In the last class we didn't have our skype exchange, but we spoke about ICC (Intercultural competence), which is a topic really close to what I'm studying. As one who wants to work in a multiracial society, he/ she should at least be aware of different cultures and their different habits. Our teacher Sarah gave us a complicated test called (YOGA) about multiculturalism and I have to admit that if even we are living in the 2007 and in Italy the number of immigrants is increasing every year, I'm not competent and I'm also far distant to become. In meanwhile I discovered I could also become aware of the difference and try to do my best to develop my skills. T.S. Eliot said that " The vital importance for a society is friction between its parts" and in the wiki made by my colleagues in the first semester there is a large amount of definitions which describe culture in a proper and specific way. Belief, art, morals, law but also immaterial and material expressions of our everyday life determinate a man's culture. An essential part to become competent is to be in contact with people of other cultures and be open to new ways of life.
In my opinion trying to be nowadays intercultural is a challenging task, all the public opinion states that different cultures make your knowledge and your life flourish but in my personal experience is really difficult to interact with foreigners. Maybe the institutions in Italy don't work enough to integrate people who come in Italy for different reasons (jobs, family.). Most of times we are afraid of the differences and a part of foreigners do not effort to learn our language, our habits. Coexisting and respecting each other are the first steps we should do toward a multicultural world. I don't think Italy is still a multicultural nation: it's true that in Italy live people from all the five continents but the majority of them live in sort of ghettos.
Openness, emphaty, patience, curiosity are the essential elements to not loose a part of the next future world. Being able to leave off misunderstandings and give a chance to tolerance is already a good point.