Showing posts with label University of Tuscia. Show all posts
International Day 2012 Università Degli Studi Della Tuscia
This semester I interned with my study abroad program (USAC) in Italy. My major duties were to assist the program director to promote and engage the student body in cultural events. Demographically the University was made up of a large native Italian student body, as well as the European and American study abroad students respectively. One of the major events USAC hosted was International Day. This day was filled with activities set to provide awareness among the various culture groups. Fall semester I had participated and was surprised at how many different nationalities were represented at Tuscia such as Poland, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, America, the Czech Republic, and of course Italy among many others.
Now, having spent a semester already at Tuscia I had somewhat of a feel for campus life. What I noticed was that there was a distinct divide between the various cultural groups on campus. Walking into the student area you would find the Italians hanging out with Italians, as well as the Polish and the Americans sticking to their own cultural groups. My goal for this event was to bring the students together. I wanted to create activities that ensured that the various groups integrated and conversed with one another, and of course have fun.
We first divided the participants into groups as they walked into the theater, snapped some pictures by our map and began the event with some great activities. We had a hello workshop where the members of the groups had to introduce themselves to one another in there own native language.
"Annyeong Nanam Cariela-ya"
Hello my name is Cariela in Korean, Thanks Yu Jin Kim ^_^
Other activities were the animal noise game, where we asked various students what noise certain animals made. You'd be surprised at what noises are given to animals in different cultures. Then we had an Italian Gestures slideshow. After we had students work out a skit using only body language. Lastly, we had a music game, where we played clips of artist from around the world and they had to identify the artist and country. It was a lot of fun! Then we had a breaktime filled with yummy food and we ended the night with live music. A local band and a group of Brazillian students singing the popular song "Ai Se Eu Te Pego" by Michel Telo.
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| Stefano Pizzetti: Director of USAC Viterbo |
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| The Dean of the Language college and USAC |
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| Dogs in America say woof woof, but in Europe they go Bow Wow |
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| Gesture skits, it's all about that body language |
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| Rockin' out! |
All in all it was a successful event. Goals were met and the participants had a good time. I'm so fortunate to have been apart of it. Thanks for reading!
I know it's hard to believe that I am in Italy to be a student, but a student is my number one priority. Classes have been well underway and although I LOVE it here and am learning how to really spend the time to relax and enjoy life, I am still finding myself stressing out. School never fails to provide me with a few sleepless nights and constant worrying. That's just me I guess (no matter what country I'm studying in).
This fall I am taking a diverse combination of courses, this being; roman civilization, intercultural communication, and an array of Italian spoken courses. At first glance my fall schedule doesn't seem too off beat, but I find myself struggling with the simplest tasks. Not only am I taking classes in a different institution, and in a new country, but I am being taught to think in a completely different way. In the beginning I found myself resisting the changes and because of that I felt overwhelmed and discouraged.
The Italian system and way of thinking is not the same as that of the U.S. Our habits, our approach to life are very different. Even more than I expected them to be, but recently I have come across something very profound (or at least I think it to be). We are all affected by our history. Not just that of an individual, but of a people who have evolved for centuries.
In Italy the idea of time is very different to that of the U.S. this is influenced by the fact that the Italians have such a vast, extensive history. Their history dates back to B.C. whereas the U.S. only dates back to the 17th century. This makes a big difference on our perspectives. Did you know that this year marks the 150 year anniversary of unification of Italy. In the grand scheme of the Italian and Roman history this makes Italy seem like a baby state and most Italians feel patronage to their towns and regions instead of the country itself. They view themselves as Venetians, Florentines, Romans, Sicilians, Sardinians, Viterbese, among many others.
The Italian system and way of thinking is not the same as that of the U.S. Our habits, our approach to life are very different. Even more than I expected them to be, but recently I have come across something very profound (or at least I think it to be). We are all affected by our history. Not just that of an individual, but of a people who have evolved for centuries.
In Italy the idea of time is very different to that of the U.S. this is influenced by the fact that the Italians have such a vast, extensive history. Their history dates back to B.C. whereas the U.S. only dates back to the 17th century. This makes a big difference on our perspectives. Did you know that this year marks the 150 year anniversary of unification of Italy. In the grand scheme of the Italian and Roman history this makes Italy seem like a baby state and most Italians feel patronage to their towns and regions instead of the country itself. They view themselves as Venetians, Florentines, Romans, Sicilians, Sardinians, Viterbese, among many others.
I've only begun to understand our differences, but by merely acknowledging that they exist puts me in a completely different perspective than when I first arrived here.
Università degli Studi della Tuscia
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| The University at a Distance |
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| The Main Courtyard |
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| Entrance to the University with my friend Mary Kay |
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| Using the Free Wifi at School |
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| A corridor w/ Frescos remains |
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| I feel like I am at Hogwarts ^.^ |
