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About the Mexico Trek

About the Odyssey

Teachers' Zone

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The Mexico Trek! is part of The Odyssey, an organization dedicated to educating students about the world and about service work -- via the Internet. The Odyssey is sending a team of three people to Mexico City (the ancient Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan) for one month. Another trek, the World Trek, will set out in January 1999 and spend two years traveling the globe.

While in Mexico the Team will:

• gather content about Mexican culture in general and specifically about "Youth and Society," the educational theme that the trek is focusing on.
• perform service work with a local community organization, Casa Alianza, which works with street children,
• facilitate interactions between youth in the classroom with the people the team meets in Mexico,
• promote actions by the youth following the trek to support Casa Alianza and to affect change in their own communities.

Departing August 15 and returning September 23, The Mexico Trek Team will consist of: Monica Flores, Silvia Montero, and Shawn Sullivan. A fourth member, Jonah Wittenkamper, will join them midway through the trek.

The Curriculum on Mexico will be guided by the following progression:

• Tracing the origins of the Aztec Empire as the team itself makes its way overland to Mexico City (the Aztecs originally migrated from Aztlan, what is today the southwest United States and northwestern Mexico)
• Considering the fate of the Aztecs at the hands of the Conquistadores
• Exploring the very rich culture that exists today largely as a result of the mixing of indigenous, Spanish and African cultures (and increasingly U.S. culture), as well as current issues facing Mexico
• Finally, as the team returns northward, exploring issues around migration to the U.S. and the impact of Mexican culture on the U.S.

• What roles do youth play in communities throughout the world?
• What rights and responsibilities should youth have?
• How can young people create change in their communities?

Teachers can learn more about the educational value of the Mexico Trek and about resources to support them in the Teachers' Zone.

To find out more about The Odyssey organization behind the World Trek, go to About The Odyssey.

Jump into the trek by going to Basecamp which is the front door to the action and the place where the latest highlights will always be posted. The Site Key gives you an overview of the whole site and can help you find what you're looking for if you ever get lost.

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