主席訪問(wèn)之旅勾起我的記憶 President's itinerary was a trip down memory lane

The recent visit of Xi Jinping to Europe and Latin America brought a wave of nostalgia for me because three of the nations on his itinerary – Spain, Argentina and Panama – have played a significant role in my life.

習(xí)近平主席最近對(duì)歐洲和拉丁美洲的訪問(wèn)勾起了我對(duì)往事的懷念，因?yàn)樗谐讨械娜齻€(gè)國(guó)家——西班牙、阿根廷和巴拿馬對(duì)我的生活意義都很重大。

While I originally fell in love with Hispanic culture on a summer study trip to Mexico after my freshman year in college, the next summer I went to Spain.

大學(xué)一年級(jí)暑期，我在墨西哥游學(xué)時(shí)，愛(ài)上了西班牙文化。第二年夏天，我去了西班牙。

At this point I had two years of language instruction under my belt. I was feeling a little more confident, and I was bewitched by the ancient buildings and incredible variety and beauty of the country.

那時(shí)，我有兩年的語(yǔ)言經(jīng)驗(yàn)，這讓我更加自信了，那里古老的建筑、具有的多樣性文化和美景深深地吸引著我。

Shortly after landing in Spain, and jet-lagged, we were taken to Toledo, a walled city with a history of more than 2,000 years. It was the main venue of the court of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and made me feel like I had been transported back in time.

在西班牙著陸后不久，還在倒時(shí)差，我們就被帶到托萊多。托萊多是一座保留了城墻的城市，有2000多年的歷史。這是神圣羅馬皇帝查爾斯五世的宮廷所在地，讓我感覺(jué)自己仿佛被送回那個(gè)時(shí)代。

Traveling to the south, I found myself walking among the exquisite walls of the Alhambra castle in Granada. It was originally built by Islamic rulers called the Moors, who ruled southern Spain for centuries, as a small fortress in the year 889 atop the ruins of Roman fortifications. It eventually became a palace graced by beautiful Arabic architecture.

往南走，我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己走在格拉納達(dá)阿爾罕布拉城堡精美的墻壁之間。它最初是由統(tǒng)治西班牙南部數(shù)百年的伊斯蘭統(tǒng)治者摩爾人(Moors)建造的，作為公元889年的一座小堡壘，矗立在羅馬防御工事的廢墟之上，最終變成了一座阿拉伯式建筑風(fēng)格的美麗宮殿。

I studied in Valencia that summer, as Spain was just beginning to emerge from the Franco years and much poorer than the nation is today.

那年夏天，我在巴倫西亞學(xué)習(xí)，當(dāng)時(shí)西班牙剛剛擺脫佛朗哥統(tǒng)治，經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況無(wú)法與現(xiàn)在相提并論。

Still, after attending a jazz festival in Barcelona, it would have been hard not to see the potential for the future.

不過(guò)，在巴塞羅那參加了爵士音樂(lè)節(jié)之后，不難看出這個(gè)國(guó)家未來(lái)發(fā)展的潛力。

Fast-forward two years, when I had graduated with a major in journalism with a minor in Spanish. With a Rotary Club scholarship in hand, I spent a year studying at the National University of the South in Bahia Blanca, Argentina.

我在校時(shí)主修新聞學(xué)，輔修西班牙語(yǔ)，兩年后就畢業(yè)了。又拿到扶輪社獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金，在阿根廷南方國(guó)立大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)了一年。

I chose Argentina in part because it was far away, at the other end of South America, and very different from any place I had ever been. The nation also was emerging from some hard times – a virtual civil war in the 1970s.

我之所以選擇阿根廷，一定程度上是因?yàn)榘⒏⒃谀厦乐薜牧硪欢?，非常遙遠(yuǎn)，它與我曾經(jīng)去過(guò)的任何地方都非常不同。這個(gè)國(guó)家在20世紀(jì)70年代經(jīng)歷內(nèi)戰(zhàn)，也是從艱難時(shí)期成長(zhǎng)起來(lái)的。

Still, the people were warm and genuine. There was always time for anasado, a gathering to enjoy a delicious selection of succulent pampas beef on the grill.

盡管如此，這里的人們還是熱情而真誠(chéng)。不管多忙，人們總會(huì)抽出時(shí)間聚在一起燒烤，品嘗烤架上美味的潘帕斯牛肉。

Indeed, Argentina had a huge effect on my life. I met my first wife there, and we went on to have three sons. That gave me a permanent connection to the country. We would return seven years later, now with my eldest son Rodrigo, to spend a year in Buenos Aires.

事實(shí)上，阿根廷對(duì)我的生活產(chǎn)生了巨大的影響。在那里我遇到了我的第一任妻子，然后我們有了三個(gè)兒子。這讓我和這個(gè)國(guó)家有了永久的聯(lián)系。那時(shí)我們想七年后回到布宜諾斯艾利斯呆上一年，如今我和長(zhǎng)子羅德里戈一起回來(lái)了。

Even today, the strains of the “Mi Buenos Aires Querido,” (My Beloved Buenos Aires), a 1934 tango performed by legendary singer Carlos Gardel, can cause a lump in my throat. My pronunciation in Spanish still sometimes betrays the time I spent there.

即使到了今天，由傳奇歌手卡洛斯·加德?tīng)?Carlos Gardel)在1934年表演的探戈舞《我親愛(ài)的布宜諾斯艾利斯》，其旋律依然會(huì)讓我哽咽。我的西班牙語(yǔ)發(fā)音有時(shí)還是會(huì)讓我想起我在那里度過(guò)的時(shí)光。

Fast-forward into the new century. My dad and stepmother, like many people in the United States, decided to retire in Panama.

進(jìn)入新世紀(jì)，我的爸爸和繼母，像美國(guó)的許多人一樣，決定在退休之后去巴拿馬養(yǎng)老。

By that time, I had visited many Latin American countries, but never Panama. It's a small country of just 4.2 million people, but one with a great deal of variety, from chilly mountaintops to tropical jungle, from the financial hub of Panama City to gorgeous beaches.

那時(shí)，我已經(jīng)去過(guò)許多拉丁美洲國(guó)家，但從未去過(guò)巴拿馬。這是一個(gè)人口只有420萬(wàn)的小國(guó)，但它不僅風(fēng)景如畫且景色各異，從寒冷的山頂?shù)綗釒擦?，從金融中心巴拿馬城到華麗的海灘。

It's a fascinating, multiethnic country, where indigenous residents still maintain their culture and roots as diverse as those from Africa, Europe and Asia also are celebrated.

這是一個(gè)迷人的多民族國(guó)家，土著居民仍然保留著他們的文化和根，就像來(lái)自非洲、歐洲和亞洲的人們一樣。

In Panama, I also have felt the genuine warmth of the Panamanian people and I see a country on the move. My wife is learning Spanish, and we will be going back.

在巴拿馬，我同樣感受到巴拿馬人民的熱情好客，看到一個(gè)國(guó)家正在向前發(fā)展，我的妻子在學(xué)西班牙語(yǔ)，我們就要回去了。

No country is perfect, of course. But sometimes stepping out into the world and finding the good qualities of others is an amazingly rewarding experience. I highly recommend it.

當(dāng)然，沒(méi)有哪個(gè)國(guó)家是完美的。但是有時(shí)走近世界，發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的美會(huì)給我們帶來(lái)難忘的經(jīng)歷。我希望每個(gè)人都能擁有這種美好的經(jīng)歷。