外面飄著雪。
It’s snowing outside.
北歐，芬蘭。
Helsinki, Finland.
白色的城市，一片沈寂。
A city of white, a blanket of silence.
走進了寬闊的空間，脫掉厚重的大外套與毛絨絨的帽子，
Walking into the spacious indoor, taking off my heavy coat and the thick furry hat,
再拿下長長柔軟的圍巾，
removing the soft long scarf
還有那種可以預寒零下30°c的手套，
And the winter gloves that could withstand a minus 30 degrees celcius temperature,
而且還是台灣特製的……好似在抽絲剝繭。
And that gloves are specially made from Taiwan… I take off each layer with care and deliberation.
最後貼身的，是那一層合身的舞衣，薄若蟬羽，卻毫無寒冷的感覺。
What is left on me, is my dancing gown, thin as a feather, but I don’t even feel a tinge of coldness.
當然不冷。因為熱情如火。
Of course I am not cold. Because my passion is like fire!
Tango的音樂響起，這是燃燒悸動的柴火。
When the tango music begins, it is the firewood that makes this passion burning.
Tango，迷人的天地。
Tango – a charming land.
千變萬化的美妙，彷彿走在雲端的天堂，令人無以言喻的深邃。
Millions of beautiful possibilities, it is almost like walking on clouds in heaven, and at the same time an indescribable deepness.
舞一曲，忘卻了廳外的北國雪景，
One dance, makes me forget the outside snowy scene of a different land,
想不起那些奔波的疲勞與煩憂。
makes me forget about the hectic tiredness and worries.
神清氣爽，踩著美麗的舞步，勇敢向今夜的浪漫前進，
Full of clarity and flowing energy, walking the beautiful steps, bravely moving forward to experience the romance of tonight.
挑戰自己極限再突破的體力。
Challenge myself – breakthrough upon breakthrough, no matter how tired I might be.
剛剛的飛行，穿越了國際換日線。
Just landed from a long distance flight, passing through countless time zones,
將近30個小時的長途拔渉，
close to 30 hours of journey,
但昨天在地球另一端的我，
But it was only yesterday that I was on the other side of the planet
距離竟然是那麼地遙遠，
The distance is indeed huge,
很難想像彼端的此時此刻！
hard to imagine what is like now, at the other side of the world!
我，來自台灣。
I, am from Taiwan.
看著一個個陌生又熟悉的面孔。
Looking at every foreign and yet familiar faces.
啊！Tango的同好們！
Ah! My fellow tango lovers!
真的好開心，能在這兒遇到了你！
I am so happy, to meet you here!
我一生的朋友！
You are my life-time friend!
Tango的空氣不一定芬芳，但令人著迷。
The air of tango is not necessary fragrant, but it is captivating.
Tango的色彩不一定豔麗，但味道十足。
The colors of tango is not necessary bright hot, but it is fully satisfying.
Tango的情感不一定甜蜜，但無法忘懷。
The emotion of tango is not necessary sweet, but makes one could not forget about it.
Tango的擁抱，會讓你真心地擁抱生命。
The embrace of tango, let you embrace life, with the sincerest heart.
沒來過天堂的人，你問他置身天堂是什麼感覺？
Ask someone, who has never been to heaven, what is his feeling?
當然是個謎。
Of course it is a mystery.
直到親身拜訪過、體驗過後，咱們心照不宣。
Until you visited it, experienced it, then you and I both know this feeling –without even saying a word.
因為你已知道天堂的滋味。
Because you have tasted heaven.
它的美，是唯一獨特的。
It’s beauty, is unique.
它的堅持，柔中帶剛。
It’s persistence, is steel that is covered with softness.
看看自己，再感受那個空間，
Look at yourself, and feel this space,
你看到什麼，就是什麼。
What you see, is what you see.
你所感受到的，全都是真的。
What you feel, it is all real.
那舞動的氣氛，竟然不難在一張黑白照片中被捕捉，
The spirit of the dance, is not difficult to capture on a black and white picture,
看似清晰卻又迷濛。
it seems so clear, and yet also unclear.
就是你看到的，Tango。
It is just what you see, Tango,
看不清，摸不透，卻又冷暖自知。
Cannot be seen through, cannot be understood, but only the person himself knows in his heart.
也沒有那麼玄。
Actually it is not mysterious.
那個神韻，在節拍中活著，呼吸著。
That charm, breathing and coming alive through the rhythm,
Tango的美，在雲端的天堂之中永存。
The beauty of Tango, is forever found at the clouds of heaven.
Hellen Chen
北歐之旅，小記(隨筆)
A Short Note
Northern European Tour
