See the real Italy at Umbra Past Review
By Chris H (History, Gustavus Adolphus College) for
Arcadia: ISI Perugia - The Umbra Institute
My language skills improved and I learned a lot about myself in Perugia.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
It was less work than I had back home, which was nice because I had more time to do experiential learning. That doesn't mean the classes were all easy, because the profs obviously loved what they were doing. All classes had field trips to link what they did in the class to what the real world--very cool. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Great student services, lots of help with trips and everyday life |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
We had frescoes on our ceilings and lived in a nicely renovatged noble palace. Very cool! |
| * Food: |
Can't beat "penne alla norcina"! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Perugia itself, in addition to being a great university town, has all kinds of things to do, not just museums but great "nooks and crannies" (take the tour at the beginning of the year!). Umbra put together a nice mix of things like food workshops (winetasting), trips to the opera, meetings with Italian students, etc. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
No problem, we had this police officer from Florence or ROme (can't remember) come and talk about safety, but Perugia is very safe, it's a small city but safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Lots of opportunities to speak with native speakers of Italian (there were Italians in each of my courses too) and Perugia is a great classroom--definitely not Rome or Florence, where everybody only talks to you in English. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Remember that you're going to get sick of a big city with tons of other Americans. Go to Perugia, you'll love it! |
