Past Review

By (History & Spanish, Centre College) for

Centre College: Merida - Centre in Merida

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Completely worthwhile. I gained a completely new outlook on Mexico, erasing any stereotypical thoughts I had beforehand. I got to learn spanish, eat new foods, see loads of new places and just have a wonderful experience living in another country, not just visiting it.

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: Universidad Autonomia de Mexico
The term and year this program took place: Fall 2009

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The actual class wasn't necessarily where I learned the most, but rather in my house, speaking only spanish with my host family and traveling throughout Mexico seeing all the sites and learning about the country's culture.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

They provided everything I needed and many things that I had no idea I would need.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Small one floor house with a dining room, kitchen, living room and bed rooms. I shared a bedroom with another person from my school and we also shared the bathroom. It was quite small, but comfortable. The only complaints for me would be that the TV hardly worked and there was no internet, but other than that I loved my house and my family. I lived on Calle 23A x28y30. <br /><br /> It is described above in the housing section.

* Food:

Mexican food was hands down the best food I have ever eaten, and my Mexican mother cooked a great deal of foods unique to Yucatan, that were almost always delicious.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The night life was awesome. The clubs were a lot better than american clubs with better music. The food in Mexico was superb, and just about every place was accomodating.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I never really saw any reason to fear for my safety. I felt liek I would if I was in the U.S.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? I don't know if I could give an accurate number on that, but I spent about 1500 U.S. dollars throughtout the three months
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? When it comes to getting cool souvenirs and new foods and going to clubs and ancient ruins sites, don't try to pinch pennies. Those are the best memories by far that I have of Mexico. Try to cut down on eating out and eat at your house more, thats where I spent more money than I expected.

Language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Intermediate
Language acquisition improvement?

My host family did not speak a word of English almost, thus forcing me to only speak in spanish to them. This meant that every meal, every telephone call, etc. had to be done in spanish. This was a pain occasionally, but it paid off big time because I learned a great deal of spanish.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Do it. It was the most amazing three months that I've ever had. I learned spanish to the point of fluency, I saw, interacted, and merged with a culture unfamiliar to me (which I now love).

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Spanish Conversation

Course Department: Spanish 440
Instructor: Papusa Molina
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: A pretty fun class, we discussed current events and opinionated topics all in spanish so it was interesting and in the new language.
Credit Transfer Issues: No
Course Name/Rating:

Latin American Culture

Course Department: Spanish 270
Instructor: Mayra Alejandro
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: My favorite class. It was basically a history course that was taught in spanish, so I was learning all about Latin American history and problems and such, while also learning to speak and write more fluently in spanish.
Credit Transfer Issues: N/A
Course Name/Rating:

Mexican Folklore

Course Department: Anthropology 246
Instructor: Pyllis Passariello
Instruction Language: English
Comments: We learned about Folk Saints of Mexico, Mexican art, and different cultural aspects unique to Mexico. We made crafts, went to museums and did a couple of projects
Credit Transfer Issues: No
Course Name/Rating:

Ancient Maya Culture

Course Department: Anthropology 451
Instructor: James Callaghan
Instruction Language: English
Comments: We learned about everything there is to know regarding the anicent Maya, their language, culture, religions, etc. We had to write quite a bit in every class and a long midterm, final and final paper, but I learned a great deal regarding a group of people completely foreign to me.
Credit Transfer Issues: No