club, so I was very happy. In the United States I would break dance a lot, and breaking is very popular. I was curious how people in Taiwan could have learned about breaking. I felt if I could become friends with bboys and bgirls then I would feel more at ease.
At the first club practice I saw three Taiwanese boys. They were great dancers. I took the initiative to introduce myself, and then I wanted to let them know i wanted to practice with them. I told them I break dance in the United States. The boys were very polite and invited me to practice with them. One of the guys became my first friend in Taiwan. He was very interested in hip-hop. He told me he had been exposed to hip-hop since the beginning of middle school, and now hip-hop is like his life.
Taiwanese people are very polite. From when I first came to Taiwan until now, my relationship with these friends has gotten better and better. We all share similar interests in breaking and hip-hop. I’m glad I’ve gotten to know this club and have had a chance to see and know Taiwan’s B-boys and to understand how hip-hop has influenced Taiwan. Thanks, Kaohsiung!
Here is a video of our performance: