Field Report: Mexico-Mexico City-ULSA
by: Angela Gräf
Why Mexico?
When I was thinking about where to go for my
semester abroad I figured out that I definitely
wanted to go to a Spanish-speaking country to
practice the language and to improve my Spanish
skills. I also wanted to spend my semester outside
of Europe to experience a totally different culture
and mentality. Mexico was the first country that
came to my mind because I already traveled a lot in
South America but I have never been to Mexico
before and I thought this is the perfect chance to
get to know Mexico. Of course a was aware of all
the bad news of Mexico, the drug dealing and all
the dangerous news that came along with it but I
asked for information at the Department of Foreign
Affairs (Auswärtiges Amt) and talked to the
students who had been in Mexico City before for
their exchange semester and all assured me that it’s
mainly the border region that is dangerous.
The University
The University De La Salle is a private
university and offers nearly all kind of
studies. At the campus you can find a
Subway, a Starbucks and several kiosks as
well as a cafeteria. The university is
surrounded by plenty of cheap restaurants
and kiosks. If you like sports the university
offers you plenty of possibilities to join
their sport groups and you can use their
gym. La Salle is located in a very safe area
right between La Condesa and Escandon (I
will return to this subject later on).
Casa Rosa
The Casa Rosa is the International Center of the university with a very helpful stuff. Our
contact person there was Elvira Castillo (elvira.castillo [at] ulsa.mx ), a very helpful and nice
woman who is always willing you to help with university concerns or other questions.
The Casa Rosa organized an orientation week before the university started and also during
the semester they are organizing some weekend trips. If you want to travel on your own
they hand out some discount cards, so you only pay half of the bus prices.
Orientation week
Orientation week took place the week before lectures started and you definitely shouldn’t
miss this event. It’s a very good possibility to get to know other exchange students as well
as Mexican students who are doing their exchange semester inside their country or even in
the same city. Orientation ran daily from nine in the morning till around five in the evening,
and among others we visited the city center and the most important museums. Besides,
we had the possibility to join workshops like Mexican cooking, salsa dancing and much
more.
Classes
The university doesn’t offer any English courses, I was lucky that one of my teachers did her
class of Mercadotecnia Multicultural partly in English, but that depends on the teacher. To
get your 30 ECTS you have to select 6 courses. In the area International Business and
Administration all classes are between 4 and 10 in the evening. Attendance at classes is
obligatory and you also have to hand in homework, while instead of one final exam like in
Germany you have 4 partial exams during the semester. I took the classes Desarrollo de
Habilidades Directivas, Mercadotecnia Multicultural1, Análisis de Econónomia, Politico y
Social de Mexico, Promocion y Publicidad Internacional and Administracion de Ventas y
Estrategias de Precio. I can highly recommend professor Ana Bonilla.
Photos of the exhibition of a group Project of the class Administracion de Ventas y Estrategias de Precio with
Professor Ana Bonilla.
Spanish classes
The Center of International Education at Casa Rosa de La Salle offers a variety of Spanish
courses at different levels, as private classes or group classes.
For more information check http://ciel.ulsa.edu.mx .
Transportation
Mexico City has quite a good public transportation system with the metro and the metro
bus. Both are quite safe because there are security persons at each station and the front
parts are usually reserved only for women and elderly people to make it safer.
There are also plenty of taxis around the city which are really cheap in comparison to
Europe, you just should make sure that’s a registered taxi.
Where to stay?
The university is located in a very good and safe area between La Condesa and Escandon.
To life I can warmly recommend these two areas. It’s a bit more expensive than other areas
but it’s very safe, close to the university and La Condesa is like an in-place with lots of
restaurants, bars and clubs.
When I first got here I stayed in a hostel in La Condesa very close to the university, their
service is only very basic, but the hostel is well located, www.hostalcondesa.com
The university will help you find host families, but if you prefer staying on your own in
shared apartment there are plenty of opportunities in La Condesa and Escandon. I
searched at craiglist (http://mexicocity.craigslist.com.mx/ ) but I’m sure you will find other
possibilities, too.
Nightlife
La Condesa is a nice area to go out, especially if you like bars, if you prefer clubs you will
find a big variety of possibilities in La Roma and Polanco.
Traveling
During my semester I was mainly traveling at the weekends and mostly around Mexico
City. Mexico has a very rich culture and history and offers many cities and places that are
worth a visit. After my studies, I traveled mainly in the south of Mexico. I never experienced
any dangerous situation but I before I started traveling was well informed and avoided
dangerous places.
Résumé
In the beginning, my semester abroad was a difficult experience for me because my
Spanish wasn’t good enough to follow the classes and to have a proper conversation with
my classmates, but after the Spanish course it got better very fast and in the end was able
to understand nearly everything. I really enjoyed my semester in Mexico at Universidad de
La Salle. Mexicans are very helpful and nice people and I met many people from all over.
Besides Mexico is a country with a rich culture and delicious food.
I will definitely come back one day!
If you decide to go to Mexico I’m sure you won’t regret it and will have an amazing time!