In "Fidarsi – Part 1" I wrote about an article that I had recently read in the Italian magazine ‘Focus’ entitled "Fidarsi è rischioso, non fidarsi è peggio" ("To trust is risky, not to trust is worse"), which is a more optimistic version of the Italian proverb "fidarsi è bene, non fidarsi è meglio" (to trust is good, not to trust is better). One aspect of the article that I found particularly poignant was the discussion about trust between different cultures.

In everyday life when we interact with others people, such as a local storekeeper for example, or someone we happen to sit next to on the bus, we ask ourselves subconsciously, "è affidabile?" (is he/she trustworthy?). "Valutiamo soprattutto lo sguardo, tendendo a diffidare di chi non guarda negli occhi, ma anche l’espressione, l’aspetto, la voce" (We evaluate above all their way of looking at us, having the tendency to distrust those who don’t look us in the eyes, but also their expression, attitude, and voice) says Antonella Marchetti of the Università Cattolica di Milano. Sometimes, during the process of making this judgment, our prejudices and stereotypes interfere: "Non mi fido perché quelli lì sono violenti, ladri, pericolosi" (I don’t trust those because they are violent, thieves, dangerous).

In this instance two factors influence our judgment: il sospetto verso chi è diverso o estraneo al gruppo, e la difficoltà di interpretare velocemente le intenzioni di chi ha una cultura diversa, con una lingua e regole di espressione delle emozioni differenti (the suspicion of whoever is different or outside the group, and the difficulty of rapidly interpreting the intentions of those who come from a different culture, with a different language and different rules for expressing emotions.)

For this reason we need to develop our knowledge of, and empathy with other cultures, languages and customs. Eccoci: in our own small way, you and I are undertaking that process through our discussions in these blogs. Think, for example, of my blog ‘L’Italiano in Cinque Parole’ in which we explored perceptions of Italy and Italian culture.

For me the most interesting outcome of that blog (see https://blogs.transparent.com/italian/litalia-in-cinque-parole/) is the fact that the overwhelming majority of comments concerned the Italian people, their friendliness, helpfulness and empathy. A very encouraging and flattering result, but not what one might expect on face value.

Italy is the land of history, art, architecture, the Rinascimento, pizza, wine, coffee, fashion etc., and tourists seem to spend most of their time taking photos of each other standing in front of leaning towers, renaissance churches, gondolas, and so on. Yet at the end of the day, what comes through as the most important factor is la gente (the people)!