Long Nights, Great Food, and TONS of Spanish: Welcome to Merida. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I took three classes. My first class was an Advanced Spanish Class, which is mandatory, and the two other classes were Mayan Culture and Subaquatic Archaeology, both of which were taught in Spanish. In these two other classes, I wrote a lot 1-2 page papers, which they call "Controles". Los Controles are basically summaries of different readings that you do for class. But we never really discussed the readings, but rather received lectures. Furthermore in Subaquatic Archaeology on the first day, I was assigned a presentation and 5 page essay for the next day based on a 30 page reading. Although all of this sounds like a lot (and I'll admit I had a mini break down after the first day), the work is pretty reasonable and can be done in about an hour or so for each control and each class.

On-site administration of your program

On-site administration was very organized and caring. They were always there to help. At the same time though, some other students on the program were not as advanced in spanish and the director would overestimate their abilities often, which frustrated the students.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I absolutely LOVED my living arrangements! With IFSA, you live with a host family. Each student is assigned to one family. They were wonderful people, who really welcomed me into their lives. They taught me a lot, took care of me, fed me (very well) and were always willing to explain what was happening in our favorite telenovela.

Your host family is supposed to feed you three meals a day; this does not necessarily mean that you will eat at the house for every meal. During Mexico's games in the World Cup, I would usually go eat lunch out with some friends from the program and the university. (sidenote: chicken wings, or alitas, are very popular) I was fed extremely well and my family was always very considerate about what I liked or disliked. Overall the food was delicious! I miss it.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I can't necessarily give this section five stars because although I was integrated into my family and my friend group, I still stood out outside of those spheres. I am a white American female from Texas. I'm tall and though I tried to blend in. It's kinda hard to hide who you care. People will stare, men will make catcalls, but if you keep your head up and your face fierce, you'll be fine. Other than that, I had no trouble feeling comfortable around my host family and my friends from the University.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never had to use any of the local healthcare system. So, I cannot comment or rate this section. DISREGARD the star above.

I never felt like my life was in danger in any way. Sometimes we would have to walk to our houses after taking a taxi very late at night and not once did I feel threatened. The only real safety thing that I would advise you on is cars. Watch out for cars because they will not watch out for you. They will not stop either. Past students have been hit by cars because they did not look before crossing.

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

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans

• The friends I made and my host family
• The amazing trips
• All the Spanish!

• Classes