bing pixel

Âé¶ąÔ­´´

Chapultepec Zoo

This past weekend our students and some of our staff members visited the Chapultepec Zoo (Zoológico de Chapultepec) in Mexico City. The Chapultepec Zoo is located in Chapultepec Park (Bosque de Chapultepec).  Chapultepec Park is more than double the size of Central Park in New York! Chapultepec Park is approximately 1695 acres of beautiful flora with many species of trees and plants, as well as fountains and outdoor activities.

Chapultepec Park is considered “a lung of Mexico City” as it produces continuous oxygen, filters water for the city, and helps regulate the temperature in the area. The Chapultepec Zoo was founded in 1923 and later renovated between 1992-1994. It is a free zoo! It is home to diverse species, including lemurs, hippopotamus, antelopes, and endangered species such as the volcano rabbit, Mexican wolf, and jaguar. One of the most famous exhibits is that of the Giant Panda. Currently there are three females giant pandas at the zoo: Xiu Hua (Born in 1985), Shuan Shuan (Born in 1987), and Xin Xin (Born in 1990). Luckily, we saw two out of three! We all had a blast and students are excited to go back and explore more of Chapultepec Park!

Cuernavaca Corner: The Beautiful Outdoors

 

Student looking at waterfalls

Welcome back to our weekly Cuernavaca, Mexico feature the “Cuernavaca Corner”! Today’s post comes from Brittney Westgard, alumni of our Social Work program and current volunteer in Mexico. Brittney is an Augsburg College Alumni.


This week we explored some of the most beautiful parks, natural attractions, and outdoor locations in Cuernavaca!

Jumping right in, let’s explore Jardin Borda right across the ravine from CEMAL located in downtown Cuernavaca. Jardin Borda was built in the late 1700’s, in which had various uses over the years such as: a summer house, a hotel, a restaurant, and now a botanic garden. Overseen by the Department of Culture of the State of Morelos, Jardin Borda is not only a great place to relax, explore, and read, but a popular location for cultural events such as theater productions, concerts, and art exhibits. Continue reading “Cuernavaca Corner: The Beautiful Outdoors”

Cuernavaca Corner: Cool Treats edition

 

Cuernavaca Corner: Ice Cream
Cuernavaca Corner: Ice Cream

Every week we are going to be sharing some of our favorite places in Cuernavaca with you! We will be giving you the inside look on all the fun places to go in Cuernavaca, Mexico while you study abroad! Today’s Cuernavaca Corner was written by Brittney Westgard, alumni of our Social Work program and current volunteer in Mexico. Brittney is an Augsburg College Alumni.

Continue reading “Cuernavaca Corner: Cool Treats edition”

Celebrating Pride in Mexico

CGEE-Mexico joins LGBT Pride Parade in Cuernavaca on August 27. Photos courtesy of Ann Lutterman-Aguilar.

Mexico City Orientation Week

Welcome to Mexico, CGEE Fall 2016 students!

CGEE-Mexico students spend part of orientation for fall semester in Mexico City.  They loved their visit to the important cultural-religious site of the Basílica de la Virgen de Guadalupe.

Basilica of Guadalupe
Students visit Basilica of Guadalupe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basilicas in Mexico City
Modern Basilica in front of older ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Virgin of Guadalupe
Virgin of Guadalupe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Students learn at mural
Students learn about Mexican history from Armando Lopez at Diego Rivera mural in Cuernavaca

Photos: Mexico volcano excursion!

Here are some photos from the summer program’s recent excursion to the Nevado de Toluca, or XinantĂ©catl. An extinct volcano that is located in the State of Mexico, southeast of the city of Toluca. The Nevado de Toluca is approximately 4,600 meters above sea level. There is a crater in the volcano which contains lakes (Lake of the Moon and Lake of the Sun). The students were able to go down to these lakes. Although at one point it started hailing, the students really enjoyed the excursion! Two of our host families also came along and had a fun time climbing the Nevado.

Thanks to new IRA Amber Ramirez for the photos and description!

Nevado de toluca, Volcano, Mexico
Students pose during the hike
Nevado de toluca, Volcano, Mexico
Exploring the lakes in the crater
Nevado de toluca, Volcano, Mexico
Summer hike to Nevado de toluca, June 2016
Nevado de toluca, Volcano, Mexico
Beautiful view of Nevado de toluca, June 2016
Nevado de toluca, Volcano, Mexico
Students hiking

Photos: Mexico Summer Cooking Lessons!

Here are some snapshots of last week’s cooking class with a former CGEE kitchen staff. Students really liked learning a new, typical Mexican dish! They made tlacloyos (stuffed homemade tortillas), flan (custard-type of desert), creme of poblano pepper and salsas!

 

The Educated Tourist

Amanda is a junior at University of Vermont, who is studying abroad in Mexico with CGEE spring 2016; and studied abroad in Central America with CGEE fall 2015. This is an excerpt from Amanda’s blog post, “Zapatistas: Educating Yourself as a Tourist”. Her blog is a great resource for anyone considering study abroad in Latin America! She also has travel tips for traveling as woman, and traveling as a woman of color.


 

Being in Chiapas, with a strong presence of indigenous communities, I cannot help but dedicate a post to the Zapatistas. A revolutionary indigenous militant group based here in this southernmost state of Mexico, I have a great love for the Zapatistas and their movement. Indigenous people everywhere all over the world struggle under racial, economic, and political oppression and here in Mexico it is no different. The fight for justice continues and the Zapatistas are currently at the forefront of it.

The Zapatistas are also referred to as EZLN, Continue reading “The Educated Tourist”

Going Home is Bittersweet

This is a guest blog post & photos from Crystal Winkelman, a St. Cloud State University student currently participating on CGEE’s program, “Social Work in a Latin American Context.” See her post recapping March .


Wrapping up spring 2016 semester in Cuernavaca
Wrapping up spring 2016 semester in Cuernavaca

As my time here in Cuernavaca dwindles, I am having bitter sweet thoughts. I want to go home in just two weeks but I also want to stay longer and enjoy the beauties of this country! From hiking up the side of a mountain, to spending a week in Mexico City visiting the social work students at UNAM, to being able to spend more time with my host family, this last month has been an amazing one. This country is full of people cultures, places, and people. I am continuing to learn the language and practice more within my host family as well as within the community. My favorite memory was a week where students from UNAM came to our school and we learned the differences and comparisons of Mexican social work and social work in the United States. Makes you remember that even though we are from different countries, speak different languages and may have different values, we are not all that different from one another.

Safety Update: Volcanic Eruptions in Mexico

This post was written by Ann Lutterman-Aguilar, site director at Augsburg CGEE in Mexico (Cuernavaca). Please note that Cuernavaca and Mexico City were NOT impacted by PopocatĂ©petl’s recent eruption – all CGEE students & participants are well and accounted for.


Greetings from Cuernavaca, where all is well.

By now, you may have heard news of volcanic eruptions in Mexico. I want to assure everyone that the recent eruptions have NOT affected Cuernavaca or Mexico City, The volcano that has alerted news services is PopocatĂ©petl (known locally as “Popo,”), a beautiful mountain approximately 40 miles east of Cuernavaca, 43 miles southeast of Mexico City, and 30 miles west of Puebla.

With a threat level of 3 (7 being the highest), there are no evacuations taking place in the areas typically impacted by this volcano. As a result of ash clouds, the Puebla International Airport did close briefly from 7 am until 1 pm, when it was fortunately safe to reopen.

It is important to know that the primary concerns regarding potential damage from these eruptions is gritty ash that can harm people’s lungs if not protected.  Since The Center is on the other side of the volcano, we are not in serious danger of ash raining down on Cuernavaca.  Nonetheless, we do have face masks ready to use should that ever become necessary.

I have lived here for over 20 years, and have frequently climbed in the area of the volcano and talked with members of the National Rescue Team who are involved in evacuations, I feel very confident that our program participants are safe.  Of course, we will continue to monitor the situation and take any necessary steps to continue to ensure their health and safety.  In addition, as an added measure of precaution we have added an extra safety session to our ongoing orientation procedures.

If you have any questions or concerns about this situation, please contact me (Ann) at lutterma@augsburg.edu, or Leah Spinosa de Vega in our Minneapolis location at + 1 (612) 330 – 1650