One woman, eight hilarious characters | Sarah Jones

Translator: Ereblir Kadriu Reviewer: Helena Bedalli

I should tell you that when I was asked to be here,

Duhet t'ju them se kur mu kerkua te vij ketu

I thought to myself that well, it's TED.

Fillova te mendoj, eshte TED

And these TEDsters are -- you know, as innocent as that name sounds --

dhe keta TED-istat, sic e dini, jane te pafajshem ashtu sic tingellon edhe emri i tyre

these are the philanthropists and artists and scientists who sort of shape our world.

kete jane filantropistet dhe artistet dhe shkenctaret te cilet rregullojne boten.

And what could I possibly have to say that would be distinguished enough

Edhe cka mund te them une qe do te ishte speciale

to justify my participation in something like that?

per te justifikuar pjesemarrjen time ne dicka si kjo?

And so I thought perhaps a really civilized-sounding British accent

Edhe fillova te mendoj, thash, ndoshta nje aksent civilizues britanik

might help things a bit.

mund te me ndihmoje pak

And then I thought no, no. I should just get up there and be myself

Por pastaj mendova, jo, jo. Une vetem duhet te dal aty dhe te jem vetja

and just talk the way I really talk

edhe vetem te flas ne menyren se si flas me te vertete

because, after all, this is the great unveiling.

sepse, fundi i fundit, ky eshte nje zbulim i mire.

And so I thought I'd come up here and unveil my real voice to you.

Dhe keshtu Une mendova te vij ketu dhe te zbuloj zerin tim te vertete.

Although many of you already know that I do speak the Queen's English

Edhepse shume prej jush tanime e dini qe une flas anglishten e Queen

because I am from Queens, New York.

sepse une jam nga Queens, New York.

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura)

But the theme of this session, of course, is invention.

Por tema e ketij sesioni, sigurisht , qe eshte shpikja.

And while I don't have any patents that I'm aware of,

Dhe perderisa une nuk kam asnje privilegj qe jam i vetdijshem,

you will be meeting a few of my inventions today.

ju do te njiheni me disa prej shpikjeve te mija sot.

I suppose it's fair to say

Dhe supozoj qe eshte e drejte te them

that I am interested in the invention of self or selves.

qe une jam e interesuar ne zbulimin e vetes.

We're all born into certain circumstances with particular physical traits,

Ne te gjithe kemi lindur ne kushte te caktuara me tipare te veçanta fizike,

unique developmental experiences, geographical and historical contexts.

eksperienca te zhvilluara unike, kontekste gjeografike dhe historike.

But then what?

Po cka pastaj?

To what extent do we self-construct, do we self-invent?

Deri ne cfare niveli ne vet-krijojme, vet- zbulojme?

How do we self-identify and how mutable is that identity?

Si vet-identifikohemi dhe sa i ndryshueshem eshte ai identitet?

Like, what if one could be anyone at any time?

Po nese dikush mund te jete cdokush ne cdo kohe?

Well my characters, like the ones in my shows,

Personazhet e mija, si ne shfaqjet e mia,

allow me to play with the spaces between those questions.

me lejojne te luaj me zbraztirat ne mes ketyre pyetjeve.

And so I've brought a couple of them with me.

Dhe i kam sjelle disa prej tyre me mua.

And well, they're very excited.

Ato jane shume te ngazellyera.

What I should tell you --

Cka duhet t'ju them juve--

what I should tell you is that they've each prepared their own little TED talks.

cka duhet t'ju them juve eshte se secila prej tyre ka pergatitur fjalimin per TED.

So feel free to think of this as Sarah University.

Pra mendoni per kete si Universiteti i Sarah

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura)

Okay. Okay. Oh, well.

Ne rregull. Ne rregul. Oh, mire

Oh, wonderful.

Oh, mrekulli

Good evening everybody.

Mirembrema te gjitheve.

Thank you so very much for having me here today.

Faleminderit shume qe me keni ftuar sot.

Ah, thank you very much. My name is Lorraine Levine.

Ah, faleminderit shume. Une quhem Loraine Levine.

Oh my! There's so many of you.

Oh! Jeni shume.

Hi sweetheart. Okay.

Pershendetje zemer. Ne rregull.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

Anyway, I am here because of a young girl, Sarah Jones.

Une jam ketu per shkak te nje vajze te re, Sarah Jones.

She's a very nice, young black girl.

Ajo eshte nje vajze e mire, e re , zezake.

Well you know, she calls herself black --

Ajo e quan veten te zeze,

she's really more like a caramel color if you look at her.

ajo me shume eshte ngjyre karrameli nese e shikoni ate.

But anyway.

Por sido qe te jete.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

She has me here because she puts me in her show,

ajo me ftoi ketu sepse me ka futur shfaqjen e saj,

what she calls her one-woman show.

cka ajo e quan spektakel te nje gruaje.

And you know what that means, of course.

Dhe ju e dini se cka do te thote kjo, sigurisht

That means she takes the credit and then makes us come out here and do all the work.

Kjo do te thote ajo merr levdatat dhe pastaj na detyron ne te vime ketu dhe te bejme te gjithe punen.

But I don't mind.

Por une nuk e kam problem.

Frankly, I'm kvelling just to be here

Sinqerisht, une gezohem te jem ketu.

with all the luminaries you have attending something like this, you know.

me te gjithe te nderuarit si ju, qe merrni pjese ketu,

Really, it's amazing.

Me te vertet, eshte e mrekullushme.

Not only, of course, the scientists and all the wonderful giants of the industries

Jo vetem, shkencetaret dhe te gjithe gjigantet e mrekullushem te industrise

but the celebrities.

por edhe njerezit e famshem.

There are so many celebrities running around here.

Ka shume njerez te famshem qe sillen ketej rrotull.

I saw -- Glenn Close I saw earlier. I love her.

E pashe-- Glenn Close e pashe pak me pare. Ajo me pelqen.

And she was getting a yogurt in the Google cafe.

Ajo po blinte nje kos ne kafe Google.

Isn't that adorable?

A nuk eshte e adhurushme.

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura)

So many others you see, they're just wonderful.

Shume te tjere qe shihni, ata jane thjesht te mrekullushem.

It's lovely to know they're concerned, you know.

Eshte kendshem te dish se ata shqetsohen.

And -- oh, I saw Goldie Hawn.

Dhe -- oh, une pashe Goldie Hawn.

Oh, Goldie Hawn. I love her, too; she's wonderful. Yeah.

Oh, Goldie Hawn. Po ashtu me pelqen; eshte e mrekullushme.

You know, she's only half Jewish.

E dini, ajo eshte gjysme cifute.

Did you know that about her?

A e keni ditur kete per te?

Yeah. But even so, a wonderful talent. (Laughter)

Po. Por megjithate, nje talent i mrekullushem.

And I -- you know, when I saw her, such a wonderful feeling.

Dhe kur e pash, ishte nje ndjenje e mrekullushme.

Yeah, she's lovely.

Po, ajo eshte e kendshme.

But anyway, I should have started by saying just how lucky I feel.

Por sidoqofte. Duhet te kisha filluar duke thene se sa me fat po ndihem.

It's such an eye-opening experience to be here.

Eshte nje eksperience e jashtezakonshme qe jam ketu.

You're all so responsible for this world that we live in today.

Te gjithe ju jeni te pergjegjshem per kete bote qe ne e jetojme sot.

You know, I couldn't have dreamed of such a thing as a young girl.

Ju e dini, une si nje vajze e re nuk do te mund te enderroja per nje gje te tille.

And you've all made these advancements happen in such a short time --

Dhe te gjithe ju keni bere keto perparime te ndodhin ne nje kohe aq te shkurter.

you're all so young.

Ju te gjithe jeni te rinj.

You know, your parents must be very proud.

E dini, prinderit tuaj duhet te jene shume krenare.

But I -- I also appreciate the diversity that you have here.

Por une-- Une gjithashtu vleresoj diversitetin qe keni ketu.

I noticed it's very multicultural.

E verejta, eshte shume multikultural.

You know, when you're standing up here, you can see all the different people.

Shikoni, kur qendroni ketu lart, ju mund te shihni gjithe njerezit e ndryshem.

It's like a rainbow.

Eshte si nje ylber.

It's okay to say rainbow. Yeah.

A mund te them ylber. Po

I just -- I can't keep up with whether you can say, you know, the different things.

Nuk po mundem t'i mbaj mend te gjitha cka mund te thuash e cka jo

What are you allowed to say or not say?

Cka ju lejohet te thuhet e cka te mos thuhet?

I just -- I don't want to offend anybody. You know.

Une thjesht-- nuk dua te ofendoj askend.

But anyway, you know,

Por sidoqofte, e dini,

I just think that to be here with all of you

Une mendoj se te jem ketu me te gjithe ju

accomplished young people --

njerez te rinj te permbushur,

literally, some of you, the architects building our brighter future.

ne kuptim e plote te fjales, disa prej jush, arkitektet e ardhmja jone e ndritshme.

You know, it's heartening to me.

Ju e dini, eshte inkurajuese per mua.

Even though, quite frankly, some of your presentations are horrifying,

Edhe pse, sinqerisht, disa prej prezantimeve tuaja jane tmerruese.

absolutely horrifying.

absolutisht tmerruese.

It's true. It's true.

Eshte e vertete. Eshte e vertete.

You know, between the environmental degradation

E dini, midis degradimit te ambjentit

and the crashing of the world markets you're talking about.

dhe deshtimit te tregtise boterore qe ju po flisni.

And of course, we know it's all because of the -- all the ...

Dhe sigurisht, ne e dime se e gjitha eshte per shkak te -- e gjitha....

Well, I don't know how else to say it to you, so I'll just say it my way:

Mire, Une nuk e di se si t'ua them juve ndryshe, pra une do ta them ne menyren time.

the ganeyvish schticklich coming from the governments and the, you know,

ganeyvish tetikeyt qe vine nga qeveria dhe nga, e dini,

the bankers and the Wall Street. You know it.

nga bankieret dhe Wall Street. Ju e dini.

Anyway.

Sidoqofte.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

The point is, I'm happy somebody has practical ideas

Çështja është, jam e lumtur qe dikush ka ide praktike

to get us out of this mess.

per te na nxjerre nga kjo bela.

So I salute each of you and your stellar achievements.

Pra une pershendes secilin prej jush dhe arritjet tuaja yjore.

Thank you for all that you do.

Faleminderit per te gjitha qe keni bere.

And congratulations on being such big makhers that you've become TED meisters.

dhe urime qe jeni "krijues ndryshimesh" dhe jeni bere TED-ista.

So, happy continued success.

Pra, paci sukses te lumtur të vazhdueshem.

Congratulations. Mazel tov.

Pergezime.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

Hi. Hi.

Tungjatjeta.

Thank you everybody.

Faleminderit te gjitheve.

Sorry, this is such a wonderful opportunity and everything, to be here right now.

Me falni, kjo eshte nje mundesi e mrekullushme, te jem tani ketu.

My name is Noraida. And I'm just --

Une quhem Noriada. Dhe une jam thjesht---

I'm so thrilled to be part of like your TED conference

Jam shume e kenaqur qe jam pjese e konferences TED

that you're doing and everything like that.

qe po beni dhe cdo gje tjeter si kjo.

I am Dominican-American.

Une jam Amerikane Domenikane.

Actually, you could say I grew up in the capital of Dominican Republic,

Aktualisht, mund te thoni une u rrita ne kryeqytetin e Republikes Domenikane,

otherwise known as Washington Heights in New York City.

perndryshe e njohur si Washington Heights ne qytetin e New York.

But I don't know if there's any other Dominican people here,

Por une nuk e di nese ka te tjere njerez Domeikan ketu,

but I know that Juan Enriquez, he was here yesterday.

por e di se Juan Enriquez, ai ishe ketu dje.

And I think he's Mexican, so that's --

Dhe mendoj qe ai eshte Meksikan, pra kjo eshte--

honestly, that's close enough for me right now. So --

sinqerisht, eshte mjaft afer me mua, tani. Pra--

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura)

I just -- I'm sorry.

Me vjen keq.

I'm just trying not to be nervous because this is

Une thjesht po mundohem te mos behem nervoze sepse kjo eshte

a very wonderful experience for me and everything.

nje eksperience e mrekullushme per mua dhe gjithcka.

And I just -- you know I'm not used to doing the public speaking.

Dhe une thjesht-- shikoni une nuk jam mesuar te flas ne publik.

And whenever I get nervous I start to talk really fast.

Dhe kurdo qe behem nervoze une filloj te flas shume shpejt.

Nobody can understand nothing I'm saying, which is very frustrating for me,

Askush nuk kupton ate qe une jam duke thene, gje qe eshte shume irrituese per mua,

as you can imagine.

sic mund ta imagjinoni.

I usually have to just like try to calm down and take a deep breath.

Une zakonisht duhet thjesht te qetesohem dhe te marr fryme thelle.

But then on top of that, you know, Sarah Jones told me we only have 18 minutes.

Por pervec kesaj, Sarah Jones me tha ne kemi vete 18 minuta.

So then I'm like, should I be nervous, you know, because maybe it's better.

Keshtuqe une them, a duhet te behem nervoz, sepse ndoshta eshte me mie.

And I'm just trying not to panic and freak out. So I like, take a deep breath.

Dhe une po mundohem te mos bej panik dhe te mos trullosem.Keshtu marr fryme thelle.

Okay. Sorry. So anyway, what I was trying to say is that I really love TED.

Ne rregull. Me fani. Pra sidoqofte, cka po tentoja t'ju thoja eshte se une me te vertete e dua TED.

Like, I love everything about this. It's amazing.

Sikurse, me pelqen cdo gje rreth kesaj, Eshte mahnitese.

Like, it's -- I can't get over this right now.

Sic , eshte-- Une nuk mund ta tejkaloj tani per tani.

And, like, people would not believe, seriously, where I'm from,

Njerezit nuk do ta besonin, seriozisht, andej nga jam une,

that this even exists.

kjo gje as qe ekziston.

You know, like even, I mean I love like the name, the -- TED.

E dini, madje sikur, mendoj me pelqen emri , TED.

I mean I know it's a real person and everything, but I'm just saying that like,

Mendoj e di qe eshte person i vertet dhe gjithcka, por une thjesht jam duke thene qe sikur,

you know, I think it's very cool how it's also an acronym, you know,

e dini, une mendoj qe eshte shume i lezecem se si gjithashtu eshte nje akronim,

which is like, you know, is like very high concept and everything like that.

i cili eshte sikur, eshte si koncept shume i larte dhe gjithcka tjeter.

I like that.

Me pelqen kjo.

And actually, I can relate to the whole like acronym thing and everything.

Dhe ne fakt, une mund te bej lidhjen me punen e akronimise dhe cdo gje.

Because, actually, I'm a sophomore at college right now.

Sepse, aktualisht, jam studente e vitit te dyte ne kolegj tani.

At my school -- actually I was part of co-founding an organization,

Ne shkollen time-- aktualisht mora pjese ne krijimin e nje organizate,

which is like a leadership thing,

qe eshte si nje grup drejtues,

you know, like you guys, you would really like it and everything.

ju me te vertete do te ju pelqente.

And the organization is called DA BOMB,

Dhe organizata quhet DA BOMB,

A\and DA BOMB -- not like what you guys can build and everything --

Dhe DA BOMB-- jo sikur cka ju djema mund te ndertoni--

it's like, DA BOMB, it means like Dominican -- it's an acronym --

Eshte si, DA BOMB, do te thote Domenikan-- eshte nje akronim--

Dominican-American Benevolent Organization for Mothers and Babies.

Organizata Dashamirese Domenicane Amerikane per Nenat dhe Femjet.

So, I know, see, like the name is like a little bit long,

Pra, e di, qe emri eshte paksa i gjate,

but with the war on terror and everything,

por me tmerrin e luftes dhe gjithcka,

the Dean of Student Activities has asked us to stop saying DA BOMB

Dekani i Aktivitetve te Studenteve na ka kerkuar neve te mos themi DA BOMB

and use the whole thing so nobody would get the wrong idea, whatever.

dhe te perdorim emrin ne teresi keshtuqe askush nuk do te kete ide te gabuar, sidoqofte.

So, basically like DA BOMB --

Keshtu, ne parim si DA BOMB--

what Dominican-American Benevolent Organization for Mothers and Babies does

cfare ben Organizata Dashamirese Domenicane Amerikane per Nenat dhe Femjet.

is, basically, we try to advocate for students who show a lot of academic promise

ne parim, ne tentojme te perkrahim studentet te cilet shfaqin premtime te shumta akademike

and who also happen to be mothers like me.

dhe te cilat gjithashtu gjasojne te jene nena si une.

I am a working mother, and I also go to school full-time.

Une jam nje nene qe punoj, dhe po ashtu shkoj ne shkolle me orar te plote.

And, you know, it's like -- it's so important to have like role models out there.

Dhe, e dini, eshte shume e rendesishme te kemi modele te hapura.

I mean, I know sometimes our lifestyles are very different, whatever.

Po mendoj, e di qe nganjehere stilet e jetes tone jane shume te ndryshme, sidoqofte.

But like even at my job -- like, I just got promoted.

Por madje si te puna ime--, Une sapo u promovova.

Right now it's very exciting actually for me

Per momentin eshte shume ngazellyese per mua

because I'm the Junior Assistant to the Associate Director

sepse une jam Asistente e Re e Drejtorit

under the Senior Vice President for Business Development --

nen Zevendesit se Presidentit per Zhvillim te Biznesit.

that's my new title.

Ky eshte titulli im i ri.

So, but I think whether you own your own company or you're just starting out like me,

Keshtu, por une mendoj nese ke kompanine tende ose ke filluar keshtu si une,

like something like this is so vital

sikur dicka si kjo eshte shume jetesore

for people to just continue expanding their minds and learning.

per njerezit qe te vazhdojne te zgjerojne mendjet e tyre dhe mesojne.

And if everybody, like all people really had access to that,

Dhe nese te gjithe, sikur te gjithe njerezit te kishin qasje ne te,

it would be a very different world out there, as I know you know.

bota do te ishte ndryshe, sic mendoj qe e dini.

So, I think all people, we need that,

Pra, une mendoj te gjithe njerezit, na duhet

but especially, I look at people like me, you know like,

por vecanerisht, njerezit si une, e dini si,

I mean, Latinos -- we're about to be the majority, in like two weeks.

Po mendoj, Latinet, ne jemi duke u bere mazhorance, ne perafersiht dy jave.

So, we deserve just as much to be part of the exchange of ideas as everybody else.

Keshtu, ne meritojme po aq te jemi pjese e shkembimit te ideve si gjithe te tjeret.

So, I'm very happy that you're, you know, doing this kind of thing,

Keshtuqe, une jam shume e gezuar per keto gjera,

making the talks available online.

mundesimi i fjalimeve online.

That's very good. I love that.

Kjo eshte shume mire. Me pelqen.

And I just -- I love you guys. I love TED.

Dhe une thjesht-- Ju dua te gjitheve. E dua TED.

And if you don't mind, privately now, in the future, I'm going to think of TED

Dhe nese s'keni kundershtim, personalisht, ne te ardhmen, do te mendoj rreth TED

as an acronym for Technology, Entertainment and Dominicans.

si nje akronimi per Teknologji, Argetim dhe Domenikanet.

Thank you very much.

Faleminderit shume.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

(Applause)

( Duartrokitje)

So, that was Noraida,

Pra, ajo ishte Noraida,

and just like Lorraine and everybody else you're meeting today,

dhe sikurse Loraine dhe gjithe te tjerat qe po takoni sot,

these are folks who are based on real people from my real life:

keta jane njerez te cilet bazohen ne njerez te vertete nga jeta ime.

friends, neighbors, family members.

Shoqe, komshije, anetare te familjes.

I come from a multicultural family.

Une vij nga nje familje multikulturore.

In fact, the older lady you just met:

Ne fakt, gruaja e vjeter qe posa e takuat,

very, very loosely based on a great aunt on my mother's side.

eshte bazuar shume, shume mbi nje teze nga ana e nenes.

It's a long story, believe me.

Eshte histori e gjate, me besoni.

But on top of my family background,

Por pervecse familjes time,

my parents also sent me to the United Nations school,

prinderit e mi po ashtu me derguan ne shkollen e Kombeve te Bashkuara,

where I encountered a plethora of new characters,

ku u takova me nje bollek personazhesh te reja

including Alexandre, my French teacher, okay.

duke perfshire Alexandre, mesuesen time te frengjishtes.

Well, you know, it was beginner French, that I am taking with her, you know.

E pra, e dini, isha fillestare ne frengjisht.

And it was Madame Bousson, you know, she was very [French].

Dhe ishte Madame Bousson, ajo ishte shume (Franceze).

It was like, you know, she was there in the class,

Ishte sikur, ishte aty ne klase,

you know, she was kind of typically French.

ajo ishte disi si franceze tipike

You know, she was very chic, but she was very filled with ennui, you know.

Ajo ishte shume shik, por ishte shume e mbushur me merzi.

And she would be there, you know, kind of talking with the class, you know,

Dhe ajo ishte aty, e dini, disi duke folur me klasen,

talking about the, you know, the existential futility of life, you know.

duke folur per, per kotesine e jetes ekszistenciale.

And we were only 11 years old, so it was not appropriate. (Laughter)

Dhe ne ishim vetem 11 vjec, pra nuk ishte e pershtatshme.

But [German].

Por ( German).

Yes, I took German for three years, [German],

Po, une mesova gjermanisht per 3 vjet, ( Gjermanisht)

and it was quite the experience because I was the only black girl in the class,

dhe ishte nje eksperience sepse une isha e vetmja vajze e zeze ne klase,

even in the UN school.

bile edhe ne shkollen e KB.

Although, you know, it was wonderful.

Ndonese, ishte e mrekullueshme.

The teacher, Herr Schtopf, he never discriminated.

Mesuesi, Z. Schtopf, ai kurre s'ka diskriminuar.

Never. He always, always treated each of us,

Kurre. Ai gjithmone, gjithmone na ka trajtuar secilin prej nesh,

you know, equally unbearably during the class.

bararizisht ne menyre te padurueshme gjate mesimit.

So, there were the teachers and then there were my friends,

Keshtuqe,ishin mesuesit dhe pastaj ishin shoqeria ime,

classmates from everywhere,

shoqeria e klases nga gjithe bota.

many of whom are still dear friends to this day.

Shume prej tyre akoma jane shoke te dashur edhe keto dite.

And they've inspired many characters as well.

Ata kane inspiruar shume karaktere po ashtu.

For example, a friend of mine.

Per shembull, nje shoqja ime.

Well, I just wanted to quickly say good evening.

Une deshiroj t'ju them mirembrema shpejt e shpejt.

My name is Praveen Manvi and thank you very much for this opportunity.

Une quhem Praveen Manvi dhe ju faleminderoj shume per kete mundesi.

Of course, TED, the reputation precedes itself all over the world.

Sigurisht, TED, reputacionin qe percjell ne vetevete ne mbare boten.

But, you know, I am originally from India,

Por, jam me origjine nga India,

and I wanted to start by telling you

dhe deshiroj te filloj duke ju treguar

that once Sarah Jones told me that we will be having the opportunity

se njehere Sarah Jones me tregoi se ne do te kemi mundesine

to come here to TED in California,

te vime ketu ne TED ne Kaliforni,

originally, I was very pleased and, frankly, relieved

fillimisht, une isha shume e kenaqur dhe, sinqerisht, e cliruar

because, you know, I am a human rights advocate.

sepse, une jam nje avokat per te drejtat e njeriut.

And usually my work, it takes me to Washington D.C.

Dhe zakonisht puna ime, me sjell ne Washington D.C.

And there, I must attend these meetings, mingling with some tiresome politicians,

Dhe atje , une duhet te marr pjese ne mbledhje, e te shoqerohem me politikane te merzitshem,

trying to make me feel comfortable

qe tentojne te me bejne te ndihem mire

by telling how often they are eating the curry in Georgetown. (Laughter)

duke me treguar sa shpesh ata hane ushqim indian ne Georgetownn.

So, you can just imagine -- right.

Pra, thjesht mund ta imagjinoni-- apo jo.

So, but I'm thrilled to be joining all of you here.

Prandaj, jam e ngazllyer qe po ju takoj ju te gjithe ketu.

I wish we had more time together, but that's for another time. Okay? Great.

Do te doja te kishim me shume kohe se bashku, por kjo eshte per nje here tjeter. Ne rregull? Mrekulli.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

And, sadly, I don't think we'll have time for you to meet everybody I brought, but --

Dhe, sa keq, nuk mendoj se do te kemi kohe per ju te takoni te gjithe ata qe i kam marr me vete,por--

I'm trying to behave myself,

Po mundohem te sillem mire.

it's my first time here.

Eshte hera e pare ketu.

But I do want to introduce you to a couple of folks you may recognize,

Por dua t'ju prezantoj disa njerez qe ju mund t'i njihni,

if you saw "Bridge and Tunnel."

nese keni pare " Bridge and Tunnel."(ure dhe tunel)

Uh, well, thank you.

Uh, mire, faleminderit.

Good evening.

Mirembrema.

My name is Pauline Ning,

Une quhem Pauline Ning,

and first I want to tell you that I'm --

dhe se pari deshiroj t'ju tregoj se une jam--

of course I am a member of the Chinese community in New York.

sigurisht une jam anetare e komunitetit Kinez ne New York.

But when Sarah Jones asked me to please come to TED,

Por kur Sarah Jones me kerkoi te vija ne TED,

I said, well, you know, first, I don't know that, you know --

Une thashe, mire, se pari, nuk e di, ju e dini-

before two years ago, you would not find me in front of an audience of people,

para dy vjeteve, nuk mund te me shikonit para nje audience njerezish,

much less like this

shume me pak se kjo

because I did not like to give speeches

sepse nuk me pelqente te mbaja fjalime

because I feel that, as an immigrant, I do not have good English skills for speaking.

sepse ndjej se, si nje imigrant, une nuk kam aftesi te mire te te folurit Anglisht.

But then, I decided, just like Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,

Por pastaj, vendosa, pikerisht si Guvernatori Arnold Schwartzengger,

I try anyway.

Po provoj dosido.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

My daughter -- my daughter wrote that,

Vajza ime-- vajza ime e shkroi ate,

she told me, "Always start your speech with humor."

ajo me tha , " Gjithmone fillo fjalimin me humor."

But my background --

Por mjedisi imi--

I want to tell you story only briefly.

Dua t'ju tregoj nje histori shume shkurt.

My husband and I, we brought our son and daughter here in 1980s

Une dhe burri im, i sollem djalin dhe vajzen tone ketu ne 1980

to have the freedom we cannot have in China at that time.

per te pasur lirine qe nuk mund ta kishim ne Kine ne ate kohe

And we tried to teach our kids to be proud of their tradition, but it's very hard.

U munduam t'i mesojme femijet tane te jene krenare me traditen e tyre, por eshte shume veshtire.

You know, as immigrant, I would speak Chinese to them,

E dini, si emigrante, une do t'ju flisja Kinezce atyre,

and they would always answer me back in English.

dhe ata gjithmone do te me pergjigjeshin ne Anglisht.

They love rock music, pop culture, American culture.

Ata duan muziken rok, kulturen pop, kulturen amerikane.

But when they got older,

Por kur ata u rriten,

when the time comes for them to start think about getting married,

kur erdhi koha per ta te mendonin rreth marteses,

that's when we expect them to realize, a little bit more, their own culture.

atehere ne prisnim prej tyre te kuptojne, pak me shume, rreth kultures se tyre.

But that's where we had some problems.

Por aty ne patem probleme.

My son, he says he is not ready to get married.

Djali im, thote se nuk eshte i gatshem te martohet.

And he has a sweetheart, but she is American woman, not Chinese.

Ai ka nje te dashur, por ajo eshte amerikane, jo kineze.

It's not that it's bad, but I told him, "What's wrong with a Chinese woman?"

Nuk eshte keq, por i thash atij, '" Cfare s'eshte ne rregull me femrat Kineze?"

But I think he will change his mind soon.

Por une mendoj qe ai do te ndrroje mendje se shpejti.

So, then I decide instead, I will concentrate on my daughter.

Keshtu, pastaj vendosa , do te koncentrohem tek vajza ime.

The daughter's marriage is very special to the mom.

Martesa e vajzes eshte shume speciale per nenen.

But first, she said she's not interested.

Por ne fillim, ajo tha qe nuk kishte e interesuar.

She only wants to spend time with her friends.

Ajo vetem deshiron te kaloje kohe me shoqerine e saj.

And then at college, it's like she never came home.

Rrinte ne kolegj, e nuk vinte kurre ne shtepi.

And she doesn't want me to come and visit.

Dhe nuk deshironte qe une ta vizitoja.

So I said, "What's wrong in this picture?"

Keshtu qe thash, " Cka nuk eshte ne rregull?"

So, I accused my daughter to have like a secret boyfriend.

Pra, akuzova vajzen time qe ka nje te dashur sekret.

But she told me, "Mom, you don't have to worry about boys

Por ajo me tha, " Nene, nuk duhet te merakosesh rreth meshkujve

because I don't like them."

sepse nuk me pelqejn ata."

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

And I said, "Yes, men can be difficult, but all women have to get used to that."

Dhe i thashe, " Po, meshkujt mund te jene te veshtire, por ne gjitha femrat duhet te mesohemi me kete."

She said, "No Mom. I mean, I don't like boys. I like girls.

Ajo tha, '" Jo Nene, nuk me pelqejne djemte. Me pelqejne femrat.

I am lesbian."

Une jam lesbike."

So, I always teach my kids to respect American ideas,

Pra, une gjithmone i mesoj femijet e mi te respektojne idete amerikane,

but I told my daughter that this is one exception --

por i thash vajzes time se kjo eshte nje perjashtim--

(Laughter) --

(Te qeshura)

that she is not gay, she is just confused by this American problem.

qe ajo nuk eshte homoseksuale, ajo vecse eshte konfuze nga ky problem amerikan.

But she told me, "Mom, it's not American."

Por ajo me tha., " Nene, nuk eshte amerikane.'

She said she is in love -- in love with a nice Chinese girl.

Ajo tha qe ka rene ne dashuri , ne dashuri me nje vajze kineze.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

So, these are the words I am waiting to hear,

Keshtu, keto jane fjalet qe une po prisja te degjoja,

but from my son, not my daughter.

por nga djali, jo nga vajza ime.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

But at first I did not know what to do.

Ne fillim nuk dija c'te beja.

But then, over time, I have come to understand that this is who she is.

Por pastaj, me kohe, une arrita ta kuptoj se kjo eshte cka ajo eshte.

So, even though sometimes it's still hard,

Pra, edhe pse nganjehere eshte akoma e veshtire,

I will share with you that it helps me to realize

Do ta ndaj me ju se me ndihmon te kuptoj

society is more tolerant, usually because of places like this,

shoqeria eshte me tolerante, zakonisht per shkak te vendeve te tilla,

because of ideas like this,

pershkak te ideve te tilla

and people like you, with an open mind.

dhe njerezve sikur ju, me mendje te shendoshe.

So I think maybe TED, you impact people's lives

Pra mendoj ndoshta TED, ju ndikoni ne jeten e jerezve

in the ways maybe even you don't realize.

ne menyra qe ndoshta as qe do t'a kuptonit.

So, for my daughter's sake,

Keshtu qe, per hir te vajzes time,

I thank you for your ideas worth spreading.

Ju falenderoj per përhapjen e ideve me vlere.

Thank you. Xie xie.

Faleminderit. Shin shen.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

Good evening. My name is Habbi Belahal.

Mirembrema. Une quhem Habbi Belahal.

And I would like to first of all thank Sarah Jones

Dhe se pari dua te falenderoj Sarah Jones

for putting all of the pressure on the only Arab who she brought with her

qe vendosi te gjithe presionin ne te vetmin Arab te cilin e morri me vete

to be last today.

te jete e fundit sot.

I am originally from Jordan.

Une jam me origjine nga Jordani.

And I teach comparative literature at Queens College.

Dhe jap letersi krahasimtare ne kolegjin Queens.

It is not Harvard.

Nuk eshte Harvard.

But I feel a bit like a fish out of water.

Por po ndihem paska si nje peshk jashte ujit.

But I am very proud of my students.

Por jam shume krenare per studentet e mi.

And I see that a few of them did make it here to the conference.

Dhe e shoh qe disa prej tyre kane ardhur ne konference.

So you will get the extra credit I promised you.

Pra jo do te merrni kredite shtese qe ju kam premtuar.

But, while I know that I may not look like the typical TED-izen, as you would say,

Por, perderisa e di qe mund te mos dukem si nje ardhacak tipik, sic do te thoshit ju,

I do like to make the point that we in global society,

Une do doja te theksoja se ne ne shoqerine globale

we are never as different as the appearances may suggest.

ne kurre nuk jemi aq te ndryshem sic mund te sugjeroje dukja e jashtme.

So, if you will indulge me, I will share quickly with you a bit of verse,

Pra, nese do te me lejonit mua, une do te ndaj me ju nje varg te shkurter,

which I memorized as a young girl at 16 years of age.

te cilin e mesova si vajze 16 vjecare.

So, back in the ancient times.

Pra, te kthehemi ne kohen antike.

[Arabic]

( Arabisht)

And this roughly translates:

Dhe kjo afersisht perkthehet:

"Please, let me hold your hand.

" Ju lutem, me lere te mbaj doren tende.

I want to hold your hand.

Dua te mbaj doren tende

I want to hold your hand.

Dua te mbaj doren tende.

And when I touch you, I feel happy inside.

Dhe kur te prek ty, ndjehem e lumtur per mbrenda.

It's such a feeling that my love, I can't hide, I can't hide, I can't hide."

Eshte nje ndjejne e tille qe dashuria ime, Nuk mund ta fsheh, nuk mund ta fsheh, nuk mund ta fsheh."

Well, so okay, but please, please, but please.

Mire, pra ne rregull, por ju lutem, lutem, por ju lutem.

If it is sounding familiar, it is because I was at the same time in my life

Nese ju duket e njohur, eshte sepse une isha ne te njejten kohe te jetes time

listening to the Beatles.

duke degjuar The Beatles.

On the radio [unclear], they were very popular.

Ne radio, ata ishin shume te famshem.

So, all of that is to say that I like to believe

Pra, per te gjitha duhet te thuhet se me pelqen te besoj,

that for every word intended as to render us deaf to one another,

që për çdo fjalë ka për qëllim të na bëjë të shurdhër për njëri-tjetrin,

there is always a lyric connecting ears and hearts across the continents in rhyme.

gjithmone ka nje tekst qe bashkon veshet dhe zemrat matane kontinenteve ne rime.

And I pray that this is the way that we will self-invent, in time.

Dhe une lutem se kjo eshte menyra qe ne do vet-zbulojme, ne kohe.

That's all, shukran. Thank you very much for the opportunity.

Kjo ishte e gjitha. Faleminderit shume per mundesine.

Okay? Great.

Ne rregull? Mrekulli.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

Thank you all very much. It was lovely.

Faleminderit shume te gjitheve. Ishte kendshem.

Thank you for having me.

Faleminderit qe me ftuat.

(Applause)

( Duartrokitje)

Thank you very, very much. I love you.

Faleminderit shume. Ju dua.

(Applause)

( Duartrokitje)

Well, you have to let me say this.

Mire, me lejoni te them kete.

I just -- thank you.

Une thjesht-- ju falemnderoj

I want to thank Chris and Jacqueline, and just everyone for having me here.

Une dua te falenderoj Chris and Jaqueline, dhe the gjthe qe me ftuat.

It's been a long time coming, and I feel like I'm home.

Eshte bere nje kohe e gjate , dhe une ndjehem sikur jam ne shtepi,

And I know I've performed for some of your companies

une kam performuar per disa nga kompanite tuaja

or some of you have seen me elsewhere,

ose disa prej jush me keni pare diku tjeter,

but this is honestly one of the best audiences I've ever experienced.

por sinqerisht kjo eshte audienca me e mire qe kam pasur ndonjehere ne eksperiencen time.

The whole thing is amazing, and so don't you all go reinventing yourselves any time soon.

E gjitha kjo eshte e mrekullueshme, dhe mos shkoni te rizbuloni veten sa me shpejt.

(Applause)

( Duartrokitje)