Explorica Summer Academy - Spanish Immersion in Mexico

  Mexico

• Yucatan Peninsula: 
Cozumel,  Cancun,  Playa del Carmen,  Merida

Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: June 27 and July 11, 2008

Description: This summer, take two weeks of intensive Spanish immersion language courses at the Benjamin Franklin Institute in Merida, Mexico. Add teen tours of the most impressive ancient ruins in Latin America, underwater adventures in drop-dead gorgeous natural settings, and plenty of beach time in world-famous resort towns. You'll also participate in unique cultural exchanges with local schools and excursions with your language teachers to guarantee you'll end the summer with a true insider's perspective. Sunny beaches, historical towns, ancient pyramids, and fabulous resorts -- you'll hardly realize how much you're learning.

Highlights:
Learn Spanish in Merida
Hit the books. Spanish classes start Monday morning. The Franklin Institute is in a beautiful colonial building in historic Merida and includes a library, video library, and snack bar. You'll be placed in classes according to your proficiency, and you'll learn from native speakers every weekday from 8am to 1pm. You'll have free time in the afternoons to relax and explore. Your second week will include a cultural exchange with local Mexican high school, including soccer games and other activities. The Franklin Institute is affiliated with US State Department's Education USA program and USIA.

Uxmal guided excursion
What did this region look like before the Spaniards arrived? Set off to Uxmal, one of the largest and most powerful of the former Mayan cities, to see. A licensed, local guide will lead you through the wooded valley to the wide, uncrowded plazas, where you'll find some of the best-proportioned Mayan buildings known. See the restored Magician's Pyramid, a three-tiered structure built between the 6th and 10th centuries, the grand Governor's Palace, and the Nunnery Quadrangle, four buildings surrounding a central courtyard, resembling a monastery or nunnery.

Chichén Itza guided visit
Ruins, ruins everywhere. Join a licensed, local guide for a visit to Chichen Itza, one of the country's most famous Mayan sites. The city dates from around the 7th century AD (though there is evidence of farmers living here as early as the 4th century BC). A major trade and ceremonial center, Chichen Itza is known for its huge, 365-stepped, four-sided, pyramid El Castillo, as well as other buildings, sculptures and carved murals.

Excursion to Isla Mujeres
Don't expect Amazons waiting for you on shore: this "Island of Women" got its name from clay figurines of Mayan goddesses found by the island's Spanish conquerors. Search for your own goddesses at the ruins on the south side of the island, race the sea turtles at their breeding ground on the west shore, or just sit back and enjoy the island's beautiful beaches.

Cost in US$: Starts at $3987

This Program is open to American and Canadian Participants.

Participants Travel to Mexico Independently Or in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently Or in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Online Application plus Application Assessment

Explorica Summer Academy's Mission Statement: Explorica Summer Academy stemmed from the idea that students should have opportunities for in-depth cultural exploration outside the classroom. So with a management team that boasts 150 years of combined industry experience, Explorica offers high-quality, road-tested tours for adventurous students and teachers. Our three-week programs let high-school students from across the country, ages 14 to 18 years old, combine international travel, study, and adventure as they learn about the world from teachers and from each other. And each three-week tour presents unique learning opportunities with accredited institutions, from French schools on the Cote d' Azur to conservation organizations in Costa Rica or South Africa.