USA Pavilion Official Blog

[世博会美国馆官方博客 | USA Pavilion Official Blog]

USA Pavilion Official Blog

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宝山友谊项目 / Baoshan Friendship Program Posted: 03 Jun 2010 12:42 AM PDT 学生大使冯靖. 一些礼拜之前，我收到了一封来自于学生大使官员名为“城市友谊”的邮件。我那些时候很空闲，所以我决定去参与这个活动，希望能对我的相邻区“宝山”有更多的了解。在到达终点的途中，外国的参观者观看了一部关于宝山的形象宣传片，这是一个位于黄浦江和长江的交汇处的地方。宝山是宝钢的家，宝钢是中国最大的金属企业，它也是一个主要的港口支援着上海的经济发展。从现在到2020年，宝山会更加的城市化并变成一个国际化的船只中心。向北开了1.5个小时的车以后，国际参观者们来到了罗泾城的文化中心。一大群当地的居住者接待了我们妇女微笑着向我们展示她们的传统中国舞蹈。 我们参加了一个欢迎仪式，政府的领导者给予了我们欢迎致词，舞者给我们表演展现了农村人风情风貌，一些很棒的音乐家同时也向我们生动的展示了中国乐器。当欢迎仪式结束时，当地的主人们引导参观者进入了一幢充满着中国民间艺术的大楼，这里面有：剪纸，葫芦雕刻，中国结，中国书法，十字绣，剪影等等….裤袜绣花…我最感兴趣的就是这个裤袜绣花，因为我曾经在商店里看见过并也曾奇怪这是怎么做出来的。 另外，侧影剪纸是最有吸引力的，剪纸大师仅仅只用看一眼被剪着的长相，不到一分钟就能在一张黑纸中剪出一个相像的人影。大师的动作太快了我感到太惊奇了以至于我都没有来得及拿起我的相机。接下来，我们在美兰湖高尔夫宾馆吃了自主午餐。他们为我们提供了饮料，自助餐中的每一个食物都很好吃。在午餐中，我与来自非洲和安提瓜岛的参观者一起交流，但是在整个旅行中，我还会与阿塞拜疆，门的内哥罗以及土耳其的人进行交流。这真是一个令人愉快的国际旅行经历。接着，我们骑车去了罗店城的Wen dao yuan花园。我们在花园中行走，那看起来就像是在参观的过程中得到了解。我们停在了一幢允许游客进去的参观的中国老居住建筑前。 这栋房子有3层。每一间房间里都有1～2个菠萝。当我问导游菠萝的寓意时，他回答说这是一种装饰提示说这幢房子没有被翻新过。我们还参观了一个石头博物馆里面有很多不同种类的石头。一些是很大的光滑的有千年历史的幸运石。还有一些雕刻品是来自于古代。最后，这里的主人在一间茶室再次招待了我们喝茶吃饭。服务员们对我们提供了很多不同的优良待遇，象：松脆的花生涂层串，芝麻饼干，黄油蝴蝶酥，向日葵籽，以及花生。我们喝着很浓的红茶，我觉得这茶的味道像是中国人吃的那种被风干的酸李子。做为此次旅行的总结，宝山的领导又给予了我们感谢来访的感谢词，国际来访者中的一位作为代表也感谢了他们的热情招待。不久之后，我们乘上了回程的巴士回家了。我认为这个“城市友谊”的活动是对于我每天工作之余的一种愉快的放松。尽管我对于其中表演的印象不深（当我在中国旅行并且也看到过许多雷同的表演），但是我还是很喜欢那里的手工艺品，特别是那些已经不为人知的剪纸艺术和传统的民间艺术。还有令我感到很高兴的很满足的就是能吃到那么棒的一顿午餐以及在茶室的小点。尽管我有点失望我们小组在Wendao花园只看了两个重要的景点。希望当Wendao花园完全翻新好了以后能有更多的景点向公众开放。 Baoshan District Friendship Program – by Student Ambassador, Jing Feng A few weeks ago, I received an email from the Student Ambassador Program Officer about a “Town Twinning” (friendship) program. I was free for the day, so I decided to attend this event, hoping to learn more about the nearby city of Baoshan. En route to the destination, the international guests watched an informational video about Baoshan, a city that meets at the intersection of the Huangpu River and the Yangtze River. Baoshan is the home of BaoSteel, China’s largest metals enterprise, and is a major sea port assisting in the economic development of Shanghai. From now until 2020, Baoshan will urbanize and become an international shipping center. After driving 1.5 hours north, the international guests arrived at the Culture Center of Luojing Town. A large procession of residents greeted us and smiling women enchanted us with their traditional Chinese dances. We attended a Welcome Ceremony, where government leaders gave welcome speeches, dancers gave performances depicting people of the countryside, and talented musicians played Chinese instruments in a lively manner. As the Welcome Ceremony ended, the hosts directed guests into a building featuring Chinese folk art, including paper cutting, gourd carvings, Chinese knots, calligraphy, cross-stitching, silhouette cutting, and panty-hose flowers. I was most interested in the panty-hose flowers because I have seen shops selling these and wondered how they were made. Yet, the silhouette cutting demonstration was most impressive – the master of silhouette cutting used only a few glances to look at a subject’s profile, and within a minute, cut a likeness out of black paper. He was so fast that my amazement disabled me from capturing the process with my camera. Subsequently, we had a buffet lunch at the exquisite Meilan Lake Golf Hotel. The servers courteously took drink orders. Furthermore, everything at the buffet was delicious. During lunch, I was able to chat with international guests from Africa and Antigua/Barbados, but throughout the trip, I also spoke with representatives from Azerbaijan, Montenegro, and Turkey. It was an enjoyable international experience. Next, we rode to Wendaoyuan Garden in Luodian Town. We walked around the garden, which seemed to be in construction at the time of the visit. We stopped at an old residence that allowed visitors to see the inside of a Chinese house. This house had three floors and a pineapple or two in each room. When I asked the tour guide about the significance of the pineapples, he replied that it was decoration and mentioned that the house was under renovation.We also explored a stone museum featuring many types of rocks. Some were large, lucky rocks that were smoothed by thousands of years of erosion, while some were sculptures from ancient times. Finally, the hosts fed us again at a tea house. Servers provided various sweet treats, such as crunchy peanut-flour clusters, sesame cookies, buttery butterfly biscuits, sunflower seeds, and peanuts. We drank dark red tea, which I thought tasted like the dried sour plums that Chinese people eat. At the conclusion of this event, the Baoshan leader gave a speech to thank all for coming, and one of the international guests publicly thanked the organizers for their wonderful event. Not too long later, we boarded the bus to return home. I felt that the town twinning event was a fun break from my daily work schedule. Although I was not particularly impressed with the performances (as I have traveled around China and seen quite a few of the same), I was intrigued by the display of handicrafts, especially the lesser-known portrait cutting and gourd carving folk arts. I was also immensely happy (and full) after consuming lunch and tea house snacks. However, I was slightly disappointed that the group only visited two main sites at the Wendao Garden; hopefully, when the garden is almost fully renovated, there will be more sites open to the public. Tweet This! Spring this on 新浪微博 分享到腾讯微博 分享到开心001 Box this on 人人网 分享到Facebook 发到MySpace Post on Google Buzz 添加到Google Reader 发到Identica 分享到del.icio.us Digg this! 提交到Netvibes 发到Diigo Ping this on Ping.fm 订阅这篇文章的评论？

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城市中的美国馆:“根与芽”/ USAP in the City: “Roots & Shoots” Posted: 04 Jun 2010 07:04 PM PDT 学生大使：魏喆人 根与芽组织是一个由著名灵长类学家珍妮古道尔发起的国际知名环保组织，2010年上海世博会中的美国馆与根与芽组织最近联手一项举措，向上海所有在校学生宣传环保理念。该倡议 – 名为“无胶袋运动” – 关于减少使用塑料袋的重点，促进思想，即“一个简单的习惯可以改变许多。 ”来自美国馆的学生大使和一些来自根与芽组织的志愿者共同讲授一个长达半小时的工作方案，教育学生不仅需要注意每天的城市生活中无处不在的塑料袋，同时也用统计和图片描绘方法向学生描述对环境损害所造成的严重性。随后，学生们被要求自己提出的“塑料“瘟疫”解决办法”，解决方案都包括（其中包括）可重复使用的材料，如竹，布袋使用和画布。在过去的两个半星期里，我曾有幸能协调和促进包括四个双倡议在内的研讨会。 这些经验在许多方面是独一无二的（毕竟，这是我第一次用另一种语言教学），在其他尝试（毕竟，这是我第一次在另一种语言…),并最终非常有益的教学（毕竟，这是我第一次在另一种语言教学！）。我很高兴地发现，中国学生已经充分了解环境问题，最尖锐一个例子的是一个10岁孩子给了我们志愿者和他的同伴一人一个一尘不染的白色污染的定义，包括例子和方法，以防止其它组织的反对。然后还有一些高中生，说英语也同样一尘不染，让我们偏离准备PowerPoint演示文稿，而是寻求其他途径的谈话像可持续决策和化学废物的管理和水的处理，一方面是因为他们在对议题进行深入的问题，另一方面还因为我们的志愿者没有依赖中文去回答。然后，给学生有机会在画布上画画，他们可以带回家，并开始发挥他们的想象，他们的个人梦想和表达一些信息。在那天的尾声，一个简短的介绍和布袋绘画真正的动力能否足以改变一个集体的社会问题难以被确定。在另一方面，如果我们教的学生开始少用胶袋，那是有形的，有限的成果。然而，像6月3日我就回答一个人一个类似的问题在我们最后陈述结束的时候，很多时候，便利的店的真正价值就像是便利在于无形。在短时间内，除非我已经错过了我的猜测，不然我们与学生有一个明确无误的度过交流，语言和文化，教学和学习，最重要的是，精神和能量都是实体，那是无法量化的。学生可能不记得有多少吨塑料袋用在上海，或者是填塞区中的百分比由空塑料水瓶消耗了一天，但他们会记得从那么远的他们和他们的朋友之间共享的积极性，我们有热情且都希望能拯救我们的世界。 至少我知道我不会忘记这份热情。 Student Ambassdor: Trevor Andrew Weltman The United States Pavilion at Expo 2010 and Roots and Shoots, the internationally renown environmental advocacy group founded by Jane Goodall, the famous primatologist, recently teamed up on an initiative to teach environmental protection to school children of all ages around Shanghai. The initiative––titled “No Plastic Campaign”––focused on reducing the use of plastic bags, promoting the idea that, “One simple habit can make a BIG difference.” Student Ambassadors from the USA Pavilion and a few Roots and Shoots volunteers co-taught hour and a half long workshops that educated students on not only the ubiquity of plastic bags in everyday city life, but also exposed the students to statistics and pictures depicting the gravity of the environmental harm caused by them. Afterward, students were asked to come up with solutions to the “plastic plague” on their own, solutions that invariably included (amongst others) the use of bags made of more durable and reusable materials, i.e. bamboo, cloth, and canvas. Students were then given the chance to paint their personal sustainable dreams and messages on a canvas bag that they were able to take home and begin making a difference vis-à-vis changing a small habit of their own. Over the last two and a half weeks, I had the privilege and honor of coordinating and facilitating all four of the workshops included in the dual initiative. The experience was unique in many ways (after all, it was my first time ever teaching in another language), trying in others (after all, it was my first time ever teaching in another language…), and ultimately, very rewarding (after all, it was my first time ever teaching in another language!). I was pleased to find out that Chinese students were already well informed about environmental issues— the most poignant example being the ten year old who gave us volunteers and the rest of his peers a spotless definition of white pollution, including examples of and ways to prevent against. And then there were the high school students who’s ability to speak English was equally spotless, allowing for us to depart from the prepared PowerPoint presentation and instead pursue other avenues of conversation, like sustainable policy making and chemical waste management and water processing, both because they had in-depth questions about the topics, and also because we volunteers didn’t have to rely on our Chinese to answer. At the end of the day, it is hard to determine whether or not initiatives like this make a difference—is a short presentation and bag painting really impetus enough to change a collective societal problem? On the one hand, if the students we taught begin using less plastic bags, there are tangible, finite results. However, like I told a journalist on June 3rd  who asked a similar question at the end of our final presentation, often times the true value of workshops like the ones we facilitated lay in the intangible. During the short time we spent with the students there was an unmistakable exchange, one of language and culture, teaching and learning and, most importantly, spirit and energy—entities that are all, unless I’ve missed my guess, unquantifiable.The students may not remember how many tons of plastic bags are used a day in Shanghai, or the percentage of landfill space consumed by empty plastic water bottles, but they will remember the shared enthusiasm between them and their friends from so far away, an enthusiasm typified by the idea of saving the world—our world—together.At least I know I won’t forget that enthusiasm any time soon.

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美国童星瑞恩斯宾塞首次访问美国馆 / Rain Spencer Makes Her Debut at USAP Posted: 07 Jun 2010 12:28 AM PDT 在母亲的陪同下， 美国馆“花园”影片的小明星瑞恩斯宾塞于五月21-26日期间首次访问上海。她亲自到美国馆欢迎来宾， 并与他们分享她主演这部影片的乐趣。这个10岁的小姑娘在这部电影里感动了邻居 跟她同心协力把一块荒凉的空地变成一个美丽持久的社区花园。观众们对她的意外出现大为惊喜。 他们以热烈的掌声欢迎她， 并抢着拍照。  瑞恩斯宾塞兴高采烈地向大家挥手说“你好！” “大家好！”　她还跟许多小粉丝合影，为他们签名留念。　瑞恩斯宾塞活泼可爱，特别喜欢穿粉红色的芭蕾舞裙，她还喜欢体操运动，爱跟影迷合影。　 除了参加介绍美国馆的活动之外，瑞恩斯宾塞还很幸运地参加了欢迎美国国务卿希拉里克林顿访问世博园的特别活动。 当中国儿童及他们的父母在美国馆热烈欢迎希拉里国务卿的时候， 她和母亲也应邀参加， 同时还坐在希拉里国务卿身边。美中两国许多媒体都在场采访了这个历史性的时刻。瑞恩斯宾塞访问美国馆的时候参加了许多媒体活动。她透过媒体向她的粉丝介绍自己的喜好和理想，谈到她如何被选上当“花园” 这部影片的主角。 新华社， 人民日报， 中国新闻网和腾讯网等各大媒体都派记者参加采访活动。当记者们问她是不是跟电影里的主角一样，相信以毅力团结社区群众就可以克服困难，实现理想？她回答说“是的。只要有理想，什么都是可能办到的。”瑞恩斯宾塞在上海时还参观了著名景点和世博园其他国家馆。她参观豫园时， 让剪纸工匠给她剪了个脸部图像。因为她没有中国名字， 所以这个工匠给她取了个中国名字叫“小雨”。 其实她的英文名字“瑞恩”的意思就是“雨”， 所以完全贴切。瑞恩斯宾塞非常喜欢“小雨” 这个中文名字， 特别让工匠给她刻个木头印章。 她开玩笑说以后不用签名了， 只用印章就可以了。 美国馆的工作人员和志愿者非常高兴瑞恩斯宾塞来访。美国馆一个学生大使说出了许多人的共同感受。 他对瑞恩斯宾塞说，“ 我已经看见你在电影里出现过两百多次。 能见到你本人真是太好了。”  更多的小雨新闻： http://www.icshanghai.com/html/2010/05/25/994.html http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2010-05/25/c_12138485.htm http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2010-05/25/content_9887658.htm She performs back flips, tumbles, and cartwheels.  She loves wearing her pink tu-tu and gives big smiles while taking photos with her admirers.  It is that sort of exuberance that is appealing about Rain Spencer, the ten-year-old lead actress of the film “The Garden” of USA Pavilion’s Act II.   Escorted by her mother, Carla Cherry, Rain Spencer visited China for the first time during May 21st – 26th to greet the visitors of the USA Pavilion and share her joy of being the star of “The Garden.”   In the film, Rain plays a young girl who inspires her neighbors to transform a junkyard into a colorful, sustainable community garden.  During her visit, she surprised visitors of the USA Pavilion by making several appearances at the end of Act II.  Audiences were delighted with the surprise appearances.  They welcomed her with applause and snapped photos of the actress.    Rain waved to the crowd and said “Nihao” and “Dajiahao” to greet the audience.  She also took the time to sign autographs for many young fans. Among events promoting the USA Pavilion, Rain had the opportunity to meet with the U.S. Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, during the Secretary’s special visit to the expo.  She and her mother greeted the Secretary along with invited Chinese children and their parents.  American and Chinese media organizations were on site to document the historic moment.  During Rain Spencer’s visit, she participated in numerous media events to introduce herself to her fans and talk about how she was selected to star in the film.  Reporters from major organizations such as Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, China News, and QQ.com talked to her about her hobbies and inspirations.  When asked if she shares her character’s conviction that community involvement and determination will overcome obstacles to realize one’s dream, she responded, “Yes, if you have a dream then anything is possible.”    In Shanghai, Rain had the opportunity to visit other pavilions within the Expo and tour popular destinations.  At the Yu Gardens, an artisan asked for her Chinese name while creating a silhouette cutout of Rain.  When told she did not have one, he gave her the name “小雨” (xiaoyu), which literally means little rain.  The name was a perfect match, so befitting that Rain chose to buy a wood seal with her Chinese name, joking that she would use the seal from hence forward instead of signing her name in English. Staffers and volunteers at the USA Pavilion were delighted with Rain’s visit.  Sharing popular sentiment, a Student Ambassador said to Rain, “I have seen you in the film over 200 times.  It is so nice to see you in person.”     For more information about Rain, click the below links: http://www.icshanghai.com/html/2010/05/25/994.html http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2010-05/25/c_12138485.htm http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2010-05/25/content_9887658.htm

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NBA球员迎凯文-杜兰特和詹姆斯-哈登参观美国馆 / NBA Players Kevin Durant and James Harden pay a visit to the USA Pavilion Posted: 07 Jun 2010 08:32 PM PDT 请关注我们的  Twitter @meiguoguan  与新浪微波 @meiguoguan 以便赢取杜兰特和哈登的奖品 Follow us on Twitter @meiguoguan and Sina Microblog @meiguoguan to win a special Kevin Durant and James Harden prizes

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USA Pavilion Official Blog

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小哈利•康尼克领衔美国国家馆日系列庆典演出活动 / HARRY CONNICK JR ANNOUNCED AS HEADLINE PERFORMER AT EXPO 2010 SHANGHAI Posted: 10 Jun 2010 07:35 PM PDT [2010年6月10日，美国纽约]——上海世博会美国馆今天宣布，美国知名艺人小哈利•康尼克（Harry Connick Jr.）将作为领衔明星，为7月2日世博会美国国家馆日的盛大庆典活动献唱。这将是小哈利•康尼克（Harry Connick Jr.）第三次来沪表演，演出定于7月2日晚8点在世博中心大会堂（红厅）举行。 美国馆总代表费乐友先生(José H. Villarreal)表示：“小哈利•康尼克先生能作为领衔明星参与美国国家馆日庆典活动，我感到十分欣喜。美国馆旨在向全世界推广美国的音乐和文化。小哈利•康尼克近年在国际音乐界的地位稳步上升，他的到来将为美国馆文化推广活动添上浓墨重彩的一笔。” 小哈利•康尼克表示：“我非常荣幸能成为美国国家馆日系列庆典活动的一员，并代表美国音乐界向全世界传递我们的声音。”  关于小哈利•康尼克（Harry Connick Jr.） 过去20年里，多才多艺的小哈利•康尼克成功跻身全球知名艺术家行列。他首先以一名钢琴表演家、歌手及乐队领唱的身份展现在大众面前，之后又登上电影、电视和话剧舞台，成功地让观众们领略到他的才华。在他的演艺生涯中，迄今已获得三次格莱美奖，一次艾美奖，以及两次托尼奖提名。 小哈利•康尼克成长于美国新奥尔良市，5岁便举行个人公演，10岁开始首次录制唱片。哥伦比亚唱片公司（Columbia Records）在他19岁时就为其发布了首张个人同名唱片。小哈利•康尼克迄今共发行了24张专辑，取得了2500万张的销量。据美国唱片业协会（RIAA）统计，小哈利•康尼克已成为美国唱片业个人专辑销量最高的男艺人之一。2009年，由哥伦比亚唱片公司为他录制的最新专辑《Your Songs》收录了小哈利•康尼克14首经典歌曲。 小哈利•康尼克参演的电影有《孟菲斯美女号（Memphis Belle）》、《锦绣童年（Little Man Tate）》、《凶手就在门外（Copycat）》、《独立日（Independence Day）》、《真爱告白（Hope Floats）》、《家有跳狗（My Dog Skip）》、《钢铁巨人（The Iron Giant）》、《缘分餐注定（The Simian Line）》、《附注：我爱你（P.S., I Love You）》、《初来乍到（New in Town）》、《米基（Mickey）》、《千疮百孔（Bug）》和《生存证明（Living Proof）》。 小哈利也曾为多部电影配曲，包括《当哈利遇到萨莉（When Harry Met Sally）》的配乐，并被收录至其第一张超白金唱片，《教父3（The Godfather III）》以及《西雅图夜未眠（Sleepless in Seattle）》。 [New York, NY, June 9, 2010] – The USA Pavilion at Expo 2010 Shanghai announced today that Harry Connick Jr will be the headliner at the USA Pavilion’s exciting National Day Gala performance event. This is Harry Connick Jr’s third performance in Shanghai, China and he will take the Expo 2010 Shanghai’s Red Hall Stage on July 2nd at 8pm.  “I am pleased to welcome Harry Connick Jr. as the headline performer for our National Day. Over the years, he has established himself as a world class musician and actor recognized around the globe. It is especially exciting to host him at the USA Pavilion as we promote greater understanding of American culture and music,” said José H. Villarreal, Commissioner General of the United States of America Pavilion in the Expo 2010 Shanghai. “I am honored to be part of this event, representing some of the great music America has to offer the world,” said Connick. About Harry Connick Jr. Over the past two decades, Harry Connick, Jr. has proven to be among the world’s most successful and multi-talented artists.  While he first reached a mass audience as a pianist, singer and bandleader, his subsequent success in film, television and theatre have secured his place in the public eye as a renaissance man and a versatile entertainer second to none, garnering him three Grammy Awards and an Emmy Award, as well as two Tony Award nominations.  Raised in New Orleans, Connick first performed publicly at age five, appeared on his first recording at age ten and released his self-titled major-label debut on Columbia Records at 19.  Since then he has recorded over 24 albums which have garnered sales of over 25 million, and is ranked among the top best-selling male artists in the United States by the RIAA. His most recent album, “Your Songs,” was released on Columbia Records in 2009, featuring Harry’s versions of 14 classic popular songs.  Film credits include Memphis Belle; Little Man Tate; Copycat; Independence Day; Hope Floats; My Dog Skip; The Iron Giant; The Simian Line; P.S., I Love You; New in Town; Mickey; Bug; and Living Proof.  Connick has contributed music to several films including When Harry Met Sally (leading to his first multiplatinum album), The Godfather III and Sleepless in Seattle..

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美国的国家财富 / The USA’s “National Treasures” Posted: 09 Jun 2010 08:33 PM PDT 学生大使： 高郁晴 在去吃午饭的途中，我不得不通过美国馆的二号通道和三号通道绕回去。我把墨镜落在那里并不想在享用午餐的这四十五分钟里将它丢失。令人意想不到的是，它竟成为我的世博之旅到现在为止最难以忘怀的一次行程。 当我行走在美国馆三号通道（那是美国馆赞助商用于介绍通往更健康生活的创意阶梯。）周围的中国人人群中时，一位中年的男人向我招手示意让我过来，我猜他肯定是想知道在哪才能拿到美国馆的纪念邮票（游客们可以在他们的世博护照上收集各馆的纪念邮票），我按照惯例告诉他将护照翻到第四十四页（如果是棕色的本子则是第22页），然后在集邮票的地方排队。而令我惊奇的是，他询问我美国馆还有没有其他的内容，或是更深层次的内涵。 我照本宣科地说：美国馆由四个部分组成，序曲、美国精神、花园和美国馆赞助商用于介绍通往更健康生活的创意阶梯。他不在意地告诉我他知道这些，他说他很欣赏奥巴马在演讲中提到的中国在国际社会中所起到的日益重要的作用，以及中美为下一代建设美好未来的共同梦想。不仅如此，他对于花园中传递出的人们为了“更好的城市，更好的生活”这一目标的努力表示赞同。但他真正想要了解的，是美国馆还有什么其他的东西想要与中国和世界分享么？往届的世博会向我们展示了电话和电梯，今年的丹麦馆又为我们带来了小美人鱼雕塑。美国馆除了这些先前被提及的理念，还能让我们领略到什么？他问我：“美国馆的镇馆之宝是什么？” “镇馆之宝？我想我们没有带来什么雕塑。” “没有什么东西可以在全世界面前代表美国？” “嗯。。。” “没有么？” “美国馆倒带来了一些与众不同的东西。那些你看到的穿着蓝色或白色的美国馆工作人员，我们是美国的学生大使。” “什么叫学生大使？” “不难看出我们是个多元化的小组。不仅种族是不同的，不仅来自美国的不同地区，我们还拥有者不同的家庭背景。作为美国人，我们懂的如何团队合作并朝着共同的目标努力。在这里，我们的目标就是为来美国馆参观的中国游客留下一段美好的经历。这一理念——不同的人为了” 那个中国男人思索着我的答案。不知道这是不是他想要的答案呢？ “有些国家请中国工作人员来展示自己的国家，但我们美国馆，把美国人带来了。是不同种族不同背景的真实的美国人赋予了我们这个国家的意义。我们学生大使虽然不是名人，但我们可以代表美国。先生，我想说美国馆的宝贝就是我们这些美国的人。” 那位中国男士禁不住笑了，我知道我通过了他的考验。“是啊！美国之所以为美国是因为她的人民。” 接下来，他又说了他在美国馆参观展览时的经历。他说他与各种各样的美国人打了交道，也开了眼界，长了见识——美国的公民来自世界的各个地方，而这个国家竟如此美好而强大。只要大家都有热情，没什么不能解决的。他说，自从他第一次在美国馆前排队、游历了馆内的四个区域开始，他就从学生大使们的热情欢迎中，感受到了我们对美国的热烈情感。 我和那个中国人谈话，谈了15分钟。起先，我以为用我事先准备好的回答，就可以应付他会问的问题；但到了后来，我发现我真的和他谈起了我自己的观点，告诉他我认为是什么让美国与众不同。我希望他能一直记着我们谈话的短暂时光，就像我会永远记住它一样。 他请我在他的笔记本上题点词，于是我用中、英两种语言在上面写道：“Thank you for visiting the USA Pavilion, 谢谢你来美国馆.。-Amy.”这对我来说算是举手之劳，但是他微笑着告诉我，他会永远留存这句来自美国的珍贵题词。临别时，他对我说，美国馆的学生大使们真是美国馆的“国家宝藏”，甚至可以说，是美国的“国家宝藏”。 Student Ambassador: Amy Kao I was on my way to my lunch break when I had to make a detour back through to the USA Pavilion’s Act II and Act III.  I had forgotten my sunglasses and didn’t want them to go missing within the 45 minutes that I had for lunch.  However, it turned out to be one of the most memorable detours of my Expo experience so far. As I make my way through the crowd of Chinese people walking around in the USA Pavilion’s Act III (an area for our Pavilion sponsors to showcase the innovative steps they are taking to creating a healthier future), a middle aged Chinese man waves for me to come over to him.  Thinking that he wanted to know where he could get a USA Pavilion souvenir stamp (guests can “collect” stamps from the pavilions they visit in a souvenir passport), I automatically ask him to please turn his Expo passport to page 44 and to line up near the stamping table.  Page 22 if he had the big brown book.  Instead, he surprises me by saying that he wanted to ask me more about our Pavilion and its contents. I recite to him the answer I usually give to our Chinese guests: The USA Pavilion consists of four parts, the Overture, The Spirit of America, The Garden and the final section where our Pavilion sponsors share the steps they are taking to creating a healthier and better future.  He casually waves my answer away saying that he knows all that already. He adds that he thought Obama’s speech in The Spirit of America was respectful in recognizing the importance of China’s rise in the “community of nations” and the shared dreams between Americans and Chinese in a better future for our children.  He also thought the message in The Garden was nice; people working together towards the common goal of “better city, better life.”  But what he really wanted to know was, was there more the USA wanted to share with the Chinese and with the rest of the world? Past world expos had introduced the telephone and the elevator, this year Denmark brought their Little Mermaid statue to showcase in their own national pavilion.  Besides the American ideas that had been shared earlier, what else could the USA Pavilion offer?  Where was, he asked, the USA Pavilion’s “national treasure” 美国馆的国家宝? “National treasure? Well … we didn’t exactly bring any statues with us to China …” “Nothing the USA can show to the world and be able to say this is what represents the USA?” “umm…” “No ‘national treasure’ 没有吗?” “Well, the Pavilion did bring over from the USA many representations of what makes the USA so unique.  If you look around and see all the USA Pavilion staff that wear either the blue or white shirts, well, we’re all American student ambassadors.” “What does that mean 什么意思?” “You can see that we’re a very diverse group.  Not only are we ethnically diverse, we all also come from different parts of the United States.  But even with our different heritages and backgrounds, as Americans, we all understand the importance of working together towards a common goal. Here, our common goal is to provide a positive experience at the USA Pavilion for our Chinese guests. And this idea, that a country built by people from all around the world can put aside differences and find similarities, is what makes the United States so special and unique.” The Chinese man thinks about what I have just said.  Was this the answer he was expecting? “Some countries may have hired local Chinese to represent their country, but we brought real Americans to represent our country.  Real Americans from various ethnicities and heritages that together give our country its identity. We student ambassadors may not be famous but we still represent the United States. Sir, I will say that the USA Pavilion’s “national treasure” is its American people.” The Chinese man breaks into a smile and I knew that I had successfully passed his test. “真好! Good!  That really is what makes the USA so unique. The people.” He then went on to tell me how his experience at the USA Pavilion of going through the shows and exhibits and interacting with various Americans had opened his eyes to how wonderful and strong a country could be even if all its citizens originated from different parts of the world.  All we need is a common passion to join us together.  He said he could feel our passion for the United States just from the warm welcome he had experienced from student ambassadors, from when he first queued up and through all four parts of the Pavilion. The conversation I had with the Chinese man lasted for about 15 minutes. What I thought would be just another question that could be answered with a prepared response turned out to be one that allowed me to really share with someone my perspective of what makes the United States a unique country.  I hope that the short time I had spent talking to him stays with him just as it will stay with me. He asked me to write in his notebook and so I write a short message in English and Chinese, “Thank you for visiting the USA Pavilion, 谢谢你来美国馆. -Amy.”  Something so simple for me to do, but he smiled and said that he would keep it as a treasured message that came from the United States. His final parting words to me: The USA Pavilion’s student ambassadors are the Pavilion’s “national treasure” and by extension also the “national treasures” of the United States.

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