Carrying On: Isolationism in Italy

When I was 12, I read Cornelia Funke’s The Thief Lord, a novel about two runaways who become thieves in the city of Venice. I instantly fell in love with its romantic portrayal of Italy and read it over and over again. I was captivated by its descriptions of Venetian canals and enormous cathedrals, and it sparked my curiosity for all things Italian. The more I learned about Italy, the more I knew I wanted to eat its food, learn its language, and try to live there. When I came to Georgetown, I was thrilled to take courses in Italian and feed my passion while fulfilling my language requirement. My love affair with Italy soon led me to declare Italian as my minor and commit to studying abroad next semester in Italy, where I will directly matriculate into the University of Florence.
Because of my pure ardor for Italy and its culture, I do not want to meet a single other Georgetown student while abroad in Italy. I want to fully immerse myself in Italian culture and language, which I doubt I can do in the company of rowdy, English-speaking Hoyas. I have to admit that I look down on students who go abroad and spend the majority of their time with other Georgetown students. To put it bluntly, they are throwing away their study abroad experience.
Ever since I decided I was going to study abroad in Italy ,I have told anyone who will listen that I want to avoid other Georgetown kids like the plague and not speak a word of English. As long as I am still in the United States, though, I still have to meet with the other students directly enrolling at various universities in Italy, including the University of Florence.
I’m not going to lie, the people studying abroad next semester seem like a lot of fun and at one point in the meeting, I felt I should compromise with myself and reach out to Georgetown students next semester. But compromising would be a mistake. The whole point of studying abroad in Italy is to interact with Italians and understand how they see the world. I already know enough about Americans, especially Georgetown students.
Alumni of the program at the University of Florence have warned me that it is difficult to get to know Italian students, most of whom have been enrolled in school together since they were young. But maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to meet them if study abroad students weren’t constantly forming tight-knit groups of their own. Students abroad should never fall back on what is familiar to them. I would much rather be alone and try to understand Italy on my own terms than feel compelled to see Italy through my experiences with fellow study abroad students. Besides, having taken many Italian courses, I should be able to survive on my own.
At the meeting last week I saw how intent the other students are on spending time together during their time abroad and I realized that their experience would probably bring them close together. After all, alums of the program who spoke to us made clear that many of their great friendships at Georgetown came from bonds formed while they were in Italy. As I am studying in a different department than literally all the other students (I will be in Scienze Politiche while everyone else will be in Lettere), I will already by geographically and academically distant. And I’m sure this article won’t bring me any closer. But at least I can say that I intend to throw myself so deeply into a new country that I will come out with a better appreciation and respect for it than I would if I decided to let friendships with other Georgetown students define my study abroad experience.
I know I sound like something that rhymes with “itch,” but I’m really just a romantic at heart. When I go to Italy, I intend to take The Thief Lord with me and actually live what I have dreamt about for so long. I’ll be damned if I let other Georgetown students take away from what should be an entirely Italian experience.