~~~~~ Study Abroad in Italy ~~~~~


The purpose of this page is to encourage other students to study abroad in Italy. I studied in Perugia, Italy in the summer of 1999 and it was a phenomenal experience. I studied at the University for Foreigners for two months and received nine hours of credit at the University of Illinois. I study Mechanical Engineering, and I'm taking Italian classes as part of an International Minor in Italian Studies. If you are an engineer at the University of Illinois and would like to find out more about International Programs in Engineering at the University of Illinois, email ipeng@uiuc.edu, call (217)-244-0054 or write to:
International Programs in Engineering
211 Ceramics Building (MC-272)
105 South Goodwin Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801.



University for Foriegners


My study abroad experience was certainly the best summer of my life. I attended a university only for foreigners, so I met people from all over the world. Most of the students were from Germany, Spain, France, England, and Libya. The teaching style in Italy is drastically different from the methods that I've been accustomed to here in the United States. I went to classes about three to four hours a day. There were courses in Italian cultural and history and there were linguistic courses in grammar and pronunciation.

Perugia was a fantastic place to live, it's a beautiful, old city in the mountains of Umbria. Needless to say the food in Italy is outstanding. There were countless restaurants in Perugia where you could get an delicious three course meal for less than fifteen dollars. For lunch you could get a sandwich and a beer for three dollars at the equivalent of a deli. The night life in Perugia was very good, much better than Champaign, in fact. The range of entertainment included theaters, a two week jazz festival with free concerts every day, Irish pubs, European discotechs, soccer games, a piano bar and Lake Transimeno twenty minutes away. I would venture to guess that the average age in Perugia was less than twenty five because of the vast number of students attending the three universities in Perugia.

I would travel most weekends with a group of other students that were studying abroad also. We went to many places including, Florence, Siena, Cinque Terre, Bologna, Elba, Orvieto, Assissi, Rome, Pisa, and several others. My favorite trip was to Siena for the Palio. The Palio is a horse race in the large piazza in the middle of Siena. We had to fight our way onto a bus just to make it to Siena from Perugia because of the hords of people traveling to Siena that day. There were festivities and parades leading up to the race and an city wide party following the race until the break of dawn. Italians definitely know how to have a great time.

It was a little difficult to adjust to the Italian lifestyle. Physical appearance is extremely important to Italians. They dress in very extravagant, expensive clothing seven days a week and they're always carrying a cellular phone in plain sight. The social attitudes about women are very different, a few of the female students that I was friends with complained about the behavior of the Italian men. Italians, in general, are very non-confrontational. Verbal disputes are quite common with their traffic situation, however physical acts of violence are extremely rare.

-- So where is Perugia? --




This is a link to a site about the region of Umbria.



This is a link to a site about Perugia.

Here are some pictures of Perugia


Here are some pictures that from my travels during the summer.








If you have any questions please email me, Victor Polidoro-

polidoro@uiuc.edu





Here is an extensive listing of Italian Academic Resources.