23 Gen DISCOVERING THE U.S. CULTURE WITH MR BRAD

Guidati da Mr. Brad, abbiamo esplorato la cultura americana per superare stereotipi e riflettere sull’identità di ciascuno di noi. Due alunni con esperienze di vita italo-americane hanno condiviso con i compagni come questo percorso li abbia aiutati a comprendere meglio entrambe le culture.

During our English lessons with Mr. Brad, we started exploring the culture of the United States to better understand a very different culture from the Italian one and to extend our view of the world.

Many people (maybe even including you) think that Americans are like those we see in Hollywood movies: blonde hair, blue eyes, muscular men and very thin women. However, the reality is that the American population is very diverse because everyone comes from very different backgrounds.

Talking about this in class, Mr. Brad told us that Americans often call themselves mutts or mixed breeds, as a joke to emphasize their mixed origins. These terms are usually used just for dogs that aren’t a pure breed. So, this is the reason why Americans call each other that!

Another stereotype we talked about in class is that many people think that everyone in America is overweight because they only eat fast food. While this is true in some cases, many American people often exercise and eat healthy foods. Though it sounds easy to eat fruit and vegetables, from our experience buying them is harder than buying a hamburger from McDonald’s.

There are four reasons why Americans are often overweight: the first is that fast food places like McDonald’s and Burger King are everywhere you look, especially in big cities, so you are always tempted. The second reason is that with the innovation of technology eating at a fast food place is now even faster than cooking at home, so if you’re in a rush fast food might be the most convenient option. The third reason is that, compared to the Italian culture Americans walk very little: there are always very big streets but you can rarely find a sidewalk. This means that you need to have a car to get to places, otherwise you won’t get anywhere! The fourth reason is that inflation has caused prices for groceries to go through the roof. For example in  2023 the cost of “Happy Meal” was not much more than fresh fruit.

These lessons have also given each of us something personal to reflect on.

Zachary: Personally, these lessons helped me as much as they helped my schoolmates because they made me imagine how my life would be in the US. In the future I might consider moving to the US, because talking about the American culture gave me a more specific and precise point of view on that style of life. I am sure that these lessons will help me make this hard decision when the time comes.

James: I think these lessons are helping me discover more about my American background and culture that I wasn’t so enthusiastic about before. These lessons have truly generated a vivid interest about my culture, and its contrast to the one I am currently experiencing and have experienced over the course of the last year and this one.

Petridis Zachary Walter, Collavino James Pietro