This is the true story of thirty strangers picked to live in a Villa….
After four months of living in a villa in the hills of Florence it should come as no surprise that I was not ready to leave.
Upon first arriving in Florence I was nervous about living in another country where I did not know
the language or the customs. I was weary to meet strangers who I had to live and learn with for four months without so much as a name game session.
My nerves were quickly calmed as I drove up the Tuscan hills to the Georgetown Villa Le Balze. Quite simply, it was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The view from the terrace of the rolling hills surrounding all of Florence is breathtaking. Each bedroom is full of antique, Italian furniture, and a modern, sleek bathroom. The Villa has it’s own library, music room and dining room…not to mention the incredible cook and kind maids. I knew I could get used to living here pretty quickly.
The thirty Georgetown students who lived and studied at Villa le Balze became a family almost immediately. It was as if we were the newest cast of Real World living in a gorgeous mansion in a foreign country. Like all good reality shows, the thirty students of Villa Le Balze provided enough laughter, drama and entertainment to keep us satisfied for months. Although it sounds a bit cliché the bonds and memories all the students made together were incredible.
The nervousness and petrified feelings I had about going to Italy, not knowing a single word in Italian or the culture I was living in, is nothing compared to the sadness I experienced upon leaving. As my roommate and I jumped on each other’s filled-to-the-brim suitcases we knew we were not ready to pack four months of memories into two small bags.
Wherever you go to study abroad, the experience will probably be the best you will ever have. The roommates and classmates of Villa Le Balze are not only able to bring their wonderful abroad experiences home to Georgetown with them, but also they are able to have their new-found unique, crazy and loving Villa Le Balze family right on campus.
To learn more about the Villa Le Balze study abroad program go to Division of Overseas website at http://overseasstudies.georgetown.edu/