Skyping with Americans...

Few days ago I had the fantastic opportunity to use Skype and speak with an American girl: Michelle. I had never used Skype before and I have to admit that it's a fantastic tool! You can talk in real time with people all around the world and with more than one person at the same time! I think I will install this programme also at home and I will use it to chatter with my friends.

After having decided the topic of our final project, the members of my group and me spoke with Michelle about immigration. I think that Italians tend to consider the immigrants from a powerful country more welcome than those who come from a poor country. We asked her if the same situation is present in America too; she answered that it would be a paradox for a country which is composed of immigrants from throughout the world to have bias against the people of a particular nationality. However, this phenomenon is present in America too; some Americans tend to have prejudices against Latinos. A great number of people from the Central and South America move and settle in the USA and a lot of them try to immigrate illegally. Once arrived in the USA they work illegally or if they found legal jobs, they are underpaid. I think that the same situation is sometimes present also in Italy.

Michelle then said that his father is Italian and was born in a village near Naples; he told her that when he arrived in the USA he was very discriminated because he was a foreigner. However, she as the daughter of an immigrant doesn't feel discriminated. We concluded than that it's more difficult to integrate in a foreign country if you don't know the language. I know a family of immigrants from Albania; the daughter was my best friend at high school and speaks very well Italian. She feels totally integrated in Italy, while her parents have some problems because they don't know Italian very well.

We spoke then about the health care sistem in the two countries. Michelle said that in the USA everyone must have a health insurance in order to receive medical cares. This insurance is very expensive, as well as medicines in general. I explained her how is the situation in Italy and she was very surprised and curious. We focused then again on immigration and she said that in the USA immigrants who don't have a health insurance have the right to receive the first aid cares anyway. The cost of these medical cares is then payed by the American citizens and this fact is considered a controversial issue by many Americans. I explained her that in Italy too there is the legal duty to give emergency cares to ill or injured people.