While the Christian Evangelical School in Tennessee and the Blas Pascal School in Merida, Mexico may seem like strange bedfellows at first, the two institutions are set to prove that the students have more in common than they might realize.

The two schools have embarked on a bilateral cultural immersion program, in an effort to promote greater understanding and tolerance.

“We took the trip in order to allow our students to experience the life of a teenager in Mexico,” said Dawn Shute, ECS Spanish teacher who co-sponsored the trip with ECS world view director Noah Brink.

To read more about the story, click here.

Following his highly publicized State Dinner in Washington, President Calderon headed north to speak to students at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Boston.

While addressing the students, the President, a 2006 graduate himself, echoed the call to service for the common good.

Researchers from Colorado have discovered remains of what they are calling the “proto-urban center” of the Purépecha people of Central Mexico.

Not nearly as well known as their neighbors, the Aztecs, the Purépecha were a thriving society on the banks of Lake Pátzcuaro in the central Mexican state of Michoacan.

“What’s really interesting about the site is that it gives us a window into the pre-state period when social complexity was increasing and people were congregating together and starting to modify the landscape,” said archaeologist Christopher Fisher of Colorado State University.

Researchers hope that these discoveries will shed new light on a long forgotten empire, which will only further enrich the storied past of the Mexican people.

To read the full article in the Los Angeles Times, click here.

First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to students and faculty at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City on Wednesday, delivering a charge to students to make a difference.

The First Lady urged those in the audience to not take their gifts for granted, but rather to employ them to make a positive change for the betterment of the two nations.

“Soon, the world will be looking to your generation to make the discoveries and to build the industries that will fuel our prosperity and ensure our well-being for decades to come,” said Obama. ”We’re going to be looking to your generation to seize the promise of clean energy to power our economies and preserve our planet for your children and your grandchildren.”

To read the full transcript, click here.

Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government recently honored the innovator’s behind the minibuses that have come to be a trademark in Mexico City. The 2009 Roy Family Award was presented to the Mexico City Metrobús project for its impact on inner city congestion with sustainability in mind. To read the full article from the Boston Globe, click here.

The University of Queensland recently published a story about one of it’s students, Alison Rae, who recently studied abroad in Mexico at the Tecnologico de Monterrey. Her tale is one of fun, adventure, and cultural understanding, even in the face of the H1N1 health crisis.

According to the student,

“I would definitely recommend Mexico as a place to go on exchange – the culture and way of life is very different to Australia but a great experience.”

With swine flu interrupting her first Mexican adventure, Ms Rae will resume her travels once the end-of-semester exams are complete.

“It happened a week before the assessment period, my brother was just about to arrive and we had plans to travel for about three weeks,” she said.

“I had to leave Mexico a few weeks early, so there were a few places I didn’t get to see and I’m also keen to explore Central America.”

To read the full story, click here.

Since opening its doors nearly two years ago, the National Museum of Death in Mexico has turned curious heads, both foreign and domestic.

USA Today, America’s most widely read newspaper, has highlighted the unusualy museum in a recent piece. However, the article thankfully reserves judgement and shows respect for the traditions of honoring the dead, the very purpose for which the Museum was created.

To read the full article, click here.

The government of Mexico has announced a major program to protect its elders, according to a significant article in USA Today.

“Long known for big families with numerous children, Mexico is going gray. The population 60 and older is growing twice as fast as in the United States as life expectancy climbs and birth rates drop. And new programs — from a Senior University to free Viagra — are being set up to cater to them.”

To read the full USA Today article, please click here.

In a recent visit to Chicago, Mexico’s Ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, insisted that only brighter days lay ahead for the country. To quote the Chicago Tribune article,

“Mexico’s top diplomat in the U.S. came to Chicago Thursday as part of an effort to rebuild his country’s brand, battered as the country became known as home of the H1N1 flu virus, devastating drug-related violence and, most recently, the hijacking of a commercial flight from sunny Cancun.

To read the full text of the article, please click here.

After some initial lag in figures, student travelers are returning to Mexico in droves, according to new findings. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a majority of students feel that there is, indeed, nothing to be afraid of.

To read the full article, please click here.