Spring Break and Drug Wars in Mexico

In Mexico we did not have the tradition of spring break when I was growing up; we had 2 weeks off from school, but we did not travel to a place where a bunch of young adults hung out with no supervision. We went to athletic games as teens with a few parents - never enough to keep an eye on all of us. We traveled, sometimes alone, to relatives or friends houses. It really wasn't that we were a bunch of uptight prudes; it was more that our parents would not have been very happy if we did things that would appear to be too sexual in nature. There is a saying, "no hagas cosas buenas que parezcan malas"...don't do good thing that appear to be bad. Our take was to do anything we wanted as long as it did appear to be bad! It amuses me that people go to Mexico to spring break just because we did not have that tradition.


















Remember that Mexico is a big country. There are parts of the US where you do not want to go, places where you would prefer to not wander around at 11 PM alone, and places where you feel absolutely safe. The same applies to Mexico. The majority of the country is pretty safe, but you should take some precautions whenever you travel.

At the moment there are a number of warning to avoid certain parts of Mexico because of ongoing drug wars. Despite this, you can have a lot of fun! This post is really just spelling out common sense.




First of all, most tourist resorts are really safe places: Cancun, the whole Riviera Maya, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Chichen Itza...the places travel agencies and many online sites like Expedia and Orbitz. A lot of these places have tours to nearby attractions. Many colonial cities are pretty safe. Anywhere you travel, use regular precautions: I was pickpocketed for the only time in my life in Boston! There are companies that specialize in adventure travel, and they also tend to be fine (if they make you sign a "Hold Harmless" clause, read carefully!).

At these places, your chances of being a crime victim are much smaller than your changes of contracted an STD (or getting pregnant), or getting sick from drinking too much. Also, avoid drugs...you don't want to be around the wrong kind of people.

It's also important to know what places you should avoid because of either turf wars among drug cartels or fights between dealers and authorities (the Mexican president has been really clamping down on the drug trade and they have been fighting back). The number one place is Cuidad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, TX. There have been multiple murders in this city, including an employee of the US consulate along with her husband. In general, staying away from the border is a good idea. The Pacific states of Michoacan and Sonora - both in green on the map - have also had problems with fighting among the drug cartels.

So if you can, go have fun and learn what you can! But be safe.

If you had the chance to go anywhere in Mexico (mentioned in this post or not) for spring break, where would you go? And why did you choose this place?

Universidades

There are a number of universities abroad where you can study Spanish as a foreign language. I want to give you a little info, and then you can tell me where you would like to study - and why. Keep in mind it is OK to dream here!

Some of the oldest universities in the world are in Spain. The University of Santiago de Compostela, where SCCC has a study abroad program was founded in 1495 it seems, when a school was opened there. Pope Julius approved the construction of a school is 1504, and a bull - or decree - was issued in 1526 by Clement VII. No matter how you look at it, it's been around for a while! If you check the documents under WileyPlus, there is a Power Point with images.

Our text mentions the University of Salamanca, which was founded in 1218 - at least that is the date that it got the Royal Chart of Foundation. There are records that state that it granted degrees even before that time, and it may have actually been founded almost one hundred years earlier. An extra bit of trivia is that Salamanca had the first university to actually receive the title of "University", grated by the Pope and by King Alfonso X in 1254. I hope this works, it is a link to a promotional video for the university from youtube:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbgMxBtUdl0

One of the problems determining the year that these very old universities were founded is that the definition of a university has changed over time. Early on, they were groups of scholars that got together - in fact the word university comes from a Latin word that means corporation. Even under Islamic rule, there were Madrasahs, or institutes of higher education, in many cities. In Christian Spain, usually the pope gave permission to open universities - sometimes they opened because of the permission, while other times it was a formality granted to an institution that was already in operation!

Other very old universities are in Lleida, Valladolid, Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia...quite a few for a small country!

If we move to the Americas, the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) was founded in 1551. Back then it was called the Royal and Pontifical University. A video from our text shows the library, where the whole building was painted as a mural by Juan O'Gorman (we can discuss murals at a later time) - that is the picture at the beginning of the blog.

The Mayor National University of San Marcos in Peru was also founded in 1551. The Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic was founded in either 1538 ir 1558.

So if you could study English at any of the colleges, which one would you choose? And why?

Spanish in the USA

One of the cultural segments in the text this week covers the Hispanic influence in the US. From names of cities (El Paso, Los Angeles, San Francisco), to food (tacos, burritos, tortillas), to Latin music, the influence is notable. Sometimes it's regional, for example there is a stronger Mexican influence in the Southwest while here on Long Island it is traditionally more Caribbean-based, with Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. In the city, there is a little bit of everything - and for me, that is one of the biggest benefits of being so close to NYC.

I'd like to open up this part of the blog by asking one of two things. The first is an open invitation to discuss Latin Culture in the US - very open topic, so have fun! The second is a more pointed question. How will Spanish help you, either with the job you have now or the jobs you are planning for the future? Does it tie in with your major?