Social Realities in Mexico

Kia ora! We are part of the University of Auckland's 2023 PMSLA programme hosted by Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México (IBERO). We will be spending 6 weeks in Mexico City betwen January-February 2023. "Social Realities in Mexico" is an academic program meant to sharpen students' awareness of the main development concerns and social challenges in Latin America. We will be engaged in a full schedule of academic and social activities, full immersion into the Mexican culture and society, and direct contact with experts, NGOs and the local population. Check out our profiles below to learn more about who we are and what motivated us to join this programme, and be sure to follow along our journey, which begins 5 January 2023!

Laura Simcock

Lionel Kake

Maria O’Connell

Mei Gillespie

Reina Beamsley-Allan

Tayla-Lee Bainbridge

Latest posts

  • What’s it like being back home.
    by rbea755
    Being back home from 2 months in Mexico, to now in New Zealand and heading back into university, has allowed me to decompress and to really think about what the past 2 months has been like for myself and for the way I want to begin to approach life again. I have learnt a lot about myself these past two months and also a lot about my degree and my…Continue Reading What’s it like being back home.
  • A week off the Grid
    by rbea755
    Our final week in Mexico, how exciting. A week with a lot of expectations on our behalf, but a week that was definitely something to look forward too. To begin the week we set off, in a van at 7am in the Morning on our way to Cuatzalan. A 5-hour long van ride through Mexico, heading to what I consider an off the grid part of Mexico. Van Rides aren’t…Continue Reading A week off the Grid
  • Final Thoughts and Thanks
    by Laura Simcock
    After being back in New Zealand for just over a week, I thought I’d share my final thoughts on my amazing month-and-a-half trip to Mexico. As my previous posts have been quite wordy, I am going to aspire to keep this one short! People have been asking me all week about my time away, and honestly, I haven’t had the words. How do you explain something that was so multifaceted;…Continue Reading Final Thoughts and Thanks
  • Adjusting Back To Nueva Zelanda
    by Maria
    Today marks a week since I arrived home in New Zealand. Many components of my lifestyle in Mexico were different, and I had to adjust. Adjusting back home made me recognize the differences between Mexico and New Zealand and the changes within myself over my time away. Although I have spoken English my entire life, and it is the only language I am fluent in, I was shocked to realize…Continue Reading Adjusting Back To Nueva Zelanda
  • A slice of paradise & final reflections
    by Mei Gillespie
    For week six, the last week of our time here in Mexico, we went to Cuetzalan in the small state of Puebla. Our last week in Cuetzalan was incredible, from the people and communities to the beautiful nature. Highlights The journey to Cuetzalan started at 7 am. We left Colmena, our accommodation, whilst the sun was waking up from its slumber, shining its rays across the mountains. We arrived at…Continue Reading A slice of paradise & final reflections
  • Oh, we’re halfway there, woahh
    by Mei Gillespie
    Wow, it’s really been a rollercoaster, hasn’t it? It seems like yesterday when we boarded the plane to Mexico! This trip has been incredible, and I am so thankful for this opportunity. I will admit there have been a few challenges along the way, some parts where I’ve felt the full effects of culture shock, homesickness, and feeling physically strange from the altitude. Can you believe that where we are…Continue Reading Oh, we’re halfway there, woahh
  • A week in Cuetzalan
    by Laura Simcock
    Our last week in Mexico was in the beautiful Cuetzalan, staying with an indigenous collective, Sociedad Cooperativa Tosepan Titaniske. Our days were jam-packed, so this blog will be a day-by-day account so that I don’t miss anything! Day 1 Our first day started at 7 am, with a 5-hour bus ride with our two IBERO organisers, Natalia and Andrea. It passed quickly, as we slept most of the time and…Continue Reading A week in Cuetzalan
  • The Colors of Cueztalan
    by Maria
    Upon finishing up our course work for this programme , we got the amazing opportunity to stay in Cuetzalan for our final week. This part of the trip was a chance to not only experience a different  social location of Mexico , but understand indigenous ways of living. The town of Cuetzalan was a gorgeous landmark, remarkable in its sustainable and resourceful ways of living.  El Lunes The trip began…Continue Reading The Colors of Cueztalan
  • To Fight In Favor Of Life
    by Maria
    Our final topic for this program was Environment and Sustainability. Due to studying the major of Human Rights and Politics, I had no in-depth understanding of this area. However, I was very excited to learn something that was completely outside of my specialization. Throughout this week, I realized how much human rights and politics interconnected with the environment. Within majority of our environmental lectures, we watched a movie called “Home”. It…Continue Reading To Fight In Favor Of Life
  • A week in Paradise
    by Tay
    On Monday the 13th of February we met with Natalia and Andrea to begin our journey to Cuetzalan. It is a gorgeous indigenous town situated in the highlands of Puebla. It is known for many different this but mainly their weekly street handcraft markets and beautiful architecture. I had been looking forward to this week the entire trip. As we were driving we were able to witness a gorgeous sunrise…Continue Reading A week in Paradise
  • Sustainability Week
    by Tay
    We are really getting down to the last two weeks here; it is so crazy how fast time goes. Sometimes I feel like I have not done enough with my time here, but then I also look through my photos and realise that this has been a completely mind-blowing experience. I have truly done so much, and I have done things beyond the top 10 tourist destinations. The NGO visits…Continue Reading Sustainability Week
  • ‘A sustainable future has to be just’
    by Laura Simcock
    Our last week at IBERO was short but very busy! It was a week of lasts – last classes, last lunches, last bus rides. The final projects that we had been working on during our time here were due on Thursday. My project discussed the power imbalances in environmental management, particularly focusing on the different values placed on indigenous and western knowledge. This was an idea introduced to me in…Continue Reading ‘A sustainable future has to be just’
  • Comforting Cocoon
    by lkak264
    When you find family outside of your bloodline, your heart sends extensions and messages to new places within yourself that are complicated designs of nature. When things are complicated, they tend to be h a r d to describe. I’m having difficulty writing this. To describe love devotes itself to more than just words. It’s a feeling that floats in the air, forming a cocoon that suffocates you in a…Continue Reading Comforting Cocoon
  • Social inequalities and a visit to Guadalajara
    by Laura Simcock
    The topic of this week was poverty and inequality. This week, our classes had a more practical aspect; we developed a definition of poverty and a poverty measurement tool. In these, it was interesting to see the many different perspectives of poverty and how this varied spatially. The most surprising thing we learnt was how similar the wealth gaps are in New Zealand and Mexico. In New Zealand, Mexico is…Continue Reading Social inequalities and a visit to Guadalajara
  • Poverty and Inequality
    by Tay
    As we head into the final weeks here, the schedule is getting very full. On top of uni work and NGO visits, we are taking every opportunity to explore the city as much as possible. This means late-night churro runs or spontaneous flights to Guadalajara, whatever we can do to make the most of our little time here. Firstly, our topic for uni this week was Poverty and Inequality, two…Continue Reading Poverty and Inequality
  • On the road again: Uber drivers and difficult discussions
    by Mei Gillespie
    Bienvenidos to another week of living and studying in Mexico City. Week 2 of studying at IBERO focused on migration in Mexico and Latin America. We concentrated on the different aspects of migration and how we define refugees and asylum seekers globally. In particular, we focused on the migration “caravans,” a large group of migrants walking their way across Latin America to search for a better life. This better life…Continue Reading On the road again: Uber drivers and difficult discussions
  • Te Kotahitanga o ngā tangata whenua
    by rbea755
    Ko te Kaupapa o tēnei wiki e pa ana ki ngā tangata whenua o Mehiko, nā reira kāore I kore ko tēnei Kaupapa, he Kaupapa rongonui mōku. Tuatahi kia maumahara tōnu ai ahau, hei āta marama ahau ki ngā ahuatanga nui o ngā tangata whenua o tāwahi, me mōhio pū ahau ki te hītori o tēnei rōpu, hei atā marama I ngā momo tikanga e hāpai ana ki era momo…Continue Reading Te Kotahitanga o ngā tangata whenua
  • Remembering Those That Once Walked With Us
    by Maria
    Our topic for this week was the Indigenous of Mexico. It was very interesting to learn about their indigenous groups in comparison to our New Zealand indigenous. Throughout the week, we were guided by our lecturer and my tocaya, Maria (tocaya= ‘name twin’ in Spanish). I loved how passionate she was about this topic and the range of areas she taught within Mexican Indigenous. Not only did I learn so…Continue Reading Remembering Those That Once Walked With Us