What to expect when you don’t know what to expect!
An opinion piece by Bella Iacovetta
I had my heart set on coming to a small Italian town. Perugia was the best choice for me, but I was still unsure what to expect. I have been fortunate enough to come to Italy before and I have done most of the sightseeing, such as Rome, Milan, Venice, Naples, and Florence. I didn’t want or feel the need to study in those places because I would just be an American studying in Italy (which yes, that is still true) but I wanted to immerse myself in Italian culture (I have Italian heritage, so this was especially important to me!) I had never heard of Perugia, nor did I know where it was in Italy. After some research and googling, I fell in love with the idea of living the local life, but again, I did not know what to expect from the locals or from school, but I decided to go anyway! Here’s my experience.
The layout
As mentioned Perugia is a small town with a population of 161,748. To give you an idea that is a little bigger than Kansas City, KS. That being said, you will live in the wonderful city center! Everything you need is pretty much within walking distance. There is Coop and Pam Local which are grocery stores (if you’re going on Sunday be sure to check their hours, they might have reduced hours.) There are different shops with clothes or chocolate along with cafes! Do you fancy a movie (in English)? Walk to Postmodernissmo or Cinema Méliès!
Set up
This is the street I live on, via Bontempi! It is a 5-minute walk to the school! Be prepared to share an apartment with 3-4 other people, you may even have to share a room. We are lucky to have a very nice apartment with a loft that has a desk as well as a fully furnished kitchen and living space. We have a washing machine (no dryer…welcome to hang drying!) and TV. Italy does have regulations on electricity to be sure to bundle up in the winter and don’t use too many appliances at once or you might trip the breaker!
Getting Around
Like I mentioned before, walking is going to be your primary mode of transportation, but that’s not all! You can easily move around Perugia by bus (you will have to wave them down, or they won’t stop!) and by MiniMetro! They are small, driverless cable cars that stretch over the city. You can take it to the train station, big superstores, and most importantly, the Soccer Stadium! Don’t forget to check the hours (they run 7 am – 9:05 pm on Monday-Saturday; on Sunday, they run 9 am – 8:45 pm). You can buy 1 pass tickets (1.50 E) or 10 pass tickets (12.90 E).
Perugia is well-connected to major Italian cities such as Florence and Rome via train. Be sure to download the Trenitalia app to stay updated on your train’s status throughout your travels.
Need to go to the Umbria Airport? Take the UmbriaAirLink! It can pick you up in Piazza Partigiani or Piazza Italia, but be sure to check the website. A ticket costs €5 but be sure to look at the timetables to ensure they match up with your flight! Once you get to the airport, security will take about 5 minutes. The airport offers flights to Barcelona, Brindisi, Brussels Charleroi, Bucharest, Cagliari, Catania, Krakow, London Stansted, Malta, and Palermo (these are Ryanair flights). Some may only be seasonal and may only fly on certain days.
Mental Health Matters
If you see a therapist back home and are worried about continuing therapy, fret not, for Umbra has an independent counselor! Studying abroad can be hard; some people experience homesickness right away (I know I did!), but others don’t experience it until later, or not at all. Make sure to create a good support network back home. The time difference is hard, but if you have the tools to support you, then you will learn to cherish the time you have for yourself. Everyone’s experience is different, and you do not have to handle it alone!
Typical Week
Just so you get an idea of my week, here is my typical schedule.
I am enrolled in the Multicultural Psychology Track, and everyone has to be enrolled in an Italian Language course.
Mondays, I have Pathways to Wellness from 9 am to 10:30 am. Then, I go home and do some homework, then I have ITAL 101 from 12:30 pm to 1:45 pm, and Critical Disabilities from 2:15 to 3:45 pm. Then, I have free time to go out, do homework, make dinner, basically whatever I want.
Tuesdays, I have Human Development in Culture from 10:45 am to 12:15 pm, then ITAL 101 from 12:30 pm to 1:45 pm. After this, is when I have the most free time, so I either do homework or relax.
Wednesdays are the same as Mondays, but instead of the Critical
Disabilities lecture, I have Critical Disabilities Practicum. Some classes have a practicum component, which means you have a lecture one day and the next ‘class time’ you go to an activity. For the Critical Disabilities Practicum, we go to VIVA, which is an organization that helps people with disabilities play sports. I go from 3 pm to 6 pm, and we get to play basketball, then we have individualized time with a participant, and we do what they want, and at the end, we do stretches with music. I take the bus to and from practicum; after that, I go home and have dinner.
Thursday is the same as Tuesday.
On Fridays, we don’t have any classes. You may have a field trip for a class, but that is not often. If you want to get the most of traveling, you can leave after class on Thursday. Saturdays and Sundays are free to travel or stay in Perugia. Both the Umbra Institute and Arcadia University organize activities and social events on the weekends for students to join.
Homework
The dreaded question: how much homework will I have? Here is a picture of my Italian class with our Professor Luca!Great question! Most of my “homework” is readings. Most classes will have a weekly quiz (some allow for multiple attempts and some allow for only the highest grade to count! Amazing, right?!) Most courses will have a course journal where the professor poses a question and you write your thoughts. Some classes will have midterms, papers and/or finals like usual because don’t forget you are also here to take classes.
Life at Umbra
Something about the classes that I want to share is that they are small, compared to what I am used to at the University of Colorado Boulder. My smallest class is 5 people and my biggest is 17 people. Along with this, the professors make it a mission to get to you by name. Some classes require office hours as part of your grade. The professors and staff here really care about you.
Perugia is a great place to be and I know you will enjoy your time here!