Abroad Win: Guy Who’s Just Like Other Guys Learns to Say, “I’m Not Like Other Guys” in Three New Languages
From August to December, Northwestern students set off on a quarter abroad to study, learn about new cultures, and improve their language skills. Among those students is Jake Miller, a hard-working academic and “photographer,” with an Instagram dedicated to pictures of the mountains outside his parents’ Aspen home.
Miller decided to spend his semester in Paris because of his appreciation for French rap, cigarettes, and wine; however, he wasn’t afraid to venture outside the City of Lights. Jake made sure to take in the rich cultural experiences Europe has to offer by blacking out in Barcelona, tripping in Amsterdam, and puking on the security guard at Oktoberfest. Seriously, ask him about it sometime!
His biggest takeaway?
“Well, I learned how to explain that I’m not like other guys in three new languages.” More than anything else, the Northwestern junior who no longer uses Snapchat because he prefers “real conversations” found this knowledge essential in navigating his rich, educational experience overseas.
In France, when trying to get with the daughter of his homestay family, Jake needed to explain that he wasn’t like the other American frat boys. After a quick Google translate and whispered, “Je ne suis pas comme les autres gars.” Soon after, they spent the night together, and then he didn’t look at her again until he was forced to hug her goodbye upon leaving.
While visiting Florence, Miller found the most beautiful Italian girl named Isabella. After buying her a drink, they hit it off and she took him back to her apartment. He noticed a guitar in the corner of her room and without asking, he picked it up and started playing Wonderwall. He insisted that this song had a lot of emotional meaning to him because his fish died when he was a junior in high school so he knows what it means to grieve. He was at a loss for words in describing how broken he is. So, he took out Duolingo and learned to say, “non sono come gli altri ragazzi” before leaving promptly after the sex that lasted a total of 6 minutes, including foreplay.
What was the third language, you may ask? Miller simply calls it “the language of love”. It’s a dialect that not even Google Translate can figure out. “You can tell a girl that you’re just not like other guys by your actions,” Miller says. “That’s what the language of love is all about.” (Author’s note: this might have just been Miller’s attempt at speaking Danish? He won’t stop leaning in close and whispering “hygge” in my ear, then staring intently into my eyes like he just proposed.)
“The saying, ‘abroad changed me’ is a saying for a reason,” said the totally new, glowing, and cultured Miller. Watch out for this refined almost European who’s thinking about switching to a flip phone “to really connect more with the world,” and of course, to avoid splitting the Uber charge with the next woman he leaves the bar with.
