The Umbra Podcast

What is it like playing soccer in a local team during your study abroad semester? We have asked three Umbra students who have joined the Perugia University soccer team to practice and play side by side with Italian students: Hannah Mohan (University of Denver), Loreah Klimas (Babson University), Olivia Maltbie (Babson University). The hosts of this episode are Alexandra and Jacopo.

In this third and last installment of the series of “Volunteering at Umbra”, Kasey Kfouri (University of Vermont) and Manuel Barbato (Coordinator For Community Engagement) discuss about Orto Sole, Umbra’s Community Garden, its story, evolution and current opportunities both for Umbra students and community of Perugia.

In this episode, the second of the series of “Volunteering at Umbra”, Sarah Markmann (Endicott College), Neha Checka (Ohio State University), and Lucey Walton (Lebanon Valley College) discuss the volunteering opportunity of being English tutors. 

Several Umbra students were assigned to a class in a local Italian high school and would help the teacher with activities and presentations for the students.

This episode begins a short series of conversations that present Umbra’s Community Engagement opportunities. These academic and professional extracurricular activities are a vital part of learning for students in Perugia and at the institute. 

In this episode, students and staff talk about volunteering at Fuori di Zucca, an ethical purchasing group that brings together consumers and local producers. Alaina Shields and Karen Jordan (both from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill) tell us about their experience as volunteers in this local association.

Hosts: Amanda Fontana (intern at Umbra) and Manuel Barbato (Community Engagement Coordinator)

“Would you go back to the Amalfi Coast? 100%, I am already planning my trip back!”

Some of our students recently returned from an optional trip to the Amalfi Coast, offered through the Umbra Institute. In this episode, the students, Caroline Butt (Quinnipiac University) and Charlotte Leavitt (Clark University), discuss their experiences on this trip traveling with a large group in a tourist hotspot and how it allowed them to make new friends and see unexpected places! The host of this episode is Amanda Fontana, intern at The Umbra Institute.

It can often be difficult to understand the emotional impact study abroad has on a student’s well-being, especially when the experience is meant to be filled with learning and transformation. However, adjustment to a new culture and host country can be experienced by any student traveling and studying abroad, and the degrees in which students experience it vary. But what exactly is culture shock? What can it look like for students and how can they cope with it?

In this podcast, a guest speaker and two members of the Umbra team come together to discuss culture shock and their different perspectives on it. Trudi, a psychologist and counselor for international students abroad, Amanda Fontana, an American intern at Umbra Institute, and Eleonora Branchesi, a Student Services Advisor and health, wellness and safety coordinator, sit down to explore the concept of culture shock, sharing their own personal and professional experiences and thinking.

In this episode Nicholas Abruzzi (Arcadia University), Eileen Jeon (University of Maryland), and Mohammad Mundiwala (University of Connecticut) take over the Umbra Podcast once again to chat about culture shock.

Are you an Umbra student who has experienced culture shock when moving to Perugia? Tell us your story using the poll and the voice message feature on the Umbra podcast's page in Anchor:

 https://anchor.fm/the-umbra-institute

(just click on 'Message', you'll be brought to a record screen where you can record a voice message for up to one minute.)

Alternatively, send us a WhatsApp voice message at +39 333.923.2228.

Selected messages will be featured in the next podcast episode.

In this episode (the first available on Spotify both as video and audio), Margherita sits down to chat with students about how to manage stress while studying abroad. They highlight certain activities that keep them engaged and relaxed during what can be a difficult transition time.  

Thank you to Lucey Walton (Lebanon Valley College) and Jessica Morgan (Binghamton University) 

In this third installment of the Umbra Podcast, four Umbra students take the lead and talk about their first weeks in Perugia, best places to visit in Italy, and how to make friends abroad and make the most of your new university life.

A huge thank you to Nicholas Abruzzi (Arcadia University), Eileen Jeon (University of Maryland), Mohammad Mundiwala (University of Connecticut), and Jessica Roberts (University of Connecticut).

In this episode, Alexandra will interview five Umbra students who are enrolled in a full immersion Italian program at the University for Foreigners of Perugia. 

A very special thanks to our guests: Maxwell Gagnon (University of Richmond), Elizabeth Gonzalez Avalos (Washington and Lee University), Sierra Hiner (The University of Vermont), Victoria Snyder (Penn State University), and Clara Shapiro (Harvard College)