미국을 떠나 다시 돌아가지 않는 이유, 20년 전

의견 ;
글도 잘 썼고 나의 생활 철학을 확신 시켜주는
제게는 감동적인 impressive story touching my heart 내용 입니다

미국 치열한 경쟁 ruthless competition 자본주의를 떠나 돌아오지 않는 사람의 흥미있는 내용입니다.
눈에 들어오는 기사라서 article jumped to my eyes 복사 했어요.

미국에서 강국이라는 나라 미국,
헌데 왜 그녀는 자본주의 미국에서 악착같이 일을하다가 미국을 떠나 돌아가지 않는가?
많은 것을 시사 imply, hint, 하는 깨닫게하는 enlightening, awakening 하는 내용 입니다

이민와서 열심히 일하는 한인들, 돈벌어 먹고살만하니 병을 얻은 이민자들,
이런 감금된 사회에서 벗어나 깨달으려면 인터넽에서 pdf 로 다운받늘수있는
중국의 장자 chuang tzu 의 책을 읽어보라 권합니다.

가난이 행복이라는건 아니지만
철학이 없는 부 wealth without sane philosophy 는 행복하지 않을수도 있습니다.
그건 습관적 부의 중독 입니다

그녀가 하는 말이 믿었던 미국의 꿈 American dream
–열심히 일하고 돈벌어서 행복하게 살겠다는- 꿈으로부터 그녀는 배반을 당하고 있었다는것을 깨달았어요. 그녀는 ‘ 이건 아니다, 무엇인가 바뀌어야한다고’,,
미국서 태어난 백인이 왜 이런 생각을 ??

이 여성의 이야기는 나로하여금 동서양 철학의 차이를 생각케 합니다
앞으로만 보고 나가는 직선적인 서양철학보다는
곡선, 나선형 helical, 비직선적인 동양철학의 아름다움을 상기시킴니다.

미국사람들 중에 왜 복잡한 미국을 떠나 조용한 멕시코의 Baja California 또는 Thailand 에서 사는지,, 우리는 생각을 해보아야 합니다.
치열한 경쟁에서 이기고, 재물을 얻은것이 반드시 행복과 비례하지 않습니다.

사람을 태워다니며 일 하는 직업이 아닌데도 BMW, Benz 를 타는데
그런 차를 탄다고 행복이 더해지지는 않습니다
BMW, Benz 부속은 비싸고, 돈을 벌려고 불필요한 부속들을 많이 넣었고
현실적 실리를 찾는 사람들에게는 타라고 권하고싶은 차는 아님니다

비싼 명품 가방 luxury brand handbag 을 들고, 갑질하는 여성, 당뇨 고혈압에 시달리며 비만인 여성보다는
$30 달러짜리 가방을 든 정상적인 여성이 더 아름다워보인다는 사람도 있슴니다.

문명에 얼마나 환멸을 느꼈으면 영어를 하지 않는 나라로 가려 했을까요.
그러나 그녀는 고등학교때 불어를 공부해서 언어에는 완전한 장벽이 없다는 것을 알고있어서 영어가 아닌 나라만 고집하지는 아니했지요.

‘인생은 종족이나 경쟁이 아니라는’구절에서 나는 눈물이 났습니다.
다시말해 우리는 종족 보존을 하려고 태어나지 않았고
경쟁을 하려고 태어나지도 않았다는것입니다
Life is not a race or a competition.

마지막 문장에서
무너져가는 미국에대한 그녀의 슬픈 애착이 나를 눈물짓게 만들었슴니다.
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아래 일부 문장 sentence 번역들은
뜻만 전하는 쉬운 의역 liberal translation 보다는
단어를 그대로 살리려고 노력한, 어려운 아니 융통성이 없는
직역 literal translation, word-for-word translation 을 했슴다.

Why I Left The U.S. 20 Years Ago... And Why I Won’t Be Coming Back

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/personal-proffitt-lemarchand-why-i-left-the-us-20-years-ago-and-why-i-wont-be-coming-back_us_5adf7407e4b07be4d4c57b26

In hindsight[지나고나서 보니까; 하인ㄷ사이트 (일이 다 벌어진 뒤에) 사정을 다 알게 됨, 뒤늦은 깨달음], growing up in white, middle-class suburbia[도시주변지역(교외)] in 1980s America was kind of like being brainwashed[세뇌되어지는].
I grew up believing that having money was an objective to strive for[,,얻으려고 노력하다] and that life was a ruthless competition[무자비한 경쟁, 치열한 경쟁]. I worked hard in school and got a good job because that was what was expected of me. That was the path that was supposed to bring me happiness, except I followed that path, and I wasn’t happy.

At 23, I was already living the corporate rat race[재미있는 표현; 대기업 쥐의 경쟁], working nearly 60 hours a week for a huge multinational conglomerate[거대한 다국적 재벌] in Washington, D.C., and I felt too young for the lifestyle I was leading[나를 이끄는 생활방식을 위해서는 나는 너무 어리다고, 젊다고 느꼈다].

바로 아래 3줄, 영어 초보님들에게 조금 어려워서 번역 했슴다.

거기 2년 동안의 과정에서, 워싱톤은 나를 순진한 정치학 졸업자[with 실패하는 정치제도를 바꾸어보겠다는 혼자서 열성을 가진] 로부터 환멸을 느낀 늙은 여성으로 바꾸어버렸다.
In the course of my two years there, Washington had turned me from a naive political science graduate with aspirations of single-handedly[혼자서, 단독으로] changing a failing political system into a jaded[물린, 실증난], disenchanted[환멸을 느낀, 환상에서 깨진] old lady.

The tipping point[(작은 변화들이 어느 정도 기간을 두고 쌓여, 이제 작은 변화가 하나만 더 일어나도 갑자기 큰 영향을 초래할 수 있는 상태가 된 단계)] came while I was sitting at home one Sunday evening. I felt a mounting sense of dread[두려움이 시작되는 감각을 느꼈다] at the prospect[예상, 가망 가능성] of having to go to work the next day,

조금 어려운 내용 번역
몇일 쉬기위해서 자신이 납치되는 단계에대해 작전을 짜기시작했다.
and I started strategizing about how to stage my own kidnapping in order to get a few days off.

That’s when I realized that I had been betrayed. I had believed every word of the American dream — work hard, make money, be happy — but it wasn’t so. Something had to change.

I had friends who were working hard to prepare for early retirement, and even though I had no idea what else I could do, there was no way I was waiting that long to enjoy life.

One of the obvious alternatives pointed out to me, constantly and mostly by men, was to find a husband. That may have been the logical next step to most people, but after I read The Grown-Up’s Guide to Running Away From Home by Rosanne Knorr, I was convinced I needed to move away. I had traveled extensively on family vacations throughout my childhood and had recently returned from a work-related trip to Honduras. I thought about those experiences and dreamed of seeing the world, learning a language and being immersed[푹 담그다, 몰두하게 만들다] in different cultures.

“ I had believed every word of the American dream — work hard, make money, be happy — but it wasn’t so. Something had to change.”

It seemed that I needed to do something radical to find the happiness I hadn’t found via the “American dream,” and what could be more radical than leaving behind my country to live in another?

It was a pivotal moment[전환점 중요한 시점] in my life. I knew that if I brushed the idea under the rug and pretended it wasn’t there, I would end up regretting it, so I leaned into it.

After deciding to talk to everyone I could about my need to leave the country, I realized that I knew a lot of people who knew people who have done exactly what I wanted to do. One of those stories helped me choose a destination. A friend of a friend had moved to the Virgin Islands and was making more money taking tourists out snorkeling[스노클(잠수 중에 물 밖으로 연결하여 숨을 쉬는 데 쓰는 관)을 이용한 잠수] than he did working at his office job. That was it: If the Caribbean wasn’t a symbol of happiness, I didn’t know what was!

I didn’t hesitate to give my two weeks resignation letter to my boss after that conversation, and I reduced my belongings to merely a backpack. I went from owning a closet full of designer pantsuits to getting by on two pairs of shorts, three T-shirts and a pair of Tevas.
I chose Guadeloupe, a French overseas territory in the West Indies, because I wanted to live in a non-English-speaking country, but knew there wouldn’t be a complete language barrier since I learned French in high school.

A few short months after giving my notice, I was sitting on a plane, looking out the window at the palm trees and sugar cane fields as we landed. It was the most liberating experience of my life because, finally, I was doing something for myself that I chose. My friends and family supported my decision mostly because they all thought that I just needed a year of travel to “get it out of my system.” But a year abroad turned into 20, and I never went back.

From Guadeloupe I traveled around the Caribbean and Latin America before settling in Europe. It hasn’t always been easy, but it has always been mine. On more than one occasion I questioned moving back to the U.S., but why I never did can only be explained by a combination of changing ideals — mine and the country’s — that to this day have not been reconciled.

Living abroad helped me see that life is not a race or a competition. The people I met abroad showed me how to find pleasure in leisurely lunches and long conversations. While I had always felt my life in the States was like a hierarchical ladder, with work being on the top rung, my life abroad felt more like a circle ― work was important but so were friends, hobbies and personal happiness. My lifestyle abroad felt more natural and focused on enjoying the present moment rather than a constant struggle to achieve “success” at some undetermined time in the future.

“ On more than one occasion I questioned moving back to the U.S., but why I never did can only be explained by a combination of changing ideals — mine and the country’s — that to this day have not been reconciled.”

ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ,
믿어며 자랐습니다 미국은 지구상에서 가장 위대한 국가라고,,
학교에서 읽었습니다. 우리는 위대한 민주주의 이상들을가진 개척자[선구자]들에의해 세워졌다고.
I grew up believing that the United States was the greatest country on Earth.
In school I read that we were founded by pioneers with grand democratic ideals.

우리는 변화의 선구자들이고 정의의 보호자들이고 자유세계의 대표자[지도자]들이라고
We were the instigators of change, the protectors of justice and the leaders of the free world.

[감동적 문장]
내게는 전혀 이런 일이 발생하지 아니했는데, 우리자신들[미국인]은 제1 이고 나머지는 2번째라고 뽐내는 우리의 본질[성격] 그러나 내가 배반을 심오하게 느끼고 믿도록 배운것 보다 실제로는 2번째가 훨신 더 낫다는게 내가 직접얻은 경험이었다
It never occurred to me that the nature of us flaunting ourselves as No. 1 meant everyone else was second best. And when I experienced firsthand that “second best” was actually a whole lot better than what I was taught to believe, I felt a profound sense of betrayal. 

The U.S. is not the same country today that it was when I left it 20 years ago. I didn’t live in the America that’s scared to send its children to school for fear that they’ll be massacred by an adolescent with access to assault weapons. When I went back for a visit in the spring of 2017, I was horrified to learn that my high school in upstate New York has become a kind of gated community — no unauthorized visitors are allowed on the premises. Students need to pass through metal detectors to get inside and are patted down as if they are about to board a plane. My former elementary school is now littered with security cameras. It deeply saddens me that my teacher friends have to worry that they may need to start bringing guns into their classrooms for self-defense. It feels like the situation has gotten out of control and that America has spiraled into a gun-slinging Westworld.

Living in Europe has afforded me a luxury I never thought would matter — gun control. There’s nothing better than knowing that no one I know owns a gun. In the south of France, where I live, it is absolutely impossible to walk into a store, buy a gun and ammo, and leave with them in the same day. And beyond all of that, the military-grade weapons you can buy anywhere in the U.S. are illegal for ordinary citizens to purchase.

Of course gun control is not the only benefit I enjoy living in Europe. I certainly could say more about the work-life balance provided by the 35-hour workweek, the five weeks of paid vacation I enjoy each year, the two years paid unemployment benefits I would receive should I lose my job, my access to free health care, paid maternity leave, affordable child care, free education from age 3 through to university or the state-provided retirement pension I will receive at age 65.

Living abroad is not a choice for everyone, and I’m certainly not advocating that people massively immigrate elsewhere. However, it should be cause for reflection: Why is everyone taught to seek something better for their future rather than enjoy the present?
Why is the U.S. government unwilling to fix issues around mental health, gun control and education, when those things will clearly improve the lives of its citizens? How many people have to die before something is done? Why is health and well-being for all not a national priority?

I love America but I hate what it is becoming. I’m sad that I cannot share the protection and benefits I enjoy daily with my American loved ones who are as deserving of them as I am.
So while I chose to leave it, if others don’t want to, I now try to encourage them to fight for change.

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