Education – Page 2 – DEV – The Umbra Institute – Study Abroad in Italy

Rocco Catrone (right) and some students after their art therapy clinic at the Umbra Institute

An article by Rocco Catrone— adjunct faculty and Behavior Analysis practitioner at Elmhurst College, visiting professor and alumnus of the Umbra Institute.

It has been 7 years since my life changed in ways I never thought possible.

Some days, it feels like a lifetime ago but in even more ways, it was as if it only happened yesterday. In the Fall Semester of 2011, I studied abroad at the Umbra Institute in Perugia. A fairy-tale dream of a medieval town in Central Italy – a place you most likely never heard of beyond those delicious Italian chocolate kisses called Baci. Little did I know that the stone walls, warm welcome from the community, Italian lifestyle, and excellent education would leave me wanting to come back.

So I did.

This summer, I am teaching a course called PSYC 260: Radical Communication which looks at how language affects the way humans behave in politics, education, and religion. Each week, we learn our topics and then apply this to the community through observations in schools, participating in clinics, or simply being integrated in the town we call home for this time.

During one of my favorite observations, my students and a local high school class were able to talk about and compare different idioms used in each of their cultures. The differences between “break and leg” and “into the mouth of the wolf” having the same functional meaning which is not immediately clear just looking at the words. My students and the high schoolers enjoyed this activity so much that we were asked to come back and further look at cultural differences through interviews to learn more about the differences and similarities in Italian and USA culture. This information was learned first-hand and not in some textbook.

The nuances of a culture are more apparent when you are directly living there, surrounded by others who did not grow up in your own cultural context. This is something, which was taught to me during my time here, that I try to bring to my students. We learn in class lectures and class activities how to be more culturally competent – How are choices made? How does different learning histories affect this? How does language factor in all of this?

Perugia is a perfect classroom to learn these topics as it is unlike the more popular Naples, Florence, Milan, or Rome. You live here and are a part of the community. We live in apartments in buildings with other local Italians – not dorms. We learn Italian by ordering food at the grocery store and connecting with the local merchants in the giant open-air markets. Evening walks with friends down the main drag while enjoying gelato. All of this without being glued to a phone or computer.

Perugia has its hold on me and a piece of my heart will always be here. The Umbra staff have been instrumental in my coming back and I thank them every day for giving me this opportunity to do so. I hope to return next year and every year after that to share this wonderful place with my students.

Be sure to check out my students blogs posts during their experiences here tying what they learned in class to the observations!

Click here to learn more about Umbra’s Multicultural Psychology Program and opportunities to study similar topics during a semester abroad.

By Gerardo Moceri, Arizona State University and Spring ’19 Umbra Rep

Studying abroad in a smaller town in a foreign country can be a scary thought at first, as the language barrier can sometimes be a lot. However, the experiences you gain from going along with them are well worth it. It is easy to become culturally immersed in a smaller town like Perugia, which makes learning and speaking Italian much more fun. There are many students from all around the world here with whom you can meet and practice Italian. The Umbra Institute also has many opportunities to allow us to practice with other local students. Along with the, living in a smaller city like Perugia, we get to practice our Italian a lot with the locals, and since it is a very popular university town, locals are very open to speaking with you.

I signed up to take Italian 310 at the Umbra Institute because I really wanted to challenge my skills in Italian. I had only one year of experience in Italian before, so I was a little nervous that I would not score well enough on the placement test to remain in the class. However, the test went well and after meeting and speaking Italian with Aimée and Francesco, my professor, I knew I would be ok. There are only six people in our class, so we have gotten very close and the small class helps us be more engaged. It also forces me to get out of my comfort zone, which makes speaking Italian in public easier. I have not only improved my Italian grammatically, but also learned fun expressions that make me feel closer to the culture.

One way in which Umbra helps us better our language skills outside of the classroom is by offering conversation partners who are fluent in Italian. Along with two other Umbra students, we meet with our conversation partner, Pietrina, and she is great in helping our language skills develop. We meet at least two hours a week, playing games, exploring Perugia or going out to dinner, speaking in Italian and learning more about the culture of Perugia. It has definitely been one of the best experiences so far and it has improved my Italian.

About every other week, Umbra hosts an event called Tandem, which allows students from Perugia to meet with Umbra students in a language exchange opportunity. The Italian students get a chance to practice their English, while we get to speak Italian. It is a very open and comfortable setting, making it easier to not be afraid of making mistakes and to speak freely. We help each other out and even make some pretty good local friends. One friend in which I met offered to take us to one of the local Perugia soccer matches for Perugia’s Serie B squad. It was really fun, as he took us to the supporter’s section so we could get the real experience of being a fan of AC Perugia. It also gave us a chance to continue practicing Italian and learn the soccer chants for the team.

I have really loved being involved in the local community here and meeting new faces. There is a local track that I usually go running at in Perugia and there I met some locals who always let me train with them. They are very patient with my Italian and they even like the chance to practice some of their English as well. One of the first times I ran there, a couple saw me running and when I was done they asked what my workout was. They were just getting started with their run though, so I ended up running another thirty minutes with them just because they were very friendly and it was a great chance to meet some locals. The next time we ran together, Alessandro and his wife invited me out to pizza! Another time, they introduced me to some very good runners and I joined in on their workout of running four 1500 meter runs. At first, I could keep up with the runners and we would practice my Italian sometimes as we ran in between breaths. However, towards the end of the workout, my consistent diet of pasta and pizza caught up to me and they ran much quicker than me. Nevertheless, we all had a good workout and got to learn more about each other. I used to be a runner and the track felt like a common home between Perugia and Arizona. Making friends at the track then helped Perugia feel much more like home to me. It also made me learn that no matter what language you speak, smiling and being kind to new people you meet is a true common language we all share. After realizing this, speaking Italian to anyone became much easier. So if I were to offer any advice to students traveling to Perugia, it’s too just go for it when you speak Italian. The more mistakes you make while speaking, the faster you learn and the more immersed you will feel into this welcoming community.

by Ruby Dann, University of Connecticut and Spring ’19 Umbra Rep

My knowledge of Unicef used to be based off the colorful cardboard boxes we set out around the holidays to collect coins as donations for the organization. The boxes were decorated with tiny cartoon children and examples of donation amounts with their potential impact. When I heard about the volunteer opportunity at the beginning of the semester, I wanted to join not only for nostalgic reasons, but also because I believe in the overall child-focused mission.

Coming into the program, it was expected that we would each create a doll in the six weeks with help from the coordinators. The women at the Unicef Headquarters spoke only Italian, but we could understand their devotion to the organization and the gratification that it brought them. It was also enriching to be connected with a different generation and language.
We learned about the organization, each lady’s experience with Unicef, and the way Unicef functions on an international scale.

Before this opportunity, I had a biased view that America was responsible for most of the aid that is distributed on an international scale. The program expanded my knowledge of the efforts of other countries to assist with the well-being of kids everywhere. It is also exciting to note that the Pigotta dolls would be sold for collected funds that would go towards vaccinations for children. The necessity of vaccinations is a debate in America right now. We are privileged to work on raising money to benefit those around the world who do not have access to aid in a time when many Americans decide not to take advantage of essential vaccinations.

Volunteering for Unicef was not only a fun, weekly opportunity to be creative, but also beneficial to our overall cultural learning experience. Spending time with the Italian women who ran the Unicef Headquarters in Perugia immersed us in the Italian language as well as another generation. There are generally few opportunities to be familiar with older generations as students studying abroad, but we were able to learn much about the dedication and history of the ladies through Unicef.

For more information about Community Engagement Opportunities at Umbra, click here.

On March 9th and 10th, Dr. Elisa Ascione, Coordinator of the Umbra Institute’s Food & Sustainability Program (FSSP), facilitated the Food, Heritage & Community Conference in Prague, Czech Republic. The goal of the conference, sponsored by Progressive Connexions, was “to explore how food is perceived, constructed, celebrated and resisted as cultural heritage at personal, regional, national and global levels.” As the event leader, Dr. Ascione reviewed submissions and created a truly international program that included presentations by professors, activists, and independent scholars with over fifteen different nationalities. The range of topics covered by specific sessions—including Food and Migration; Food, Health and the Life Cycle; Representing Kitchens, Memories, and Identities; and Redefining Heritage and Sustainability—demonstrates the interdisciplinary breadth of the conference. At the end of the conference, participants agreed that it was an intellectually stimulating and professionally gratifying experience.

Among the presenters was Dr. Peter Naccarato, Interim Program Director at the Umbra Institute and Professor of English & World Literatures at Marymount Manhattan College. Dr. Naccarato, presented his paper, “Brooklyn Goes Global: When Local Culinary Culture Becomes a Global Phenomenon.” He explained that this paper was part of a chapter that he and his co-author, Dr. Katie LeBesco, are writing for a forthcoming book on “Global Brooklyn.” The goal of the book is to understand how and why a set of objects, designs, interior decorating, architecture and other practices have traveled from cafes and restaurants in Brooklyn, New York to cities across the world. For their chapter, Dr. Naccarato and Dr. LeBesco are exploring the differences between the actual New York City borough of Brooklyn and the imagined space called “Global Brooklyn.” They consider Brooklyn’s place in the cultural imaginary: Who does and who doesn’t inhabit Global Brooklyn? How do Global Brooklyn’s aesthetic and culinary practices interface with working class and immigrant people who have been displaced within the borough and who have distinctly different eating and drinking practices? What does this mean for the imagined version of Brooklyn that is translated around the world, and how does it impact those who inhabit the “real” physical place?

Asked about his experience at this conference, Dr. Naccarato said that he found it to be “a very engaging conference where he met many people doing creative and thought-provoking work in food studies.” He was especially enthusiastic about the “international breadth and disciplinary range of the presenters,” which he feels “underscores one of the best attributes of food studies.” Dr. Ascione echoed these sentiments, saying that she “was inspired by the scope of topics and themes that emerged from the presentations,” and that the exchange of ideas and research topics has been an enriching experience, professionally as well as personally.

For more information about the Food & Sustainability Studies Program, click here.

Written by Fall 2018 Alumni: Garrett Yocklin (University of Maryland)

Umbra Program: Direct Enrollment at the University of Perugia
During the Fall 2018 semester in Perugia, I had the opportunity to study through the Umbra Institute’s Direct Enrollment program at both the University for Foreigners of Perugia and the University of Perugia. As an Italian Major and a student of the language for the past three years, this was the perfect program for me. Basically, during my first month in Perugia I studied Italian intensively with students from all over the world. This period helped me to become more comfortable using my Italian while also continuing to improve my skills before I had to use it in a situation meant entirely for native speakers, and I met friends who were students of Italian from many different countries and shared my passion for the language. Next, I transferred to the university where Italian students in Perugia take classes. At the University of Perugia, I took two courses at the triennale level, which is roughly equivalent to our undergrad but lasts for three years instead of four. Through Umbra I had an apartment with Italian students, meaning that I was constantly communicating in Italian and my roommates often helped me to navigate the Italian university system.

Attending an Italian university was definitely a different experience and can be challenging for someone who, like me, was only familiar with college in America. To start, at least for the courses I was taking (Roman History and History of the Italian Language) lectures were everything. There were no PowerPoint slides or notes on what was covered each day, just the professor talking for an hour and a half and as much of their lecture as you could write down. This means that knowing someone in the class who can give you notes when you miss a lecture or explain something you didn’t catch is very important. The professor did not necessarily have a single textbook for the course but rather recommended several from which the students should choose. Then there is the exam, which was quite unlike any I had taken in America. Italian tests are generally oral exams, meaning you sit down in front of the professor and they quiz you on the relevant topics. However, in addition to the professor, several dozen of your classmates are in the room studying, waiting their turn, and listening to your exam while you take it. Having them all there during the exam can be stressful, to say the least, leaving you self-conscious not only about your answers but about your language proficiency. The number of questions varies; it could be as few as three or as many as ten, the professor continues until they believe you have demonstrated how well you understand the material. Because of this, knowing the information is not everything, it’s just as important to be able to articulate it in a coherent way and respond to the cues that the examiner gives you. At the end of the exam, the professor announces your grade out of 30, with 18 to pass and 30+ (trenta e lode) being a perfect score. There are sometimes midterm exams so that you don’t have to study the entire class at once, but most Italian students have a period of at least a few weeks between the end of classes and the exam date. Due to time restrictions, I took my exams right after the course ended, but my roommates would stay up all night studying for weeks before an exam to prepare.

Overall, university in Italy is a more independent experience, where time management is incredibly important. The lack of grades for homework, classwork, projects, or participation means that the exam is everything, and students need to know how and when to study the material throughout the semester so as not to be overwhelmed come the final exam. As a student of Italian, I’m glad I got to study at the University of Perugia because it helped me better understand what my peers in Italy go through, an important part of studying the culture of any country. At the same time, I experienced the pros and cons of both styles of higher learning, giving me a more critical eye towards how I view our own educational system. Luckily, the staff at Umbra were always available to bridge the cultural gap between the two systems and help me navigate the Italian bureaucracy. For students who wish to immerse themselves more deeply in Italian society and learn more about Italy, I would definitely recommend they consider direct enrollment at the University through the Umbra Institute. It won’t be easy, but in the end, I think you’ll find you learn much more than just what’s taught in class.

How does study abroad prepare students in terms of their employability?

Dr. John Dennis, a professor in Umbra’s Multicultural Psychology Program, is currently engaged in research to uncover how educators can help close the divide between students and employers. Through his research, he has discovered that while international education researchers often focus on the development of ‘social intelligence’ – how students relate to others – what he has found was a deeper link to cognitive skills. “Skills like ‘quick thinking’, ‘learning agility’, or ‘creative insight’ are employability skills that develop the most, post-international student experience,” elaborated Dr. Dennis when asked about the most recent results of his work.

In addition, Dr. Dennis and his team have identified ‘team work’, ‘customer focus’, and ‘diligence’ as key employability skills developed during and after the study abroad experience.

To analyze cognitive skill development, Dr. Dennis and his research partners have been using game-based analytics, as a way to limit self-reporting bias and discover what employers value the most. Their research will be presented in detail at the upcoming NAFSA annual conference through their presentation ‘Local employers and globally aware graduates: Creating the perfect match.’

Where should we focus our pedagogical methods to ensure that students get the most out of their experience?

“Community engagement is the number one thing that Umbra does that supports employability skill development,” shared Dr. Dennis. Though students may initially resist some activities because the experience requires them to step out of their comfort zone and beyond the pages of a textbook, they later communicate with Dr. Dennis to let him know how these experiences have become invaluable to them as they reflect on their education and prepare for their careers. For this reason, Dr. Dennis regularly integrates community engagement into his classes. Past examples include the class partnership with a local winery, Chiesa del Carmine, to help improve their corporate culture, and with a local non-profit that works with immigrants, CIDIS, to help with integration and intercultural differences.

“I really enjoy working with students so that they can make ‘data-driven decisions’,” shared Dr. Dennis when explaining how he evaluates written and oral assignments and selects readings for his syllabi. The goal is to have students study key concepts of Organizational Behavior or the Science of Behavioral Change and develop those skills that will maximize their potential to flex their higher order cognitive skills so that they are ‘so good they can’t be ignored’ by future employers.

Umbra invites you to contact us at [email protected] to arrange a meeting with our staff during the NAFSA annual conference this spring, and to ask for more information regarding Dr. Dennis’ presentation at the conference.

Click here to learn more about Umbra’s community engagement efforts.

Written by: Gabrielle Sherman, Umbra Rep Fall 2018

Photo credit: Callie Cinque

My Introduction to Photography class at the Umbra Institute’s just concluded one of our service learning projects. We were learned about advertising and how to take photographs that market products for companies. An organization that is based in Perugia called, Re.Leg.Art, welcomed us into their work space. Celebrating their 30th anniversary at the end of this October, Re.Leg.Art is a small social co-operative that trains workers with special needs as well as refugees, to make hand leather goods and hand-bound books. They promote enthusiasm, love and perseverance in their employees and encourage them in working environments, allowing them to find their own creativity to produce different products! By offering these opportunities to their employees, they see no difference in the people they are. All of Re.Leg.Art’s employees are committed to working extremely hard, which shows in their outstanding consistency and craftsmanship. The employees find a lot of joy in working for this company as it allows them to freely express their ideas and therefore, gives meaning to their job!

Re.Leg.Art products. Photo credit: Gabrielle Sherman

When we visited the Re.Leg.Art sight, we were greeted by Roberto who has been with the company for as long as it has been standing. We were able to see all the machines and materials that go into the products they make. Everything is handmade and individualized with different materials. For this reason, quality is a priority for them. Products are produced on sight with real leather! Most of the employees choose when they want to work, but almost all of them like to work all the time as it is very rewarding to produce products for other people! Roberto is mainly always at the shop with the owner, Silvia Romaniello, and he, along with many of the other staff, model the products for advertisement.

We were encouraged to look into the handmade leather goods to see which product they would like to advertise for the company. After picking from a selection, our professor, Philippa Stannard, taught us how to take pictures of articles such as bow ties, leather notebooks, picture frames and eyeglass cases. We learned to use the city of Perugia as a background in most of these photos. We were able to place items in various places throughout all different times of the day. The main goal of the our assignment is to photograph the handmade goods to promote the company’s initiative, MADE IN ITALY creations. A personal favorite for me and all my classmates was being able to see the pure joy that creating these items gave the workers!

Learn more about our Courses with Service Learning here.