Hi everyone,
It was good to meet you all last week, and so sorry I forgot to post week 1 prompt for your diaries!!! SORRY!
First of all can I ask those of you who haven't yet done the writing task to complete it please.
This week all of you will be starting Soliya and you will have your first chat session. A lot of the time will be spent resolving technical issues and understanding how the software works, but don't worry, it gets better!
After your session remember to select, copy and paste the text chat into a word document and then send it to yourself. If you want you can also send it to me (francesca.helm@unipd.it).
Also you have to write your diary and send it as a comment to this post in the blog. If you DO NOT want your diary to be public, write it in a word document and send it to me by mail.
Why write diaries?
It is not sufficient simply to have an experience in order to learn. Without reflecting upon this experience it may quickly be forgotten, or its learning potential lost. It is from the feelings and thoughts emerging from this reflection that generalisations or concepts can be generated. And it is generalisations that allow new situations to be tackled effectively. (Gibbs, 1988, p. 9)
Reflective writing gives you the chance think about what you are doing more deeply and to learn from your experience. Writing your thoughts down makes it easier for you to think about them and make connections between what you are thinking, what you are being taught and what you are doing. Your written reflection will also serve as a source of reference and evidence for your final paper. It will help you understand the journey you have gone through and see the progress you have made.
In your reflection, you could write about:
• what you did,
• what was good and bad about it,
• why you found it good or bad,
• what you found easy or difficult,
• why you found it easy or difficult,
• what you liked about what you did,
• why you felt like that,
• how you might want to follow it up,
• what other people did and why they did it,
• what other information do you need,
• what you are going to do differently in this type of situation next time,
• what steps you are going to take on the basis of what you have learned,
And a reminder of the work you have to do for your credits.
Keep a diary (every week post a comment on the week's discussions to this blog)
Do the video/pair assignment
Write a final, reflective paper (which can be based on your diaries).
Advice for online sessions:
You might want to keep a window open with an online dictionary so that you can look up words you hear or read but do not necessarily understand. There are links on the side of the blog to various resources.
You can use the chat box to share links with other students, you may want to illustrate certain points, show them a website about something related to the situation in Italy. You can copy and paste the URL into the text box.
Also use the text chat when you are having trouble with the audio or understanding other people. Some useful phrases:
Sorry I can't hear very well - could you repeat that please?
Could you type that please as I didn't hear?
The volume is low
There is some interference
I'm having trouble with my microphone.
Be right back - am going to ask tech support for help.
After discussions
Read over the chat transcripts after you have finished the discussions, and you can also make notes on the transcripts, add things that perhaps were said but not written.
Find points in the chat where you perhaps did not understand or still do not understand and want to look things up in a dictionary or ask me to help you understand.
Make a record of new vocabulary or expressions that you learn.
Every week send your reflections on the week's discussions as a comment to the post I send. Read the others' comments too and discuss issues that emerge with them too!
Thanks,
Francesca
So: today was my first session of the Soliya Project and here I am, trying to write a decent diary.
RispondiEliminaI think that all the groups in their first session have just introduced themselves and started to get to know each other. At least, this is what happened in our group. We have introduced ourselves to each other. Most of us are from non-western countries, but I have to say that two guys were missing and I understood that they are from the US.
We chatted about random topics, from ‘how’s the place you’re living in’ to ‘what do you study’ and ‘what does your name mean’. Our facilitator, Casper (yes, we all thought about the ghost, Casper!) also proposed a game in which we had to tell three things about ourselves, two true and one false and the others had to guess which was the false one. Okay, it’s becoming more a chronicle, than a reflection diary.
I have to say, I enjoyed it very much. There were many technical issues, we were all expecting that, I think. I don’t know, but I think I had the best connection and technology, since they were always able to hear me and see me. And, following the schedule, there wasn’t any concrete discussion.
I enjoyed very much having the chance to meet new people from different countries (Tunisia, Pakistan, West Virginia, Egypt, Jordan). When speaking about our expectations from the project, I was a bit surprised that, besides me and the guy from the US, almost everyone has told us they are participating to improve their English. I wasn’t expecting that and I was actually afraid that my English would have been too bad. I appreciated that some of us said that they are also participating to create friendships. Maybe it is silly from me but I’m always surprised by how we are able to create such virtual friendships. I already have friends in other countries and we often Skype with each other, but having the chance to actually meet and debate with people from different countries at the same time is wonderful. Anyway, I was glad to hear their ‘friend-building’ purpose, it was one of the reasons that made me decide to participate in the project.
Now, if I had to point out some cons of the first session: I found our discussions a bit… messy? I am sure it was because it was the first meeting. Still, people getting in and out of the chatroom was a little chaotic and I hope it won’t happen that in the next sessions because it is very distracting and we often had to summarize what had been said previously. Two girls also had to change their classroom during the meeting.
Last but not least: men in our group were definitely a minority. We were six girls and two guys. Hopefully the two missing guys from the US will join us next week, I am really looking forward to meet them.
Oh, I have to say, I am afraid that I have sort of monopolized the microphone. No, I am kidding, but I hope I did not speak too much.
I am very curious to hear and to participate in the upcoming discussions: I would love to know how is their university, their education… And two girls were wearing the islamic veil (I don’t know if it’s the right expression) and I am very curious to hear their opinions about gender and religion.
To sum up: thumbs up for this first session.
Federica
MARTA PERRONE 15 Ottobre, 09:54 am
RispondiEliminaDear diary,
Yesterday afternoon I had my first Soliya meeting. I can't deny that before starting I was excited, but also a bit scared and nervous. Usually I'm shy so I was worried about not saying a single word. Often when I meet foreign people, my first thought is "Marta, run away"! But now, I've decided to change my attitude, trying to be braver, applying my abilities and improving them. I really want to make any effort is necessary to do that and this is the reason why I'm taking part in the project.
So I breathed deep and I started this new adventure. The surprise was that I was at ease for all the time. Unfortunately, two guys were absent and another girl, Marioma from Jordan, had technical problems and difficulties to communicate with us. But it was a great pleasure for me to talk with Alaa from Jordan, Christi from Western Kentucky, Ines and Allala from Tunisia. Our facilitators, Julieth and Robdeti, were nice, their help so useful…Thanks to them we gradually broke the ice. We started giving some general information about our place of origin and our reasons for the interest in Soliya. I explained that I want to understand better what I'm studying and to learn more about other cultures. Multi-cultural dialogue is a way to bring light to cultural conflicts, according to my point of view, and I was pleasantly surprised that it is the same for the others. I also discovered lots of similarities about how we spend the weekend: reading, going out with friends, staying in family, cooking and baking.
About our expectations, I reaffirmed my desire to gain more knowledge just like other guys that expect to learn from the different cultures represented in the group. Little by little, the atmosphere became confortable and I felt really good. Talking about the number of our siblings, we also reflected upon the reason why now families have fewer children, also in places like Tunisia where traditionally in the past people used to have big families. In our opinion, it depends on economic and social factors because, like Christie said, people are expected to have fewer kids, but also on the new role of women in society (difficulty related to her careers). I really liked to discuss this issue with these guys and thanks to Allala and Ines I learnt that in 1956 the Tunisian government established a program in order to control population. We finished talking about our fears related to the program. Fear is natural for the first time and we may face some misunderstandings. But our aim is to understand each other, finding some similarities and appreciating differences. So, at the end of the first session, I can say that I’m not very afraid. No fear, no prejudices, no closed minds. This is my hope.
I can’t wait to see them next week. I’m still excited.
Marta
STEFANIA NICOLETA BRATU, 15 October 2014
RispondiEliminaDear diary,
yesterday I started my first session with Soliya project. I don't looking forward to starting this programme because I wanted to know new people who come from different parts of the world. Indeed in my group there are some students who come from North Africa such as Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia. Others come from several American universities for example Maryland, San Jose and Bluefield College. I think that this experience will be very useful for me, because I could improve my english level and I could learn a lot of things about different cultures especially African culture. In the past I followed a course which talked about the relations between Africa, Asia and Europe.
First of all everyone presented himself and all partcipants describe their room. After that we moved on another topic. The facilitators asked us to think three things about us and I said that I'm married, student and Italian. Two of these things were true and just one false. The other players had to find the false things about me.
In the second parts of the session there was a sort of debate between two people of the group. They talked about the role of the media and which kind of media is more true.
At the end of the session we had to play a game. Unfortunately I couldn't play beacuse the link, which the facilitators pasted in the text box, it didn't work. So the time was over and I need to go because I had to prepare dinner for my family.
Stefania
Hello everyone,
RispondiEliminaYesterday afternoon I also have the first chat session... what an experience!
I was so afraid to have technical problems that I was the first one to connect to check if everything was okay, so I had also the chance to talk a little bit with the facilitator of my group, Lisa. Then, slowly, also the other people showed up, even if we were just 6 of the 8 expected. Plus, a guy from Egypt had a serious connection problem, so he was basically unable to actively participate to the conversation, while an Armenian girl was on a train and, even if we were able to hear her, she had some problems in catching what we were saying.
Beside that, I had the chance to know better my peers of the group better: an american girl, a boy from Pakistan and another one from Egypt.
Lisa helped us to start the conversation with different games, such us "show and tell": she asked us to bring an object that meant something for us at the session and, before showing it to the others and explain the reason of the choice, to try first to describe it, in order to make a little test on the power of the communication and how a message and be sent and be received in many different way. The result of the experiment was very interesting in my point of view: for example, it gives us the chance to reflect a little bit on the cliches we have on each other and on a certain idea we had about the opposite sex, since both the Pakistan and Egyptian boys, instinctively, associate to the girls objects such as "a bag" or "make up set". That gave me the incentive, at the moment to list the topics we wanted to focus in during the sessions, to suggest "the role of women in the different societies", since I think a lot of different inputs and points of view will turn out from our discussions.
Another moment of reflection for me was the moment in which the boy from Pakistan asked to us what we knew about his country: I have so many things to learn, and I think that was one of the first, real moment in which I've realized the potential power of a program like Soliya in truly changing our perspective on many different subjects and in giving an innovative and fresh look to the world around us. And I have to confirm one of the things we said during the introducing meeting: see the facial expressions of the people I was talking with and being able to be, somehow, in the same room regardless the distance and the different time zones, was pretty amazing.
To sum up, I'm looking forward for the next meeting, and I'm sure that we will be able to overcome the technical problems and the sessions will keep to be better and better!
Liliana
Questo commento è stato eliminato dall'autore.
RispondiElimina
RispondiEliminaDear Diary,
Last night I dreamed about Soliya meeting I think it was because I was very exciting but at the same time a little bit scared and nervous (yes I know I’ve to control my emotions cause I’m too much sensitive and impulsive), now I’ve just finished this first session and I’ve understand that there’s no reason to be afraid or scared of our english pronunciation, prejudice, nationality or anything else. Only few of us in the group have the same nationality I’m in a very heterogeneous group with people from Morocco, Pakistan, America, Egypt and Italy. Unfortunately at the beginning we have had a lot of problems with the connection and many technical issues to face, and I was directly involved in some connection troubles but in few seconds everything was ok. I’m happy that my connection was one of the best, many people of my group was continuously putted out and in of the chat room. (maybe for me was better because I had a great two hours experience with the student technical support during my diagnostic test two weeks ago and it was funny but crazy!).
Anyway, our first meeting is started with some breaking ice activity; to check our microphones and headphones the facilitators asked us what’s the meaning of our name, a strange but curious question!, I’ve discovered a lot of interesting things during this game for example that the name Salima in Arabic means safe, healthy, pure, and smart.We have introduced ourselves to each other talking about what we did during our last weekend and what we usually do during our week. Lisanne, our facilitators is very kind and so careful to everybody, if someone don’t talk she gently ask an opinion in a very appropriate way, she also want to be sure that everybody can understand all, writing down a summary of everyone’s speech.
We have talked about our study field, our University courses and our country, then we have talked about our hobbies and interests and about our expectations from this program (I mean Soliya), what are our fears and what the topics we want to discuss in this semester.
More or less all of us have given the same answer: improve our english, learn something more about different cultures, talk about the world events, know different points of views and get to know one each other to create new friendship.
In the end Lisanne (the facilitator) gave us a link to play a game but unfortunately this link didn’t work on my computer. It doesn’t matter I’m sure it will be better the next time, also for the connectivity problems of anyone of us I hope!
I’m looking forward for the next Soliya meeting with a lot of curiosity and a great open mind!
Can’t wait!
Sara
Dear Francesca,
RispondiEliminaI prefere to write my reflections through e-mail. I will send you a file.
Thanks,
Valentina Penzo
Elena Melotti, 16 ottobre 2014
RispondiEliminaHello everybody!
I have just finished my first Soliya session, so I'm driven by first impression in this moment.
I was a little bit worried about being late and about technical problems, but eventually everything worked.
There's just one thing disturbing me and it is about the system of communication. I'm talking about the fact that when someone is speaking, it is impossible to listen to the others, which would be useful, especially to detect if they can hear and if they can understand or have problems.
In particular, to speak in total silence makes me feel like I'm talking to nobody, and the fact that the windows showing people are quite small and that the audio quality is not that good is contributing to the sensation. Recreate the patterns of a group informal conversation in this situation is not going to be easy but I think it's possible and I'll try to do my part in it.
As another girl, whose name is Ella noticed, we have been lucky this first time, cause we were just three out of the nine people who should have been there and it was easier to get familiar with the technical issues (the facilitator was always at disposal). I liked the “show and tell” game, even if it was supposed to be played in a larger group: it was a nice way to start learning something more about other people, and funny because of the possibility to chat the guessings in the middle. This kind of things help in breaking the ice.
For the sake of intercultural exchange, I hope that next time more people will attend the session.
I have to say I was quite expecting this low attending, because I visioned the profiles and blogs of the other students and there where really few pictures (I think to put the picture is a sign of caring and of the willingness to “personalize” the experience) and laconic answers. To sum up people showing up at the session have been exactly the people I was expecting to.
To conclude my reflection, I'm not satisfied at the highest possible level with this first session, but it was just the beginning and I'm hopeful that group dynamics will improove in next sessions, due to the increased familiarity with the platform, the people and the whole situation.
Diego Santagiuliana, October 17, 2014
RispondiEliminaThis evening I took part at my first Soliya meeting. I forgot to copy the text of the chat, so I’ve to write something immediately to avoid memory failure.
I go to bed too late, I wake up late and often I go late for work: probably Soliya team read in my mind and assigned me to the last group (58), in the last session of Thursday evening. Really there isn’t much to write, and for some ways I prefer so.
Obviously I don’t want to criticize the composition of the group: I largely comprehend difficulties in matching so many students with different timetables, from different countries.
The group isn’t very various: there are two boys from Morocco (connecting from the same lab), a French girl from Paris, another from USA; three were absent, all from USA I suppose.
Unfortunately the voice of Matt, the facilitator, was quite covered by a strong “buzz” for a long time; the second facilitator, Sarah, was connecting from Egypt and we heard her occasionally for few minutes, because of technical troubles.
Before entering the main meeting room, I passed through the panic room: my camera wasn’t working for a trouble between Adobe reader and Soliya platform. Oh my God! I called (shouting) my son Vittorio, who studies computer science, and he solved my enormous problem – smiling - with a pair of click. Just in time.
Anyway the discussion seemed quite awkward during all session, with several silences.
My main fear, that is not to be able to understand the dialogue, was not founded, nore false: I had sometime to ask people to repeat and I often would miss the train of thought if I hadn’t the written summary in the central window.
At the end of the session we tried to define some rules and topics for next times: the former we all agreed for respect, expecially about religious matters, the latter is an open question, since quite all member stated their interest in high and noble – but, I think, too generic - themes, such as wars, peace, human rights, poverty, etc.; I exposed my real interest in topics concerning the natural environment and, at the broadest level, the survival of life on Earth. I firmly believe that the deepest root of wars and conflicts all around the world is the fight to keep natural resources. Our way of life, with its big consumption of energy and goods, may change if we want to make a better society.
Finally I’m not pessimistic: maybe little and shy players will become a great team! I only hope that my new friends will not consider me a little crazy: I shaked my hands on my head and around my face about twenty times. Malefic fly!
Diego S.
Dear Diary,
RispondiEliminaOn Thursday I had my first Soliya meeting. Before the session began I was pretty worried about two things above all:
1) my computer setup might not be compatible with Soliya's software causing my application not to work correctly;
2) I consider my English speaking skills to be weak for now.
Regarding the first point luckily everything worked out just fine and finally I have to say that it has been quite easy to join my conversation group. About the second issue, given that the others seemed to understand what I was saying, I should admit that I might have been excessively tough with myself.
The first person I met signing in was Elena -a classmate of mine at Padua University- who was chatting with Rangineh, the facilitator. In order to check my microphone Rangineh asked me to introduce myself, and after a few technical problem which caused a tech assistant to intervene, I was able to start. As we began we were 9 people in totally though reading the last Soliya season student's diaries I suppose that anyone could join the conversation group next sessions hence expanding the company's borders. Rangineh told us to write down three reasons why we were participating in Soliya and as a mind of joking I said that I was doing it in order to improve my English, and Danil (a guy from Moscow living in California) said that he was doing it for the same reason.
Later as Rangineh told un to chose three guide lines we thought to be important in order to go on through out the semester and also to share one with the others. Almost all of us said RESPECT.
Finally, following the facilitator's suggestion we played a game she provided us through a link, but things weren't running properly and our 2 hours were almost over, therefore we bid each other good bye.
I can't wait for the next Soliya meeting next Thursday, maybe then we'll be able to talk a little about our own ideas and views about the World.
Nicola Berto
Finally Sunday! Dear diary, I write to you late, my work and my family demand my presence. Wednesday was my first encounter with "Solihya" session. I was afraid to been late, so I went into the room 15 minutes in advance. But this was good for me because I got to know my facilitator Casper, my emotion was very strong when little by little, the other members of the group: Gerell, Kadie, Jeanne, Wafa, Chiras, Zakaria, are entered into the room.
RispondiEliminaI was happy, I was talking with 6 people from other countries such as Morocco, West Virginia, France, Washington, Tunisia at the same time; people who living in countries far away from mine and have different cultures. What a wonderful opportunity for me to grow.
Each of us is introduced himself, together we have listed the topics that we would like to discuss together. I have said that I’m a pacifist, I'm interested in talking about democracy, and to compare the situation of Italy and that of others group's components.
Casper made us play: we had to tell 3 details of our life, not all true. All of us, in turn, had to guess the only particular false.
So I had a chance to say something about me: I have 4 children, I am a woman traffic and I am a vegetarian. Of course ...... the third was false, I cannot live eating only vegetables!
Chiras told us that she doesn't love the pizza and the whole group was shocked: there may be someone who does not love pizza? Impossible!
Jeanne was curious to know the age of all. This time it was hard for me, I'm 53 years old, I consider myself old. I told Casper that I was sorry, because I felt like an intruder in the middle so young group. Casper has been very kind to me, he reassured me and said that this was not a problem, in fact, he had a great respect for my choice.
Casper has reminded us the commitments that bind us to the program Soliya, the discussion of issues after reading the newspaper articles, the weekly diary, the possibility to make a video or a final paper. Some of us asked to Casper for write to understand better. This helped me to know what others told.
Casper then introduced us another game, but we had some technical problems and some of us, like me, have not been able to play.
Finally we said goodbye giving us an appointment for the next session.
Dear Diary, those two hours are passed quickly and are been full of emotions: fear, surprise, fun, joy.
In my life, I have never been able to travel, I would have liked to see the world. Even today, in this time, I would want to go away from my life. Here is the greatest thrill that I've tried Wednesday: for the time of two hours I am flown away.
Francesca Aufiero
WEEK 1
RispondiEliminaOn Wednesday I had my first Soliya meeting, and I must say I was really scared until the very end. At some point I was nearly petrified since I have problems talking on this level to strangers, especially through a computer. I was even tempted to drop off the project because this is really hard for me, but I know that I can’t and I shouldn’t, since one of the reasons I decided to engage in it was the hope to overcome my fears.
I had connection and headset problems at first, and that made things more difficult, but thanks to our facilitator I finally was able to connect and speak.
We were only three people (probably because of some Islamic festivity) and one facilitator (the other one joined us later even if we weren’t able to see or hear her).
Since we were just three we got to talk a lot more, which I wasn’t very happy about. I actually preferred to type into the chat, but I forced myself to talk every now and then. Fortunately our facilitator is very nice, and she reassured me about the fact it will get better (I’m still not convinced though). During this first session we talked about ourselves and the places we live in, and the facilitator proposed some activities, for instance she made us write five words that can represent us, and asked us to explain them. She also asked what topics we would like to discuss, but we haven’t had any idea so far, it will be probably easier when everyone will be present.
Our facilitators also created a facebook group to be able to communicate during the week.
About the number of people who will be present next week I feel very scared but even a little curious to engage in a conversation with so many people about topics I’m very interested in.
In conclusion I hope I will get used to this kind of conversation during next weeks, and that talking will become easier. I’m also very interested in the development of the project and I’m looking forward to getting to know better other cultures (in our group there are USA, British, Egyptian, Tunisian students, so it seems I might have the chance to succeed in reaching my goal).
Laura D’Onghia
Dear diary,
RispondiEliminaYesterday afternoon I had my first Soliya meeting. Before starting I was a bit nervous but also curious. I've never been abroad and I never had to speak English except for a few sentences accompanied by expansive gestures. The difficulty of connections has not helped me in understanding, but the chat was very helpful even though it was rather slow.
The technical problems have occupied most of the time, and three boys Meryem Madili, Abdelmonom Zitouni, Farah Bashiti never arrived. In addition, Muhammad Zubair was connected to the end of the session.
The moderators have explained the project Soliya, and then they have general questions for us to talk, but all were quite silent, and the answers were telegraph.
As a result of the moderating wanted that we could find (volevano che trovassimo) the rules for discussion, but I did not understand what they meant, it seems obvious that we should hold a discussion I do not see what rules should be established. In fact, the only three rules that have been found are: acknowledge everyone’s perspectives, be a good listener, when there is a disagreement, know that people’s opinions are not the same thing as people themselves and their personalities.
Towards the end of the session we had to make a game but there were connection problems and no one is able to play.
Alex
Hi Alex
EliminaSorry you had technical troubles - don't worry it will get better for the others too.
What you wanted to say is - (volevano che trovassimo) they wanted US TO FIND (or establish) the rules for discussion. This is an activity which is done with most groups to make sure that the group itself makes the rules for discussion and say what they feel comfortable or uncomfortable with, so the rules are not imposed by others - you'll probably understand better as the sessions develop.
Dear Diary,
RispondiEliminaI am very happy after my first Soliya meeting. When they sent us the list with all the times and groups, I saw that my group was formed by only girls and I felt a bit disappointed at first. I was totally wrong! The other girls are students from the Middle East area, for example Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. There is also a french girl, but the ones from USA were missing on Thursday. However, I read that the american students were absents in many other groups, so I hope that they will join us next week.
Even if I am usually quite shy in my everyday life, I felt immediately comfortable in this context. Maybe that is because I was aware of the big opportunity the project gives us. I mean, I use to travel a lot, but I never really had the chance to talk to muslims women, who wear the islamic veil. And nowadays everyone in Italy talk about THEM, about what they should do and be in our country, without even listening to their opinion. That is the reason why I was so curious to meet them and to ask them about some issues.
We started to know each other, especially through the "two truths and one lie" game. The girls agreed that I was the best liar and also the one who guessed the most! Something funny happened: Yasmine told us that she is a student, a worker and that she was married. The facilitator wanted to know how we all understood that the lie was the last assertion. As many others, I said I guessed it because Yasmine is very young. Then everyone laughs when the egyptian girl answered: "Because she smiles a lot, and no married girl smiles!". She explained her opinion by the motto "no men no cry", making me laugh a lot. After this kind of joke, we started talking more seriously about our opinions on marriage, relationships and family. Each of us shared our past experiences, our fears and also our hopes about a topic which can link all these young women from different countries: Love. We felt lucky to be in an only-girls group, because we did all that without any trace of awkardness or fear of being judged. We said that men should consider themselves very lucky too: a boy would end that session crying, probably!
The story of Haya was the one which impressed me the most: she told us she does not believe anymore in marriage, because she already had three boyfriends and all her relationships ended in a bad way. Obviously we tried to change her mind. But now I am aware of my ignorance, because I did not expected to hear that from a veiled muslim girl. Even when we talked about our hobbies, I found out that we all have more in common than what I tought.
We were so into our conversation that at a certain point Lisanne, the facilitator, had to stop us laughing. She defined us "a joy to watch" and she was very satisfied with how we managed the meeting by ourselves, but she had to ask our expectations about the Soliya project. I told her I would like to discuss about religions, because here in Italy I only have christian or atheistic friends, and I do not have the chance to hear other opinions.
At the end, Yasmine said that I look like a woman of her family (I do not know how, with my blonde hair and wan complexion!): "It seems that I am talking with a relative!". Then all the others agreed. "Yes, it feels like we are a family, girls." "I feel so good talking with you." "It seems to me that I am chatting with my best friends!"
That is exactly what we are going to be, I think.
Carolina Olivi
Dear diary,
RispondiEliminaLast Wednesday I had my first session of Soliya project. I was a bit worried before starting. I didn’t know if I was ready to speak English after one year without practicing and I was scared of not being able to understand other people with different accent, in particular the mother-tongue ones. In addition, I was afraid of having connection or technical problems. Anyway, it all went fine!
We were only 5 people to join the videoconference: Laura, who studies in my University, the two facilitators Monica, from USA, and Taghreed, from Egypt (even if we couldn’t see her), and Clay, an American guy from West Virginia. I guess the other people didn’t attend the session because of Islamic vacations.
The context was quite informal and to “break the ice” everyone started introducing himself. Actually, it wasn’t always easy listening because, for some reason, the sound cut in and out and everyone of us had the same problem. However, I was able to catch the most of basic information about anyone: where they live, what they study, what they desire to become in the future, and other interesting things. For example, Clay wants to learn Italian and said if he knew another language, he will never use English at all. In fact I discovered that they are not obliged to study a second language as the European people. And it was at that time that I have definitely understood which is the real aim of Soliya project: I was there, just speaking with an American guy, so far away from me, but we could exchange our points of view and we were so curious to do that!
After few minutes, my skills in listening improved and I became enough calm after Monica said to me: “Don’t be afraid of your English, Gabriel, ‘cause your English is excellent!”and I was so glad about that!
Monica is very kind, gentle and nice: her role is not easy but she did it professionally and without stress, making ourselves calm and being at ease.
Sometimes it wasn’t easy starting a speech because we were an “on progress” group without the most of its members. So Monica tried to ask what a dialogue meant for us. I said that a dialogue is an opportunity to exchange opinion, understanding how someone else thinks in contrast with me, to get know something new about somebody. That’s why I decided to join Soliya project: talking with people from different countries is a great opportunity of meeting different cultures, and it’s something of too important for a person as me, open-minded and always ready to change idea after a deep discussion. Monica tried also to manage the situation promoting a new discussion suggesting us to write 5 words each that best represent ourselves. Using the occasion of this new discussion, I asked Clay what he thinks about Europe, how he perceive it and if he thought about talking with an Italian guy or an European one. That’s why I was so interested to understand how is the Europe’s perception from outside. The group found the question very appropriate so we decided to start the next session from this argument, “identities and nationalities”.
I look forward to the next session for knowing the other members, to improve my English and to talk about topics which I consider of primary importance for my personality and for my education!
Gabriele Chiarello