Learning and Living with Mexican Social Workers

A couple of weeks ago we had a great time in Mexico City learning about the Social Work program at UNAM .  The following week we got to host and room with 10 UNAM students here at our home in Cuernavaca.  I think we were all a little nervous about how this would go being that we were responsible for showing students who had lived in Mexico their whole lives around a city that we had been living in for less than three months, not to mention the communication barrier.

It didn’t take long to figure out that there was no need to worry. Most of them had never been to Cuernavaca and they seemed excited to see the downtown area which we have gotten to know pretty well. We also had a lot of fun and some pretty big laughs while trying to communicate with each other. What a perfect way to practice our Spanish and for them English.

Our group talking over tacos.

It turns out that Trabajo Social estudiantes (Social Work students) in Mexico have a lot in common with and a lot of the same interests as Social Work Students from the United States.  One of the main concerns discussed by the Augsburg CGE Social Work students here this semester is immigration.  Undocumented people in the United States are often treated badly by law enforcement officials (among other people) and have a difficult time providing themselves and/or families with basic needs.  One of the most important jobs of a Social Worker is seeing to it that people are not robbed of their basic human rights.  A lot of us were surprised to learn (I think because so many undocumented workers in the states are actually from Mexico) that immigration is a big concern for Social Workers here in Mexico as well.  A large number of undocumented workers from Central America have to travel through Mexico in order to get to the United States.  Often times those immigrants suffer terrible treatment by authorities that are corrupt.  We were able to discuss out mutual recognition for changes in policy and practice when it comes to undocumented immigrants.

Presentation by UNAM student Natali about migration through Mexico and the abuses that migrants suffer at the hands of authorities and organized crime. 

Natali's sketch of train routes that migrants take through Mexico.

There were also some activities planned for us during the week that helped us all get to understand certain social issues from a more personal perspective.  We had a panel of speakers who talked to us about their experiences going through life as a member of the GLBT community.  It was great to have the opportunity to be interactive with the people on the panel.  We learned a lot from them but also heard the personal experiences of some of the students which made for a great way to get a better perspective on the wide diversity of people and experiences within the GLBT community.   I think one of the most important things we recognized during our talk was that you can’t put people “in a box” when it comes to sexuality.  There is such a wide variety of people in the world that it’s impossible to fit everyone into a specific category and we need to stop labeling people or expecting people to label themselves. With sexuality being a difficult topic for a lot of people we were very lucky to hear such personal accounts of other people’s experiences with it.

Panel on sexual diversity

-- Britta Wee

New video from our week with UNAM social work students

Every year CGE's social work students study one week in Mexico City at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and then spend the next week living and learning in Cuernavaca with UNAM  social work students.  The purpose is to learn about Social Work from a Mexican context, discuss our similarities and differences, and form international collegue relationships.

Here is a video for you to get a taste of the week!





-- Ruth Schultz, CGE Mexico volunteer

Social Work in Mexico City

After our week off for Semana Santa (Holy Week), the CGE Social Work students had the opportunity to go to Mexico City for one week to have a an exchange with the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico or the National Autonomous University of Mexico). During our week we explored the many different things that the UNAM offers its students and its community, including visiting multiple museums, internship sites and cultural sites.

UNAM building with a mosaic representing different eras including the pre-hispanic times, the conquest and the revolution.

Here is a quick and brief history about the UNAM for those of you who this is the first time hearing about it. The UNAM was founded in 1551 as a religious institution called the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico.  The UNAM as it is known today was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a public university. The UNAM has one of the largest campuses in Latin and America. The Social Work program is the smallest of the disciplines and has over 2,500 students.

UNAM school of Social Work Emblem

During our stay we had the opportunity to go to a museum about the 1968 student massacre. In 1968 around 10,000 students gathered to protest in Tlatelolco Square. The protest was primarily peaceful and done with the aspiration to influence political change in the country. The army surrounded the students and attacked the students. There is no accurate death toll, but between disappearances and actual deaths numbers are said to reach from the hundreds to the thousands.

Social work students at the modern art museum at the UNAM

Another key part of our exchange with the UNAM was to find out similarities between our social work programs. Something that fellow classmates and I found very interesting was the emphasis on Social Workers, being involved with providing access to cultural sites. We got to visit different practicum at both the regional and institutional levels and both groups of students were placed in museums. 

Diego Rivera Art Museum, a practicum for UNAM students.

This planted the question in my mind: if Social Workers in the United States should or do have a footing in providing the community with access to cultural experiences?

-- Brittney Westgard

Independent "Study" during Semana Santa in Mexico City

Learning continues well beyond the walls of a classroom. This continues to become clearer for me as I explore new places and ask questions on my own. During my break for Semana Santa, I had the opportunity to stay in Mexico City. My partner in crime: Diego de Regil, art student, fellow adventurer, best friend, and lover of life. Seven days to encounter a city’s history, art, and delicious food. Each experience was accompanied with a story or explanation that enriched my learning outside the confines of a schedule and books. 

After we filled our stomachs with nearly one dozen tacos de canasta, our first stop was El Palacio Nacional. Before we even crossed the main plaza, a pair of high school students from La Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México (UNAM) stopped and invited us to participate in an interview for their class project. With a camera and microphone in hand, they first interviewed Diego, then me.

Diego's interview

My interview

The entire interview was done in Spanish, so naturally, I was nervous. One of the questions really got me thinking.  Que piensas de la frase “el que no tranza no avanza”? Translation: What do you think of the phrase “he who doesn’t cheat doesn’t get ahead”? I supplied a foreign perspective on México’s reputation of corruption in broken, shaky Spanish. This phrase comes from Mexican film called La Ley de Herodes, a political satire of government corruption.  From what you have learned in class, from listening to speakers, and conversing with Mexican acquaintances, what do you think? Today in Mexico, with the current politics and structure of society, is it possible to get ahead without cheating, or compromising?

In El Palacio Nacional, there was an art exposition by the name of Programa Pago en Especie. A handful of famous artists, from all over the country can participate in the program by giving artwork to the state in place of paying taxes. The pieces were extraordinary and free for the public to enjoy. I thought this was an innovative and creative way to approach fiscal responsibilities to the government.

Information about the program Pago en Especie

Later in the afternoon, after a refreshing stop at Yogurtland for 2-for-1 treats, we made our way to El Palacio de Bellas Artes. Here we met the famous muralists, Diego Rivera, Jorge González Camarena (my new favorite), David Alfaro Siqueiros, Roberto Montenegro, Manual Rodríguez Lozano and Rufino Tamayo. If you thought Rivera was good in Cuernavaca, you should see Man, Controller of the Universe in Bellas Artes! The political messages painted over a massive wall are truly impressive.

Inside of Bellas Artes

México City has so many places to visit that are nearby and easily accessible, all provided the opportunity to learn and grow if you open your eyes wide enough. Although I wasn’t in class, I learned so much on my free days. I would suggest that if you have the time, explore as much as you can in the city. It will not disappoint you! 

-- Brooke Pringle

Social Work Students Go To University in Mexico City

By Anne Dutton

St. Olaf College

We spent a week in Mexico City, at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). UNAM is a large university (238,000 students) that is home to the National School of Social Work. A couple of weeks ago we had an “intercambio” with UNAM students and to finish off our exchange we headed to Mexico City to see the school and spend time with more UNAM students and professors.

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Escuela Nacional de Trabajo Social = National School of Social Work

One of the most interesting discussions we had throughout the week was about the differences in curriculum between the United States and Mexican social work programs. UNAM social work students start into the social work program from their first semester at the university and have all of their classes scheduled out for nine semesters. There are three practicums that need to be completed to graduate: one at a community level, one at a regional level and one in an area of specialization.

We visited two practicum sites during the week and the one that really stood out to me was the visit to the National Institute of Respiratory Illnesses (INER). INER is both a functioning hospital and research center for all forms of respiratory illnesses and we visited the social work students who were completing their specialization practicum in the hospital.

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A couple of the UNAM Social Work students gave us a tour of the UNAM

The students gave us an opening presentation which lead to a discussion about differences between health care delivery in the United States vs. Mexico. This discussion was a great follow-up to the discussion we had during the Medicaid policy presentation with the UNAM students who visited us in Cuernavaca. After the discussion, the students took us around on a tour of the INER hospital facility.

Because a lot of the problems with the Mexican health care system revolve around the quality of the care, rather than access to the care, it was interesting to see the premiere hospital for respiratory illnesses. Overall, the visit to Mexico City and UNAM was a great chance to get out of the Cuernavaca area and get to know another section of Mexico.

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The last day of our exchange, we went for a ride down this canal in Xochimilco