Contact Us
Email: info@umbra-institute.com
Tel: +39 075-573-4595
Fax: +39 075-573-7033
The Umbra Insitute
Via dei Priori, 84
Perugia, Italy 06123
Email: info@umbra-institute.com
Tel: +39 075-573-4595
Fax: +39 075-573-7033
The Umbra Insitute
Via dei Priori, 84
Perugia, Italy 06123
| Bree Barton |
 Home Institution: Amherst College Umbra Semester: Spring 2006, Summer 2006 Internship Currently: "Readjusting to life in America after living a charmed life in Perugia for six months. This fall I'll return to the Amherst campus to help with freshman orientation, and then I embark on senior year and my European Studies thesis, a project that will draw on my experiences in Italy over the last seven months. With less than a year until graduation day, I am also avidly preparing to confront the gaping void of post-college life. With any luck, Europe will most certainly factor into my future." Most Memorable Experience at Umbra: "At the beginning of the spring semester, I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to pick up and go to southern Italy for a day. Within a 24-hour span, I dined by the ocean, befriended a group of international students, walked through the charming yet contradictory city of Naples, and spent an afternoon poking around sunny Pompeii. As I sat at the top of a Roman ampitheater almost two millenia old, I realized this was only the first of many great adventures: this was the beginning of the rest of my life." Advice for Future Students: "While the friendships you make with other Umbra students will undoubtedly be rewarding, challenge yourself to move beyond these to really immerse yourself in Italian life. Learn the language, eat the food, meet the people. One of the most valuable lessons I learned from my time at Umbra was that I was competent enough to venture out on my own, and when I did, it was always worth it. If you make the most of your semester abroad, you'll have more than just facebook albums to show for it: you'll come back with a wealth of new experiences and discoveries that will continue to shape both you and your future." Read more about Bree's memorable experience on the Umbra Blog: "Cheese, Wine, and Clarity" Contact Bree with questions about her Umbra experience: bbarton@amherst.edu |
| Mary Remy Shu |
 Home Institution: Elon University Umbra Semester: Fall 2005 Currently: I graduated from Elon University in May 2007 as a Corporate Communications major. I live in Louisville, KY, and am working for a local advertising agency. And, as always, I am trying to find a way to return to Italy very soon!" Most Memorable Experience at Umbra: "It's difficult to pick only one experience, but I particularly enjoyed visiting Cantina Goretti, a vineyard just outside the city of Perugia. We toured the vineyard and the winery and then had a tasting with the owners of the vineyard. It was a chance to learn more about the local wines grown in the hills around Perugia and a chance to see more of the Umbrian countryside." Advice for Future Students: "Take advantage of all the opportunities that come your way. Do not be afraid to try something new because the memories you will make from those experiences is what will make your time abroad the most rewarding. And, of course, get to know the locals because they will truly enhance the experience you have in Perugia." Contact Remy with questions about her Umbra experience: remyshu@gmail.com |
| Katelin Flynn |
 Home Institution: Univ. of Colorado Umbra Semester: Fall 2007 Currently: "After my Fall semester in Perugia, I came back to Boulder, Colorado, to finish up my final semester. I will graduate in May 2008 with a major in Studio Arts with a concentration in photography and book arts. I just found out that I will be returning to Italy this summer to work with a summer camp and I could not be happier to return to beautiful Italia!" Most Memorable Experience at Umbra: "The people. The people I met in Perugia through the Umbra Institute as well as through my own endeavors will definitely be people I will remember for the rest of my life. While it was incredible to travel throughout Italy to see the different parts of the country, it was the people I traveled with and the people I came home to in Perugia that made my experience meaningful." Advice for Future Students: "Go outside of your comfort zone! Take a couple of minutes to talk to the barista you just ordered coffee from or get lost in the back streets of a city. It is so important to push yourself in order to learn the culture and language, but be patient. Being patient with yourself will allow you to truly open yourself up to new cultural experiences." Contact Katelin with questions about her Umbra experience: flynnkc@colorado.edu |
| Katherine Black |
 Home Institution: Elon UniversityUmbra Semester: Spring 2008 Currently: "Finding my place in the world..." Advice for Future Students: "When I returned home to the United States from my semester in Perugia, I was trying to put into words what I loved about that little university town. I came up with these words: ‘What is it about Perugia, Italy that is so captivating? Perhaps it is the fact that you walk instead of drive and are able to appreciate things one otherwise may have overlooked. Perhaps it is the fact that everything from a single cobblestone to an aqueduct at the foot of 210 stairs has a unique history or past. Maybe it is the magic in the language or the fact that people still hang their laundry out their windows to dry and grow gardens on their rooftops. But what I think it really is in Perugia that you will relish the simplest things in life; and those simple things you come to find are what make life beautiful in the first place.’” “Speak Italian; it gives such a sense of fulfillment to arrive speaking English and leave conversationally bi-lingual. Explore the city and find your own special place that only you know about. Go on Zach’s “Nooks and Crannies tour”. Go on the Tuscan getaway. Horseback ride and go to a wine tasting. Make friends with the Italians who want to get to know you. Enjoy the culture of slow drinking and slow living. Bask in the sun on the stairs of Piazza Novembre. If you get a chance, ride a Vespa. Run up the 210 stairs of Via Appia without stopping. Go to the Perugia markets and look at the books, jewelry and antiques; observe the people behind those market tables and smile at them. Eat Nutella. Taste the wild gelato flavors. Don’t carry your passport with you. Live the Italian culture. Make friends with the staff. Get sandwiches from Parma. Stay off the internet as much as you can. Ride the mini-metro. Soak in all things good, all things beautiful and all things where you even remotely see love." Contact Katherine with even more suggestions for a semester abroad in Perugia: keblack4@gmail.com |
| Tyler Pace |
 Home Institution: Connecticut College Currently: I graduated from Connecticut College with a double major in History and Italian, and had the marvelous fortune to return to Perugia last fall. I'm working for the Umbra Institute in the student services department, and life couldn't be better! Most Memorable Experience at Umbra: "I went to Cinque Terre one of the first weekends I was in Italy. Literally, it means the "five towns", which sounds boring, but i can assure you that it was anything but. It was by far the most beautiful place I had ever seen - five tiny towns that are carved and tucked into towering mountains overlooking the sea. We spent a day hiking between each town, but to be honest, my most memorable experience in italy wasn't the views or the five towns, it was the trip getting there. I took a train with a couple friends, made a connection in Pisa, and before i knew it was hailing a taxi at midnight driven by a homely Italian man who lectured us about the best cheeses to buy in italy, and also how A.S. Roma would win the Series A title despite everyone's doubts. I actually think, no I'm sure that he took the longer route just so he could recount his favorite goal from that week. And eventhough recounting Toti's goal required the constant removal of his hands from the steering wheel, I couldn't help but laugh the whole time it was happening. It was my first taste of Italian passion, and that's something I'll never forget." Advice for Future Students: "It's important to spend as much time as you can speaking Italian. The classroom, frankly, is not the place you'll become fluent. It's amazing how open an Italian will be if you just say "ciao." Talk to someone at a caffe or just ask someone where they're from. The great thing about Perugia is that it's a student town, with people our age coming from every part of the globe - it would be a shame not to take advantage of such amazing cultural exposure. Contact |
| Jen Dirvianskis |
 Home Institution: UC - Irvine Umbra Semester: Full Academic Year 2006-2007, Summer 2007 Internship Currently: "After having lived in Perugia for 10 months, I am finally going to return to UC Irvine this fall to continue my degrees in Psychology and Education. Next summer, I am hoping to go on a volunteer program in Africa where I hope to get a very different, yet just as rewarding, experience than I had in Italy. I am hoping to get my Masters degree at some point in the near future, but I might find myself taking a break after I graduate to continue with my travels abroad. Trips back to Perugia are definitely part of the plan." Most Memorable Experience at Umbra: "The simplest experiences are the ones I remember the most - walking down Corso Vannucci and seeing two adult men greet each other with a kiss on each cheek, watching a little Italian kid chasing a pigeon and then being picked up and hugged by their guardian, hearing an elderly woman talk gently to the young teenager that is holding her arm as they walk side by side - these are the little things that have helped me view life from another perspective. These are the memories that I will have forever." Advice for Future Students: "When I first started thinking about studying abroad, I had the expectation that it would be one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I took that to mean that it would be filled with fun adventures, an interesting new lifestyle and of course, incredible food! And while all of these certainly took place during my time at Umbra, I forgot to leave room for the obstacles I would face along the way. You will experience things during your time abroad that you never expected; you will undoubtedly have days that seem harder than others. You will be living in a new culture, and sometimes attempting to be a part of it will be a bit unsettling. But just push through- let yourself feel whatever emotions come to you. Be okay with being homesick once and a while. Accept it, but don't dwell on it. Hard times will come, but in the end, they will become part of the piece that puts your entire study abroad experience together. And in the end, I promise that your time abroad will have shaped you in more ways than think are possible, and become not only what you experienced, but will become part of who you are." Contact Jen with questions about her Umbra experience:jdirvian@uci.edu |
| Hilaire Pickett |
 Home Institution: Elon University Umbra Semester: Fall 2006 Currently: Currently I am finishing up my last semester at Elon University, and just spent a month studying the Fine Arts in London. With the "real world" on the horizon, I am excited for my future, where ever that may take me. Ideally, I would love to pursue something that would allow my to incorporate my desire to travel with my love of working with people. Most Memorable Experience at Umbra: "The day Zach offered several students to go olive picking at Villa Monticelli right outside Perugia. We spent the whole day under the warm sun hand picking olives and eating sausages off of sticks and eggplant around the bonfire. All we cared about was being in the company of one another, sharing stories, and laughing. Then we watched the olives being pressed into the machine to make olive oil. Quite a process! At the end of the day, to walk home to our apartment just as the most beautiful sunset appeared on the horizon. Priceless. It made for a pretty unforgettable day." Advice for Future Students: "Change is inevitable therefore give yourself time. Don't get mad at yourself because you can't sleep one night or do not feel like going out with friends. You are the only one who has the ability to change your life, therefore do not listen to anyone else except for you. When you start to listen to yourself-watch out because you can discover so much potential in yourself! Sky is the limit!" Contact Hilaire with questions about her Umbra experience: hpickett@elon.edu |
