November 2013 – DEV – The Umbra Institute – Study Abroad in Italy

For the lives of many children, a doll can be a childhood friend or companion. The Progetto Pigotta or Rag Doll Project takes the importance of dolls one step further by giving them a role in saving the lives of children. Started in Lombardy, Italy in 1988 by Boston native and UNICEF volunteer Jo Garceau, Progetto Pigotta works to provide vaccinations and other medical basics to children and mothers in need throughout the world.

Viola draws the face on her Pigotta doll during a weekly UNICEF workshop.

Since 2008, the Umbra Institute has been partnering with UNICEF and Maria Luisa Blasi, Coordinator of the Pigotta Project in Perugia. Through weekly workshops, Umbra students have the opportunity to work alongside Università degli Studi di Perugia and UNICEF volunteers creating these important lifesaving dolls, as they share their cultures and lives with one another.

This semester, 20 Umbra students joined these volunteer efforts. After an initial briefing about UNICEF, its mission, and the Pigotta project, students eagerly began creating their own dolls during the first workshop in October. Over the past six weeks, these volunteers have slowly pieced their dolls together; stuffing cotton, stitching seams and hair, sketching facial details, and adding the finishing touches of clothing and accessories. Final results varied from girls with braids and black hair with purple highlights, to boys with green suspenders and fire-red locks.

The completed Pigotta dolls will be on display and up for adoption just in time for the holidays at various Christmas markets throughout Perugia.

Next Wednesday, UNICEF and Umbra volunteers alike will gather to celebrate the end of a successful semester and new Pigotta dolls going to save children and their mothers. Joining them will be journalists from local newspaper, Corriere dell’Umbria, and a TV station. They will be interviewing students about their experience with UNICEF and the Pigotta Project, further assisting UNICEF spread the word about the positive work they are doing within both the local and global community.

UNICEF and Umbra volunteers with Pigotta Proejct coordinator, Maria Luisa Blasi — UNICEF and Umbra volunteers with Pigotta Project coordinator, Maria Luisa Blasi

refuso-pettit-celani Umbra professors Alessandro Celani and William Pettit will be holding an exhibition of their photography work at Teatro Morlacchi, November 23rd at 6 p.m. The two became friends through a shared interest in art and photography, in particular black and white photography. Celani approaches the medium as an historian, using the most sophisticated technical standards with his Leica M camera. Alternatively, Pettit approaches photography as a painter, and uses technology of the lowest level: traditional film and negatives with cheap Holgas and homemade pinhole cameras. A common voice is to be found in all their images: a poetic one, a nostalgic one, and also an astute one, at times quite formal.

The desire to prepare a joint exhibition arose over several cups of steaming hot coffee at the Café del Teatro Morlacchi. Celani and Pettit knew of another pair of photographers, Amato and Schoneveld whose formal, poetic work also shared parts of their vision. In a medium so much about time, their photographs, in black and white, pull between eternal and instantaneous; between luscious and barren.

To view this exhibition in a space so perfectly suited to its display, visit the Teatro Morlacchi on Novembre 23, beginning at 6 p.m.

Elisa Ascione, Coordinator of the Food Studies Program, has co-authored the chapter “Eurochocolate: an instrument of valorization for Perugia and its territory,” published by Routledge in 2014 in the book Food and Wine events in Europe: a Stakeholder Approach. The chapter contributes to the study of events through an analysis of Eurochocolate, a ten day international chocolate exhibition that has been held annually in October in Perugia since 1994. In this paper the authors use stakeholder theory and network approach to examine the relationships among different actors at the event, and to explore how the event has revitalized the city as the European Capital of Chocolate. The model presented is based on the role of the degree of engagement of the participants and the relationships among stakeholders within and outside the event. This paper shows that this successful chocolate event is defined by an ongoing process of negotiation among different groups with similar and divergent interests.

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘research’?

Slogging through countless yellowing textbooks, skimming article after article through online databases, tossing cup after empty cup of coffee into the library trash can? For the students in PYIR 450: Community-Based Research in Psychology , research is an entirely different matter: it involves immersing themselves in Perugia’s bustling social sphere to interact with local Italians. For the past two class periods, small groups of brave students and their intrepid leader, Professor John Dennis, have been surveying an assortment of Perugians they happen upon while out in the city. The surveys conducted are meant to prepare them for their own research projects, which they will work on in the last weeks of the semester.

The students were equipped with an iPad and iPhone loaded with software used to record and analyze survey responses; they will use the same tech devices and software to conduct their own research. The class is focused on the theme of “Self vs. Other,” and four groups of students will be researching concepts of ownership, culture, morality, and goals. The class will present their findings during the Umbra Special Academic Events: Community Engagement Presentations on December 10th.

Rome, la città eterna, or The Eternal City is home to a vast collection of some of the most significant artifacts in the history of humankind. On November 1^st, ten students in the ARAA 220 Archaeological Discoveries: A Passion for Classical Antiquity class had the chance to experience first-hand the ancient treasures that give Rome its world-renown reputation.

Led by Professor Giampiero Bevagna, this course focuses on analyzing and interpreting ancient artifacts from Greek and Roman civilizations, in conjunction with studying the discipline of archaeology. The students participated in an overnight excursion to Rome, visiting the Capitoline and Villa Giulia museums on Friday and the Vatican Museums on Saturday. Rome and its countless treasures are only a short train ride from Perugia, which offers students an unprecedented glimpse into the past.

“This is why coming to Italy is different from studying in the United States,” Prof. Bevagna elaborates. “You can see history, art, and culture in person and having that experience creates a much more powerful connection to what is studied in class.”

The class examining artifacts in the Vatican Museums

One of the trip’s highlights was the Etruscan section of the famous Vatican Museums, which holds some of the finest known examples of Roman art.

Prof. Bevagna challenged the students to not only look at the artifacts in the museums, but to also critique their display: to question whether or not they are showcased effectively; compare how all three museums present their collections; and study the history of why they were built. After two days of museum-hopping, the students were free to explore Rome on their own for the rest of Saturday afternoon before heading back to Perugia.

This week the Umbra Institute will be celebrating International Education Week. Started in 2000 as a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, International Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchanges worldwide. This annual event aims to promote international understanding, increase support and awareness of programs designed to prepare individuals to live and work in a global community.

For us, this means celebrating 14 years of providing university students the opportunity to live and learn in Perugia. Since opening our doors in 1999, we have welcomed over 5,500 students, from over 100 universities throughout the United States. These students have completed rigorous academics, all while taking part in events that tied them to the local community and Italian culture. Bridging communications barriers, building lasting relationships, personal growth and learning; all qualities that characterize the Umbra experience and make international education worth celebrating.

Today, International Education Week is celebrated in over 100 countries worldwide. This year Umbra will be offering various activities to bring the university community together to celebrate.

Tuesday, November 12^th – 7:30pm – La Botte

Pizza Night

Wednesday, November 13^th – 7pm – Umbra I, Aula 1

Italian film showing of Notte Prima degli Esami, followed by discussion of the Italian Education system, led by Umbra’s UniPG students.

Thursday, November 14^th – 3:15pm – Umbra I, Library

Milk and Cookie Snack Break

Fall break: a time for Umbra students to take a much needed breather from the rigors of academia. While many students set off to various corners of Europe to explore the unknown, see the sites and meet friends, Santa Clara University student, Anthony Balistreri, headed south. South to Sicily to explore the island of his ancestors.

His heritage was one of the main factors in his decision to study abroad in Italy. “I always dreamed of coming here and seeing what this part of the world is like,” he commented. “As a second generation Italian-American, I wanted to see how I fit into the culture, how much of it I already was familiar with and how much was completely different.”

Anthony’s aunt, who relocated to Sicily in the late 80’s to start her family, graciously opened her home in the fishing town of Aspra, allowing for a taste of Sicilian life. He found life there to be slow paced and enjoyed meeting numerous extended family members, fishing for poupu (Sicilian for octopus), and sampling a wealth of Sicilian culinary delights.

A fairly new language learner, Anthony surprised himself by his understanding of the Italian language. “I had full conversations with friends and family in Italian, which until a year and a half ago, was only a dream I could say I wanted to accomplish. Now, that dream is becoming a reality.”

One of his trip highlights was an impromptu trip to Mazara, the city where his great grandparents were born. The night before his daytrip, Anthony spoke with his grandmother to tell her about his plan. “I was thousands of miles away from her and yet I could see her smiling through the telephone. She told me that she had never seen photos of the city and asked if it was possible if I could find the church where her parents were married.”

“I would have paid 50 Euro for that train ride. The morning was clear and beautiful, the southern part of the island filled with rolling hills of farms and quaint coastal towns. I arrived in Mazara and headed in the direction of the duomo, the tallest thing I could see. Thus began my four hours of walking the streets, camera in hand, taking a photo of everything I could, especially every church I could see.”

“Now I can say I have been where I come from. I can say I have walked in the footsteps of my ancestors. It’s an awesome feeling,” said Anthony.

To read more about Anthony’s Fall Break experience with his family, you can visit his blog here.

Randal Sartor, a rising senior at Northeastern University in Boston, has returned after his Spring 2013 semester at Umbra to complete a four-month Co-Op (Cooperative Education Opportunity) with La Nazione, a national Italian online and print newspaper. As part of the Co-Op program, Randal studied at the University for Foreigners this summer, brushing up on his Italian language skills in preparation for the Italian workplace. Now, Monday through Friday, he can be found at La Nazione’s local office in the heart of Perugia’s city center.

Randal already has a variety of exciting projects underway. He has begun translating articles from Italian into English, building their online article collection, to reach more international readers. Other projects include conducting interviews with locals and visitors about the happenings in and around Perugia and promoting the newspaper to communities of Umbrians abroad, including in the United States.

When asked why he chose a Co-Op at La Nazione and what he hopes to gain from the experience, Randal responded “This is my first work experience in a professional setting with deadlines and a real sense of responsibility to the city and the nation. I’m learning more and more about the newspaper’s relationship with the people and how best to communicate happenings to the public since we’re usually the first to hear about them.”

Students choose the Co-Op opportunity for a variety of reasons, some to explore career options, others to try out new skills. As a philosophy major, journalism and communications were fields he never studied but was always curious about. Less than a month in, Randal has already captured the essence of a true journalist in the making, “It’s about the creative process. This Co-Op has a lot of interaction with the people of Italy. I want to speak with as many [people] and listen to as many stories and perspectives as I can.”

For more information about Co-Op opportunities, check out the Umbra page: https://www.umbra.org/community-engagement-abroad/co-ops/

The Umbra Institute has seen many firsts this semester in terms of volunteer opportunities; a new partnership with Go Global: American School of English is no exception. This week three students started volunteering as classroom helpers, and will continue until the end of fall semester.

Go Global is an English language school located near Perugia. It was started last year by Marc Di Martino, a Boston native and long-time resident of Italy. Go Global offers a cultural approach to linguistic education, for anyone from kids to adults. The students will be volunteering as teaching assistants and classroom helpers in English classes for adults and children. Class sizes are small, ranging from 3-7 people. The Umbra Institute is excited at this new opportunity that gives the students a chance to interact with the local community, meet new Italians, and share the experience of learning a language.

Student Max Williamson helps Go Global student Sara during class

Last week, students enrolled in Umbra’s Food Studies Program stepped into the shoes of a pizzaiolo as they tried their hand at pizza making at local pizzeria, Pizza e Musica.

To provide a backdrop to their experience, Prof. Elisa Ascione treated students to a brief history of pizza and its cultural significance. Many were surprised to learn that while pizza is known as an Italian delicacy, it is not actually Italian in origins. What started as a form of flatbread to provide sustenance to our Neolithic ancestors has since evolved to the leavened delight we enjoy today. Pizza’s rise to fame within Italy came in 1889 when Raffaele Esposito, a pizzaiolo in Naples, was invited to make pizzas for the Italian King Umberto I and Queen Margherita. According to legend, the queen so loved his creation of tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and basil – coincidentally the colors of the Italian flag – that he named the pizza Margherita in her honor. Whether fact or fiction used to unify the newly unified nation-state, pizza has become an integral part of Italy’s national identity.

Joe shows off his finished pizza during the Food Studies Program’s Pizza Workshop.

Watching the skilled hands of Pizza e Musica’s pizzaiolo, Gerry, students were shown how to spread the dough, spiral the perfect amount of sauce, and top it off with fresh toppings and a drizzle of olive oil. Using the pala, or pizza shovel, Gerry seamlessly lifted the pizza from the marble countertop and placed it in the waiting wood-fired oven.

While Gerry’s skills are quite refined, Umbra’s students gave him a run for his money, each donning an apron and taking a turn at his craft. Final results varied from the classic margherita to prosciutto, mushrooms and fresh arugula, but all were delicious and served as a wonderful, well-earned meal!

Umbra’s Food Studies Program’s goal is to encourage students to think about food and ask basic questions about what we eat; where it comes from; is it important if it is local or organic; and the significance of labels, fundamental questions to life in a globalized world.