It's been a long time, my new friends!

It's a bit early to decide whether the Movement is a success or not but friends and lindy hoppers are doing their best to ignite the fire while having fun and making new friends.

In addition to dancers from Asia, Europe and America we have a super typhoon, Sepat (maximum sustained winds of 191kph with a radius of 250km which covers an area of 196,250km2 -- greater than the area of Taiwan), joining us. The weather has made dancers who come to Taiwan from abroad delayed their flights, detained on traffic-packed highway and even canceled their trip. However, those who made it to Taipei got to enjoy the typhoon-washed clean and less crowded streets of the city. We've met twice to get to meet and know each other. Tomorrow, all of us plus a few more will meet again at the workshop to try our best to influence, if not convert, ballroom and salsa dancers to swing. :-P

Oh, let's not forget another objective of the Movement - to introduce Taipei and Taiwan to friends and dancers from all over the world. This is actually an easier one. Taipei IS a nice place after all. As long as people get to experience the warmth and hospitality of Taiwan and Taiwan people, they just can not not like this place especially when the warmth and hospitality is accompanied with good food, efficiency, confidence and openness.

One more thing that deserves a separate section - although it's the first swing dance exchange in Taiwan, it's definitely an International event. Nationality-wise we have US, Germany, Korea, Canada, Japan (?) and ROC. Race-wise we have German/Taiwanese, Korean/Taiwanese, Portugal-French, Russian-Canadian, Taiwanese-American, Croatian/German, Japanese (? again), Canadian and alien (?). Don't ask me what those ? mean.

- Orchid; August 18, 2007