Extension-Sponsored Program Offers “Total Immersion” Experience in Mexico

    	Auburn, January 6, 2003 --- Alabamians taking part in a foreign study tour this summer 
will have a unique opportunity to gain an intimate understanding of the emerging Hispanic/Latino 
presence within their state.  
	Sponsored by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Auburn University 
College of Agriculture, the study tour is designed to provide participants with total immersion in 
Mexican culture and the Spanish language.  Sponsors of the program hope that participants will 
emerge from the experience with an intimate knowledge of Hispanic/Latino culture and will be 
better equipped to interact with these newcomers on a one-to-one basis.
 	“Total immersion really is the only way to understand any cultural group fully – who they 
are, where they came from and what their expectations are,” says Dr. Diego Gimenez, who 
developed the program and serves as its academic director. 
“I studied English all my life but really didn’t gain a complete understanding of the 
American people until I moved to the United States,” adds Gimenez, a native of Cuba, now a U.S. 
citizen who has lived and worked in the United States for more than 40 years.
Scheduled for June 1 through June 15, the study tour will be especially valuable for 
people who work or interact directly with Hispanic/Latino residents on a frequent basis – “social 
service employees, educators, police officers and other city officials, manufacturers and farm 
operators,” he says.
	The classes will be conducted through the Escuela para Estudiantes Extranjeros, under 
the supervision of the Universidad Veracruzana, one of the country’s premiere educational 
institutions. 
	As part of this total cultural immersion, participants live with host families located in or 
near Xalapa.  Known as the “City of Spring in the Sand,” Xalapa is located about an hour and a 
half from the historic city of Veracruz.
	Following their introduction to their host families, participants will receive a cultural 
orientation before the program begins.  Field trips will run from 8:00 a.m. to noon, while regular 
classes will be held from noon until 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.  Special lectures will be 
offered from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m.
	Participants will receive 2.2 hours of continuing education credit from Auburn University 
upon completion of the program.
	Twelve field trips have been scheduled for the study tour and will include visits to poultry, 
coffee, tomato and dairy farms.  Visits to agribusinesses, schools and social service agencies 
also are planned.
	Basic cost of the program is estimated to be approximately $2,200, which includes air 
fare from Atlanta, course tuition in Xalapa, orientation and emergency evacuation insurance, 
roundtrip transportation from Veracruz to Xalapa, and room and board.  Costs for a single-
occupant room and board are slightly higher.
	Payment, which does not include passport fees, should be made to the Auburn University 
College of Agriculture’s Office of International Agriculture in two installments.  The first payment 
must be received by March 15, 2003, while the second payment should be received no later than 
April 30, 2003.
	For more information about the study tour, contact Dr. Diego Gimenez at 201-C 
Upchurch Hall, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, 36849-5628.  
	He may also be reached at 334-844-1520.