I love Europeans

Last year at SU I lived in the "international house" - the dorm with most of the international students. In fact, my roommate was from Austria. So I've made lots of friends from all over the place. There were five or six French kids, a girl from Denmark, my roommate from Austria, another boy from Austria, several students from Japan, and a few others from China.

Anyway, the Austrian boy, my good buddy Daniel, and I are having a chat right now about life and all the fun stuff in it. We always do. He and I used to run into each other in the dorm basement at around three in the morning during finals week and have hour-long conversations when we really meant to just say hi in passing and continue with our cramming.

Well, I told him about a recent discovery I made here while reading through my psychology book. I have discovered such a thing known as psycholinguistics. As you all know, I love psychology; I've always wanted to be a criminal profiler, which requires years of psychological study in order to know the next move of a wanted criminal before s/he actually commits it.

But as you also know, I am fascinated by language. That's why I'm in Chile in the first place. Some of my family members don't really understand why I'm "wasting" my time and money in a foreign country learning a common language (they "at the very least suggest something more in demand, such as Arabic or Russian or whatever that language is they speak in the Philippines..." you mean Tagalog?), when I should be buried in biology books and going to a public school (don't worry, I'm working on it Grandpa). So this idea of psycholinguistics fascinates the pants off of me.

Psycholinguistics is defined as "the study of relationships between linguistic behavior and psychological processes, including the process of language acquisition." In Layman's terms, it's the study of how language affects the development of the brain, including how one picks up a language and the rate of understanding of the language. How completely awesome does that sound?

Well, I googled psycholinguistics just to see where I could study such a thing. The first thing that came up was Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in the Netherlands. This website then referred me to some great Master's programs with the Radboud University Nijgemen (also in the Netherlands). The one that interested me the most was the Research Master's in Cognitive Neuroscience specializing in Psycholinguistics. The cool thing about Radboud University Nijgemen is that they have housing for international students, and also these programs only cost between 6,000 and 16,000 Euros ($8,800-$23,400), which is considerably less than I paid for my tuition at SU last year. And if it's going to get me into an amazing, ever-evolving career that will always be in demand, it'll completely worth it.

Plus, studying something like psychology in another country makes so much more sense than at home. Sure, we don't know scientifically why Americans do things the way they do, but we do recognize American patterns and habits. I don't always recognize European habits (or Latin American ones, for that matter, which is why being here is so mentally intriguing), so I know that if this is what I want to get my Masters in, another country would be the most logical and beneficial choice for me.

Anyway, so Daniel and I were talking about how an international education is so beneficial (since he spent a year in Seattle he knows already what it has done for him as a person), and we sort of shifted into talking about how people in other countries view Americans, and finally landed on American politics. It's quite interesting; have a look:

Kelsey: Well I'm really going to make that school in the NL a goal of mine
Kelsey: it would bring me so many good opportunities both during the time of study and after
Daniel: yeah, you should, stay focused and i am sure you gonna make it
Daniel: you definitely gonna profit from going abroad and doing a masters program
Daniel: and if its really interesting you, the best you can do
Daniel: i always say have fun in what you are doing and dont force yourself to do sth you dont like bec that doesnt make sense
Kelsey: exactly
Kelsey: I only force myself to do things I don't like if I know they will pay off soon
Kelsey: For example, taking nine classes
Kelsey: It's suicide but I know in two months it'll be over and it will bring me a world of benefits
Daniel: nine?, i have 12 this quarter but our system is quite different
Daniel: how many credits do you get for nine
Kelsey: It's basically an entire year of studies
Daniel: no way
Kelsey: Yes, same number of credits
Kelsey: 45 quarter credits or 30 semester credits
Daniel: in two months, thats impossible, you are crazy
Daniel: thats a buttload of work
Kelsey: well I've already finished two months
Kelsey: hahahahaha buttload
Kelsey: yes, it is
Kelsey: I have about a million things due on Monday
Daniel: thats remarkable
Daniel: i take my hat off to you
Kelsey: haha
Kelsey: I'm doing what I can to make a desirable life for myself despite coming from a very poor family
Daniel: i know, its really impressive how you master it bec i know its very hard in the US with all the tuition fees and that stuff, without financial aid, life isnt easy especially in the US
Kelsey: Yeah
Kelsey: Yet everyone thinks the US is full of rich jerks
Kelsey: People here are shocked when I tell them what life is really like back home
Kelsey: People here have asked me if all the girls in the US are like the girls on MTV
Daniel: i know, and then really smart, intelligent people end up flipping burgers bec they cant afford anything and some retarded guys get scholarships bec they know how to throw and catch a football
Kelsey: You have discovered the secret of higher education
Kelsey: Good for you
Kelsey: It's depressing isn't it?
Daniel: haha, the secret of higher education, yes just look at G. Bush
Daniel: its very depressing and overall sad, very sad
Daniel: and if McCain gets to be the new president you should leave the country as soon as possible
Kelsey: No shit, right?
Kelsey: And if he dies, everyone should leave the country
Daniel: if he dies?
Kelsey: Because Sarah Palin is quite possibly THE dumbest bitch on the face of the planet that he could have picked for a VP
Daniel: uh, yes
Kelsey: The entire world is going to hell if she takes the throne
Daniel: hopefully not, but i am a bit scared about the southern states and their influence on the election
Kelsey: Why? Most of them want Obama
Daniel: sure, they all are very conservative
Kelsey: But many are also very pro-Black President
Daniel: what about Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Texas, maybe you are right but Texas, uhhhhhhh
Kelsey: Texas should succeed from the US
Kelsey: and become its own little nation
Kelsey: It can be the Liechtenstein of America
Kelsey: People won't really go there for enjoyment but might pass through it once in a while
Daniel: good idea, i would vote for you if you were to run in the elections
Daniel: i think many people are on the same wavelength

Look at that ingenuity. He spent ten months in the US and look at everything he picked up from it.

Well my point is that I love how I can have friends from all over the world, but I love even more that I have international friends that understand a little bit of how the US works. It doesn't bother me that many people don't know because I can't expect them to, but it's just easier to have an intellectual conversation and also take in another culture at the same time. Does that make sense? For example, I can explain my educational situation back home with someone here, and I can try my best to relate it to how the education system works here, but there isn't much overlap, so I either leave the Chilean confused, or s/he just agrees and we move on to another conversation. With a student that studied in the US (or even with my friend Carlos, the Chilean that I met in Seattle), we can have a real discussion about the topic at hand and I can also take in feedback and analysis that originates from another cultural background. It's enriching; I cherish it.

Thanks Daniel for the good talk. I always love our insanely lengthy chats. I can't wait to see you again someday. And if I do happen to go to school in the Netherlands, you know I'll be able to visit you, at great length, for cheap, and more than once. :]

My buddies Aacer (Egypt) and Daniel (Austria)

Pondering the enigma of life, the universe, and everything,
Kelsey

(The answer is 42.)