Our itinerary
The program begins in late August with four weeks in ECUADOR. Our academic hub will be the Center for Inter-American Studies (CEDEI), home to the Augustana Summer Language Program. We will visit the capital, Quito, and the world-famous Otavalo craft market in the northern highlands. Coursework at CEDEI in the colonial city of Cuenca will include Spanish, applied ecology and art. In Cuenca, students will live with local families, an experience sure to acquaint them with Ecuadorian culture in a way no class could.
The group next travels to PERU for an extended three-week study tour of Lima and Cusco, as well as fiveday excursions to both the rainforest and the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
We then fly to our final destination, Cuernavaca, the city of eternal spring, in central MEXICO. Our four weeks in Mexico will include visits to the national capital, Mexico City, as well as to pre-Columbian and colonial sites in and around central Mexico, such as the pyramids of Teotihuacán and the silver capital, Taxco. Cuernavaca is home to the Cemanahuac Educational Community, where students will live and celebrate the Day of the Dead with host families while taking Augustana coursework in Latin American literature (in translation), political science and history.
The program concludes in early November, when students return to the United States at the end of Augustana's fall term finals week.
Housing
Students on the 2009 program will be housed in a combination of tourist-class hotels and family home stays. The Augustana program has arranged for students to spend significant stays of one month each with families in Cuernavaca, Mexico and Cuenca, Ecuador. Both sites utilize affiliations with the international language institutes cited above to ensure quality homes for our students. We also make sure that Augustana students with little Spanish are paired with other Augustana students with greater Spanish language experience within each family stay. In other cities, students will live and attend classes in centrally located tourist-class hotels.
The program will also include camping excursions as we explore the Inca Trail and the Peruvian Amazon. These excursions are led by professional guides and support staff.
Eligibility
All Augustana students in satisfactory academic standing are eligible for the Fall Term in Latin America. In the event of an over-subscription for the program, selection will be made based upon academic year and standing (grade-point average). This process is outlined in the program application materials.
Orientation
Regularly scheduled orientation meetings will be conducted during spring term of the 2008-09 academic year. Program directors, faculty and students will discuss cultural differences, expected student conduct, and necessary safety, health and logistical preparations. Meetings will continue in the field as program directors and faculty advise students about local environments and discuss issues related to our ways of experiencing and interpreting Latin American culture.
