Study Abroad Orientation & Excursion in Mexico

Previous excursions included, but were not limited to:

Arrival and orientation

• Airport pick-up for group flight travelers
• 10-day on-site orientation for semester/year students
  • Includes transportation, accommodation, activities and most meals
• Welcome meal
• Introduction to Mexican culture
• Discussion of academic differences and expectations
• IFSA-Butler staff walk students through everything from how to succeed academically to living with a host family to integrating socially in the host university
• Housing with host family during orientation
• Welcome reception with lecturers and local students

Cultural events

• City bus tour
• Archaeological site visit to the Inframundo
• Visit to Playa de Progreso
• Visit to local archaeological museum
• Yucatecan cuisine cooking classes

Field Excursions

• Choice of four-day activity: Visit to the Inframundo or Chiapas
  • Inframundo located in the Tulum, also known as the Mayan Riviera
  • Visit the caves and archaeological sites that give clues to the Inframundo and its meaning to the Mayan civilization.
  • Chiapas, which features amazingly different geography, customs, traditions, foods and even music
  • Visit archaeological sites, as well as a couple of indigenous communities: San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán
  
• Three-day field excursion to archaeological site of Ek-Balam and Island of Holbox
  • Ek-Balam has the best preserved masks of the Mayan world and is an amazing showcase of detail on stone
  • Hol box, means a black hole in Mayan, is a natural reserve of marine flora and fauna
  • The island is a very quaint, quiet place with no cars
  • Walking tours and relaxing are also part of the excursion
  
• One-day field excursion to Chichén Itzá archaeological site
  • One of the most visited archaeological site in all Latin America
  • See how the amazing Mayan civilization left its mark on this incredible site
  • Learn about Mayan political organization, demographics, customs, tradition and religious practices
• One-day field excursion to the Uxmal archaological site
  • The site is part of the Puuc Route and gets its name from the architectural style applied to the intricate and wonderful details found on every stone.
  • Uxmal was possibly the height of the Mayan architecture
• Four days of community service/social in the nearby Mayan village of Yaxunah
  • Live with a Mayan family for the four days
  • Activities may include repairing schools, cleaning a cenote, and maintaining the local community center and botanical garden
  • Help your host family with household chores
  

Other activities

• T-shirt
• Group picture at the end of program
• Farewell meal