Mexico! - Universidad Regiomontana

GPE 7- May 12-17, 2014
Universidad
Regiomontana,
Monterrey, Mexico
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Welcome to Mexico!
OFFICIAL NAME: United Mexican States
CAPITAL AND LARGEST CITY: Mexico City
AREA: 1,978,000 sq Km ( 760,000 sq mi)
MAJOR CITIES: Mexico City (25 mil), Guadalajara (8.5 mil) and Monterrey (5 mil)
POPULATION : Estimated 109 million
DISTRIBUTION: 69% Urban, 31% rural
ETHNICITY: 60% Indian-Spanish (Mestizo), 40% European descent
RELIGION: Roman Catholic (97%)
GOVERNMENT: Federal Democratic Republic
CURRENCY: The Peso. 1 Peso = 100 centavos (cents)
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Spanish
CLIMATE: Tropical in the south, temperate in the central highlands, and dry to the
north.
LOCATION: Mexico is the Southernmost country of North America, and the
Northermost country of Latin America.
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Monterrey…
•beautiful modern city
•unusual contrasts: colonial architecture and modern building
•Beautiful surroundings: grottoes, cascades, dams, canyons, mountains and
fascinating villages
•Mexico’s leading industrial center
•located in the State of Nuevo León at the extreme Northeast of Mexico
•shares a border with the United States of America and Texas.
Fun Facts:
• Monterrey is known as "La Ciudad de Las
Montañas" or City of the Mountains.
• The city has the highest GDP per capita in Latin
America.
• Monterrey is over 400 years old and recently
celebrated its 410 anniversary
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Life in Monterrey
•Weather: around 100oF in summer and 40oF at winter.
•Weekends and family life: outdoor parties and barbecue.
•Soccer: Saturday afternoon is (not do practice, to watch on tv) We
have two professional teams, The Rayados and the Tigres. The
games start at 5 PM and end at 7 PM.
•Soccer and socializing: Usually, when two people introduce each
other, they ask: Are you Tigre or Rayado? Because I am…..If they
are fans of the same soccer team, they spend hours and hours
talking about “Their team”.If not, they spend hours discussing what
is the better team.
•Monterrey is a young city, and there is a lot of night clubs.
•Water and health: If you hear “when you go to Mexico never drink
their water” is not for every place, in Monterrey for example, we
have one of the best water purification systems of the world, also
most places use filters to drink water from sink and we can drink it
straight from it because its clean water.
•Food here is spicy and very tasteful…
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Universidad Regiomontana
•private educational institution
•44 years of experience in high school,
professional and postgraduate studies
•Tetramester system
•central location of its installations
•About 7,000 students
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Zacatecas – Field Seminar
Zacatecas will quite literally take your breath away. The city’s stunning architecture
includes many religious and civil buildings from the colonial era: the cathedral, clearly
dominates the center of town.
Zacatecas is a city of enormous beauty and unabashed Mexican pride. This fabled
silver city lies 6 hours south-west of Monterrey and is a detour into history no visitor
will regret.
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Useful Travel Information
Dates:
Arrival: May 10 or 11
Conference: May 12 -14
Field Seminar: May 14- 17
Departure: May 18
Contact Information:
Kathy Ullrich
dai@mail.ur.mx
urinternacional@live.com
+528182204654
Toll free from USA and Canada
18555517669
Visa: no visa is required for european or US citizens, most visitors from Asia, Africa or
South America will be required to contact the closest mexican consulate.
Flying in: Gen. Mariano Escobedo International Airport (MTY)
Distances: Mexico is a big country and the distances are big. Please do not fly to
Mexico City Airport, it would be 12 hours by bus to Monterrey, while a flight takes you
only 1.5 hours. Other good connecting airports for Monterrey are Houston, Dallas,
Atlanta or Chicago.
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Mexico Essentials: Practical Tips & Information
Electrical Equipment: Mexico's electricity system is the same as that of the USA:
120 V; 60 Hz. Any electrical equipment you carry with you that operates at the higher
(240v) rate will need to be dual-voltage (e.g. hair driers). You may need a socket
adaptor. Most plugs in Mexico are the same as in the US; two flat prongs.
Weather: Northern Mexico is a desert region, and as such has hot dry weather,
although cooler months can experience temperatures that drop to freezing at night. In
may we expect warm and sunny weather, but bring an umbrella and a light jacket –
just in case.
Shopping and Convenience Stores: Monterrey has great shopping malls,
supermarkets, Mexican craft markets and so on. We will provide you with a shopping
guide upon arrival. Franchised convenience stores like Seven-Eleven, Extra, and
OXXO, are open extended hours, from early morning to late night, and most are even
open 24/7.
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Mexico Essentials: Practical Tips & Information
Currency: Mexico's currency is the Mexican Peso. There are one hundred Mexican
cents (centavos) to every peso. The symbol for the the Mexican Peso is $. To
distinguish this from the Dollar, you sometimes see it presented as MX$ or the value
with the letters.
Mexican Bank notes are printed in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000
pesos. The most commonly seen and used are the 50, 100 and 200 peso notes.
Currency and currency exchange: Major credit and debit cards are accepted at
hundreds of thousands of hotels, shops, restaurants and travel service providers in
Mexico. Your purchases will charged in pesos, and your bank will convert the amount
back to the equivalent in the local currency where your account is held and charge it
to your account.
Mexican banks and exchange houses will buy and sell all major currencies. US
Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Pounds Sterling, Euros, Australian Dollars and Yen can be
readily sold across the counter at exchange houses and many banks.
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Conference fees and payment
Conference Fee: 6,000.00 MXN (about 480.00 USD)
Includes: airport pick up and drop of (Monterrey airport), hotel acommodacion for 3
nights, materials, breakfast and meals and Monday evening banquet
Field Seminary: 6,200.00 MXN (about 500.00 USD) single room, or 5,200.00 MXN
(420.00 USD) double room.
How to pay:
Bank wire: fees can be transferred to our bank account in US Dollars. If your
university cannot do bank wires, please contact kullrich@mail.ur.mx
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Quick links
Message from Dr. Teissier: http://falcon.aos.ecu.edu/gpe7/
Visa information: http://www.inm.gob.mx/index.php/page/Paises_Visa/en.html
Mexico video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgFao8RYeQ8&feature=youtu.be
Monterrey video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elvAOsFbTSY
Universidad Regiomontana video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrTO3tw4coM
Practical travel information: http://www.mexperience.com/guide/essentials/
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See you soon in Monterrey!