Have a laugh!

Spiderman parody

First skype conversation with Rachel and Chiara

Despite some problems with the line (sometimes they couldn't hear me or I heard a lot of background noises), the conversation was definetely interesting. The very first topic was the weather and it seems it's very similar to ours! (though not as warm as here). Chiara is a first year student, is 18 and hasn't made up her mind yet on what she's going to study. Rachel is from Spain, and is going to stay at Dikinson's university for one year as Spanish teacher.

We talked about the differences in the respective school systems. In the US there is no distinction between "liceo" and "scuola professionale" and all high schools follow the same programmes. As far as university is concerned, the first year is the same for all degree courses and then students decide what to study afterwards. Campus is also a fundamental part of university life, so that there is no actual distinction between university and "private life". In Italy instead, the feeling that these are two separate things is much stronger, as students live either in private acommodations or with their family.

When the conversation switched to Italian, we discussed about the questions that emerged in the Wiki, namely about the meaning of the word "raccomandato". I explained to Rachel and Chiara that it is not something related to the feedback that students give to their teachers and that the so called "raccomandazioni" do not only apply to this field but to all jobs (unfortunately...). I hope my explanation of this typically Italian "phenomenon" was clear enough!

I'm really looking forward to seeing Chiara and hearing Rachel again.