Still, the words that compare only once are:

- for 'Immigrants': important. I was wondering many times if I consider immigration important or not from an economical and social point of view. Our country has known massive immigration only recently, and I think that we all have not a clear idea about the effects of this globalization. Good or not its effects are still to become evident here. I think that US people have more valuable opinions about immigration. 

- for 'American men': pigs (!) and intelligent. Apart from the first adjective (which can be told about a great part of men on earth...:P), I'd like to know why Americans have not a great consideration about American men. The general idea given is not that brilliant, is it?

- for 'Italian lifestyle': art. The 'relaxing' idea about Italy overwhelmed all people's associations! Only one person remembered about the great artworks we have here. Thank you:)

About sentence completion, I really like these two:

- A good parent is someone who sets a good example for his/her children, and allows them to be who they want to be.

- A good teacher is someone who can motivate his students to be the best they can be and allow them to think on their own.

I like these two sentences because they both recall the importance of the freedom of expression. I think it's important not to force people to do something, but let them be how they like through the best way they can.

Finally, reading our American peers' answers, I'd like to ask something about:

1- What is 'Ellis Island' and why do you associate it with immigration?

2- Do you think your ideas about Italy are influenced by any mass-media product (e.i. The Sopranoes)? If yes, could you please tell me which are these sources and what are they about?

Bye,

Zara

Marina

The three words I chose in the Word Association are Italian lifestyle (like Zara), Politics and Community, because the answers for these words were not the answers I expected. Like Zara did, I focused most on the answers of our American peers. The only meanings I didn't know were:

"Nap": "A period of time spent sleeping"(wordreference)  (I think this is the meaning the student wanted to use);

"Laid back": "Having a relaxed style or character" (Merriam-webster).

As for the words I chose, here's the summary of the answers:

Italian Lifestyle: The words that appear most are "Relax" and "take it easy" for the Americans, whereas Italians use a lot of different adjectives. I think this is because it is more difficult to speak of ourselves than of the other people. What do you think? On the other hand, the words that appear only once are "wine", "cheese", "bread", "fashion", "family orientated", "social",  "smile" and "art", all words linked to our food and art. I agree with Zara with her explanations because I was surprised to see that Americans see Italians like relaxed people. As I never visited America, I can't make comparisons, but I would expect the answers to be more regarding the family. I don't agree with Zara when she says that "Relaxed" has a negative connotation. Maybe our American students would like to have a less frenetic lifestyle.

Community: The words that appear most are "Friends" and "Family", whereas the words that appear only once are "Rules" and "Service". Here I wouold make a comparison between American and Italian answers because I think they are different from each other (even though they all have a positive connotation). We talked more about the rules and the characteristics of a "Community", whereas our American peers talked more about family and friends. Someone talked also about "College dormitory", which is a kind of Community that is not part of our culture.

Politics: The answers for this words were almost the same for Italians and Americans, in particular the words that appeared most were "Complicated" and "Corrupt". Most part of the answers had a negative connotation, especially in those written by Italians. I think that this reflects our present reality. The answers of the Italians were full of anger and reflected all the different points that don't work in our country. In the words that appear only once there's "Red- Blue States", which personally I don't know what it means.

In the Sentence Completion, the sentences that most struck me were:

A good neighbor is someone who:

- isn't too nosy, can take care of your house when you're gone

- keeps a spare key to your house for when you locked yourself out

I think that this demonstrates that American neighbors feel more part of the same family, whereas Italians said that a good neighbor is someone who do not bother and don't poke.

A good son is someone who:

- respects his parents. This sentence was written by almost everyone from the American students, whereas what struck me in particular was that some Italians wrote "cerca la propria indipendenza senza pesare sui genitori" and "prende la sua strada senza ferire o recare danno a un genitore". I think that this deny the common idea of how Italians see themselves, like "mammoni". It makes us see that we do not live with our family because we do not want to become independent.

Like I said before, I don't know what are Red- and Blue states, so I would like to ask it to our American peers.

Another question I'd like to ask them is why they do see Italians as relaxed people. I woould like to know where this ideas comes from.

See you! :-)

Marina

Hi Eleonora!

I didn't know the meaning of "up tight" too, and, like you, I'd like to know where is Ellis Island... I think that Italy and America have different types of immigrations. It could be a huge topic to discuss on Monday with Chiara.

I also agree with you with the fact that in cities like Milan the life is not so relaxed... That's why the answers of the Americans surprised me.

As for politics, I really think that in Italy we have a very negative situation... :-(

Anyway! See you on Monday to meet Chiara and learn more about American culture! :-)

Bye

Marina

Eleonora: 

PS: On Monday Sarah told something about our mid-term paper. I think she said we should write a blog post about it, but I'm not sure. Maybe you have understood better than me what we are supposed to do and can help me...;-) Thanks! 

Marina

Hi girls!

I read the comment of Eleonora and personally I'm interested in the topic of North-South and I would like to know what are the differences and similarities with our experience.

Furthermore, I wrote some days ago in this page that I think America has a different experience regarding immigration. As far as I know, they have problems with Mexican immigrants, and I would like to know what are their politics about immigration and if they agree with them or they would do something different.

As for the mid-term paper, I have understood that all our texts with the corrections are here, so that everyone can look at the others' mistakes and learn from them.

See you! :-)

Hi girls!

It seems like the two topics we are most interested in are:

1- The ‘North VS South’ issue

2- Immigration

So these are the questions I would suggest:

 1- Can you tell us in more details how the situation between Northern and Southern States are? What sort of differences (economic, social, political…) are more evident between the two parts of the country? As far as you know, do you think there are some similarities with the situation in Italy?

2- What kind of policy has been adopted in the US to cope with the issue of immigration (especially in the last few years)? Do you think it has worked? If not, what could have been done better?

PS: What/Where is ‘Ellis Island’ and why do you associate it with immigration?

If you agree, I can post one of these two questions tomorrow morning. Just tell me which one do you think is better. Obviously, if you have other ideas, if you want to correct the questions, change or add something you are welcome ;-)

Let me know,

Eleonora