Where are you from?
I was born near to this place and moved to this city after we got married and I started my work. My mother was raised in a small village in the black forrest while my father was born in Corleone, south of Italy, which is famous for a well known mafia family clan. First, my grandpa was one of the first italian workers to arrive in this place.
What do you esteem the most concerning your culture and origin?
In our family we always stick together. Both of my parents, my mum as well as my father share this value, even if they originally come from different cultures. My sister and myself, we learned from our parents always to be a role model for others in terms of being frank and acting responsibly.
If you could choose freely – where would you live?
I am very happy living in this place. While others are excited traveling around the world, I enjoy living here very much. Italy is very nice for vacations, but I need a reliable environment to live in. I also like the spanish islands, but will stay here for quite a while.
…your most important fellow(s)?
My most important fellows are my family members – my parents, my sister, my wife. We all are very closed to each other.
What does your cultural background mean to you personally?
As I grew up in a mixture of italian and german values, I can integrate both well into my life. From the italians, I got a lot of emotional experience which enables me to emphasize in a lot of situations.
Do you want to share some thoughts about living in a world of different backgrounds and cultures, i.e. anything you have learned about it?
A lot of people expect others to think and feel like they do. This causes a lot of problems, but if you live in a multicultural society, it works much better if everyone brings along a tiny bit of tolerance. We can learn a lot in regard of communication skills because many people narrow down their understanding very much, if they don’t know how the other person is thinking. You always should ask if you are sure whether we understand each other in a right manner. This is the case in religious issues as well as other things. All in all we have more in common than we might think.
