奥巴马肯尼亚“省亲” “就像肯尼迪回到爱尔兰”

There’s excitement on the streets at the president’s visit, which offers a chance to mend strained relations with the west

对于美国总统的这次访问，到处都充满着兴奋的情绪，这是一次缓解与西方国家紧张关系的机会。

The silver-grey walls of the Godown Arts Centre, a sprawling converted car repair warehouse that offers a home to many of Nairobi’s most creative minds, usually feature a rotating cast of murals celebrating sports stars, freedom fighters and screen sirens such as the Oscar-winning Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o.

有着银灰色墙体的内罗毕艺术中心，原先是一个巨大的汽车修理仓库，现在成为了内罗毕最有创意的所在地，通常配有庆祝的体育明星，自由斗士和银幕明星例如获得奥斯卡奖的肯尼亚女演露皮塔·尼永奥的旋转投影壁饰。

In recent weeks all those figures have been overshadowed by the likeness of one man. At the gate a whole section is taken up by a full-face painting of President Barack Obama looking into the distance and wearing a wistful expression.

在最近的几周里，那些所有的人物光环都被同一个人所遮挡。入口处的整块区域都被带有奥巴马总统深邃的目光和沉思的表情的完整脸部绘画所占据。

In the warrens of cubicles in the theatre, the star painting is an acrylic and oil portrait of Obama, seated on a still growing tree in a lime-green jungle, striking the pose of a Roman emperor with his shoeless feet dipping into a stream. “We are very excited about his visit,” says Evans Yegon, 30, who painted the portrait. “We are just curious to see how things will be and we just can’t wait.”

在拥挤的剧场隔间里，最突出的绘画是一幅奥巴马在浅绿色的丛林里坐在一棵正在生长的树上，摆了一个像罗马皇帝一样赤脚伸入溪水里的姿势的油画肖像。“我们对于他的访问感到非常的激动”，这幅画的作者30岁的伊万斯耶贡说道。“我们迫不及待的想要看到事情将会怎样。”

Kenya is in the grip of Obama-mania. For weeks, newspapers have led with numerous articles describing preparations for the trip at the end of the month and analysing its importance. Readers have been inundated with every detail about efforts to keep Obama safe, with tales about his limousine, “a tank on four wheels” (the Star), a favourite.

肯尼亚掀起了奥巴马热的狂潮。数周里，新闻媒体发表了为数众多的文章来描述着这次月底访问的准备工作并且分析它的重要意义。读者们已经被就保证奥巴马的安全所作出的努力的每一个细节和关于他的豪华轿车的传说的报道所淹没。“一部有着四个轮子的坦克”(流传甚广)，最被津津乐道。