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LKM

Mar 28, 2011, 4:40 PM

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Guanajuato - Study Abroad for College Student

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One of my younger relatives (age 22) in considering a Study Abroad program at the Universidad de Guanajuato. The program, which will run from mid-July 2011 to mid-December 2011, includes living with a sponsor family (including meals), attending a full-slate of Spanish-related classes at the university, and participating in a number of activities for the international students involved in the program. The student is minoring in Spanish and believes he has done as much as he can with the language in his American studies. He decided that a Study Abroad program in Mexico would be most advantageous because of the dialect/lingo, etc. that would be more prevalent with Spanish-speaking populations in the United States when he is seeking employment.

The program and opportunity sound great on the surface, but we are concerned about safety; like many others, we may be over-generalizing the safety concerns we hear about Mexico. Any thoughts about safety issues in Guanajuato at the present time? Also, are there specific areas nearby that would be of concern if a student or student group were to take a weekend trip to explore? Finally: Any perspectives about the university, water/sanitation issues (bottled water only or not?), community (families that would be positive – or not – about an American student living with them), etc.?

Any recommendations on where we can get even more information to help our family in deciding whether this Study Abroad program would be a great experience or one that could be troublesome would be greatly appreciated.

mazbook1

Mar 28, 2011, 5:22 PM

Post #2 of 3 (2922 views)

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Re: [LKM] Guanajuato - Study Abroad for College Student

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Your family would be nuts if they didn't encourage him to take this opportunity! 100s if not 1000s of American and Canadian students do this sort of thing (at schools all over México) every year and I have NEVER heard anything but positive comments about their experiences.

Being a full-time student abroad is something quite different than being a (probably) drunken, party-all-night spring-breaker, where at least some caution might be necessary.

hunteradvisor

Mar 29, 2011, 6:58 AM

Post #3 of 3 (2877 views)

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Re: [LKM] Guanajuato - Study Abroad for College Student

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We have a home in Guanajuato and love it there. The University is amazing and will provide him with wonderful opportunity. At 150,000 people, the city is easy to negotiate and has great public transport. I believe most crime is limited to theft, so basic precautions that would be normal in any city are important. Don't let someone watch you put your password in for the atm, don't flash cash, don't carry more cash than you are willing to lose. Some people carry 2 wallets, one that can easily be handed over. As a woman I am fine walking anywhere around Guanajuato during the day, I don't at night up in the hills, but around the square and downtown areas is fine. I appreciate your concerns as I have a daughter finishing up 2 years with Peace Corp in Africa and one who lived in New York City for 4 years, both substantially more dangerous than Guanajuato. It is one of the truly beautiful cities in the world, perhaps you could go along for a visit yourself.

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