主席访问之旅勾起我的记忆 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.

习近平主席最近对欧洲和拉丁美洲的访问勾起了我对往事的怀念，因为他行程中的三个国家——西班牙、阿根廷和巴拿马对我的生活意义都很重大。

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.

大学一年级暑期，我在墨西哥游学时，爱上了西班牙文化。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.

那时，我有两年的语言经验，这让我更加自信了，那里古老的建筑、具有的多样性文化和美景深深地吸引着我。

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.

在西班牙着陆后不久，还在倒时差，我们就被带到托莱多。托莱多是一座保留了城墙的城市，有2000多年的历史。这是神圣罗马皇帝查尔斯五世的宫廷所在地，让我感觉自己仿佛被送回那个时代。

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，我发现自己走在格拉纳达阿尔罕布拉城堡精美的墙壁之间。它最初是由统治西班牙南部数百年的伊斯兰统治者摩尔人(Moors)建造的，作为公元889年的一座小堡垒，矗立在罗马防御工事的废墟之上，最终变成了一座阿拉伯式建筑风格的美丽宫殿。

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，我在巴伦西亚学习，当时西班牙刚刚摆脱佛朗哥统治，经济状况无法与现在相提并论。

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

不过，在巴塞罗那参加了爵士音乐节之后，不难看出这个国家未来发展的潜力。

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.

我在校时主修新闻学，辅修西班牙语，两年后就毕业了。又拿到扶轮社奖学金，在阿根廷南方国立大学学习了一年。

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.

我之所以选择阿根廷，一定程度上是因为阿根廷在南美洲的另一端，非常遥远，它与我曾经去过的任何地方都非常不同。这个国家在20世纪70年代经历内战，也是从艰难时期成长起来的。

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.

尽管如此，这里的人们还是热情而真诚。不管多忙，人们总会抽出时间聚在一起烧烤，品尝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.

事实上，阿根廷对我的生活产生了巨大的影响。在那里我遇到了我的第一任妻子，然后我们有了三个儿子。这让我和这个国家有了永久的联系。那时我们想七年后回到布宜诺斯艾利斯呆上一年，如今我和长子罗德里戈一起回来了。

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，由传奇歌手卡洛斯·加德尔(Carlos Gardel)在1934年表演的探戈舞《我亲爱的布宜诺斯艾利斯》，其旋律依然会让我哽咽。我的西班牙语发音有时还是会让我想起我在那里度过的时光。

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

进入新世纪，我的爸爸和继母，像美国的许多人一样，决定在退休之后去巴拿马养老。

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.

那时，我已经去过许多拉丁美洲国家，但从未去过巴拿马。这是一个人口只有420万的小国，但它不仅风景如画且景色各异，从寒冷的山顶到热带丛林，从金融中心巴拿马城到华丽的海滩。

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.

这是一个迷人的多民族国家，土著居民仍然保留着他们的文化和根，就像来自非洲、欧洲和亚洲的人们一样。

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.

在巴拿马，我同样感受到巴拿马人民的热情好客，看到一个国家正在向前发展，我的妻子在学西班牙语，我们就要回去了。

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.

当然，没有哪个国家是完美的。但是有时走近世界，发现他们的美会给我们带来难忘的经历。我希望每个人都能拥有这种美好的经历。