A few days ago, a friend invited me to an event in Beijing. President Obama’s younger half-brother, Mark, was coming to town and giving a talk at my friend’s university. I hadn’t heard much about Mark, but I vaguely remembered reading something about an Obama in China.
I went to the event without knowing much about him, and figured I probably wouldn’t have many chances to meet this guy. I assumed he had a loose interest in China and was here more for his Chinese wife than anything else.
But I was way wrong.
Mark Obama is a super China dork. An extreme Sinophile. It’s obvious from the minute you meet him that he truly, deeply loves the place. The language, the culture, the people, all of it.
He spoke (in Chinese of course) with a pretty atrocious American accent, but total mastery of vocabulary. He told his story of coming to China and learning Chinese, his perspectives on U.S.-China relations, and most importantly, his advocacy against domestic violence in China and around the world (the Obamas’ father was known to be abusive to each of their mothers and this left a very deep impression on Mark). He was dropping Confucian idioms and references to ancient Chinese literature that went over the heads of many college students in attendance.
If that wasn’t surprising enough, halfway through the talk he got up and said he was going to paint some Chinese calligraphy for us. And he did. Right then and there.I had never seen a foreigner seriously paint Chinese calligraphy before. I’ve tried before and quickly decided that it was utterly impossible. But, against all odds, there was Mark Obama on stage, in a suit, wearing a bandana around his head, writing quite beautiful Chinese calligraphy. He painted a translated version of “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” to the great delight of the student audience.I’m glad I went. I learned that he’s not just in the shadow of his older brother, but actually doing things that he cares about, regardless of where it takes him.As soon as the event ended, a 50-person strong crowd swarmed as if he was actually President Obama. The swarm was too big and I didn’t feel like pushing and shoving for a chance to talk to Mark. I went in the hallway to take a phone call. Soon he was rushed through the hallway on the way to his next event. On his way past, he heard me speaking Chinese and winked at me.
几天前,一个朋友邀请我参加北京的一个活动
殴巴马同父异母的弟弟-Mark，将进城在我朋友的大学演讲. 我对Mark的了解不多， 但我依稀记得读过殴巴马有家人在北京.
我前往这个活动时对他的了解不多, 我想我大概不会有机会碰到这个人. 我以为他对中国没有很大的兴趣而且只想要一个中国老婆.
但我大大的错了.
Mark Obama是一个大大的中国迷. 一个极度喜爱外国文化的人. 很显然的, 第一眼见到他时就知道他真诚深爱这个地方. 语言，文化，当地人，全部他都喜欢. 他说话时（当然是用中文）有很严重的英文腔调, 但是他对生字十分了解. 他说他自己来大陆学中文的故事, 他对美国-中国关系的见解, 最重要的, 他对中国和世界各地家庭暴力的反对.（殴巴马的爸爸会对他们的妈妈施暴, 而这个让Mark留下深刻的印象）。他会说孔子的谚语和提古代中国文学, 这些话甚至当场很多大学学生都听不懂.
如果这样还不够惊人的话，讲话讲到一半时, 他站起来告诉我们他要为我们写书法。他真的当场马上写了书法。
我从来没有看过一位外国人那么认真写书法. 我以前试过, 但很快决定这是不可能的. 但是, 不顾一切, Mark Obama 站在台上，穿着西装, 头上戴着头巾, 写着还蛮美丽的书法. 他写出“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”的中文. 这让底下学生十分愉悦．
我很高兴我去了这个活动. 我学到了他不只是靠他的哥哥, 他真的在做他在乎的事情, 不管在世界那个地方．
活动一结束， ５０人向Mark涌进, 仿佛他真的是殴巴马总统. 人群太多，我不想又推又挤只为了跟Mark讲话. 我去走廊上接一通电话。很快的他匆忙的经过要赶到他下一个活动. 他经过我的时候, 他听到我说中文后对我眨了一下眼睛.