Information Meeting
Tuesday, February 22, 6-8 p.m.
Napa Hall, Sacramento State
Cost
Program Cost – $2,250
Cost is per person and requires a minimum of 15 persons and a maximum of 20.
Oaxaca
This capital city of Oaxaca in southern Mexico sits amid three agricultural valleys and is surrounded by tropical mountains, giving it a spring-like climate and incomparable vistas. It is one of the most indigenous states of Mexico, thus rich in folklore but poor in its average standard of living and public schools. Tourism is central to its economic survival and conscientious tourists and students are welcomed.
Spanish Instruction
The Institute of Cultural Oaxaca (ICO), your “gateway to Spanish” is housed in a 19th century estate and gardens within easy walking distance of the downtown Zócalo. It is the oldest and finest language school in Oaxaca, offering small classes four to five hours a day with talented teachers who are as comfortable with a beginner as with an advanced learner.
Visit their website at www.icomexico.com.
*Participants may elect to extend their stay by arranging with Dr. Baird and ICO.
Culture Workshops
Two-hour cultural workshops are held in the afternoons, Monday through Friday, by local artisans and experts on Oaxacan cooking, local history, Mexican cinema, salsa dancing, weaving and more.
Intercambios
Students may participate in one-hour M-F language exchanges with local university students and professionals. Get a café from the Instituto restaurant and chat it up in Spanish and English.
Field Trips and Tours
The cost of this trip includes one guided tour to Monte Alban, the mountaintop Zapotecan city that once ruled over the Valley of Oaxaca. The ICO also arranges weekend tours to pre-Hispanic colonial sites as well as artisan villages in the area. These tours are optional and are available at an extra charge.
la Guelaguetza
We will be in Oaxaca during the amazing Guelaguetza. It is a two-week celebration of Oaxaca’s indigenous peoples and their dances, handicrafts, foods and mescal drink, as well as a forum for their urgent social and educational concerns. You will learn about and be able to participate in this “Oaxacan Mardi Gras” – both in its official form and the teacher-led Guelaguetza Popular.