From Abroad: France

Perhaps some of you will remember Florence Okie from W.B.L. (originally from Cognac, France) who was accredited as a T’ai Chi Chih teacher in May 1993 at the first East Coast accreditation session in New Jersey. Or you may have been at Maryvale in North Dakota where she and her family stopped enroute to Montana to participate in T’ai Chi Chih during a July accreditation. August of 1994 found the Okie family traveling to France to spend a year at the International college in LeChambon where Florence taught T’ai Chi Chih to the people of the villages of Le Chambon and Tence. It was rewarding for her to teach in her native language!

I was delighted to go to France this June to visit these villages and meet so many of the Okie’s friends. Each day we gathered to share T’ai Chi Chih and bit by bit we began to refine the movements. One couple and another woman expressed interest in coming to the states to be accredited to teach. All are quite fluent in English and would be eager to return to their homes in Southern France to teach. The mountains did indeed lend themselves to the flow of Chi amongst us and the “Daughters” seems so real in that beautiful nature setting.

I hope their dream to become accredited does come true. Florence continues to be in Mazet St. Vay until mid-September as their friend, coach and inspiration. It was a gift for me to spend seven days in these mountain villages as their guest. T’ai Chi Chih has no bounds!!