The Other Lobe (of the Brain)

Now that my Ph.D work has concluded (yes!), I have reestablished communication with the former Dean of Arts and Sciences at Northeastern University, Dr. James Stellar, a neuroscientist, who recently created this very interesting blog called ¨The Other Lobe¨. Here´s the latest entry written by both of us in which we establish an interesting correlation between BICULTURALISM (bilingualism) and the hidden cognitive part of the BRAIN...


If a Rose is a Rose*…, when is a Reflection a Reflection?

By Sarah Platt and Jim Stellar

Sarah was an undergraduate at Northeastern ¨University when I was Dean. We always had these great conversations. Then a few years intervened but now we are back even though she is in Poland where she just finished her PhD degree in Public Communication from the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. She wrote in disagreement with an idea that I expressed in a previous blog that “students who studied abroad independently engaged in much less reflection that students who went as a group led by a faculty member.” She wrote the following, which I find fascinating.

I guess I disagree with this because in my experience (I went on 4 study-abroad and international fieldwork projects during my 4 years in Northeastern), I always went independently and in comparison to those students who went as groups, I had a COMPLETELY different experience, and in my opinion, a more enriching and reflecting one.

First, I believe that going abroad independently allows for reflection with locals. When you are alone, you are forced to embrace the culture in a more direct way, speak the language, learn the customs, etc. This allows for direct reflection with yourself and the local people and culture. In my experience I noticed that students who went in groups, only spoke in English, hardly connected with the locals, only went to touristic places, and lived their lives abroad in a very similar manner as they would in the US. I believe that when you transport yourself to another country, it´s not really just about being somewhere else, but about reinventing yourself as one of the locals, disconnecting from your homeland, and learning from these experiences. When students study abroad in groups, many of them are only able to partially disconnect and partially take in the experience if they still hang out with their friends from the US, speak in English, and are not completely open to their new surroundings.

Then again, I guess I might be an exception and my experiential education experience probably does not reflect the majority of cases, but I believe that the real way of maturing and learning from fieldwork does not necessary come as a result of group study abroad trips or group projects.

You might be an exception. You came to Northeastern with a background from Puerto Rico and in that way are like many of my current students at Queens whose families have immigrated from a place that spoke a different language. To what extent do you think that starting bi-cultural background matters in a student’s need for peer reflection and why?

I think that every person´s experience must be evaluated independently whether he or she comes from a bicultural background or not. Some people are more open to intercultural experiences and are willing and happy to embrace them completely, while for others, it is a harder process. Coming from a bicultural background, however, definitely influences one´s way of viewing other manifestations of life in foreign countries and the way in which one digests and reflects upon these experiences. I think that, in a way, individuals who come from bicultural backgrounds are used to being outsiders because they are neither 100% part of one culture nor the other. This may make them adapt easier to experiential ed projects abroad and cause the way in which they reflect upon these experiences to be a more introspective process (with oneself) rather than a collective one (among peers).

I wonder if anyone has studied how being bicultural leverages experiential activities in college where those activities occur in the culture of family origin. One would think they would get more out of them because they have all these schemas for operating in that culture of origin, and then one might think that they would be no better than monoculture students when operating in a different culture. But you suggest that because they do not belong 100% to one culture or another, they may make adaptations easier and thus learn more. This fascinates me from the perspective of the books I have been reading on the “Hidden Brain” or the brain as “Incognito” (out of consciousness) or the “Thinking Fast and Slow” process that seems to suggest much of our thinking is automatic, unconscious, and rapid. The role of reflection could be very different in person with the “Incognito” part of the brain that grew up in another culture. Does this make any sense to a person like you who is bicultural?

According to an article published recently in the New York Times, bilingual (and therefore, bicultural) persons demonstrate more advanced cognitive skills than persons who have only been exposed to one culture and language. The article also points out that there is ample evidence that in a bilingual’s brain ¨both language systems are active even when he is using only one language (…) This interference, researchers are finding out, isn’t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles¨. Returning to your question regarding bicultural students and their ability to adapt in intercultural and experiential ed projects, it might be possible to note that if the cognitive skills in these students are in a way, keener, this will in turn allow them to develop quicker problem solving abilities that may also help them adapt quicker to different environments.

The article goes on…¨Bilinguals, for instance, seem to be more adept than monolinguals at solving certain kinds of mental puzzles (…) The collective evidence from a number of such studies suggests that the bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function — a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks. These processes include ignoring distractions to stay focused, switching attention willfully from one thing to another and holding information in mind.”

There seems to be scarce research regarding this topic, although fortunately, this leaves space for further reflection and debate on the relationship between the brain´s other lobe (nature) and culture (nurture)…

This last comment sums up what we both think, that there are brain processes that operate below conscious awareness that can be exercised by experiences that compliment what we study in the classroom and in college, that operations (such as being bilingual) in that other lobe of the brain can have a significant impact on the kind and type of learning in which a student engages, and that culture and programs of colleges and universities can do much more to leverage this kind of learning to strengthen what we called at the beginning of this blog, “educating the whole student.”

*borrowed from Gertrude Stein’s 1913 poem Sacred Emily


(Original entry is posted in http://www.otherlobe.com/)

THANKS TO HIM

Exactly seven months ago I left San Juan. Several plane rides and 19 hours later, I landed in Wrocław. With little expectations in mind, a taxi drove me to the Ołowek dormitory, which would be my home for the next months. One man was the reason for me to come to Poland. His name: Ryszard Kapuściński. I had been reading his books for six years and once I enrolled in a doctoral program in Navarre, Spain, I decided to convert him into my main research subject. I had been planning this trip for so long and to finally make it happen was a dream come true. From my first symbolical encounter with Kapuściński (symbolical because unfortunately I was never able to meet him in person), I knew that in order to obtain a better understanding of his work, his life, and his thought, I had to set foot in his homeland. There was no other way to do it.

For the next months I taught a journalism workshop at the University of Wrocław and interviewed as many people as possible, connected to my research subject either directly or indirectly. Although the language barrier was definitely an obstacle many times, never before in my life had I met so many open, gentle, and warm people willing to aid me in this process.

One of these persons was Kapuściński's widow, whom I recently met. Accompanied by one of Kapuściński´s good friends, Piotr Załuski, I visited Mrs. Kapuścińska in her home in Warsaw. This encounter marked a summit in my research project and in my personal life. As we entered her home, Alicja greeted us warmly and invited us to some tea and cake. We sat in her living room and listened to her stories in perfect Spanish, which she learned during her time living in Mexico. Shortly after Alicja lead us upstairs into Kapuściński´s retreat, a cellar which he converted into a library and office. I had seen many pictures of this office in the press and books, and anxiously waited for the day to arrive in which I would see it with my own eyes. "Everything you see here is exactly the way he left it. To me he is still travelling and will return one day", Mrs. Kapuścińska said. "Thinking in this manner has helped me cope with his death a little better".

To say that Kapuściński´s working area looks like a bookshop is an understatement. The word museum or library would probably suit it better. Hundreds or maybe even thousands of books sit on the shelves, tables, on the ground, and even on the stairs. Reporter notebooks hang from the walls. Some written till the last page. Others empty. Many pages include excerpts of his unfinished works that he was never able to conclude due to his sudden death in 2007.
Pani Alicja toured me around the library where I found books in different languages and related to every possible subject I can think of: anthropology, politics, religion, spirituality, philosophy…
I was lucky enough to see some of the handwritten notes he took while travelling through Peru and other southern American countries as a correspondent for the Polish Press Agency. I saw the elephant figurines he collected while voyaging through Africa. His watches. His impressive pen collection. Newspaper cutouts and funny quotes he posted on bulletin boards. Files he organized alphabetically with periodicals. An upstairs area where he selected books and other material that he planned to use to write his unfinished books. In sum, possibly the richest collection of intellectual material I have ever witnessed.

Before leaving, Alicja kindly autographed one of her husband´s books I brought along with me.

Kapuściński is for me a symbol of Poland. Of everything I love about this country and the reason why I initially came here. And to Kapuściński I am incredibly grateful, because now I understand him and his people a little bit more. I now realize that I do not want to leave, although my research and dissertation are completed. I have found a home away from home outside of my warm Caribbean island, and with each waking moment I continue discovering more things I love about this country. All thanks to my teacher, who more than a journalist, a writer, and a traveler, was a person who observed and wrote about the reality in which he participated with the intention of making the world a better place.


*All photos were taken by Piotr Załuski*

Iolanta

En una casa de dos plantas en el pueblo de Zgorzelec vive Iolanta. Tiene 56 años, es maestra jubilada y madre divorciada. Su hijo menor, Xavier, me llevó con él a pasar un fin de semana con su madre entre nieve, chimeneas, animales salvajes y vida de pueblo polaco. Dos noches, tres atardeceres y 58 horas me bastarían para escribir varias historias. Esto es un intento por contar un poco lo que experimenté en carne propia durante este corto tiempo y lo que muchas personas en pequeños pueblos en el centro de Europa viven a diario. Desde 1985 Iolanta habita en la misma casa de madera. Crió a sus cuatro hijos en este hogar y aunque años más tarde se marcharían los cuatro a recorrer los caminos de la vida, Iola, ha decidido permanecer en esta casa que fue construida en 1905 y antes y durante el comunismo se utilizó como una escuela.
Cuando sus hijos y quien fuera su marido compartían la casa había calefacción central. El techo estaba en buenas condiciones. Su ex marido trabajaba como técnico de veterinario y sus hijos: Ola, Karolina, Krzysztof y Ksawery pasaron una niñez bonita. Jugaban a deslizarse por la nieve en trineo o en patines, ayudaban a su padre a cuidar animales y heredaron de sus progenitores el amor por los perros, los gatos y otras criaturas exóticas como monos y aves salvajes. Recuerda Xavi que en una ocasión unos vecinos llamaron a su padre para avisar que había entrado a su establo un búho herido. Andrzej, el padre, se ocupó del ave y al día siguiente con la ayuda de su hijo menor, manejaron en carro hasta la frontera con Alemania, porque en ninguna otra parte podían conseguir la ayuda necesaria para curarle el ala al ave. ¨Le pusimos una bolsa de papel sobre la cabeza para que no se asustara y lo llevé sentado en mi falda durante todo el camino. El búho era enorme y cuando llegamos al control en la frontera, los policías nos preguntaron qué llevábamos... luego nos dejaron ir¨, cuenta Xavi.
Desafortunadamente las historias idílicas no durarían mucho para la familia Dobrowolski. Poco después Iola y Andrzej se divorciaron y cada uno partiría por su propio sendero. En 2007 un huracán atravesó por Polonia y destruyó gran parte de la infrastructura, incluyendo el techo de la casa #41.¨Decidí jubilarme después de ser maestra de biología durante 25 años, tomé unos préstamos del banco para reparar el techo de la casa, y bueno, digamos que los tiempos no eran los mejores¨, expresa Iolanta. Todo parecía derrumbarse junto con su hogar y Iola decidió partir. Una amiga que se había trasladado a Irlanda la invitó a quedarse con ella, para ayudarla a cuidar a sus hijos y ahorrar algo de dinero. Aunque en un inicio pensó quedarse sólo unos meses, terminaría trasladándose durante un año y medio. ¨Los primeros días eran horribles¨, recuerda. ¨Sobre todo por el idioma...pero bueno, luego trabajé conmigo misma. Comencé a estudiar yoga y tai chi y me ayudaron a estabilizar mi vida, cambiar mi actitud¨, expresa. Algunos meses más tarde publicó un libro guía de Glendalough, el pueblo donde vivió, trabajó en varios lugares: una tienda orgánica, en una cafetería... y comenzó a interesarse más por las prácticas orientales y el arte de dar masajes. Cuando llegó el fin de su estadía en Irlanda, Iolanta era ya una mujer cambiada. Regresó a la casa número 41 de la puerta azul, chimenea en el centro de la sala y techos de forma empinada y decidió emprender otro capítulo.

La vida que lleva Iola es dura, pero ella la considera enriquecedora. A las 6 de la mañana ya está en pie. No puede dormirse en las pajas ni un momento. Aunque ahora vive sola con sus tres mascotas (2 perros y un gato), debe ocuparse por mil y una cosa. La noche anterior deja preparada la madera para la chimenea. Debe recoger agua en baldes, algunos para la cocina y otros para el baño, por si se congela la tubería en la noche. Almacena 100 kilos de papas en la alcoba por si en los frios meses de invierno se le hace dificil conseguirlas. Pasea a sus perros aunque la temperatura afuera esté en negativo treinta grados Celsius. Y encima de todas las tareas domésticas, continúa siendo una mujer trabajadora y profesional. Pertenece a dos asociaciones: Euroopera (encargada de difundir el legado del filósofo Jakob Bohme) y Topik (a favor de la protección de paisajes y recursos naturales) y encima de todo también está montando un nuevo proyecto: su propio gabinete de masajes y salud holística en la primera planta de su casa.

En dos días Iolanta me enseñó a...

Preparar pan polaco (entre otras ricas recetas)


Disfrutar los días de frio intenso, cielos azules y caminatas perrunas


Estar siempre pendiente que hubiese madera en la chimenea


Deleitar un té de frutos silvestres y la blanca vista desde su cocina


Observar pájaros exóticos desde la ventana

Y a descubrir otras formas de vida tan diferentes a la mía. Por eso y mucho más, le soy agradecida...

La obsesión por la estética y el hedonismo: el caso de Dorian Gray y Marilyn Monroe

La obsesión por la estética y la tendencia al hedonismo ha existido siempre a través de la historia y en cada sociedad. Los romanos se saciaban hasta las narices de suculentos banquetes, satisfacían sus fantasías sexuales en orgías y luego entre pecho y espalda y con la ayuda de una pluma de pavo real, acudían al vomitarium para vaciar sus tragaderas y continuar complaciéndose. También consideraban la prostitución como un bien social. A principios de siglo, en otra parte del mundo, los japoneses adiestraban en las artes y el entretenimiento a jóvenes hermosas llamadas geishas, con tal de satisfacer los placeres más burgueses.
En la India se ha practicado el Kama Sutra con el mismo fin hedonista. Y así por el estilo... El culto al placer continúa ejerciéndose desmedidamente en la actualidad. Cada vez vemos más medios de libertinaje desprendido y sus derivaciones. Sexo. Abuso de sustancias. Obesidad. Consumerismo. Religión. Violencia. Venganza.

Hace algunas semanas comencé a releer ¨El retrato de Dorian Gray¨ de Oscar Wilde, motivada principalmente por una canción que le dedica Soda Estereo. Difícil se me ha hecho soltar el libro, sobre todo porque es la muestra más fehaciente de este tema que ha comenzado a interesarme cada vez más: la búsqueda obsesiva por la belleza y el placer. Como seres vivientes muy simples en naturaleza, pero que se tornan complicados por las realidades que les rodean, es lo más natural del mundo querer sentir placer. Comprarnos algo en las tiendas aunque no tengamos el presupuesto para hacerlo, fumar un cigarro o dos al terminar un día de trabajo a pesar de tener tos, querer repetidamente a alguien que no nos quiere, deleitar una botella de buen vino y luego otra, aunque tengamos que trabajar al día siguiente... Habrá quienes piensan que son todos placeres saludables. Pero, ¿hasta qué punto es sano sucumbir al deleite no-racional? ¿Cuándo comienza a convertirse en hedonismo la búsqueda de placer? Y, ¿cuándo y cómo debemos decir que no? En palabras de Oscar Wilde, ¨la única manera de librarse de la tentación es caer en ella. Si uno resiste, el alma queda afectado por el deseo de cosas que ella misma se ha prohibido¨.

Vemos esta búsqueda obsesiva por la auto estética y el hedonismo de manera empalagosa en ¨El retrato de Dorian Gray¨, considerada una de las últimas obras clásicas de la novela de terror gótica con una fuerte temática faustiana. En ella vemos a un pintor que se obsesiona y encapricha con su modelo, un joven chico narcicista llamado Dorian Gray. El joven, que en un principio representa la pureza e inocencia, va trasformándose a lo largo de la historia en una personificación hedonista y auto-destructiva. El pintor, por su parte, cree que gracias a Dorian ha descubierto una nueva forma de arte, mientras éste comienza a entablar una relación con otro interesante personaje y encarnación perfecta del hedonismo, Lord Henry.

Su filosofía consiste en la siguiente frase- "lo único que vale la pena en la vida es la belleza, y la satisfacción de los sentidos". Al darse cuenta de que un día su belleza se desvanecerá, Dorian desea tener siempre la edad de cuando le pintó en el cuadro Basil. El deseo de Dorian se cumple, mientras él mantiene para siempre la misma apariencia del cuadro, la figura retratada envejece por él. Su búsqueda del placer lo lleva a una serie de actos de libertinaje y perversión; pero el retrato sirve como un recordatorio de los efectos de cada uno de los actos cometidos sobre su alma, con cada pecado la figura se va desfigurando y envejeciendo...

Hace unos días vi una película en la que se refleja a otro personaje, mito del placer, el erotismo y la consecuente tragedia. Se trata de Marilyn Monroe, interpretada por la bella y talentosa, Michelle Williams. Esa voz de niña inocente proveniente del sur de los Estados Unidos enmascaraba, sin duda, una complicada niñez y un gran vacío que intentaba llenarse con la búsqueda del placer. Sus extremadamente cortos y apasionantes matrimonios, relaciones con el poder y la fama y el abuso de sustancias llenaron los días de Miss Monroe, hasta llevarla a la muerte, quién sabe a manos de quien. El tema del hedonismo como eje de la vida y el culto apasionado a la belleza y a la juventud como móviles del individuo la caracterizó y convirtió en icono de los años 50 y 60.

Dos casos de búsqueda obsesiva de belleza y placer, y tragedia personificada.
Somos todos víctimas del estado natural que conlleva ser seres vivientes y no robots que viven para trabajar y también disfrutar del placer.
¿Significa esto que, por tanto, también somos todos víctimas del hedonismo? Y, si ¨los placeres son el último refugio de los seres complicados¨, como dice Wilde, entonces, ¿dónde podremos encontrar cobijo sino en ellos?

The Rum Diary

Great anticipation and excitement was put into the film adaptation of Hunter Thompson's "The Rum Diary". For months I was eager to watch the screening of the film I had witnessed from a distance in March of 2009. I remember seeing how the colorful 1950´s cars that were brought in to Puerto Rico from Cuba were parked along Norzagaray Street, giving our historical center a glamorous and retro edge to it.

Old San Juan´s streets were closed down to receive one of the most acclaimed actors of our times: Johnny Depp, who together with his family, converted his yacht on the shores overlooking La Perla, into his home for several months, during the filming of this movie.
Gonzo journalism has always been attractive to me. Ever since I watched "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" several years ago, I was drawed to the idea of becoming an anthro-journalist, living and breathing in the skin of one’s work subjects. Participant-observation techniques have always been a common practice among some of the greatest journalists of all times: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ryszard Kapuscinski, Truman Capote, Ernest Hemmingway, and Hunter Thompson, among others. Founded by Thompson, gonzo journalism favors style and tone over truth and accuracy. During an interview in 1973 for Rolling Stones magazine, Thompson said, "If I'd written the truth I knew for the past ten years, about 600 people—including me—would be rotting in prison cells from Rio to Seattle today. Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism."
Another reason that makes Thompson controversial is his choice of topics, usually revolving around recreational drugs and alcohol experimentation, which he considered added an additional subjective flair to his reporting. The term "gonzo" has also come into (sometimes pejorative) use to describe journalism that is in the vein of Thompson's style, characterized by a drug-fueled stream of consciousness writing technique. "The Rum Diary" is no exception.
Hunter S. Thompson wrote the novel in 1961, but it was not published until 1998. The independent production companies Shooting Gallery and SPi Films sought to adapt the novel into a film in 2000, and after Bram Sheldon declined the role, actor Johnny Depp was signed to star and to serve as executive producer. Nick Nolte was also signed to star alongside Depp. The project did not move past the development stage. After this, film problems seemed to continue. Several other well known actors such as Benicio del Toro were also supposed to star in the film, although because of internal differences these plans were also never adapted.
Directed by some dude called Bruce Robinson, a struggling alcoholic, "The Rum Diary" proved to be incredibly disappointing. The script, painfully bad. The cinematography and photography? Decent considering I am extremely far away from my Caribbean roots, and it was comforting to engage in tropical eye candy for two hours.
Paul Kemp, the journalist and main character played by Johnny Depp is a guy who has become increasingly disinterested in the US way of life under the Eisenhower administration and decides to move from New York to Puerto Rico for a breath of fresh air and motivation to work on a new book. He lands a job with the decaying San Juan Star newspaper and turns rum drinking into his favorite pastime. So much potential incapable of manifesting itself. "The Rum Diary" is unfortunately, a failed experiment that lacks a backbone, structure, interesting dialogue and character development, and fails to portray a great story about a journalist drowning in his own fears as seen thru the eyes of one of the most fascinating story tellers of the New Journalism movement: Hunter Thompson.

A Polish Christmas

I´ve been postponing blog writing for a couple of weeks now. Thesis revisions, organizing and attending house parties, sangría preparing, cooking, eating loads of Polish food, and other Christmas-like obligations have been occupying most of my waking hours lately. Today anyhow marks the start of a fresh and exciting new year, and because I owe some of you a story about how Polish Christmases are spent, I finally got myself to writing it.

It all started about a month ago when I moved into a great new flat on Ulica Pomorska 49 (pronounced Oo-leet-sa Pomorska cher-yesh-she-ye-vench), and possibly my favorite Polish word, jeje... So, I decided to finally leave the dormitory life behind and make my Polish stay a bit more official by transforming my apartment into a real home and not a haven for Erasmus partyholics. I also signed a work contract until summer of 2012 and will be negotiating with the University of Wrocław, where I can hopefully continue teaching next semester. So, so far, so great…
Another reason why my Polish life became even more awesome is because of my new BFF. He’s got small green eyes, a warm smile, a huge and tender heart, and the most soulful taste in music ever. Plus, as an added value, he also cooks senegalese finger food, plays guitar, and can rap pretty well.
His name is Adam and he’s also my flat mate, together with his girlfriend, who’s in France and I still haven’t met. Adam and I clicked since the first second we sat down to talk, and although we’ve only known each other for a month or so, it seems like a lot longer. My Polish Christmas experience, therefore, was thanks to him and his great family: Mama Bogna, Papa Edward, and greatest sister in the world, who came from upstate NY to spend 6 weeks here, Ania.
Ania, Adam, and I spent Christmas with their mother and stepdad in a small city called Leszno, where they live. An almost two hour train ride from Wrocław later and we arrived to foggy, snow-less Leszno, where we’d spend the next couple of days in Bogna and Edward’s apartment. A perfectly decorated dinner table greeted us and would be the center of the celebrations during the next half a week or so. Everyday Bogna would change the perfectly ironed white tablecloth, fine napkins, candles, wine glasses, and Christmas ornaments and begin the main mission of the day, which almost turned into a vicious cycle: cooking and eating, eating and cooking, cooking and eating more…
The first activity on the agenda (before eating and more eating) was decorating the tree, which Poles, unlike Puerto Ricans, usually do a couple of days before Christmas.
On Christmas Eve the cooking process began early. Although most of us were still in pj´s, I decided to dress up a bit and hit the kitchen to learn some new recipes. Ania and I helped Bogna make some salad and prepare pierogis (Polish dumplings) stuffed with cabbage (ever present in Polish cuisine).
First you make the dough, then you cut it in circles using a cookie cutter, stuff them one by one, and seal them using your hands (or Puerto Rican empanadilla style, using a fork). This is how they turned out...
Hours later, we all sat to eat twelve dishes (Polish tradition that holds relation with the 12 apostles and the last supper). For starters, we had beet root soup with another type of dumplings, and later on we tried different fish dishes, cabbage salads, and best of all... the desert: four types of cakes (poppy seed, cheesecake, walnut cake, and another one with biscuits and caramel)
Another common tradition that Poles practice during Christmas lunch took place shortly after. To prepare for it, someone from the family must get communion bread from church and before eating and after saying a prayer, each member of the family cuts a piece of the bread and gives a wish to each person in a circle until everyone has been wished and blessed upon.
We also heard many Christmas carols in Polish, English, and even Puerto Rican ones. Everyone received a decent amount of hugs and kisses , unexpected presents, and even engaged in salsa dancing! Thanks to Adam, Ania, Bogna and Edward for making this time so special in my home away from home!

Merry Christmas, Wesołych Świąt, Feliz Navidad, and a great start of 2012 for everyone!