On January 6, 2000, twenty-four students from the School of Management and four students from the College of Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University (ASU) West embarked on a remarkable journey to Mexico. The trip was a collaborative effort between ASU West and the Zacatecas Campus of the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM) to expose and educate ASU students to Mexico’s wonderful culture, vibrant economy, NAFTA, human capital management, marketing, and cross cultural considerations.
The study trip began in Monterrey, Mexico’s third largest and chief northern city. Following two days of lecture at the ITESM campus and tours of Monterrey, we continued our journey to the picturesque city of Zacatecas. With a population close to 200,000, Zacatecas is located at the end of the semi-arid uplands at the gateway to the silver mining region. Students were culturally immersed by living in the home of a host family for 5 days and 4 nights. During this period of time, families generously entertained us, cooked for us, made us practice our Spanish skills, and became dear friends for life. Simultaneously on the ITESM campus, we had three intensive days of lectures on Mexico’s history from the pre-Hispanic era to the present. In addition to cultural visits to magnificent sites, we toured various manufacturing facilities. It was very hard to leave Zacatecas, yet we said our goodbyes and continued on to Guadalajara.
Guadalajara, known as the “Pearl of the Pacific”, is beautiful to say the least! After benefiting from another interesting lecture on Mexico's economic environment, we continued our exposure to familiarization with industry and attended many marvelous cultural events including the Ballet Folklórico. No spare time was wasted, and we all agreed: it was one of the best times of our lives!
Of the mix of students participating in this trip, six students from the School of Management and four students from the College of Arts and Sciences were granted a generous $1000 scholarship by the Mitsui Foundation, USA. To show our appreciation, we have created this site, showing some of the exciting moments captured on our cameras and in our memories.
