付涛 Thomas
3月27日，我对沈蓓女士进行了采访，了解到了她的移民故事。通过她的访谈，我有了很深的感悟。因为我和她成长的故事完全不一样，所以我没有有挑战的经历。我是从小在美国长大的，没有经历过战争，所以听到她的战争故事后有很多的感悟。我们俩的看法很不一样，因为我没有碰到过挑战，所以我觉得生活很简单，但是她的有挑战性的经历把她变成一个更好的人。这些经历对于她来说和很独特。从小她有很多的艰难的选择，但是我长大时没有很多困难的选择，我最难的选择是每天要吃什么食物。她的选择却跟生活或者家人有关，是一个更重要的选择。
她在采访中说到，她于1993首次来到美国，离开了家人，到了新的地方开始新的生活。她最初到美国时，教小孩子舞蹈。最开始没有很多人上她的课，但是一年以后从三、四个人增加到一百多人跟她学舞蹈。她说孩子们是我最好的英文老师，因为他们不害怕说老师说错英语，所以如果老师说错就会喊“你说错了”。我觉得这是一个非常好笑的故事，因为你会认为成年人有能力教好英语，但是他们会说“还可以，我能听懂。”来鼓励在学英语的人。但事实上是小朋友们教的更好，因为他们不害怕指出错误，这样人们才能改正。
她在采访中也说到，她移民到美国后，没有感受到文化冲击。许多人都说受到了歧视，但是她真没感受到。她说“我觉得，如果你觉得别人歧视你，你就做出成绩来，别人就没什么话好说了。我不觉得很多时候是歧视，而是相互的不理解。”她刚到了美国时，很多人对中国非常感兴趣，但是她也发现美国人对中国很不了解，比中国人对美国的了解少。她说“美国人自己以为他们什么都知道。” 我同意她说的，因为我从小学中文，所以学习中文对我来说是一个平常的事情，但是听到别人说这是很不平常的以后，我就知道他们没有了解中国的文化。和之前相比，我觉得现在更多的美国人了解中国的文化和习惯，因为有更多的年轻人开始学中文。
总的来说，通过这个采访，我了解到很多中国人的看法，比如，中国人怎么看待移民美国。通过她的访谈，我有很深的感悟，因为这是我第一次听到别人的人生经历。
On March 27, I interviewed Ms. Shen Pei and learned about her immigration story. Through her interview, I had a deep feeling. Because I had a completely different upbringing than her, I didn't have a challenging experience. I grew up in the United States and have never experienced war, so I have a lot of insights after hearing her war stories. We both see it differently because I haven't had challenges, so life is easy, but her challenging experiences have made her a better person. These experiences are unique to her. She had a lot of hard choices growing up, but I didn't have a lot of hard choices when I was growing up. My most challenging choice was what food to eat every day. Her choice is not related to life or family; it is more important.
She said in an interview that she first came to the United States in 1993, left her family, and moved to a new place to start a new life. When she first came to the United States, she taught dance to children. Only a few people initially took her class, but after a year, the number increased from three to four to more than one hundred learned dance from her. She said that children are my best English teachers because they are not afraid to say that the teacher is wrong, so if they say something wrong, they will shout, "You are wrong." I think it's a hilarious story because you think adults can teach English well, but they say, "It's ok, I can understand." But the little ones teach better because they're not afraid to point out mistakes so people can correct them.
She also said in the interview that after immigrating to the United States, she did not feel culture shock. Many people said they were discriminated against, but she didn't feel it. She said, "If you feel that others discriminate against you, you will make achievements, and others will have nothing to say. I don't think it is discrimination in many cases, but mutual misunderstanding." When she first arrived in the United States, many People were very interested in China, but she also found that Americans knew very little about China. They know less about the United States than Chinese people. She said, "Americans themselves think they know everything." I agree with what she said because I grew up learning Chinese in elementary school, so learning Chinese is a common thing for me, but after hearing others say it is very unusual, I knew they didn't understand Chinese culture. Compared with before, now more Americans understand Chinese culture and customs because more young people have started to learn Chinese.
In general, through this interview, I learned a lot about Chinese people's views, for example, how Chinese people view immigration to the United States. Through her interview, I felt deeply because I heard about other people's life experiences for the first time.
雷丽丽 Joli
采访沈蓓老师是一次非常积极和发人深省的经历。 我有机会了解她小时候的一些故事，也了解到她移民到美国后的许多故事。 她还讨论了她与家人的各种关系，以及她在明尼苏达华人舞蹈剧院 (CAAM CDT) 中的关键角色。 很明显，沈蓓一生都致力于为社区服务，同时也为社区保留和融入她的中国文化元素。 我很高兴了解沈蓓老师的人生故事，她在中国和美国的许多成就，以及她对她周围的人和在 CAAM CDT 产生了巨大影响。
沈蓓1936年出生于中国南京，1993年移民到明尼苏达州。沈蓓在中国生活期间还是个小女孩的时候就开始学习了专业舞蹈。 沈蓓在采访中表示是舞蹈选择了她，而不是她选择了舞蹈。 由于她过去的专业经验和广泛的舞蹈知识，她获得了 CAAM CDT 的艺术总监职位。 作为艺术总监，沈蓓能够向明尼苏达州广大的新人们推广中国舞蹈和中国文化。 她被置于一个独特的位置，是因为沈蓓当时觉得美国人对中国文化很感兴趣，但对中国文化了解甚少。
沈蓓面临的一大挑战是学习英语作为她的第二语言。 虽然她年轻时在中国学过英语，但她离流利程度还差得很远。 这导致她决定与她的美国学生达成协议。 她告诉他们，如果他们教她英语，她会教他们跳舞。沈蓓说，一名七岁的舞蹈学生是她教过的所有人中最好的英语老师。 这是因为虽然其他学生和陌生人会说她的英语足够好，但她七岁的学生却是唯一愿意指出她的错误的人。 沈蓓提出了一个值得注意的见解，她说跳舞不需要语言，跨文化的人可以只用肢体语言进行交流。 她认为中国舞是一种丰富的舞蹈，应该与世界分享。
接受 CAAM CDT 的工作并搬到明尼苏达州对沈蓓来说是一次非常有益的经历。 她在采访中表示，她对自己的生活非常满意，没有遗憾。 此外，她对家人对她所有决定的支持表示了极大的感谢。 即使她的家人还在中国，而她在美国，他们也一直关心和支持着沈蓓。
时至今日，沈蓓继续积极参与 CAAM CDT 社区。 CAAM CDT 是中西部历史最悠久、规模最大的华人舞蹈团。 迄今为止，CAAM CDT 已经提高了数以万计舞者对中国舞蹈和文化的认识和欣赏。 凭借她的领导才能和舞蹈专长，沈蓓成功地为弥合中西舞蹈之间的差距做出了贡献。 看到她如何能够将她对中国文化和舞蹈的热情以一种对无数人产生影响的方式结合起来，真是令人印象深刻。 这次采访是一次变革性的经历，我非常感谢能从这样一位杰出的女性那里获得如此多的见解。
Interviewing Shen Pei was a very positive and thought provoking experience. I had the opportunity to learn many stories spanning her early childhood to her immigration to the United States. She also discussed her various relationships with members of her family and her pivotal role at the Chinese American Association of Minnesota Chinese Dance Theater (CAAM CDT). It is clear that Shen Pei has always valued serving her community throughout her life, while also preserving and incorporating elements of her Chinese culture. I am very grateful to learn about Shen Pei’s life story, her many accomplishments both in China and in America, and the tremendous impact she has had on those around her and at CAAM CDT.
Shen Pei was born in Nanjing, China in 1936 and immigrated to Minnesota in 1993. Shen Pei began dancing professionally when she was just a young girl while living in China. In the interview, Shen Pei said that dance chose her, rather than her choosing dance. Because of her past professional experiences and extensive knowledge on dance, she was offered the job to become the artistic director at CAAM CDT. As the artistic director, Shen Pei was able to promote Chinese dance and Chinese culture to a wide-range of new people in Minnesota. She was put in a unique position because at the time Shen Pei felt that American people were interested in Chinese culture, however, they had little understanding of it.
A big challenge that Shen Pei struggled with was learning English as a second language. Although she had studied English when she was younger back in China, she was nowhere near achieving fluency. This led to her deciding to make a deal with her American students. She informed them that she would teach them dance if they taught her English. Shen Pei said that her seven year-old dance students were better English teachers than anyone else she had taught her before. This is because while other teachers and strangers would say her English was good enough, her seven year-old students were the only ones who were willing to call her out on her mistakes. Shen Pei provided a notable insight by saying dancing does not require language, and people across cultures can communicate using just their body language. She believed Chinese dance is a rich type of dancing and that it should be shared with the rest of the world.
Accepting the CAAM CDT job and moving to Minnesota has been an incredibly rewarding experience for Shen Pei. She stated in the interview that she is highly satisfied with her life and has no regrets. In addition, she expressed extreme gratitude towards her family’s support in all of her decisions. Even while her family members were still living in China and she was in America, they always cared for Shen Pei and supported her.
To this day, Shen Pei continues to remain active and engaged in the CAAM CDT community. CAAM CDT serves as the Midwests’ oldest and largest Chinese dance company. CAAM CDT has increased awareness and appreciation for Chinese dance and culture in tens of thousands of dancers thus far. Through her leadership skills and dancing expertise, Shen Pei has successfully contributed to bridging the gap between Chinese and western-style dancing. It is very impressive to see how she has been able to combine her passion for Chinese culture and dance in an impactful way for numerous people. This interview was a transformative experience, and I am deeply appreciative to gain so many insights from such a remarkable woman.