Mexico: Society and Culture in Colima a tranquil state on the Pacific Coast known for agriculture, volcanoes, and beautiful beaches

You will be met at the airport in Guadalajara by Project Amigo [www.projectamigo.org], driven to Project Amigo headquarters in Colima and taken back to the airport the following Sunday.

Learn about differences in medical care compared to the U.S. and typical local health issues by visiting a community hospital/health clinic and speaking with a health care administrator

Meet young children by delivering new books to a primary school library. Have the children at the school read the books out-loud to you. Discuss the Mexican educational system with the school principal.

Make connections with students and workers by visiting with the families of Project Amigo students and with workers and their families in a migrant camp.

Learn about conservation and sustainability efforts in Colima and Mexico by seeing a sea turtle sanctuary and taking a boat tour through a mangrove swamp.

Get to know Mexican university students by having small group discussions about poverty, alcohol abuse, prejudice, discrimination, marriage, religion, and music.

See how culture has shaped the lives of Mexicans by attending performances of student musical and folkloric dance groups and a Mariachi band, learning how to cook a Mexican meal in a cooking class, having tastings of traditional food and beverages and touring the studio of a mask maker [www.gomanzanillo.com/features/masks/].

The week will conclude on Saturday with a relaxing day at the beach in Manzanillo where everyone will get plenty of beach time and have a picnic lunch on the beach. In case of rain, the group will visit the Museum Alejandro Rangel in the morning and tour a factory that processes citrus fruit or sugar cane in the afternoon.

Trip Details

Saturday, May 20 - Monday, May 29, 2023

Students and their chaperone would arrange to meet at a local airport on Saturday. The group would fly to Houston, TX and stay overnight at a hotel near the airport. The next morning everyone would fly to Guadalajara, Mexico. Students would be responsible for their own airfare and for scheduling roundtrip flights from their local airport to Houston and from Houston to Guadalajara.

The group would be met in Guadalajara by staff from Project Amigo [www.projectamigo.org], a U.S. 501 (c) (3) non-profit. They would be driven to Project Amigo headquarters in Colima and taken back to the airport in Guadalajara the following Sunday. From there the students and their chaperone would fly to Houston, TX before heading home the next day.

Dr. Samuel Brown is the organizer of the trip [email: cheshbrownsr@gmail.com, cell: 203-597-7181. He is a longtime volunteer with Project Amigo and has participated in many work weeks there. He notes that the food and accommodations are excellent and that participants can be assured to only visit places that are safe and secure. No knowledge of Spanish would be necessary for the trip. Project Amigo staff would always be with the group and would provide interpreters for all events. Specific questions about Project Amigo may be directed to Kirk Dretzka, the Executive Director kirk@projectamigo.org.

Group size would be 15 - 30 people.

Project Amigo would charge $1,200 per person--sign-ups would be on a first come, first served basis. The $1,200 cost would cover room and board, transportation while in Mexico, and all other expenses (except souvenirs) associated with the stay in Mexico. Each participating college or university would send one chaperone.

Lodging costs in Mexico would be covered under the program fee paid to Project Amigo. Students would need to pay for hotel stays in Houston, TX for Saturday and Sunday the following week. The lodging estimate would be $100 per night per participant ($200 per night for a room with two double beds) at the Houston Airport Marriott at George Bush Intercontinental.

Cost estimates for meals while in Houston, TX:

Trip registration dates

November 1 - 30, 2022: Students who have enrolled in one of Dr. Brown's Spring 2023 sociology classes may email Dr. Brown that they are interested in going on the trip. Reserved spaces will be given to the first five people to contact him. Others interested in the trip will be placed on a waiting list according to the date and time (Eastern Time) on their emails to Dr. Brown.

November 1 - 30, 2022: Students with reserved spaces need to make a payment of $1,200 to Project Amigo. Dr. Brown will provide you with details on how to make the payment.

December 1, 2022: Students on the waiting list will receive emails letting them know if they have secured a reserved space for the trip.

December 1 - 31, 2022: Students from the waiting list who now have reserved spaces need to make a payment of $1,200 to Project Amigo. Dr. Brown will provide you with details on how to make the payment.

January 1 - 31, 2023: Students who have not enrolled in one of Dr. Brown's Spring 2023 sociology classes, their friends and family members, faculty, staff and administrators may email Dr. Brown that they are interested in going on the trip. Reserved spaces will be given to the first five people to contact him. Others interested in the trip will be placed on a waiting list according to the date and time (Eastern Time) on their emails to Dr. Brown.

January 1 - 31, 2023: People from the waiting list who now have reserved spaces need to make a payment of $1,200 to Project Amigo. Dr. Brown will provide you with details on how to make the payment.

February 1, 2023: People on the waiting list will receive emails letting them know if they have secured a reserved space for the trip.

February 1 - 28, 2023: People from the waiting list who now have reserved spaces need to make a payment of $1,200 to Project Amigo. Dr. Brown will provide you with details on how to make the payment.


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