On 5th October at Umberto I a very particular event took place. In the big hall of the school, actually not big enough, many students from five different countries met on a Tuesday morning to share the experiences they had during the previous weeks and months. A really nice opportunity to meet other cultures organized by the school: Indians, Italians, Latvians, Germans and Swedish presented the main habits of their countries, creating an atmosphere of interculture and friendship. The hard task to connect all these different people was made easier through English of course, the language used all over the world to make distances shorter. It was nice to notice how this “international moderator” was characterised by different shades and nuances among the guests. Each person standing on the stage beside the videos, the pictures or the performances, showed his own behaviour, habit and accent in front of the audience. Diversity colored communication in various ways. Images of the five countries was flowing with the English words of the speakers during the presentations. Behind the stage were the flags of the countries represented. The German group talked about German habits and every day life, from Sweden we could see some original videos, showing Uppsala, their city, Indians presented the principal characteristics of their country and gave us a wonderful dance performance. Finally theItalian groups talked about Turin and is intercultural soul. By thisschool event allowed “culture to meet culture” – as the initiavive was called – and gave an exclusive opportunity to students, although the long time spent in the hall was a bit heavy for the young public and maybe a better way to keep the attention alive all morning could have been found, that’s not easy of course. However, all day was led by the friendship created during this period of projects, an example of the importance and the pleasure of meeting people from far countries, with different fascinating cultures.
This wonderful union was especially represented during the Indian dance performance: the language of shapes and movement overcame every distance and incomprehension, involving everyone in a special colourful atmosphere.
Federica Baradello (4F)