As promised in November, we are here again to interview Lorenzo from Italy and his dutch corrispondent Kain. Their exchange occurred in the modern Eindhoven, Netherlands, during the second week of March.
1) The first question is for Lorenzo: Describe Eindhoven and make a comparison with Turin.
L- I think Eindhoven is a nice city with a quiet downtown and a lot of pubs, cinemas and supermarkets. Maybe a big difference is related to the traffic and the buildings. In fact, while in Turin there are lots of ancient buildings, in Eindhoven everything is modern.
2) What did you like most about Italian/Dutch people?
K- What I liked the most was that they are really kind and open-hearted. Everybody is welcome to join in. It was like: more people, more joy.
L- Sometimes we have the prejudice that Dutch people are quite closed, but I have stayed with a really kind family and I think that most of them are outgoing.
3) What impressed you the most about the trip?
K- What impressed me the most was that we did a lot of activities apart from school. Everybody was willing to organise something with all the other students.
L- The thing that I enjoyed the most in the journey was the trip to The Hague, because it’s a big city by the sea with a lot of actractions for tourists and young people.
4)How did the family welcome you?
L- The family was really good to me because they did a lot of things for me so that I didn’t feel bored and they let me do whatever I wanted.
5) What did you expect from Holland? (what did you think the italians expected from the Netherlands)?
L- I expected to have fun and I did. Apart from that I had already been to Holland and so I already knew something about the country.
K- I think they expected lots of outgoing people with almost no boundries. For example: if my student wanted to go to the city, then we would go to the city, and the same with others places.
6) How would you describe in one sentence the Netherlands? And the trip in general? Your correspondent?
L- This week with dutch people was very interesting and pleasant. Holland was enjoyable also because people are nice and kind, like Kain and his family.
K- Netherlands is a country for everybody who is open-minded and where everybody is welcome. About the trip, a fun way to meet other people and learn their ways and culture. My corrispondent Lorenzo is a really nice guy who is willing to learn about the other cultures’ ways.
7) Would you have this experience again? Why?
L- My correspondent was really kind to me, because he let me do everything I wanted to without boring me. He also was sympathetic and affable. I think that it was a wonderful occasion to meet new people, to speak English and to get to know a culture that’s different from ours.
K- I certainly do want to do it all over again. It is a really fun way to get in touch with other people from other countries. Because if this wasn’t possible, then you would only have the knowledge of your country’s culture.
Greet the Umbertimes in Dutch.
K- Groetjes Umberto I !
L- Dankjewel Netherlands!!!
Thank you guys, it was a pleasure!
Claudia Brizzi (3E)