Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán (UADY)

Bring extra cash to travel the most you can; its ok to miss class if you are foreign (the professors generally go VERY easy on you!), and take advantage of Merida's location to visit Chiapas, the Mayan Riviera, the Caribbean, Central America, etc...

The UADY doesnt use text books, rather students make copies of readings they are supposed to read and buy them little by little as needed. There are no second-hand furniture stores that I ever saw, but there is always a foreign student moving or going home who is giving away their things- i wound up with a whole kitchen set that way! There are also lots of cheap furniture stores. There are internet cafes everywhere, ATMs are common (in the cities!!!), Banks close at 4pm, and lots of businesses close from 2-4pm every day. Private hospitals are about 20 USD a visit, and though they look dark and scary, the UADY is a very good medical school, so the doctors ARE well-trained!

Merida was a diverse and interesting ancient colonial city. There were plenty of things to do and see. The local market int he town centre was always fun and full of fruits, hammocks (made in the area) and local people. You could take an express bus to Cancun and travel down to Olaya del Carmen a wonderful beach resort close to Tulum where there were archeological ruins by the ocean. Tequila Rock was the local nightclub in merida that most students would meet up and socialise at. We also became members of the Hyatt Hotel gym and used their tennis courts and pool, this was very reasonably priced and lots of fun. merida boasts a beautiful theatre where we saw an amazing contemporary dance production. It is also interesting to go and visit the local haciendas, our tutor owned a papaya hacienda where on one occasion all the students in my class journeyed out to explore his land and view the property which was a fun day out and interesting to see how the local area used be organised through local leaders who owned vast tracts of land. The local food aswell is not to be missed. It was very cheap to eat out almost every night in a different restaurant.

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Have fun! Merida is a laid back place with people to match. They love their culture and heritage and are more than happy to brighten your experience in their town. Make friends with natives. This is where you learn the most and have the most fun.

All foreign students at the UADY have to take a Spanish course before they start regular classes. I already spoke Spanish pretty fluently, and I was put in a class with other students of my level of Spanish, but we wound up doing basic grammar excercises for 6 weeks and learning nothing new. The University is for some reason, not equipped or prepared for students who already have an advanced level of Spanish. It was only 2 hours a day though, and I made a lot of foreign friends, so it wasnt a total waste of time! The regular courses were all in Spanish, which is what I was looking for.