Diversity Diary #11

I turned in my diversity diaries this morning, but I realized I never included these videos in an entry.
Last week, Nicoletta showed us these videos last week. It started out with a comical video of Englishmen going to Italy.



This reminded her of another instructional video about Italian hand gestures. This is an actual study done on body language Italians often use. Some are obvious, some are fun and some are apparently offensive. We had fun watching them. If you have a few minutes, feel free to be entertained!

Diversity Diary #9

Greece was really the first time I got to talk to talk to Europeans other than Italians. Although I had been to Switzerland, we didn’t really get a chance to meet anyone besides other American students traveling and staying at the hostel. Most everyone else was shut inside for the coldest weekend of the year.

I mentioned that we made friends with a Brit, James, for a couple of days in Athens. He made his opinion of Italians clear. “Ohhhh Italy. Italian men.” Then he proceeded to mock the stereotypical over-sexed, passionate Italian man. “Kissy kissy ohh mwah mwah mwah.”

It made me laugh, but it got me thinking about stereotypes. Americans certainly have plenty of assumptions about European countries, but I hadn’t really thought about the stereotypes formed within Europe of their neighboring countries.

In contrast to the wildly inappropriate Italian men, James also said people perceive Englishmen as cold and unfeeling. He didn’t see why not being as showy as Italians made him cold. It was an interesting conversation.

A few days later we ran into an Armenian man in Santorini. Now I’ve already heard Italians’ general presumption about Armenians. “Stay away from the Armenians.” People have said the inappropriate behavior and disrespectful cat calls of “Ciao bella!” come from Armenians, not Italians as American students often mistake. As a whole, they’re not a favorable crowd to Italians.

Well this man didn’t have too many kind words to speak of Italians either. When we told him we study in Italy, his immediate question was “what do you think of Italians?” We didn’t really give him an answer before he was telling us his own opinion. “They’re not helpful at all. In my culture, in my country, if your fellow man needs help, you help him. They don’t ever help me when I’m there. Not for directions. Nothing. They don’t like to help people.” My best guess is this may be true, but the stereotype Italians have of Armenians is probably largely to blame. Who knows though?

I just thought it was really interesting to hear from both sides of this. I felt like I was listening to both sides of a stupid argument between bickering children.

Diversity Diary #8

Coins and change.
I didn't actually notice this for a while, but since we've talked about it a couple of times in Italian class, this difference stands out to me.
Italian cashiers do not want you to put money directly into their hands. It's a serious payment faux pas. If you try to give it to them directly, they'll pull their hand away and point to the counter. Almost every place I've been has a small tray where you're supposed to put the money. And when they hand you change, even if your palm is out they will place it on the counter.
It's the exact opposite of the norm in the U.S. I feel incredibly rude if I just set the money on the counter. I know as an employee, every time someone throws coins and some bills on the counter I am immediately annoyed. It takes more time to pick up all those darn nickels and pennies you insist on paying with and those people behind you aren't standing in a single file line just for fun.
It took me a while to get used to just setting money on the counter without feeling like I would be reprimanded with a filthy glare. But I'm used to it. As far as cultural differences go, it's probably the easiest to manage. It just baffles me.

Diversity Diary #3

Today in class we talked about the American values. Fabio gave us all a list of societal values and a few minutes to rank which 10 we felt encompassed the American culture. It was a lot more difficult than I expected. We traded papers for anonymity, and everyone wrote the top five values from each list on the whiteboard. The following appeared the most:

(there are roughly 11 or 12 students in the class)

Democracy – 7

Education – 6

(Nation’s) Status – 6

Money/wealth – 5

Fabio said those were exactly the values he most often associates with America, except for one: Patriotism. It didn’t appear on the board at all, and only one person could find it lower on the list. Interesting. Fabio was really surprised.

He said the above four values “are a part of the materialistic nature of America” and emphasized that it wasn’t meant to be offensive, just honest.

We started talking about another value that appeared in various forms: competition/success/accomplishment. Americans tend to judge people based on incomes, whether we realize it or not. One of the first questions we ask each other when meeting is “what do you do for a living? Where do you work?” This immediately gives us a sense of that individual’s income. Or for college students, the question is “where do you go to school?” The price of that school and how elite it is also gives a good sense of their wealth.

Fabio explained that this is unique to Americans. A career is not part of how Italians and most other cultures introduce themselves. Loyalty to careers, jobs and the professional world is a particular characteristic of the American Culture. I hadn't thought of it like that, but it's so true. 

We also listed three values that don't embody the American culture and listed them on the board. It made us sound like a pretty wretched crew. Here's the list for your perusal:

What America is not, according to my intercultural communication class:

Privacy

Regulation and control

Gratitude

Equal opportunity

Chastity (2)

World unity (2)

All for one, one for all

Rationality

Subtlety

Accomplishment

Family values

Respect for elders

Force

Simplicity

Timeliness

Global view

Calm, quiet (2)

Peace/nonviolent

Honesty/Truthfulness

Romance of life

Consensus

Helpfulness/being friendly

Solitude

Sincerity

Ritual