Claire Pilarski spent her summer studying in beautiful and sunny Perugia, Italy, at the Umbra Institure, where she took Italian 101 and Art Pastels. Perugia, her second, more Italian home, is along the lines of a smaller city, but has garnered the reputation of housing many international students, often coming from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Perugia is located in the region of Umbria, in central Italy. This allowed Claire to easily explore the vastly different cultures of the north and south of Italy. Claire considers her experience to be a true case of cultural immersion, which was exactly what she needed to gain a significant grasp on the language. She was able to experience firsthand what strategies work and do not work when learning another language. Claire's apartment exhibited an abundant amount of native Italian influence and eventually became truly typical of the Italian lifestyle.