[Memo] 미국 생활 단상

여기 실려 있는 짧은 글들은 두 차례 미국 로스쿨에서의 유학 시절에 썼거나 여기저기서 인용한 글들을 참조하기 쉽게 따로 모아놓은 것이다. 다시 말해서 독립적으로 올린 글이 아니고 블로그의 기사(→ 표시)와 관련된 것임을 밝혀 둔다.

❑ Emptiness on SMU Campus, Dallas

  → SMU 로스쿨 유학기에서 LL.M. Class 1993/94 졸업앨범에 기고한 에세이

 

 

First time when I looked down Dallas from an airplane which was approaching the Fort Worth/Dallas Airport, it hardly looked like a big city. I could only see scattered houses in marsh and bush except the downtown area, which was boastful of its skyscrapers in a long distance.

My impression of the city remained almost same when I visited the downtown a few days later. It was nothing but high-rise glass and iron towers with huge empty spaces between the buildings. The scene was quite different from that of downtown Seoul, where I could not find a razor-thin open space.

 

It was after a couple of months on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU) that I came to realize the meaning of such emptiness. Take an example of the mall in front of Dallas Hall. When I first arrived at SMU, the before-the-semester campus was still empty. I saw no shade of persons at the mall except the stars and stripes flag and the fountain. But now, in particular, on every Monday morning, I find a bustling crowd of students to and from every building on campus.

Likewise, Perkins Chapel, the most unsecular place (i.e. church) on campus, seemed to be always vacant. When I first walked into the church early in the morning, there was no one inside. But it was ready to be occupied by someone who wished to pray to God because all the lights were on and the air conditioner was in operation.
As a matter of fact, I witnessed wedding ceremonies taking place in the chapel more often than not. Isn't it a place of worship? Where are the congregation gone?

Before long, I found out some students and faculty members were meeting in the chapel regularly to worship God. Even though only a small number of people are gathering in the Sunday service, I feel that the house of worship is occupied, sometimes by pious organ music, but always by the Omnipresent Being.

 

We have expectation that if emptiness is filled with someone or something in the near future, it is no more empty. When a boom revisits Dallas and its neighboring sunbelt area in the future, the vacant spaces in downtown Dallas would be nothing to be concerned about.
It is true. As a Korean poet (Yoon Dong Gill) said, in the place where an autumn leaf is falling down, we can wait for the spring when a new leaf is sprouting up.

As I get accustomed to the new environment in Dallas, however, I feel like my perception of emptiness is developing into a different dimension. Whenever I take a walk around the campus in the evening, I usually sense that the SMU campus is not empty. It is not because students are present somewhere in the libraries or dormitory rooms, but because the appetizing smell emitting from Mrs. Baird' Bakery pervades the atmosphere over it.
(This essay appears in the International LL.M. Yearbook 1993/94 of SMU School of Law.)

 

❑  텍사스의 랜치

→ SMU 로스쿨 유학기에서 텍사스 자동차 여행기

→ 영화 〈캐스트 어웨이〉에서 주인공이 만난을 무릅쓰고 서류를 전달해준 수신인이 사는 곳

 

[박진배의 공간과 스타일] [15] 

텍사스는 크다. 유럽 열 나라를 집어넣을 수 있을 정도로 크다. 텍사스를 여행하다 보면 엔진오일을 갈아야 한다는 우스갯소리도 있다. 그 광활하게 펼쳐진 대지는 ‘유럽에서 100년은 아무것도 아니고 미국에서 100마일은 아무것도 아니다’라는 표현을 수긍하게 한다. 운전하다 맞은편에서 오는 트럭을 보면 왼손으로 운전대를 잡은 상태에서 엄지를 고정해 나머지 네 손가락만 폈다가 오므린다. 텍사스식 인사법이다.

텍사스의 시골은 목화밭과 정유 시설, 사막과 벌판의 풍경으로 연속된다. 거의 평지여서 하늘과 땅이 수평선을 경계로 맞닿아 있다. 미국에서 별이 가장 예쁘게 보이는 주(州)이기도 하다. 길을 따라 계속 보이는 것은 '랜치(ranch)'. 텍사스에만 약 25만개가 있다. 몇 해 전에 제주도보다 큰 랜치가 팔려 국내에서도 뉴스가 된 적이 있다. '목장'으로 종종 번역되지만 사실 랜치는 그저 '개인 소유 땅'이다. 땅을 정서적으로, 애정을 담아 표현한 게 랜치다. 텍사스 사람들 인생은 랜치의 일상을 빼놓고는 상상하기 어렵다. 랜치는 밀과 목화, 사탕수수, 오렌지 나무를 키우는 밭이고, 가축을 키우는 목장이자, 야생화와 들풀, 각종 동물과 조류가 서식하는 생태의 보고(寶庫)다. 실제로 여기에는 사슴, 늑대, 살쾡이, 방울뱀, 올빼미, 칠면조, 독수리, 종달새 등이 어울려 또 한 세상을 만들고 있다.

제임스 딘 주연 영화 ‘자이언트’에서 묘사했듯이 랜치의 면적은 어마어마하게 넓어서 이 땅을 모두 가꾸기는 불가능하다. 그래서 대부분은 벌판으로 남아 있다. 하지만 텍사스 사람들은 수백 년을 바라본다. 작은 부분일지라도 내가 할 수 있는 만큼의 땅을 개간해서 후손에게 물려준다는 마음이 있다. 후손 또한 조금이라도 더 아름답고 나은 땅을 만들기 위해서 노력할 것이다. 이것이 그들이 아침부터 일찍 일어나서 랜치를 가꾸는 이유다. 텍사스 주립 대학에 ‘랜치 경영’ 석사과정을 둔 배경이기도 하다.

(조선일보, 박진배 뉴욕 FIT 교수, 마이애미대 명예석좌교수 2020.01.23.)

 

❑ 피자와 라이프스타일

→ UCLA 로스쿨 및 미국 사회 견문기에서 간단한 점심식사로는 그만인 피자와 콜라

 

피자는 고대 이집트, 그리스, 로마 등에서 화덕에 구웠던 파이에서 그 기원을 찾는다. 하지만 오늘날과 같은 형태의 피자는 19세기 말 나폴리를 그 탄생지로 규정하고 있다. 1889년 나폴리를 방문한 마르게리타(Margherita) 여왕을 위해서 라파엘레 에스포지토 셰프가 토마토 소스에 모차렐라 치즈와 바질을 얹어 파이를 구웠다. 이탈리아 국기의 삼색으로 애국심을 반영했던 이 ‘마르게리타 피자’는 모던 피자의 기원이 되었다. 이전까지 납작한 빵을 구워 남은 재료를 얹어 먹던 가난한 사람들의 요깃거리가 세계인의 음식으로 변모한 계기다. 이로부터 불과 16년 만인 1905년, 뉴욕에 첫 피자집 ‘롬바르디(Lombardi's)’가 문을 열었다. 이 식당의 석탄 오븐(지금은 환경문제로 더 이상 허가가 나지 않는다)에서 미국 피자의 역사가 시작되었다.

 

뉴욕과 시카고는 미국 피자의 양대 성지다. 뉴요커들은 조각 피자를 반으로 접고 가장자리를 냅킨으로 감싸 기름이 떨어지지 않도록 하는 ‘뉴욕 폴드(New York fold)’라는 방식으로 먹는다. 반면 ‘디프 디시(deep dish)’로 불리는 시카고 피자는 소스가 다소 질퍽하고 두께가 있어 레스토랑에 앉아서 포크와 나이프로 썰어 먹는다. “피자는 스낵이 아니라 식사다”라는 신념이 바탕이다. 이 피자 전쟁은 뉴욕의 승리로 끝났다. 결정적 이유는 라이프스타일이다. 조각 피자로 길거리에서 쉽게 먹을 수 있는 것과 배달에 유리한 뉴욕 피자는 테이블 서비스로만 가능한 시카고 스타일을 압도하며 전국으로 번져나갔다.

미국은 세계에서 피자를 가장 많이 먹는 나라다. 하루에 100에이커(약 12만평) 면적의 피자를 먹는다. 전문점이나 배달은 물론 냉동 피자 매출만도 웬만한 산업 규모보다 크다. 코로나 상황에서도 피자집은 영향을 덜 받고 있다. 나무나 석탄으로 때는 불에서 나온 따듯함, 바삭한 가장자리와 쭉 늘어나는 치즈에 살짝 새콤한 토마토는 잘못될 수 없는 조합이다. 피자는 가격, 속도, 편리성을 담은 현대인의 라이프스타일과 아주 궁합이 좋다.

(조선일보, 박진배 교수, 2020.10.22.)

 

❑  The Final Lecture on The Alchemist

→ SMU 로스쿨 유학기에서 에필로그

 

The final week of the school year seemed to me very special.
It is not because I could expect freer life during the coming vacation, but because I wondered whether I rendered good teaching providing my students with valuable knowledge worth the tuition fees paid by them and their parents like myself. I felt mixed and indebted, in particular, to the students who graduate soon from the college. I was afraid how they could remember my lecture in their final semester at college.

I was reminded of an international bestseller, "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho, Brazilian storyteller, expecting priceless metal delivered by the teacher could become precious gold through a series of chemical reactions with the help of students' own catalyst. To my disappointment, there were a few students who read the book.
So I raised several questions about this fable for adults, and summarized its content and lessons to be learned as follows :
* Page numbers in ( ) is the location of the phrases quoted from the paperback published by HarperCollins.

 

Q1. Why did a mere shepherd of Andalucia, Santiago, embark on an adventurous travel to leave his home country for the Pyramids?

All of a sudden, did he have a dream to search "treasures in Egypt" like picking a lottery card? Or did he really want to see an extended horizon which we are always longing for?

The horizon was tinged with red, and suddenly the sun appeared. The boy . . . felt happy; he had already seen many castles and met many women. He owned a jacket, a book that he could trade for another, and a flock of sheep. But, most important, he was able every day to live out his dream. If he were to tire of the Andalusian fields, he could sell his sheep and go to sea, he would already have known other cities, other women, and other chances to be happy. (p.10)

 

Q2. What should we do first to fulfil our dream?

1) Santiago offered one tenth of the proceeds of sheep sold at the market to the mysterious old man, and the king of Salem told the boy some informative advice.

[T]here is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. . . [O]r even search for treasure. The Soul of the World is nourished by people's happiness. And also by unhappiness, envy, and jealousy. To realize one's destiney is a person's only real obligation. All things are one. And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. (pp.22-23)

[The old man Melchizedek said with a smile] "Sometimes I appear in the for of a solution, or a good idea. At other times, at a crucial moment, I make it easier for things to happen. There are other things I do, too, but most of the time people don't realize I've done them." (p.24)

 

2) At last, Santiago crossed the Gibraltar Strait and went to Tangier in Africa. There a nice looking kind guy swindled all the money out of him. But he was not be frustrated by the misfortune. He was employed by a crystal shop, and worked very hard with creative ideas and extraordinary diligence. The crystal merchant trusted Santiago and suggested that Santiago could succeed him in managing the crystal shop.

[The wise man] suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours. "Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something," said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. "As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill." The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.
"Well," asked the wise man, "did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?" The boy was embarraseed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.
"Then go back and observe the marvels of my world," said the wise man. "You cannot trust a man if you don't know his house." Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace. . . Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail everything he had seen. "But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?" asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.
"Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you," said the wisest of wise men. "The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon." (pp.33-34)

[A camel driver talked about the fortune telling] "When people consult me, it's not that I'm reading the future; I am guessing at the future. The future belongs to God, and it is only he who reveals it, under extraordinary circumstances. How do I guess at the future? Based on the omens of the present. The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity. . . Only when he, himself, reveals it. And God only rarely reveals the future. When he does so, it is for only one reason: it's a future that was written so as to be altered." (pp.108-09)

 

3) When Santiago joined the caravan crossing the Sahara Desert, there was another devoted man in the group. He was an Englishman who wanted to study alchemy in the desert.
However, the Alchemist in the desert admitted as his student not the Englishman but Santiago. The Englishman was studying alchemy to earn profit and reputation. On the contrary, Santiago saw a vision of an army invading the oasis, and stayed there to persuade the residents of the oasis. He didn't escape the scene. He dared to inform his unbelievable vision to the chieftain of the oasis at the risk of his life. The alchemist in the desert was willing to be a teacher and guide for Santiago as he rated high Santiago's mind and bravery.

[A stranger placed his sword at the boy's forehead and asked] "Why did you read the flight of the hawks? . . . Who are you to change what Allah has willed? . . . I had to test your courage. Courage is the quality most essential to understanding the Language of the World. You must not let up, even after having come so far. Your must love the desert, but never trust it completely. Because the desert tests all men: it challenges every step, and kills those who become distracted." (pp.116-17)

[The alchemist poured a red wine into the boy's cup] "It's not what enters men's mouths that's evil. It's what comes out of their mouths that is. Drink and enjoy yourself. . . Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You've got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the the way can make sense." (pp.121-22)

 

Q3. Isn't digging the ground beside the Pyramids futile labor?

To realize a dream deserves strong belief and indomitable patience. At that time a group of refugees approached Santiago. One of them seized the boy and yanked him back out of the hole [which he was digging]. They failed to rob him of any precious thing. Their leader scolded him. But a man with a dream was ready to appreciate the valuable advice although it was in fact an insult.

[A leader of refugees standing in front of the Pyramids scolded him] "[Y]ou'll learn that a man shouldn't be so stupid. Two years ago, right here on this spot, I had a recurrent dream, too. I dreamed that I should travel to the fields of Spain and look for a ruined church where shepherds and their sheep slept. In my dream, there was a sycamore growing out of the ruins of the sacristy, and I was told that, if I dug at the roots of the sycamore, I would find a hidden treasure. But I'm not so stupid as to cross an entire desert just because of a recurrent dream."
The boy stood up shakily, and looked once more at the Pyramids. They seemed to laugh at him, and he laughed back, his heart bursting with joy. Because now he knew where his treasure was. (pp.171-72)

 

Q4. What kind of lesson can we learn from this fabulous story?

I think anyone could learn something from this short fable. Or he would put this book on the table without remembering it.
But it's true hundreds of millions readers all over the world have been moved and impressed by the story.
If you aspire to realize a plan with good motivation and passion, and carry on such a plan, "ostensibly priceless metal might turn to be precious gold by the mechanism all the universe conspired to bring about." That's the core message of alchemy.

 

In the Korean version