New horizons, new experiences, new PLEs!!

At the end of this last semester there is something I need to add to my PLE: overseas communication!! Among all the people involved in my language learning I should add the Italian and American peers with whom I worked to create the final wiki page of the course blog. It is actually thanks to them all that I improved my knowledge of the American culture and I had the chance to appreciate intercultural communication!!

We're all pieces of a puzzle..

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Has this last semester at university been useful for improving my intercultural competence and my knowledge of English? The answer is: yes, definitely!! This English course has given me the chance to work with students of different countries and share my ideas with them: having direct contact with other cultures is, in my opinion, the best way to achieve awareness of both their and my way of living. I'm just at the beginning of the process to acquire more cultural consciousness, that's true, but I do believe this course is a little piece of a great puzzle which, in the end, will show all its splendor!

This course has helped me develop my intercultural competence in many different ways:

1. It aroused my interest in a different culture: talking with native American people on immigration and politics made me appreciate and notice differences and similarities and re-consider both my own and their culture from a wider standpoint.

2. It helped me get to know new aspects of American culture: thanks to the exchange I broadened my knowledge on the American electoral and education systems, as well as on the way of living and habits of American young people.

3. It helped me explain and understand my own culture, as well as the American culture, by looking at them from a different standpoint: for instance, I had always considered quite nonsense the fact that American students can graduate in two different fields (medicine and German for example); however, after talking with native people and carrying on research on the university system in the US I understood that in this way students can get wider knowledge in many different areas, thus broadening their horizons. It was by changing standpoint that I could reconsider the other culture and appreciate some of its differences; similarly, modifying the starting point of view was equally important everytime I needed to explain my own culture to people from a different culture: to explain the Italian university system, for instance, I needed to start from their perspective trying to broaden it, so that they could understand my own point of view despite some differences.

4. It aroused my interest in conversating with people from other countries: I do believe there's much to know from the direct contact with foreign people, so I tried to make them feel I was much interested in what they were saying. I think this is always the best way to keep conversation going and to enjoy it!

5. It helped me learn new words and expressions in English and improve my reading and writing skills: more specifically, as I collaborated in editing two wiki pages (one on the political elections both in the USA and in Italy, the other on the American and Italian University systems), I learnt many words belonging to the corrspondent semantic areas, like for example "political platform", "caucus" etc.. What's more, in order to do some research on these two topics and to edit the final wiki page I had to read, select and re-arrange the materials I had found out on the Web.

Drawing some conclusion at the end of this semester is not easy, since this exchange has helped me work on many different communicative skills: anyway, above all it has given me much enthusiasm in communicating, sharing experiences and collaborating with other people using English as a means for expression. That's another piece of my ICC puzzle... Now I do need to keep up the good job!

Are we maybe generalizing too much?

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According to a dossier published on 30. October 2007 by Caritas, immigrants in Italy are up to now almost 4 millions: their number has enormously increased in the last year, in so much that Italy is now the third European country where a large number of immigrants have settled (Germany and Spain have respectively more than 7 and 4 million immigrants).

What is the general attititude on Italian citiziens to immigrants? According to recent statistics and surveys, while many Italians consider immigrant people as a necessary resource for our economy, on the other side almost 48% of the population think that immigrants are the main reason of social uncertainty and of criminality (source). What strikes me in these results is that even in the first case immigrants are seen in terms of economic income, not as human beings with a specific culture, tradition or way of living. They are often considered as potential workers, but not as people having a family, dreams or projects. I always take offence when I hear people talking of immigrants as a mere working force or as criminals: are we maybe generalizing too much? As my boyfriend comes from Albania I have the great chance to get to know a reality which is different from ours, but also different from the general idea which is portayed by stereotypes and prejudices. People coming from different countries are exactly like us: they often have other ways of living or different beliefs, that's true, but they are still people whose qualities are worth to be known and appreciated. Criminals are everywhere and belong to any ethnicity or motherland, so please stop generalizing. I'm truly convinced that any of us is different from the others, and there's no greatest chance than discovering what other people have to offer you. That's why whenever I hear racist comments like "Go back home, you all immigrants", I cannot but take offence to such marrow-minded attitude.

I would like to point out something more: according to the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary the word immigrant refers to "a person who has come to a different country in order to live there permanently". I've noticed that immigrants are often thought as those people who come from the poorest countries of the world (mainly as illigal immigrants) and then eventually become criminals. Thus, the word immigrant often has a very negative connotation. What I would like to point out is that there cannot be "First class" or "Third class" immigrants: even people from Germany, or the States, or the UK who come and settle here are, according to the etymology of the word itself, "immigrants". What we could try to do is to separate this generalized negative connotation from the actual status of an immigrant person. Using the right expressions and connotations could be a way to smooth our suspiciousness and fears..

Immigration is a very urgent issue both in America and Italy: however, while America has a very long history of immigration, Italy is at the beginning of a long-lasting process which is now giving rise to fears and doubts. I do think that a comparison with the American experience could help us not only become aware of the differencies between the policies of both countries, but also have a more rational approach to the issue.

Back in the jungle..

Back in the press jungle..trying to understand what's going on the politics front..analyzing different newspapers and focusing on specific issues..

The most authoritative newspaper in Italy, namely the Corriere della Sera, focuses its articles in its section "Politics" on the lean presence of women in the current Italian campaign. What a difference with the United States (if we can venture to make a comparison between the two countries..), where a woman appears strong enough to lead a huge and powerful country! According to the journalist Maria Laura Rodotà (link to the article), the few women who're actually taking part in the campaign have not gone up in the voters' estimation: as they do not appear as potential leaders, Italians are seemingly going to prefer a male candidate.. once more, achieving a role in Italian politics is quite hard for women..

Surfing on the website of the Corriere della Sera I had a look at the results of some opinion surveys: according to a recent poll, for instance, Italian young people are going to cast more votes to the Partito Democratico (31,4%), followed by the Partito delle Libertà (21,7%) and Lega Nord (15,2 %). This result could also be linked to the increased popularity of Walter Veltroni (the leader of the Pd) who, according to another survey, seems to inspire more confidence than his competitor Silvio Berlusconi (the leader of the Pdl): 50% of preference vs 41%, without taking into account the political predisposition of the interviewees.

Even though all the newspapers I visted offer articles on several issues (from the campaign most urgent themes to the problems and doubts connected to the current electoral system..), on these very last days almost all of them focus on two main themes:

1. the Alitalia affair: the crisis involving the Italian national airline company takes nuances of a political debate. Berlusconi has namely urged a national group formed by Italian companies and banks, as well as his own children, to join a rescue operation. However, as the newspaper Repubblica suggests, nothing is really sure about that yet, since Italian companies seem to take their distance from this initiative. All this is giving rise to debates on the political level: while Berlusconi seems to present himself as the potential "rescuer" of Alitalia, his competitors harshly criticize his conduct, claiming that he revealed the names of some Italian companies which would take part in the operation, even though these companies had not given their consent at all. Once more, politics is to be found everywhere..

2. debates on Tv between the candidates: "face to face" discussions are much talked of on these last days, since they increase polemics. If Berlusconi refuses to participate to a Tv program, according to the rule of fairness in political campaign, his competitor has to stay at home as well. Ok, that's fair..but why do we still need to argue about that?! Much ado about nothing..

News from the Usa, in brief..

The New York Times reports an interview with Hillary Clinton on the urgent theme of health care costs: if elected, the ex First Lady would reduce the cost of health insurance to no more than 10% of American's income, some policies now costing even more than 16% of median income.

Obama's speech on race in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008 is still at the core of some articles both in the New York Times and Usa Today: this speech was seen as necessary after the anti-American remarks by Obama's former pastor, Rev. Wright. In his speech, the Democratic candidate criticizes the pastor's incendiary remarks and tries to put the issue behind him.

More on the USA elections: according to the german newspaper die Zeit the Republican candidate McCain could take advantage from the Obama/Clinton opposition, since 28% of Hillary's supporters would cast their votes to MacCain instead of voting Obama. If they were to choose between Hillary and her Republican rival, 19% of Obama's supporters would do the same by voting the latter.

Uff..isn't it a jungle??!!

What a wonderful country..

The Independence Hall in Philadelphia: photo by me

Hi guys, I've just come back from the States..what a great journey!! I went there with a small baroque orchestra (we were only 17 people: being a small number helped us know one onother and have wonderful time together) and we performed in two great cities: NY and Philadelphia. NY is rightly called "the city that never sleeps" because people are out night and day, while Philadelphia is considered the core of the United States of America, since the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the very first Constitution were signed there. Unlike other tournées I did in the past, in the States we had free time to visit both cities and to meet American musicians, as well as eat American food (by the way, portions are huge, I had never seen such big portions of French fries in my life!).. In NY I was really impressed by the Ground Zero area, where a tiny church collects objects, gifts, photos and images by people from around the world and by those volunteers who helped after September 11, 2001. Visiting the church we were all deeply moved, but we could also feel the unity and the courage of American people who, despite such a tragic event, worked together to overcome difficulties and sorrow..

Inside St. Paul's Church at Ground Zero: a memorial of Sept. 11, 2001 (photo by me)

That was my first journey to the States..once back I realized the importance of visiting different countries and getting to know different cultures: it's a great opportunity to broaden your horizon and become more open minded..

The Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan..taking a few photos before the concert..

Happy Easter to you all!!!

photo by Google images

Tongue twister sentences: can y do that?

It's sooooo tricky!!!!!!

1. Three witches watch three Swatch watches. Which witch watches which Swatch watch?

2. Three switched Witches watch three Swatch watch switches. Which switched Witch watches Which Swatch watch switch?

3. Three Swedish switched witches watch three Swiss Swatch watchswitches. Which Swedishs witched witch watches which Swiss Swatch watch switch?