ISI Abroad

👻 I solemnly swear I am up to no good!

An unforgettable Harry Potter-themed Halloween extravaganza! 🧙‍♂️🧙‍♀️ A huge thank you to all participants, and to the students who helped with decorations and planning—your efforts truly brought this magical castle to life!

✨👉Meet our Umbra Reps! These dedicated students embody the spirit of community, leadership, and creativity. Through the Umbra Reps program, they channel their personal experiences into initiatives that enhance our collective journey, fostering a vibrant environment for all. Thank you for your dedication and inspiring work! 📚🌏🌻📌

🌟The road so far!

The journey of Fall term '24 captured in moments. From daily discoveries to unforgettable milestones, each photo tells a story of growth, challenge, and community at Umbra.

Let the break begin📚✨

A memorable day at Briziarelli Winery with our 'Digital Marketing: Wine and Wineries of Central Italy' class! 🍇

✨ Founded in the early 1900s, Briziarelli has evolved from diverse farming to crafting wines that blend tradition with innovation. Their commitment to the land and avoiding extreme winemaking methods results in elegant, clean, and incredibly drinkable wines. 🍷 The modern, futuristic facilities perfectly mirror their philosophy—respect for tradition while embracing the future. Grateful to learn from our community partner!

An inspiring visit with our Positive Psychology class to the Day Center of Fondazione Città del Sole, our amazing community partner. 💛🌞 The foundation’s dedication to integrating people with disabilities into residential, work, and social environments, along with promoting inclusive education, is truly uplifting. From co-housing projects to radio shows and even Umbria’s first inclusive restaurant, Fondazione Città del Sole is breaking barriers and building a more inclusive future. We’re honored to learn from their impactful initiatives!

Are you gluten and dairy-free? 🍞🧀 Our GLP student, Stella Henson, a junior from the University of Maryland, is exploring Florence’s food scene with dietary restrictions. While she finds gluten-free options more accessible in Italy than in the U.S., dairy-free choices can be more challenging. Fortunately, Florence is home to many cafes and restaurants that offer delicious alternatives to traditional favorites like cappuccinos and pasta. 🇮🇹 Check out her top recommendations below! 🌟

Rosalia Salad Gourmet: This is a salad bar that not only has salads and bowls, but also coffee, smoothies, and fresh juice. This is a great place to get a delicious dairy-free cappuccino or an almond milk matcha latte☕️🍵

Sgrano Street Food: If you have been to Florence, you have definitely seen the famous Florence sandwich on schiacciata bread. Here at this shop, you can get a variety of sandwich combinations, all on GF bread! My go-to is #4 without the Brie. It has sliced turkey, arugula, and fresh tomato🥪

Esselunga: This store is more like a traditional American supermarket. It is farther from the city center, but the gluten and dairy-free options make the walk worth it. They have a wide variety of GF bread, vegan yogurts, GF pasta, and fun treats like dairy-free pudding🍮

Cortese - The Raw Patisserie: If you are looking for a cafe with more upscale vibes, head to Cortese. This delicious cafe is completely vegan, gluten-free, and made from raw ingredients. Right next to Santa Maria Novella, they have a delectable iced latte with homemade almond milk and cinnamon as well as classic Italian desserts😋

Midterm exams begin next week! 📚
If you are looking for spaces to prepare for your tests, check out our guide for the best study spots in Florence!

✨Exploring the Art of Beekeeping🐝🍯

Bees play a critical role in our ecosystems. Students in the Food, Sustainability, and Environment program (FSE) recently had the opportunity to closely study the intricate process of honey production and witness the dynamics of nature firsthand with the beekeper Luca Galli.

👉📚For further details on the FSE program, please visit the Umbra Institute's website.

As part of ISI Florence's efforts for sustainability, last week we organized for our students a fashion sustainability workshop titled "Upcycling. Turning a T-Shirt into a Shopping Bag."

The workshop was organized in collaboration with Debora from Bio Fashion Lab , a company who is member of the international "Re-Make" group ➡️ Remake

Bio Fashion Lab, based in Florence, is a space where you can buy, sell, or rent second-hand clothing 👕👖

They also host events, courses, and workshops aimed at raising awareness about clothing recycling and sustainable fashion.

Their mission is to reinvent shopping by promoting swaps and rentals to minimize textile waste ♻️

We can all do something for the future of our planet! 🌍

Just a couple of weeks ago, our students took part in the Big Event in Florence!

This long-standing tradition brings together American students for a day of community service, helping to clean up the city.

The streets of Oltrarno and other areas of the city were filled with young volunteers armed with brooms, gloves, and tongs, busy removing cigarette butts, trash, stickers, and graffiti.

It's their way of saying 'thank you' to the city of Florence, a place they’ve come to love and owe so much to.

Thank you for your hard work, everyone! 🌍🧹🫶

Last week, our students participated in Corri La Vita! 🏃‍♀️ This special Florentine event unites both locals and foreigners, raises awareness for breast cancer research, and provides a unique opportunity to explore the city's rich history. 🇮🇹

The Corri La Vita t-shirts, designed by Salvatore Ferragamo, help to fund breast cancer research and allowed participants access to Florentine museums for free all day. What an amazing way to experience the city while supporting a great cause! 🎗️

We love seeing the Global Leadership Program students repping our colors! Here they are out and about in Florence and in Europe. Through the activities they will do during the semester, they will learn to cultivate a more international perspective and grow as global citizens. 🇮🇹🇺🇸
Each experience helps them build crucial communication and problem-solving skills, preparing them for future academic and professional success. 🌟
The lessons they gain will stay with them long after their time abroad, shaping them into the leaders of tomorrow.

Here’s what one of our Fall Global Leaders, Livi Mazerolle, has to share about her life as a student in Florence!

"As someone who loves to eat and shop it has been very fun finding my new go-to spots in Florence. There are many differences between Italian and American culture, but food and shopping are the ones I have found most apparent.

📸 Gelato:
You can find a gelato shop around every corner in Florence, but not all are worth going into. A tip I was told was to always look for places that have their gelato in metal tins with lids. These are my two favorite gelato places for a sweet treat. 🍦

📸 Aperitivo:
Unlike Americans, Italians like to have a light drink after work! In between work and dinner time it is common to go out and get a quick drink with some snacks. A Spritz is the basic, go-to, drink for Aperitivo, but its popularity is well warranted. I am a big Hugo Spritz girl and my favorite spot sells a good sized one for just €5! 🍹

📸 Groceries:
Grocery shopping like an Italian means buying ingredients for one or two meals at a time, not buying in bulk or stocking up for the week. This specific Conad is my favorite for general grocery shopping, but Mercato Centrale is where I go for produce, cheese and meat! 🍒🍗

📸 Shopping:
I love to thrift and there is no shortage of vintage shopping in Florence. I have found that Humana Vintage has very reasonable prices and a large, well-curated selection of clothes and accessories! 👗👜"

Meet Parker B. Sutliff, who will soon begin volunteering at the prestigious Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana under the guidance of our director, Professor Stefano Baldassarri. 🇮🇹

In Parker's words: “Today, I had the honor of accompanying director Stefano Baldassarri and Serena Giorgi to the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana. We had a very productive meeting with Francesca Gallori, the director of the library. We discussed my prospects for translating library texts and materials, and for acting as a tour guide for English-speaking visitors. I am very grateful to have been invited to the library, introduced to the director, and offered such opportunities. I am eager to contribute to the joint goals of ISI Florence and the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, and I look forward to beginning my work as soon as possible.”

We can’t wait to see the amazing contributions Parker will make! 🌟

👉🖋️Sneak peek from our tasting at Montelino Winery overlooking Lake Trasimeno, where we discovered the intricacies of wine production and indulged in wine tasting amidst stunning sights. Exploring local beauties added to the charm of the day.

Thanks to all our students for making it so memorable!✨🌏🌻

📌Tandem season has begun!

All students enrolled in Italian classes at Umbra participate in Tandem Nights, where they meet and mingle with Italian students. These events foster cultural bonds through conversation, accompanied by food and drinks.

👉This week, we kicked off with the 201 and 301 students.
🌻Stay tuned for more!

📌Highlights from the Anthrology Dinner!

📚This week, students enrolled in the 'Anthropology of Food' course explored how food shapes Perugia's identity, tasting traditional flavors of the local cuisine. It's not all about food: Students are asked to act as if they were anthrologists in action, ✍️ taking ethnographic fieldnotes during the dinner. This is just the beginning of what looks like an exciting semester of food research!

👉To learn more on courses offered at the Institute, please visit our website.

The Italian language sure has some weird expressions! 🤔🇮🇹
Which one is your favorite? Did we miss any of your favorites?

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Meet our Fall 2024 Global Leaders! 🌟

This semester-long program is an opportunity for students to develop and enhance their leadership competencies and cross-cultural awareness, by completing a series of activities in a variety of fields such as social media, creative writing, event planning, and communication. 🇮🇹
They had their welcome aperitivo last Tuesday and we can't wait to see where the program will take them!

Pictured from left to right:
Connor Adams, UConn
Olivia Mazerolle, Williams College
Isaac Grad, UConn
Fiona Flowers, UMD
Christine Haggard, UMD
Stella Henson, UMD

👉Pizza night highlights from last night! Thanks to everyone who joined us. Here's to many more! 🍕 ✨

Welcome to our MPP students! ❤️✍️🌼 We kicked off the Multicultural Psychology Program with an engaging workshop titled 'Beyond Comfort Zones: Experiencing Culture Shock,' where students explored the challenges and insights that arise from navigating different cultural perspectives.

After the workshop, we celebrated the start of the semester with an inaugural aperitivo.

📚The Multicultural Psychology Program at the Umbra Institute offers a unique opportunity to study how culture shapes our understanding of human behavior, both in the classroom and through hands-on learning experiences. Whether you're a Psychology major or from another field, this program helps prepare you for a variety of careers by examining the intersection of culture, identity, and psychology.

📌To learn more about our programs, please visit our website.

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Welcome FSE students with a dinner at Stella!✨

Stella is a restaurant that adheres to Slow Food principles, supporting local producers who prioritize biodiversity. A big thank you to Silvia and Arek for the warm welcome!🖐️

📚The Food, Sustainability, and Environment (FSE) program is a curriculum offered at the Umbra Institute. Students enrolled in this program develop a deep understanding of global food systems, sustainability, and the environment, enriched by hands-on contact with local partners.

📌Stay tuned for more in the upcoming weeks!

First days in Perugia summarized ✨ Shots from the first week capture the essence of embarking on a new academic journey abroad.🌏

📚 Kicking off the semester with comprehensive orientation sessions covering everything from student life and housing to academics and volunteering opportunities.

👉This week, all students took an immersive Italian course to enhance their language skills for living in Italy. We're excited for the next week and all that follows!

🌐Explore the details of our program on our website.

As we close our first week of classes in Florence, here are 5 essential Italian words to help you make the most of your adventure. 🇮🇹

"Ciao!" 👋
The first word you'll need in Florence! Say 'Ciao!' to everyone—friends, professors, and locals alike. It’s the perfect way to break the ice and start your interactions with a smile.

"Amici and Amiche" 👭👬
You'll make plenty of 'amici' during your time here. Friendships are at the heart of your study abroad experience, and these connections will last a lifetime.

"Studiare" 📚
Of course, you’re here to 'studiare' too! Dive into your studies and embrace the academic experience in Florence, where learning extends beyond the classroom.

"Viaggiare" ✈️
Florence is your gateway to 'viaggiare' across Italy and Europe. Explore new places and cultures, and make memories that will stay with you forever.

"Gelato" (not Ice Cream!) 🍦
One of the most important words—'gelato'! Treat yourself to this Italian delight. Remember, it’s not just ice cream—it’s a delicious experience you won’t want to miss!

What are your favorite Italian words? 🇮🇹

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Transform your study abroad experience by volunteering abroad! 🖐️🌏🌻

👉Discover a range of opportunities, learn more about how you can get involved this Fall ‘24 on our website.✨