Outside looking in

During a stay with the Focolare community at Mariapolis Luminosa, an Italian student visits Washington and finds her perspective of the U.S. changed

By Nadia Zatti

You have no idea what emerged from a beautiful trip to Washington regarding my vision of the U.S. and how we “foreigners” see it. I had thought of the U.S. as a rich country, filled with egotistic and consumeristic people, aimed only at having and gaining more.

It isn’t true! I realized that Americans have much to offer. In fact, since they are a nation made up of different peoples who struggle to find unity in their different histories, they are more open to the others.
Above all, they leave room for others to express everything about themselves — their cultures and their way of thinking. In some ways, it seems that in the U.S., the idea of universal fraternity that Chiara Lubich dreamed of has already been accomplished.

I think the experience of someone from another country who lives at Mariapolis Luminosa can be summarized as this: coming to know a people for who they truly are and, above all, discovering them as part of a family — a family that is present in every corner of the world
where the movement has reached.

Even in a country like the U.S. poverty exists; there seem to be the daily problems that every family faces. This is completely different from the “glitz and glam” of Americans portrayed in the media. It was a strong experience for me to walk along American streets and see every kind of people — all hoping for a better future. The sense of civic responsibility and the recent surge of commitment and interest in political life, including from young people, was something that was different from what I previously believed.

Visiting Washington with other young people who share my commitment to live for a more peaceful, united world made it possible for me to understand the American people and their history better. It is a history filled with suffering, due to the many wars they have sustained. I discovered that Americans are both grateful to those who have given their lives to build this country, and yet they recognize their mistakes without hiding behind their power and greatness.

My visit was an unexpected gift from God for my life and my future choices. I would like to study political science in college, because I want to offer myself for the good of humanity and especially for fraternity, which is possible through dialogue among different cultures and peoples; they hold within themselves the potential to be one through their love for God. I hope to be that small tile in the mosaic of the world that contributes to the fulfillment of universal brotherhood through politics, diplomacy or whatever God has in store for me!

I have witnessed how much God loves us immensely, each in a personal way according to his or her own characteristics. This country — because of the simplicity and vivaciousness of its people — has truly conquered my heart.
— with Rosa Kim

Send your story ideas for Youth Life to youthlife@livingcitymagazine.com.