Wednesday, March 8 at 5 pm, room 9A
Which are the main peculiarities of your own culture that may lead to misunderstandings?
How to play?
Participants will make a list of discussion topics, laying a ground for comparisons among cultures.
They will draw from their own personal experience, describing common features of the place where they live.
There are many topics that students may wish to explore in terms of social relations and situations of everyday life, for example how to relate to professors and how professors are meant to relate to students, how to regard law breaking, how to invite for dinner, what to expect from friends, what to do with friends, how to go out with a man/woman, what to expect from the family, and similar things that you regard important or not to be misunderstood.
Example of things to put in the list
Thinking about Italians, when Italians go out in a restaurant, they generally pay “alla romana”, i.e. share the bill evenly. If someone has eaten much less than the others, he or she are allowed to pay less or may even be excluded from paying. If you have more or less eaten like the others, to insist paying a separate bill is considered very impolite.
For Italians to invite someone for a cup of coffee, it means to stay together standing in a bar for a very quick drink; for Americans it means to sit down and spend sometimes together.
For “Venetians”:
If you have been to the cinema (or anywhere else) with someone else and you have to head home, it is considered to be impolite to just walk away, unless you excuse yourself, saying something like “I’m in a terrible rush”. You should inform yourself where is the other person heading to, so that you can at least walk part of the way together, often negotiating an itinerary.
Everyone is invited to join: this is going to be an important moment in your VIU experience.
DO NOT MISS THIS: IT WILL BE GREAT FUN WHILE CONTRIBUTING TO MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING.
WE HAVE BEEN DOING THIS EVERY SEMESTER AND IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A GREAT SUCCESS.
In the style of ancient Greek symposia, where they were debating serious issues while sharing food and drinks, you may bring refreshments to make the event more communal and involving.
For more information contact:
Alice Favotto, Ori Zifroni, Guo Shengjie or Prof. Luca Pes: luca.pes@univiu.org