茶之旅 Tea Journey
For English, please scroll to the bottom. 看英文内容，请直接滚动到底部。
Hello, my friend! 朋友，你好，我是老桑。“7日挑战”活动结束以后，很多朋友都在向我打听我在清华法学院学生节中表演的《茶之旅》朗诵做的怎么样。谢谢大家的关心！对于这次表演，总体来说我还是挺满意的，因为这对于我来说是一个突破。同时，我也十分期待能有下一次机会，我相信我会做的更好。以下是我在学生节中朗诵的视频，欢迎观看，希望你能喜欢！
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=z03973ld9cx&width=500&height=375&auto=0
下面是朗诵的内容：
《茶之旅》
作者：桑国亚
演讲者：桑国亚
各位朋友，大家好。我是老桑。欢迎与我一起回顾我的中国茶之旅，体会我对中国茶文化的赞美和感悟。
我从80年代开始了解中国。我对中国的兴趣源自于我在美国的一位高中老师。从那以后我便无法自拔。90年代在南京大学留过学，这些经历，潜移默化地影响了我的一生。从学生到老师我一直学习中华文化。学，而知不足。那到底是什么吸引我呢？我想，那应该是：
北京雄伟壮观的长城，
西安气势恢宏的兵马俑，
成都悠然自得的熊猫，
山东巍然屹立的泰山，
广州松软香甜的点心，
三峡山清水秀的风景，
上海美轮美奂的外滩，还有
宁夏一望无际的沙漠。
其实， 中国的每一个省我都去过，也发现了有一条主线贯穿其中，那，便是茶。
5000年前，神农发现了茶树。唐代陆羽撰写的《茶经》是茶文化的开山之作，当时的“生煮羹饮”到了宋代变成了“龙团凤饼。” 明代品茶对细节特别讲究，茶饼变成了散茶，之后到了清代各种茶品琳琅满目 。现在56个民族的茶风茶俗百花齐放。
福鼎醇厚爽口的白毫银针，
杭州沁人心脾的西湖龙井，
黄山清香馥郁毛峰，
武夷山橙黄明亮的大红袍，
安息兰花之气的铁观音，
祁门王子香的祁门红茶，
云南独特陈香的普洱茶，
各种茶类，丰富多彩。
茶在我们生活中无所不在，其益处更是无穷无尽。无论是休息放松，还是熬夜加班；无论是想与朋友聚会，还是想独自冥想；无论是在茶楼里沏功夫茶，还是在家中自己冲泡；茶的神奇之处就在于它无时无刻的陪伴，是我们生活中的万能药。
各位朋友，我的茶文化之旅就是我在中国的旅程。学中文20多年的我很开心能够感受那么多中华文化的瑰宝。 茶是国学的精髓，茶文化博大精深，是对世界文化的伟大贡献。我相信，我的中国茶之旅会一辈子与我相随；茶叶也会给每个人带来健康的体魄、亲密的朋友和美好的未来。
谢谢大家。
对于这次朗诵，我心中有许多感受想与你分享。
清华大学大礼堂：法学院学生节活动地点
我对茶文化这个主题非常感兴趣。借助这次表演的机会，我花了很多时间总结我在中国不同的经历，同时，想以我在中国的旅程带给国内外的朋友一些感触与思考。作为一名老师，这就是我本职工作中很重要的一部分：开拓学生的眼界，培养学生的创新意识和能力。
正在迎宾的学生
I didn’t get here by accident（上台演出朗诵并非一日之功），而是我付出了很多时间与精力的结果。换一句话来说，我下定决心并为之努力方能取得这样的成果。我从去年开始做准备，在准备的过程中我不断地思考、修改、调整，经历了反反复复的揣摩和优化。今年2月份，我在费城“四校春晚”中做了第一次表演，之后，结合着第一次表演的反馈，我又在“7日挑战”活动中进行了必要的调整，以迎接第二次在4月份于清华法学院学生节上的演出。实际上，设定和完成任何一个目标就是这么一个过程。
节目主持人同台登场
我最喜欢的中国歇后语之一是：矮子爬楼梯，步步高升。这句话内涵丰富，很贴合我们的生活。结合这件事情来看，虽然我已经做了两次朗诵，并且一次比一次效果好，但是我知道自己还是在爬楼梯的过程中，还要继续往上走，还有变得更好的空间。
“欢迎与我一起回顾我的中国茶之旅”
我把学生节的视频给口才培训班的徐萌老师看了。她说，整体的演讲还是很好的，就是我发音有点往上“飘”。此外，在场的学生也告诉我整体感觉很好，不过节奏有点赶。一些朋友也说应该说的自然一点，不需要那么咬字，朗诵和正常说话应该是差不多一样的。这样大家会听的舒服一点。
“是对世界文化的伟大贡献“
This is very valuable feedback for me（这宝贵的反馈对我非常的重要）。根据这些反馈，我要更多地学标准发声，多练习发音，多请老师帮忙指导。在朗诵中我可能很积极地想要讲很多内容，不过下次我会把部分内容删掉，以便我能有更多时间让语速慢一点。还有，因为朗诵已经做了两次，第三次会更熟悉，可以多注意这样的细节。
学生节的节目表
我为什么要与大家分享这些感受呢？不是为了检讨或自我批评，我只是想给你展示完成一个具体目标所必然需要的步骤。如果我没有做过前两次的朗诵，我无法像今天这样获得这些能促使我进步的信息，不会有继续向上爬楼梯的机会。在学习汉语的楼梯上，原来的我只是站在地上，然而经历了这两次演出，我现在已爬了两级楼梯，我现在也会继续往上看，而不是低头往下。同时，我现在也有了较为具体的如何继续进步的信息，那么便开始设定下一个目标，给自己一个更清楚的方向。
“茶的神奇之处就在于它无时无刻的陪伴”
那，你呢？你最近完成了目标后，有没有发现不如你想象中的理想？不如你原来想象的那么快乐呢？我们一定不要接受这些消极的影响，当然我也包括在内。比如，我现在可以对自己说：“我这次说的不完美。但作为一个汉语非母语的人，我也没有办法，我就只能放弃。”那如果我就这样选择放弃，我真的会感觉快乐吗？我会感到满意吗？相反的，这种消极想法会让我感到灰心和失望，从而变得更加消极，是个恶性循环。
老桑与主持人互动环节
面对这种情况时，更好的态度是先be grateful for what you did well （对自己已经做好的事物心存感激），并且对即将接受的挑战要感到快乐和期待。你已经走的很远，give yourself a pat on the back （给自己一些鼓励）。鼓励自己的同时，也要积极地面对你可以提高的地方，像我一样做一个全面的、客观的分析，根据得出的反馈再做出下一个计划，并往那个方向前进。这就是不断改进自己，促进自己提高的方法。保持正确的观点，相信你自己。你能做得到！
谢谢收看《老桑说》。给你启发，激励你上进，陪伴你坚持。敬请期待下一集。
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请关注我的微信公众号“laosangshuo”并推荐到朋友圈！希望这些内容对大家有所帮助。谢谢！
Hello, my friend! I'm John Smagula. After the 7-Day Challenge, many friends asked how my Tea Journey recitation went at the Tsinghua Law School Student Festival. Thanks for your interest! Overall, I was quite pleased, as this was sure a breakthrough for me. At the same time, I'm looking forward to the next opportunity, as I want to do better. The full video with subtitles is linked above, and a short clip of the ending is below. Please have a look, and I hope you enjoy!
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=z13169gtdwg&width=500&height=375&auto=0
The Tea Journey finale (scroll to top of blog post for full video)
Here is the translation of my recitation:
Tea Journey
written and performed by
John Smagula
Hello, my friends. I'm John Smagula. Welcome to my China tea journey, where I share my experience with Chinese tea.
I started to learn about China in the 1980s. A high school history teacher sparked my interest, and there was no turning back. In the 1990s I studied at Nanjing University. These experiences changed my life. From student to teacher, I have continued to study Chinese culture. The more I learn, the more I realize that there's still so much more to learn. So what is it that attracts me? I think it might be:
The Great Wall in Beijing,
The Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an,
The pandas in Chengdu,
Mount Taishan in Shandong,
Dim sum in Guangzhou,
The scenery of the Three Gorges,
The Bund in Shanghai, and
The deserts of Ningxia.
Actually, I have been to every province in China and found they all have something in common. And that is tea.
5000 years ago, Shennong discovered tea. The Tang Dynasty Classic of Tea became the foundation for tea culture. Raw tea from the Tang Dynasty became brick tea in the Song Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty further refined tea, with brick tea becoming loose tea. By the Qing Dynasty, many types of tea came about. Today, the diverse tea traditions of China's 56 ethnic groups are like 100 flowers in bloom.
Silver-needle white tea from Fuding,
Dragon Well green tea from Hangzhou,
Maofeng green tea from Huangshan,
Big Red Robe oolong tea from Wuyishan,
Iron Buddha oolong tea from Anxi,
Keemun black tea from Qimen,
Pu'erh tea from Yunnan,
There is now a rich and colorful variety of tea.
Tea is ubiquitous and has countless benefits. Whether to rest and relax or work all night, whether to spend time with friends or meditate on your own, whether to perform the tea ceremony or brew at home, tea's mystical quality is that it fits any occasion. It is a panacea for life.
My friends, my tea journey is my China journey. Having studied Chinese for over 20 years, I am fortunate to experience so many Chinese cultural treasures. Tea is the essence of Chinese culture. Tea culture is profound. It is a great contribution to world culture. I believe I will be on this China tea journey for the rest of my life. And tea will bring us all great health, great friends, and a great future.
Thank you, everyone.
After performing this recitation, I'd like to share some thoughts with you.
Tsinghua auditorium the night of the festival
I have great passion for tea culture. I spent a lot of time summing up my various China experiences to create Tea Journey, in hopes that I could inspire friends all over the world. As a teacher, this is an important part of my work: to open the eyes of my students and cultivate their spirit of creativity and innovation.
I didn't get here by accident, as this recitation is the product of many months of hard work. In other words, I was determined to make the effort to achieve a goal. I started preparations last year, doing a lot of thinking, drafting, and revising. Then in February, I performed at the Philadelphia Four-University Chinese New Year Show (UPenn, Temple, Drexel, and St. Joseph's). After receiving some feedback from that presentation, I worked through the 7-Day Challenge to make further adjustments in order to present at the Tsinghua Law School Student Festival. In reality, I set a goal and went for it, and I invited you to be part of the process.
The festival is about to begin
One of my favorite Chinese allegorical sayings is, the short man climbs the stairs, rising higher one step at a time. This saying is rich in meaning and closely related to our lives. In my case, even though I have now performed two recitations, with the second being better than the first, I'm still "climbing the stairs." I have to keep heading up, as there is still so much room for improvement.
I showed the video of my performance to Xu Meng, my teacher at the NewLine public speaking school. She had an overall positive impression, but said that my pronunciation wasn't fully on the mark. Students who attended the festival said they really enjoyed the act, but added that I seemed a bit rushed at times in trying to keep the speech in sync with the video. Some friends said I should speak more naturally up on stage, not forcing things, as there's no need to exaggerate when reciting. If I can do this, they say, I'll leave a better impression on the audience.
"The Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an"
This is very valuable feedback for me. Armed with this information, I now know I need to hit my pronunciation studies hard, practice more, and get more instruction. In this recitation I was so enthusiastic that I tried to say too much, so now I need to remove some content, allowing me to speak slower the next time. When I perform the recitation a third time, I can be focused on these details.
So why am I sharing these thoughts with you? It's not to criticize myself, but rather to demonstrate that we need to take steps toward achieving a goal. If I hadn't done these recitations, I'd never have learned where to improve, and I'd deprive myself of the opportunity to keep "climbing the stairs." On this stairway of studying Chinese, I was originally on the ground floor, and through these performances, I have gone up at least two steps. I need only look up, and not down. On the way I learned some valuable information, set my next goal, and discerned a clearer direction.
"It is a panacea for life"
What about you? After achieving your last goal, did you find the result was not ideal? Did it not make you as happy as you thought it might? Don't listen to these negative voices, and I am also taking my own advice. For example, I could say, "My recitation was not perfect. As a non-native Chinese speaker, I just can't do it. I should just give up." Will choosing to give up make me happier? Will it satisfy me? Quite the contrary. These negative thoughts would cause me to become dispirited and disappointed, which in turn would create a vicious downward spiral.
Speaking with the host after the act
When reflecting on your achievement, a better attitude is to be grateful for what you did well. Be happy that you accepted the challenge. You have already come a long way, so give yourself a pat on the back. While encouraging yourself, also address what you want to improve. And as I did, look at the big picture, do an objective analysis, accept feedback, make your next plan, and keep going. This is how to keep improving yourself and rising higher. Keep the right attitude. Believe in yourself. You can do it!
Thank you for watching me to inspire, encourage, and accompany you. See you next time.