By Patrick Ayers

Did you know that there is a program at UMB where students can earn up to six credits studying in the warm climate of Mexico during January break? This year twenty-three UMB students will be heading south of the border to Cuernavaca, Mexico to participate in one of two programs offered by the Division of Corporate, Continuing, and Distance Education.

On Wednesday, December 4, the orientation for the Mexico program was held in McCormack Hall. The Director of Credit Programs, Malisa Roberts, who has been running the program since 1986, greeted the students by saying, “I have never seen so many participants.”

Students received information packets about the particular program they had signed up for, and were given some advice about what to expect when they arrive in Cuernavaca. Students will be flying to Cuernavaca on December 27, via Mexico City, and will stay until just days before the spring semester begins.

Cuernavaca is located in the interior of Mexico, about one and a half hours south of Mexico City in the state of Morelos. Cuernavaca is popularly known as the “City of Eternal Spring,” as even in the winter months the temperature hovers between the 60s and 70s, with plenty of sun. Students were told that there are plenty of places to shop for shoes in the local shops.

But the students are not going to Mexico just to escape the Nor’easters of New England winter, go shopping and get a tan. At the orientation students received a detailed schedule of all the activities they will participate in.

Classes run six days a week in the morning and the afternoon at the renowned language school, Universal. There are two programs students could have signed up for. Most UMB students will participate in the “Spanish Language and Culture” program offered by the UMB Department of Hispanic Studies. The rest will participate in the program, “Mexico Today: Politics and Society,” which counts for two upper-level courses in either Political Science or Latin American Studies.

The students in the Politics and Society program will meet with various Mexican political and community leaders for lectures, as well as discussions with UMB professor Ernest Greco. The students in the Language and Culture program will be put in intensive language courses, adjusted to their current level, with the staff at Universal and will be supervised by UMB Professor Jean-Philippe Belleau.

In addition to classes, students will take field trips to important historical sights in Mexico. Students will visit the Aztec Pyramids of Teotihuacan and the colonial city of Taxco. Students also will have the opportunity to take their own trips on days when they do not have classes. In the past, many students have hopped on a bus and headed south to the Pacific coastal town of Acapulco for some decadent fun in the sun.

Students are housed with local families so they can immerse themselves in the day-to-day culture of Mexico. At the orientation, students were advised and cautioned about the food in Mexico. Students will have all their meals provided by their host families, and were told to avoid buying food at sketchy shops on street corners. Students were also advised to avoid drinking the tap water without boiling it first and to bring some Pepto-Bismol.

If you are interested in learning more about the Cuernavaca program, contact Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Division of Corporate, Continuing and Distance Education at [email protected].