Yucatán Program
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Shucking beans.
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A student practices traditional embroidery – with her instructor looking on.
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At the end of the Yucatán program, students share their final presentations.
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Visiting a local artisan.
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A student gives his host father a lift.
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Making tamales.
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Exploring the cathedral.
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Learning to carry wood.
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Students stay with host families.
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Bees, hive, and honeycomb.
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Izamal, Mexico’s yellow city.
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Yucatecan dance!
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Achiote.
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Swimming in a cenote.
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Yucatán is home to a wide array of Mayan historical sites.
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Harvesting corn.
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Exploring mangrove ecosystems.
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Students learn about Mayan traditional architecture.
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All students in the Yucatán program participate in Spanish classes – tailored to their level.
Every winter, a group of COA students journeys to México for a term-long immersion, led by Program Director Karla Peña and the staff of her organization, PICY (Programas de Inmersión Cultural en Yucatán). While in Yucatán, students spend two months taking language and cultural immersion classes in the city of Mérida, and then develop their own independent, interdisciplinary research projects on the culture of the peninsula.
September-November: preparation
During the fall term at COA, students participate in Spanish classes and program orientations to prepare for their time in Yucatán. Classes are taught exclusively in Spanish, emphasizing listening and communication skills.
December-January: immersion and acculturation
Students travel to Yucatán, where they tour the region, meet their host families in Mérida, and begin classes. In addition to regular academic coursework, students can participate in workshops on everything from salsa dancing and traditional music to Mayan archaeo-astronomy. Over the course of two months in Mérida students will begin developing plans for their final independent project. The last part of January is spent on a group trip to a small community where students are oriented to rural life.
February: independent project
During their final month in the program, students design and conduct a three-week independent project, which takes many of them to live with families in rural, often Mayan-speaking villages. Returning back to Mérida at the end of the program, students prepare detailed presentations on their final projects.
