Mexico Teenager Study Abroad

Program Snapshot Age Range: 14-17 Fun Ranking: Intensity: Some Homework Staff/Student: 1:8 Curfew: 10 pm

La Manzanilla Junior Immersion

A charming Mexican village, La Manzanilla is located in the state of Jalisco. La Manzanilla is a small beach town of just over 1,200 Mexican residents. The village is nestled between gently sloping mountains covered with dense tropical foliage on one side and a beautiful beach with lofty palms on the other. The warm climate, beautiful beaches and friendly Mexican people make La Manzanilla a real tropical paradise! La Manzanilla is approximately three and a half hours south of Puerto Vallarta and is a tight-knit and caring community, providing the ideal setting for high school students to come and study and participate in the village life.

School Facilities: Centrally located and easily accessible from all parts of town, the campus is in the beautiful Multi-Cultural Center of La Manzanilla. This three-leveled facility also houses classes and workshops in pottery, painting, dance and healing arts. Beautiful outdoor classrooms offer striking views of La Manzanilla’s picturesque beach and oceanfront. Students stay in a homestay with all meals included.

Activities/Excursions: Organized activities can include: swimming at the beach, group hikes and sports with locals. Speaking Spanish during the activities is encouraged. Excursions are offered every weekend (half day, full day and overnight) and will contain both educational and fun elements (examples: Barra de Navidad, Sea Kayaking, Colima). Students also participate in a volunteer work program. Starting during the second week of the program, each student will be placed in a volunteer position for approximately 6-10 hours per week. Participation in the volunteer program allows students to become involved in the local community and gain a deeper cultural understanding and appreciation of the workings of Mexican society.

Lodging & Meals: Homestay with 3 meals/day

Supervision: Teen participants will receive group language classes with other teens only. All teens are placed in group classes according to their language ability. During class time participants are monitored by their language instructor and an administrative staff is always available for the students while at school. Organized activities are available everyday for all program participants. Staff members are always present during all activities and excursions. The ratio of students to instructor/monitor is 1 to 10 during activities and excursions (full or half day). Each day teens have a full daily schedule with classes, volunteer work and program sponsored activities. There will be some free time for activities such as meeting with friends, going to the beach, etc. All teen participants are responsible for getting themselves to and from school/activities to their homestay each day. Outside of the school and homestay teen participants are independent and responsible for making curfew (10:00pm for AmeriSpan participants). The school director will be contacted if curfew is broken by teen participants.

To/From School: All teen participants are responsible for getting themselves to and from school/activities to their homestay each dayby walking, approximately 5-10 minutes.

Other: Volunteer Work Program
Starting during the second week of the program, each student will be placed in a volunteer position for approximately 6-10 hours per week. Students’ volunteer placements will be aligned with an area of personal interest. Common areas of volunteer work include teaching and education, building/construction work, Mexican cooking, environmental and ecology projects, art and/or dance with children, and general community projects.

Prices/Dates (for 2008):