Wan Hua Alumni Association
A Visit With Teacher Sao
by Nora Kay
Teacher Sao, because of her medical condition, could not attend our Wan Hua Alumni Association New Year Party on May 17, 2007. Since I have not seen her for four decades I called her up and told her that we, her students, would be thrilled to visit her at her home in Southern California. She promptly agreed to receive us and set June 2 as the date. Even though I told her that we would give her a call a day ahead, she called me a week ahead instead to confirm – such is her meticulous nature.
On Friday, June 1st, we picked up Francis Ting from Belmont and set out for the 500-mile trip to Lake Elsinore in Southern California. We stayed overnight at my sister’s house there. We were to meet Teacher Sao the next day at 10:30 a.m.
We were so excited to meet Teacher Sao that we left Lake Elsinore early and got to Yorba Linda around 9:30. It was a pleasant sunny day with clear skies. The temperature was hovering in the seventies. Since we were early we went window-shopping at nearby Home Goods store, which is just a few blocks from her home.
Not being able to contain our anticipation any longer, we called her at ten and she said we could come over right away. When we pulled up, her front door was wide open as if she was expecting us; the front yard was being renovated extensively. Ken told us to take our time before proceeding to the door while he scrambled to get ready with his camera to record the momentous moment. Soon enough, Teacher Sao appeared at the door and strode towards us. She was poised, elegant and so vibrant that you would not believe that she is an eighty-seven-year-old lady. It was an emotional moment.
She led us inside, apologizing that her home was not as tidy as she would like it to be because of the renovation going on. But we can see the house was tastefully decorated with Oriental accent. She said she had prepared a green bean soup and immediately began to serve us in exquisite chinaware. We were amazed to see her swift movements and how she exhibited no signs of her age. Ken mused that she looked more youthful than her former students.
She also served us homemade quiche and fruit. Soon William and Augustina Wong, her nephew Tom, and her sister Lily Swee Kuen Cho, arrived for their visit. We observed that Teacher Sao was delighted to see her former students gathered around her. She entertained us tirelessly and made sure that we had enough refreshments. We reminisced about the old days and mentioned the names of friends that we lost touch with. She told me she was diagnosed with a blocked artery a year ago and her doctors suggested that she undergo heart bypass surgery. She decided not to and instead pays more attention to her diet and takes Omega-3 fish oil daily, which she thought was conducive to the heart. She even gave each of us a bottle of Omega-3 Fish Oil!
I grabbed that opportunity and asked her to share the secret of keeping herself so fit. She said one word, “exercise.” Then I asked her how often she exercised and her reply was, “daily.” She then took out three big photo frames filled with pictures of her doing her exercise regimen. Before moving to her present home three years ago, at Anaheim she had a swimming pool. She swam every day; played golf and had horseback-riding once a week. She demonstrated a few exercise movements to us and I could see the flexibility of her limbs, superior control and total balance. Later, she showed Francis how to exercise his left hand to gain better movement.
I learned from Teacher Sao that she was a medical doctor before she immigrated to Burma in 1951 from Zhe Jiang province in China. Not only can she teach and treat patients but also talented in arts and crafts and one of her other talents is sewing. She sews most of her clothes including the dress she was wearing that day. One could see that the needlework was outstanding.
Ken took many photographs including the group picture now on WanHua.org and her portrait. Teacher Sao loves digital photography and requested that the group picture be emailed to her son in Chicago after we transferred the file to a laptop. We were delighted to oblige her using her very own PC. By the way, there were not one but three PC's in her home, two with dual giant flat panel displays; enough to turn us green with envy. She even said "kye zhu tin ba the" to Ken after the picture was emailed to her son. She spoke some Burmese and understood our conversation when we spoke Burmese among us.
I told Teacher Sao that we would like to see her again in a few months’ time. At that time I thought of taping her talk about Chinese medicine and her various exercise movements that could cure many ailments. She said that she had her own TV program that was broadcast daily when she was Taiwan. She used to travel annually to Paris to give speeches at hospitals on her favorite subject: Chinese medicine. I think it is a godsend opportunity for us to learn from her about the secrets of staying fit and healthy.
Teacher Sao is very conscientious and considerate. She even gave William two hundred dollars to take us out to lunch since she stopped eating out on her doctor’s orders. But we politely declined since we have other commitments.
Time flew by; at about 12:30 pm, we reluctantly said goodbye and told her we looked forward to seeing her again.