Uncategorized – DEV – The Umbra Institute – Study Abroad in Italy

By Lucey Walton, Lebanon Valley College, Umbra Rep student

Being in Italy for nearly 4 months sounds like a dream come true to some and a daunting task for others. Going abroad for a full semester is seen in both an overly romanticized and an overly intimidating point of view, making it hard for students to know what to expect. Studying abroad was something that I knew I wanted to do in college for a long time, and it was something that impacted my decisions when applying for colleges. I’m very lucky to come from a family where travelling is very important, having lived in the US and the UK. Growing up, my brothers and I were always told that travelling gives you more of an education than a school ever can.

Although I had a lot of experience in travelling, this was my first trip abroad by myself, without my parents’ help to guide me. I was very nervous about navigating through the airport the most, worrying about the many things that could possibly go wrong. In the end, the airports were not as big of an obstacle, but I was sadly mistaken to think that I was much more prepared for living abroad than I really was.

Students studying abroad are told how this is going to be the best semester that they have in their college careers, and when you first arrive here, it certainly feels that way. At first, it feels like a vacation, wandering about the town, amazed at every sight, with the new experience of living in an apartment for the first time to come back to. But after about 2 weeks everything starts to become real.

Similarly to the few weeks of college during freshman year, it is very easy for anxiousness and overthinking to build up. It can feel much worse than how you might have felt at the beginning of freshman year since you are thousands of miles away from home, with a 6-hour time difference that limits your ability to talk with close friends and family, in a brand-new city that speaks a completely different language with a group of people who you have only met a few weeks prior.

It can be very overwhelming to be worrying about grades, budgeting, navigating a new city, planning new trips, and a million other responsibilities while having fears of missing out on top of it all. With so many emotions building up with limited time to talk with those who you go to first for help, you can feel very alone, even though so many students will be going through the same exact challenges. But just like in the first semester of college, it just takes small steps and time (and a few calls home) to get adjusted to your new life for the next several months.

Writing a blog about this isn’t meant to scare people away from studying abroad. I am still so happy to be abroad this semester and am very thankful to have this experience. Studying abroad is a great step in the direction of independence past college, especially for people who want to travel more or live abroad in the future. Rather, this is to try and paint a more realistic picture of what to expect when being far away from home for months at a time. When preparing to go abroad, it is just as important to prepare your mind and well-being as it is to double-check check you have packed your bag correctly. Realistically, no, not every single day you spend abroad is going to be the greatest time of your life, but every day is not going to be terrible either. The best advice for future students that I can give from my experience so far is to get involved. Just like in college back in the US, I found that being involved outside of just academics, such as attending school-sponsored activities, being an English tutor at a local high school, and being involved in the Umbra Reps program, helped me tremendously to get accustomed to life in Perugia. Find something to keep yourself busy outside of studying for classes and take the opportunities given to you, but know that it’s okay to spend time for just yourself instead of unrealistically trying to make the entire semester feel the same as those first two weeks.

On December 13th, professor Viviana Lorenzo and the students from her “Green Cities: A Sustainable Future” class invited Umbra faculty, staff, and students to visit the Orto Sole didactic urban garden and see all the amazing projects her class has been working hard on during the Fall 22 Semester.

Until recently, the urban garden known as “Orto Sole” (pronounced “orto-so-lay”) was a mostly forgotten steep agricultural plot on Perugia’s north-facing hillside. Several years ago a non-profit association was created to re-develop this area as an urban garden: its members rebuilt the garden’s terraces, pruned the grape vines and aging fruit trees, and started hosting community groups in the beautiful green space just below the city’s most famous panorama – Porta Sole.

In September 2021, the Umbra Institute assumed management of Orto Sole to revitalize the garden and develop it as a living laboratory for the Institute’s Food, Sustainability and Environment program. The Institute will use the green urban hillside as its “outdoor classroom”: continuing the garden’s use as a didactic space, exploring new agricultural technologies, and sponsoring community-engaged learning projects with local partners.

After much work done during the Fall Semester of 2022, The hopes and expectations of Green Cities’ students are that Orto Sole will not only become a community garden and a place that contributes to the beautification of Perugia, but first and foremost that it may slowly grow into a space dedicated to sustainable agriculture, starting with the use of recycled material only.

Some of their projects for example involved the creation of Hugekultur, layered mounds of decaying wood debris and other compostable biomass and plant materials, left to break down in time into a nutrient-rich raised bed. Another project of agricultural value was surely the Worm Towers, structures where worms will gather and consume the organic compost inside, and will then spread in the garden and fertilize the soil.

As for community value projects, we have some beautiful ones too! From spots and benches where you can sit and enjoy some tea, to wooden and ceramic boards all around, up to the embellished stair area with lights and candles, all culminating with the significant Gratitude Tree! This project was inspired by Orti Dipinti in Florence, and students wanted to recreate it here together and hang up gratitude notes, either for their hard work or for their study abroad experience and the friends they made here, given that, as student Shreya affirmed, “people make places.”

Student Jenna Bryant said as well: “Orto Sole was and forever will be my favorite place to be in Perugia. A lush green food forest in the heart of Perugia, overlooking the green rolling hills of Umbria, was always a place that made me feel at peace during the past 4 months abroad and I can’t imagine my time without it. I always enjoyed volunteering weekly in the orto and getting my hands in the soil, even if it meant being covered in mud and dirt for my next class. I am really proud of what we accomplished as a class this fall semester in Green Cities. I feel like we really made all of our goals and ideas come to life, and it is great to see that we have left a permanent physical mark on Orto Sole.”

Needless to say, we are proud of the work that has been put into the Orto, and both as Umbra body and as part of the bigger Perugian community, we hope more will continue to be done in the future!

To learn more about Umbra’s Community Engagement programs and activities, check out our website at: www.umbra.org/community-engagement-abroad/.

Umbra’s new Italian 101 textbook is many things. However, it is for sure not yet another generic Italian grammar textbook. Instead, the Umbra Italian faculty wanted a book tailored on the typical needs and experiences of US study abroad students.

Umbra’s professors of Italian have used a number of standard textbooks over the years: QuiItalia. Espresso. Ciao Italia. But now Italian 101 students at The Umbra Institute have a new book with Umbra’s logo on its cover: Bulo! The name – Perugian dialect for “Cool!” – represents what’s inside: a textbook that is not just a tool to learn the agreement of subjects and verbs or the passato prossimo, but rather a vehicle of cultural immersion into Perugian life.

Students in Fall 2021 pointed out that they needed a textbook that was calibrated to their experience: rather than have all the vocab for viaggiare in Week 7 (linked to the unit on the past tense), they needed it at the beginning of the semester. The Umbra professors borrowed an idea from their colleagues at Umbra’s sibling institution, ISI Florence: to write a brand new textbook. And the idea of Bulo was born.

Bulo’s thirteen chapters mirror an Umbra students’ thirteen weeks in Perugia and Italy. Vocab on how to read train schedules, how to order in a restaurant, and how to ask for things at a deli counter come in the first intensive week, not buried in Week 7. The photos are of Perugia and the dialogues are about going to local cafes and walking through Perugian streets. In addition to Perugia making cameos in the exercises, the city’s customs, traditions, and foods are featured in special sections on culture. Bulo is also at the cutting edge of Italian society: in addition to grammar and vocab, students learn about how Italians (who speak a language in which each noun is either masculine or feminine) have tackled making their language less gendered.

“Bulo celebrates the Italian language and culture as direct, living, concrete experiences” said Professor Cavicchi, member of Umbra’s Italian Faculty. “As a teacher and author, I can say that Bulo is an unconventional handbook: it forces students to get up from their desks , put down their pens and test themselves along the city streets.”

Director Ph.D Zachary Nowak
The Umbra Institute Italian Faculty

The Umbra Institute offer includes a unique internsip as Marketing and Sales Assistant for one of the most important local organic wineries of the area, Terre Margaritelli. Tim Ringie, one of Umbra’s Fall 2021 students, came back for a fully hands-on, enthusiastic and immersive intership program this Summer 2022. Enjoy reading about his experience!

After spending my fall 2021 semester here in Perugia, I was craving more and hoped that my experience in Italy would not end when my classes were complete. Thanks to the kind Umbra Institute staff, I was able to secure a Sales and Marketing internship at Terre Margaritelli, an organic winery located in Miralduolo, which is part of the municipality of Torgiano in the heart of Umbria.

Even before I arrived this summer, I knew this would be so much more than just a traditional “sales and marketing” internship, given a conversation I had with the winery’s manager Federico. He made it very clear that I wouldn’t just be making photocopies or doing menial tasks, but rather I would be part of the team. I came to that realization in my very first week of work, during “Cantine Aperte” (an event in Italy in which the region’s wineries open their doors to the public and hundreds come to taste wine, listen to good music, eat good food, and enjoy the scenery and atmosphere). I was able to be behind the scenes to witness and assist with the planning that goes into an event like this. If I had to guess I’d say I opened one hundred bottles of wine and poured hundreds of glasses!
After that crazy first week I was able to see what a more normal daily operation at the winery would look like. The best part was being able to participate in all of it: I assisted with hosting groups of tourists from all over the world (including Italian and American wine journalists), and planning a wedding party from the UK and Canada. I also helped translating some of the winery’s website content to English.

Another of my favorite experiences was participating in a multiple day bottling process. A large truck was brought in where bottles were put in at one end and the truck spit them out at the other completely corked, labeled, and filled with wine. I spent my time helping to load the bottles onto pallets, which turned out to be a high stress part as you needed to keep up with what seemed like a never ending stream of bottles flowing
out of the machine. Here I was able to meet and talk with some of the other employees of the winery who I would not otherwise have the chance to meet.

Looking back at all that I learned and experienced as a summer intern at Terre Margaritelli, what I am most thankful for are the people I was able to meet and establish friendships. I really felt like part of the team and I felt that way on the first day I arrived. Going to work with Margherita in the morning or having Andrea pick me up from the train station, I was able to laugh and joke and become friends. I also was able to practice my Italian more than I ever had the chance before. I was even able to attend the Festa dei Ceri in Gubbio with the enologist Enrico who invited me to stay with him and his parents for two nights. That was an experience I will not soon forget. They made me feel at home and I cannot wait to be able to catch up with all of them once I return to Italy.

The Umbra Institute Community Garden Project at Orto Sole keeps flourishing. In particular, one of the Program trainees, Katie Kurtz, provided a priceless and fundamental contribution to the Orto Sole Project, staying with us a bit longer than the rest of the team. Enjoy her blog about her experience in Perugia and at the Umbra Institute!

Season Premier of Orto Sole: 2022 Summer Recap!

Hi everyone! Katie here! This summer I’ve worked as an intern in Orto Sole, The Umbra Institute’s school garden. I’ve helped with everything from growing tomatoes to planning activities for the local middle school. As the summer wraps up, you might be wondering, how did the “season premier” of Orto Sole go for the summer?

THE BEGINNING OF THE 2022 ORTO SOLE SUMMER

The beginning of the summer was mostly spent on physical projects, turning the overgrown, terraced plot of land into a functioning garden. A typical workday started at 9am with the fundamentals of gardening: weeding and watering. This year we attempted many annual crops throughout several different garden beds, so we were constantly battling the weeds that crept through our mulch. In June, most of my projects were physical – we’d spend several days fixing wooden stairs throughout the garden, clearing new raised beds for next summer, staking and pruning tomato plants, and clearing bushes from the archways located at the top of our garden. One archway is large enough to become an outdoor classroom, so we worked to clear the overgrown bushes from its entrance, flatten the ground, remove large pieces of trash, and plan for this new didactic space.

Umbra’s Partnership with Tamat and the University of Perugia Agriculture Department

Another unique part of June was our relationship with TAMAT, a local organization working to integrate immigrants in to the Perugian community. Each workday several immigrants would join us in the garden, working alongside us on the projects for the day. Working with these immigrants was such a powerful experience for all of us interns – just like us, these immigrants were foreigners and had varying levels of Italian. Despite being from different backgrounds, our work in the garden acted as a bridge and allowed us to form relationships in such meaningful ways.

Several days a week we headed over to Orto San Pietro, a community garden connected to the Agriculture Department at the University of Perugia. Working alongside agriculture students, professors, and community members participating in the urban garden, we cleared beds, pruned tomato plants, built compost bins, and worked to repair their garden after a hailstorm came through and damaged many of the plants. My work at San Pietro has taught me valuable skills such as how to design and run a drip irrigation system, how to care for plants such as beans and tomatoes, and the best way to prepare for a winter garden. We’ve been able to transfer these skills back to Orto Sole, helping us think strategically about how to transition our garden into the fall and winter, and what adjustments we should make for next year to improve our efficiency and output.

Environmental education and strategic planning

Come July, the other 4 interns headed back to the United States and I’ve stayed in Perugia to maintain the garden while turning most of my energy to the academic side of Orto Sole. The beauty of this space is its proximity to various communities within Perugia, allowing The Umbra Institute to interact with many groups of people and create a didactic space that also improves community engagement. I’ve mostly worked on two large projects: an environmental education curriculum and strategic planning for the following year. The Umbra Institute is working to integrate a community engagement component into their Italian classes, so I developed a set of Italian-English language exchange lessons using Orto Sole. These lessons are geared towards a local middle school and use the garden as the interactive space for students to practice vocabulary. I’ve also worked to plan for upcoming projects with Orto Sole, helping record observations from this summer and necessary adjustments for further iterations of Orto Sole’s summer garden. I’ve catalogued the annuals we grew this year: noting which worked well, potential ideas for new varieties, and how to maximize our growth to effort ratio for the upcoming summers. I’ve also worked on a nectary calendar, allowing us to understand when the plants we have bloom and where we can add perennials to improve our garden from a pollination standpoint. This planning allows us to effectively develop projects for potential volunteering opportunities, next year’s internship, and academic partnerships with Umbra Institute classes. It has been exciting thinking about the potential for the garden over the next 5-10 years!

ON WHY ORTO SOLE MATTERS

Orto Sole has been so much more than just an office for me this summer. It has been a place of community, a place to escape the noise of the city, and a place to reflect and get to know myself better than before. Spending several days a week working on simple projects, such as weeding a flower bed or pruning plants, created space to build friendships, slow down, and connect to the earth in a tangible and valuable way. Having such a beautiful space within the historic city center allows Umbra students and Perugian residents alike to take a moment to reflect, be in community, and step beyond traditional boundaries that can limit genuine connections from forming with people from all around the world.

While Orto Sole has many years ahead of it to become a fully developed, integrated, and flourishing community garden, this first summer of work was a tremendous success. The space physically resembles a cared-for garden, something one could not say in the middle of May. Orto Sole hosted several events for the Umbra Institute’s Intensive Italian program, such as the 4^th of July barbecue and Italian music night, already integrating the space into every Umbra student’s time in Perugia. We’ve had a successful harvest of lettuce, tomatoes, basil, zucchini, cherries, figs, peas, swiss chard, and many other fruits and vegetables, paving the way for the vegetables planted next year and our long-term plans. I have been so lucky to call Perugia home this summer and be a part of Orto Sole’s “season premier,” and I can’t wait to come back and see the growth of the garden as the seasons go by!

Katie Kurtz
Bowdoin College

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.

Last Friday, Multicultural Psychology Program (MPP) students went on a field trip to Florence, where they visited the National School for Guide Dogs. The school endeavors to change the lives of the blind/visually-impaired individuals by training 30 dogs each year.

The trainers explained to the students all the steps that must be taken before giving a dog to the person who requested it. The health of both the dogs and the recipients is given high priority. All of this is possible thanks to a network of psychologists, veterinarians, and volunteers who are constantly taking part in a long-term project that has a huge impact on all the actors involved.

Students were lucky enough to meet Carlo, a blind person – as he calls himself – who shared his experience. Carlo will get his dog in May and is currently training with four dogs.

The National School of Dogs is a public institution that is completely funded by the Region of Tuscany and dogs are provided free of charge to the recipients.

If you want to learn more about Umbra’s MPP Program, click here.

The Spring ’22 semester begins this weekend with the arrival of students in Perugia. After a 2-day orientation, in-person classes will begin on Monday, February 7th. The Umbra staff could not be more pleased to see students back in the classroom and having the opportunity to experience student life in Perugia and explore Italy and beyond.

“We have managed to balance practicing responsible protocols in response to COVID, without compromising the immersive study abroad experience that attracts students to Perugia”, said Program Coordinator, Jacopo Bernardini. “We are excited about the spring semester, especially as we enter the spring months. Umbra has a wonderful diversity of courses and a wide variety of co- and extracurricular activities planned. We wish all students a safe and unforgettable study abroad experience”.

As always, the students’ well-being is foremost among our priorities, and the Institute will follow all the required health and safety required by the local health officials.

The Umbra Institute’s didactic garden, Orto Sole, will be an outdoor laboratory for a new collaboration between the University of Perugia’s Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (UniPG).

Headed by Professor David Grohmann, the UniPG Green Teams consists of students dedicated to the development and maintenance of urban green spaces, as well as research in conservation and sustainable development.

Professors and students from Umbra and the UniPG will collaborate on new environmental initiatives using Orto Sole as a didactic garden for research and development, joint internships for students of food, environment and sustainability studies, and academic courses and research projects recognized by both institutions for university credit. Additionally, local university students and Umbra students now have an opportunity to study and work together to help Perugia confront the agricultural and environmental challenges of the future.

To learn more about Umbra’s Food, Sustainability and Environment program, click here.

by Kathryn Donati, College of William and Mary and Spring ’19 Umbra Rep

There are a lot of factors that go into choosing a study abroad program, things like location, program cost, dates, and classes. Fitness usually tends to fall at the bottom of that list even though studies have shown that working out consistently boosts mental health, stress levels, and can actually help you feel less homesick if you do activities you normally do at home. So, now you’re in Perugia — how do you workout? Here are your options!

Workout at home! // This might seem like the most obvious option, but it can be hard to muster up the motivation to workout on your own in a casual location, like your living room. This is where the internet can help. YouTube videos, Pinterest graphics, and thousands of blogs all thrive on at-home, equipment free, step-by-step videos. Now is also the perfect time to try new things you may be too timid to try in the gym. So move that couch back, lace up your sneakers, and try that new workout routine!

Final Thoughts: Free & no equipment needed (or available)

Get outside! // The opposite of working out indoors? Go outside! Perugia’s hills make running in the streets taxing on your knees not to mention your cardiovascular system so you can head to the outdoor running track. Free of charge and open all day, the track is the best place to get your cardio kick in. If running isn’t your thing, the local indoor swimming pool offers a discount for students. Take your yoga mat (if you’re obsessed like me and brought it all the way to Perugia) or your favorite picnic blanket, find a patch of green in one of Perugia’s beautiful parks, and flow! Also, the Saturdays you spend exploring your new home definitely count as exercise.

Final Thoughts: Maximum 5 euros, still no equipment, fresh air

Join a gym! // Perugia has a rather limited selection of gyms, according to an American anyway, but if you crave the structure, the treadmill, the free weights, and the sweat smell you have a few options. They come at a variety of price points, and most are a Minimetrò ride away — 1.50 euros one way/12 euros for a 10-pass. Make sure the money you’ll spend on a membership is within your budget and always re-rack your weights when you’re done.

Final Thoughts: The most ‘official’ way to stay in shape, more expensive than other options, equipment and classes.

Workout with friends! // A great way to bond with others on the program, you can go for a hike, go exploring together, or attempt (and fail, the way Ruby and I did here) a pairs workout! Your shyness will fade as soon as you start laughing and at the very least, you’ll get an ab workout.

Final Thoughts: Best bang for your buck, usually free (maybe the cost of a post-workout Mr. Chips run), and creates the best memories

Rely on nature! // When all else fails, you can always rely on Perugia’s never-ending hills to help you work up to those late-night pastas. It’s easy to turn your morning walk to school into a mini-workout and if you’re feeling fancy, feel free to throw some lunges into your hike. With the weight of your backpack, you’ll be ready for your mid-morning gelato in no time.

Final Thoughts: Free, you’re going to do it anyway, and no, it never gets easier

“I don’t want to go to the gym — I’m in Italy!” One of the hardest things about maintaining fitness abroad is the simple fact that you’re abroad. There’s an expiration date on your time here and it can make you feel as if every moment not spent exploring, traveling, or doing something quintessentially “Italian” is a moment wasted. Fight that feeling! Putting yourself first at least once a day is necessary to staying sane, especially in such a new environment. Fit in your fitness, or however self-care looks to you, in the blank moments of your schedule that don’t detract from your exploring time. That block between your morning and afternoon class? Take your sun salutations outside and enjoy the stunning views of Perugia as you also take time to recharge. They don’t have to exist separately here.

Overall piece of advice: Make time for yourself.