【YOMU-SAPLI】★The art of the encounter.  

Dear Readers,


Birds do it, Parisians do it
even champion ballroom dancers do it.
Let's follow an urge!
If you are a magnet, you’ll attract people.


*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･゜

In August of 2012, I came back to Tokyo from Shizuoka where I gave a lecture.
It was great and I felt good so somehow I wanted to eat sushi
and went to have dinner at a sushi restaurant.
I sat at the counter seat alone for the first time.

While I was having some sushi, I saw a visitor who had the aura of a film star.
And then two seats were vacant next to me,
I thought he would sit one seat away from me but he sat next to me.
I was surprised and I thought it was a chance to talk to him.
Though I hadn’t talked in English for 15 years.
I felt my heart beating.

I thought about how he might start to talk to me.
Then I managed to order some green tea. Guess what? 

He asked me, “Do you speak English?” I answered, "A little."
He was born in England and lives in NY now.
He came to Japan to teach ballroom dance at that time.

I asked him, "Where did you dance in Japan?"
He said, "Budoukan," I was gobsmacked.
Also he showed me some of his dancing on YouTube.
He was a world champion of ballroom dance.

I noticed my English speaking was bad but I could listen to him
because I was a life coach.
We had a good conversation for ninety minutes.
However I repeated things like a parrot.

He asked me, "Do you use Facebook?" and we became friends.
I noticed he was also Pisces so what a coincidence!　
After that he texted me in English but I noticed I couldn’t reply smoothly.


Two months later, I went to Paris alone.
When I took a walk in a park and stoped in front of a map,
a man who was past middle age talked to me,
"Are you a tourist or a student?"
"I’m a tourist."
And he said, "You look like a model, your boyfriend should be non-Japanese."
" That makes sense! I should study English!", I thought inside.


So I came back to Japan,
I bought some English textbooks for the first time in fifteen years.
Finally I decided to go to an English conversation school in June of 2013.


"Why do you want to study English?",
the staff of the English conversation school asked me.
"One day I’ll send a message to readers in English.",
I answered but I thought, I don't know when.


One day, after I finished a lesson at the place I always went,
somehow I got the urge to go to a department store in Shinjuku for the summer sale.
While I had lunch I wondered if there was the same English conversation school in Shinjuku
and I tried to book a lesson.
It was the first time to book two lessons in a day
and to go to another school so I was nervous.

I checked the reservation form on my phone
and I found a teacher who was from London and
his hairstyle was unique so I thought he might be creative!

Actually he was more creative than I thought so I was gobsmacked!
I thought I wanted him to help me with my work someday.
Coincidentally he is also a Pisces the same as the ballroom dancer.
I decided to continue booking his lesson.


I booked some teacher's lessons for two years
but I bumped into him outside three times
so I thought it was a sign from the future.
I knew I should book only his lesson.

Eventually some of my works were created through his lesson.
I could write my newsletter in English when I realized it.
This encounter has significantly changed me.


An encounter only starts when both people want to talk to each other,
anyway we should take a proactive approach to meeting people.
When people want to meet you, your life begins to change dramatically.


*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･゜


Have a great week☆彡

Thanks for reading!

Hitomi Horiguchi