Interculture Wiki / Alberto Tono_ICC

Ways in which my curiosity and interest were aroused: (examples that made me re-consider my own culture) American university system aroused my curiosity; it's very different from Italian. Then, I thought that Italian election system was better than American, but I noticed that it is very far from being perfect.

Moments in which I felt uncomfortable: (what made me feel like this, with particular examples if possible) I felt uncomfortable when we wrote the first words that came up in our minds about Italy/USA and someone described Italians as dirty people.

Moments when I felt comfortable:(what made me feel like this, with particular examples if possible) I felt comfortable when I read nice things about Italy and Italians written by Dickinson students and when we started our Skype exchange. I was afraid I would talk with people that yes, really wanted to share something and practise their Italian, but who also would deal with us, starting from the awareness of living in the main power of the world. I was afraid they would talk with us with a veiled feeling of superiority, even if sometimes uncounsciously. Then, I understood those were just silly fears and I myself was basing my reflections on stereotypes: my American peer has always been very kind, friendly and open for sharing something with us.

B. Knowledge

The most important things I learnt about family life and/or life at school. American people often move across the US for different reasons (family, university...); finding families in which the parents come from two different states is not rare.

The most important things I have learnt about the country, the nation, the state of the target language. I discovered that young Americans generally know quite anything about their politics and it surprised me very much.

What I have learnt about customs and conventions of talking with people (topics which interest them, topics to avoid, how to greet people and take leave from them). I talked about the war in Iraq with three Dickinson students and noticed they do not like talking about it very much. I think (that is my personal opinion) that it may be due to the fact that the USA is the main country (after, obviously, Iraq) involved in this war and this particular closeness with it makes American people less free than others of talking about it. What I mean, indeed hard to explain, is that whatever every single American citizen can think, thay all have a very strong position (that of their motherland) to live with. As far as topics than interest our American peers, I noticed they like talking about our ways of life in general.

C. Actions

Incidents or problems which I resolved by explaining different cultures to people, helping them see the points of view of different cultures and how misunderstandings can happen. I think such a situation never happend to me.

Examples of times when I have had to ask questions and work out my own answers (from ask for clarification to understanding cultural customs and beliefs) For example when I asked why American election system is organized in this way (proportional system states and "winner-takes-all" system states).

A. Interest in other people's way of life

I am interested in other people's experience of daily life, particularly those things not usually presented to outsiders through the media. Example: problems and how people deal with them. I'm particuarly interested in social life and the dynamics in it.

I am also interested in the daily experience of a variety of social groups within a society and not only the dominant culture. Example: I'm interested in the life of social gropus like, for example, baby-gangs in metropolis or "little" communities in big cities, like Italian, Chinese, etc.. I would also like to know more about the daily reality of all those Americans that are not WASP and how they see their own country.

B. Ability to change perspective

I have realised that I can understand other cultures by seeing things from a different point of view and by looking at my culture from their perspective. Example: Yes, I believe it is a very interesting and useful exercise, but it sometimes be quite difficult.

C. Ability to cope with communicating in a different language with a different culture

I am able to cope with a range of reactions people from different cultures may have to the way I express myself and what I say. Example: I perfectly know that my way of thinking is strongly connected with my personal culture. So, when I'm dealing with, for example, foreign people, I always try to avoid expressions or refelections that may offend someone.

D. Knowledge about another country and culture

I know some important facts about the other culture and about the country, state and people that I did not know before. Example: Now I know how American election system is organized and how young Americans generally are not very interested in politics.

I know how to engage in conversation with people of the other culture and maintain a conversation. Example: During our Skype exchanges we developed a lot of different subjects (immigration, politics, university system, society...) and now I can use these topics to start or maintain other conversations.

E. Knowledge about intercultural communication

I know how to resolve misunderstandings which arise from people's lack of awareness of the view point of another culture. Example of misunderstanding and solution: I think such an occurence has not happened to me yet, but I think I would be able to cope and clarify in order to avoid undesirable situations.

I know how to discover new information and new aspects of the other culture for myself. Example: I can find some information in the Web or in magazines or newspapers. I think that in this case, informal sources like, for example, blogs, can be veru useful: it's how going directly into people's life.

Please provide specific examples of the following:

words, expressions I learned in English: "preppy" (adjective derived from "preparatory school"), "never mind" (I just knew this expression, but I started using it during our exchanges).

improvements in my pronunciation of certain words or intonation: I think that my intonation probably improved, but assessing it is hard.

improvements in my listening: I cannot give specific examples; our exchanges obviously helped me to improve my listening skills.
changes in the way I speak Italian to non-native speakers: I tried to speak a bit more clearly and slowly.
words, expressions I learned doing the wiki project: sorority, robe, keg.
improvements in my reading doing the wiki project: my reading and writing skills improved thanks to the entire English course, this year.
improvements in my writing doing the wiki project: my reading and writing skills improved thanks to the entire English course, this year.

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