An adventurous spirit from a liberal arts college, I have always been a hands-on learner, and my experience at the Umbra Institute allowed me to embrace that completely. The challenge of adapting to Perugia where almost no one spoke English motivated me to constantly work on conquering Italian, and working with the local high school students tested my flexibility and creativity like never before. It was exactly this opportunity to involve my passion in my education that helped me flourish during my time abroad, and made me feel like I was part of the Italian culture, rather than a visitor.