April 2022 – DEV – The Umbra Institute – Study Abroad in Italy

By Umbra Rep Maddie Coppel, The Ohio State University

During my time in Perugia, Italy as a Food and Sustainability Studies student at the Umbra Institute, I have become accustomed to the food culture in Italy by listening to the various lessons in class, taking field trips to Italian production facilities and agriturismos, learning from locals, and cooking with other Umbra students. With my newfound knowledge of traditional Italian ingredients, meals, and eating habits, I have found recipes that I cannot wait to share with my friends and family in Ohio.

Antipasti are the first courses served on Italian menus, which are light and small plates. Some of my favorites include charcuterie boards and caprese salads. In my Science of Food course with Dr. Emily Palm, we sampled a variety of traditional Italian cured meats, aged cheeses, marmalades, and pickled veggies. Many of these ingredients are found on these boards, from locally cured sopressata to buffalo mozzarella. When I make these boards at home, I will be sure to select the ingredients that remind me of my Perugian home. Caprese salads contain tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil; in my History and Culture of Food with Dr. Viecelli, we discussed how the tomato originally made its way to Italy. These class discussions relate directly to the food we eat and the recipes to be shared when I make my way back to the States.

Primi courses are typically smaller pasta or rice dishes. Traditional plates range from carbonara, cacio e pepe, and risotto to name a few. As an independent project in Dr. Palm’s food science class, I am doing research on pasta carbonara. While looking into the biology and the general history behind this Italian classic, I will share with those from home my findings: from how to make the pasta sauce to the typical pasta used for this dish as well. For a class trip in Dr. Viecelli’s course, we went to Agriturismo Malvarina for a cooking class and tour of the farm as well. We prepared a traditional pasta dish with a light sauce and vegetables along with other typical Italian courses.

Secondi courses are larger portions, usually containing meat, vegetables, and a starch. During a discussion with Dr. Nowak, I learned that in some regions of Italy rabbit and horse are common meats for secondi courses. At home, this is very uncommon, but after learning the traditions of these meats and the importance of these plates to the Italian home, I am more than excited to share it with mine.

Perugia has opened my eyes to an entirely new culinary scene, one filled with fresh pasta, local meats, and a rich history. Sharing my typical meals and reminiscing on the food shared here is something I will never forget, and for that I will be forever grateful.

By Umbra Rep Agnes Tessner Risser, Wellesley College

Hello, my name is Agnes Tessner Risser, and I am currently studying abroad at the Umbra Institute for the Spring 2022 Semester. I requested to live in a homestay with an Italian family in Perugia this semester, and it is the best decision that I made for my semester abroad.

I am from Hartford, Connecticut and I am a third-year student at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. I am an architecture and anthropology double major, and I chose to attend The Umbra Institute because of their Food Studies Program. I had never studied Italian language before arriving in Perugia. Usually, homestays are for students who are already proficient in Italian, but I had such a positive experience in 2021 living in a homestay in Denmark that I asked The Umbra Institute if they had any options for beginner-level students who are eager to learn. Luckily, they did, and I ended up being the only Umbra student doing a homestay this semester.

The Family

I was placed in the home of the Marziano-Danese family, who live five minutes away from the Umbra Institute. My host dad, Nino Marziano, is an artist of many disciplines and has lived in the same apartment in Perugia for his entire life. I love to hear about the change he has seen over the decades in Perugia. My host mom, Christine Danese, is an Italian-American who moved to Italy from Chicago when she was 19 years old. She started off in Italy as a bartender and is now a professional translator and language teacher. I am fortunate to have her guidance in navigating Italian language and culture from an American perspective. My host sister, Giada, is the same age as me, 21 years old, and is studying at University of Perugia to become an elementary school teacher. She’s a great friend and teacher, and like me she is very online so we often talk about pop culture. The last member of our immediate family is a very emotive cat named Boogie.

I also enjoy the random chats I’ve had with Nino’s cousin who lives downstairs. Since she doesn’t speak English, I get to put my Italian to the test. She comes upstairs to trade food with Christine and Nino. Giada and I have gone downstairs to help her sort through a mess left by her former tenant. Small moments extending a hand to extended family makes the building feel even more homely.

Everyday’s life

Since we are all busy with our own schedules throughout the day, I usually don’t see my host family until the evening. I always look forward to eating dinner with them because I never know what we’re going to talk about—family stories, travel, their local recommendations, the Italian education system, Broadway musicals— it could be anything. When I arrived, we only spoke in English, but now we start every conversation in Italian until I exhaust my vocabulary. As per the housing agreement I usually prepare my own meals but a couple times a week, Christine shares some of her delicious home cooking with me. The food disappears quickly, but Nino pours me a glass of wine and Giada offers me a dessert, and in classic Italian fashion we often talk over the table for hours.

Since I’m an anthropology student, I’ll highlight one moment that made my homestay feel not only like a home, but an anthropological experience: One Saturday I had just returned from a trip to Rome, and was describing it to my host family. My friends and I had stopped in the “Roman Ghetto” (a Jewish Ghetto established in 1555) for lunch, and I was clumsily trying to explain in Italian that I thought it’s ironic that the area is so gentrified today. However, due to their different backgrounds, Nino and Christine had slightly different understandings of “gentrification.” Usually, we would have switched to English at this point in the conversation, but this time my host family launched into a debate in Italian. Google was consulted on multiple phones, and Nino tried to sneak in some of his classic puns, which Giada translated for me with a sigh. I somehow managed to follow most of the main talking points, and even get a word in here and there. The mood was serious and yet so lighthearted, and I never thought that I’d be sparking conversations about cultural understandings of gentrification in Italian within my first month in Perugia.

Some challenges

It is important to be adaptable if you choose to live in a homestay. For instance, I am usually a vegetarian, but I decided to suspend this habit when eating my host family’s food, because I did not want to miss the chance to participate in such an important part of their family culture.

I also need to be mentally prepared for an Italian “lesson” at any time of day. My host family welcomes me home from classes or weekend trips and asks how they went, so I have to be ready to describe what I did Italian, and receive constructive feedback. These lessons are really just conversations — no measuring, writing, or quizzing is involved — but I can expect to learn at least one new word or grammar structure each time.

Finally, since I do not have Umbra students as roommates in a homestay, I have had to make an extra effort to socialize, especially in the first few weeks. Living in a homestay does not make me feel excluded or separated from the non-homestay students though, and I met Umbra friends who are living solo or with only one roommate. I regularly go out with them after dinner, and even plan trips together. I have heard that many Umbra students want to make friends with locals, which is luckily already a part of my daily life.

Homestay is a great opportunity

I would highly recommend doing a homestay if you are eager to learn about Italian language and culture and are willing to extend past the comfort zone of American culture. Some of the other Umbra apartments are gorgeous, but I have never wished that I was in normal housing because the social value of having an Italian family to come home to every day is, to me, even greater.

P.S. If you are on financial aid like me, check with your home institution’s study abroad and financial aid offices to see if you can get the extra fee for the homestay included as part of your general housing package! Your home institution might cover the cost.

By Umbra Rep Alexis Kulish, Arcadia University

It is pretty typical for us study abroad students to want to catch as many flights as we can to explore the maximum amount of bucket list destinations during our time abroad. However, after being a second time study abroad student, if I could give one piece of advice to someone preparing to spend any amount of time in a new place, it would easily be, “don’t forget to explore the country you are in”. After all, you chose your destination for a reason, right?

I myself was so eager to start planning day and weekend trips as soon as I arrived in Perugia, Italy, but to my surprise I quickly noticed that my weekends were filling up fast, yet I had not even done any research myself. That was all thanks to the Umbra Institute and what seems like countless optional activities and excursions right at my fingertips, with no planning involved. Simply by opening the Umbra Institute App and scrolling up and down over and over through the activities page, scribbling down everything I was interested in doing throughout the semester. Within minutes my tentative schedule of the semester was overflowing with activities

February 20th- Nooks and Crannies Tour of Perugia

February 22nd- Pizza Night 1 (and 2 more throughout the semester)

March 6th- Day Trip to Frasassi Caves

March 13th- Rome Excursion

March 14th- Chocolate Making Class

March 28th- Welcome Back Aperitivo

April 2nd- Hiking in Assisi and Spello

April 9th- Rafting on the Corno River

These are just SOME of the incredible offerings the Institute does as an opportunity for Umbra students to make lifelong friends and everlasting memories, but also immerse us in a culture that we are here to accept, appreciate, and be a part of. Do keep in mind that these excursions change from semester to semester depending on season and new offerings throughout the years, but regardless of when you arrive in Perugia there will always be endless opportunities to make the most of your time in Italy.

Now, I haven’t even gotten to the classes themselves, but I don’t want to spoil too much. But, I will let you know that many of our courses have an integrated portion of field trips to places all around Italy that complement the course lessons, and personally those field trips have given me some of my absolute favorite days of my time abroad, and it is not even over yet! I have learned, as I know many of our students will agree, that the phrase “Meet at the Fountain” has grown to be something I look forward to seeing, and anyone coming to Umbra will very quickly become familiar with hearing that, too.

I also want to mention that the Umbra Institute is certainly not the only way to sightsee and explore during your time abroad. Taking a long walk through town on the weekend or booking a trip to a place like Assisi, Gubbio, or Firenze with some friends can be just as fun and memorable, and you are encouraged to take the plunge into getting to know where you are living! It is much easier to feel at home when you spend time exploring, finding your favorite study spot, or going for dinner at the best pasta restaurant in town once a week. And, with managing your time well, there is also plenty of opportunity to check off those bigger bucket list items… but just be sure to leave some time for those unexpected memories you will make in the comfort of your new home- Italy.