Intercultural Differences MeetUp Department of Economics of Padova University 10 December 2014 International Tutors

Aims

¡ Openly and freely discuss cultural differences

¡  Find out new ways of approaching situations and problems

¡ Minimize the «culture shock» in your next experience abroad

¡  See things from different eyes

¡  Learn new things

¡ Meet new people

Humor across Frontiers: International Competition to write an article about elephants

¡  English Hunting Elephants in British East Africa

¡  French The Love Life of Elephants

¡  German The Origin and Development of the Indian Elephant from 1200 to 1950 (600 pages)

¡  American How to Breed Bigger and Better Elephants

¡  Russian How We Sent an Elephant to the Moon

¡  Swede Elephants and the Welfare State

¡  Spanish Techniques of Elephant Fighting

¡  Indian The Elephant as a Means of Transportation before Railroads

¡  Finns What Elephants Think about Finland

¡  Norwegian title: “Norway and Norway’s Mountains.”

How?

¡  Split in groups

¡  Launch a broad area of topics

¡  Every group chooses a topic to discuss about

¡  5-6 mins discussion

¡  Present 3 main ideas

Some topics

¡  Some points came to our minds, but you are more than welcome to revise them and add what you prefer!

¡ We though about 4 macroareas:

FOOD HABITS LIFESTYLE

ATTITUDES

LIFE IN ITALY

ENTERTAINMENT

LIFE IN ITALY

LIFE IN ITALY

¡  Why did you decide to come to Italy?

¡  Main difficulty once arrived in Italy

¡  Bureaucracy: how is enrolling at University in Italy vs your home country

¡  Life in your flat

¡  How is the local (Italian) populations? Do they

speak English?

¡  Relations with climate/sickness/cold

¡  Dealing with Italian students (curious or shy?)

¡  Work in Italy

FOOD HABITS

FOOD HABITS

¡ Dealing with FOOD! (to survive or to taste?)

¡  In company or alone?

¡  Traditions?

LIFESTYLE

LIFESTYLE

¡ Distance: What does far mean for you?

¡ How much do you travel?

¡ How much do you value your free time?

¡ Hobby

¡  "In your country, how do students normally spend money (clothes, foodd, travel, etc)?

¡  How is this different from what you've observed in Italy?

¡ Work hard or hardly work?

ENTERTAINMENT

ENTERTAINMENT

¡ How to approach the opposite sex/same sex = a potential partner?

¡ Type of relationship (open/close relationship)

¡ How do you have fun? (alcohol, disco, Karaoke,..)

¡ Roles in the relationships (different tasks, equality)

ATTITUDES

How many truths?

¡  For a German and a Finn the truth is the truth.

¡  In Japan and Britain it is all right if it doesn’t rock the boat.

¡  In China there is no absolute truth.

¡  In Italy it is negotiable.”

ATTITUDES

¡ What’s the truth? How many “truths”?

¡ Discrimination / cosmopolitan view

¡ Which country would like to visit the most /the least?

¡ How do you see legality? (i.e. buying stolen bikes? Not pay the bus ticket? Cheating during exams?)

¡ Gay Marriage

¡ How do you deal with failure/difficulties/unsuccess?

¡ How do you see the future?