FAQs

Please read the inserted document, which is a copy from the Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY. We affirm all that is written here. Please feel free to question or comment, if you wish. We’re happy to discuss any point mentioned.

Asbury Theological Seminary Statement of Faith and Ethos

There are usually 2 to 6 students in a class. This ensures that each student has the opportunity to interact with the instructor as needed while their progress is closely monitored. If it becomes evident that the students would learn more efficiently with smaller classes then we divide into two classes.

The average student should plan to spend up to two hours each day completing assignments and reviewing their notes. In addition to homework, conversation with nationals is a requirement for all students. Classes end at 1:00 p.m.  Many students will do their homework and/or speaking assignments, or emails between 1.00 and 3:00, and then eat the afternoon meal on the base. Your afternoons are free to do any number of activities in town with Spanish school or Mexican friends, your host families,etc. There are sports in town to play in the hours before and after nightfall. And there are nearby towns easily visited. There are also several churches within a half hour of us for Sunday services.

If you start from the beginning the course consists of 4 levels that last seven weeks each. Including short breaks of normally one week between each session of classes, the entire course lasts about 8 months. There is a longer break in August and in December. Specific dates can be found at the Calendar page link above. There is also a Placement Evaluation that can be downloaded and completed if you wish to see if you can test out of a level or more. This can be found on the Applying and Placement tab above.

In addition to both written and oral exams given during and following each level, students may be evaluated daily in all seven subjects, grammar, vocabulary, verb conjugations, oral drills, phonetics, conversation, and translation. An average of 80% or more is necessary to move to the following level and for final graduation. Many schools have given credit to our students who go on to university. We’re happy to write a transcript describing your classes and your grades if you so request.

While individual aptitude determines this answer in part, motivation plays a larger role in determining how far you will have come by the end of the course. Fluency requires diligent study, good listening skills, and a great deal of practice. The level that you attain is as individual as you are. Some are fluent after the eight months. Others obtain fluency as they continue to practice what they’ve learned among national friends and coworkers. In the classroom we’ll fully take you through the first four levels of language learning. Level 5 is native fluency, which can be augmented in a classroom, but will be realized fully only after years of cultural integration and motivation. A great and realizable goal!

Tuition can be paid by various means to our mission office in Oklahoma in dollars, if you’d like. The necessary information for this is found on the “Costs” page on this website. Or it can be paid in Mexican pesos, at the same national currency to peso exchange rate that you received. Virtually everything here is paid in Mexican pesos! Unfortunately we can’t accept living expense funds through the Oklahoma office., due to non-profit accounting issues. The best way to obtain pesos is through an ATM machine. Checks are useless here, and very few businesses accept debit or credit cards. Cash exchange in a booth or bank don’t give you the best exchange rate, and are often quite inconvenient. ATM’s offer the best exchange rate, and are available in our nearby towns. Please advise your bank that you’ll be making withdrawals from Mexico during your stay here so that they don’t freeze your card due to suspicious activity! The missionaries among us all use the ATMs, and have had no difficulties at all.

If you choose to fly instead of driving (a 26 hour drive from the border), there are two good and safe routes. We’d be happy to send them to you. You should choose the most convenient one from your point of origin. Many airlines have flights from cities in the United States to Puerto Escondido (PXM) or Huatulco (HUX), most routing through Mexico City (MEX). The Hualtulco airport is two and a half hours from us, but we’re happy to make the trip for you if that’s the best route for you. There is a charge of $120 US, or its Mexican peso equivalent, per vehicle for pickup for those arriving to the Huatulco airport, and another $120 per vehicle for those leaving from the Huatulco airport. The Puerto Escondido airport (PXM) is thirty minutes from us. For those arriving at the Puerto Escondido airport there is no pick up charge. We’re blessed to accommodate you however you arrive. And we’re happy to give you good road directions, or to pick you up at the airport that best suites you. If you miss a flight then please email us immediately or call us at 954-147-7548, or 954-150-2153 inside of Mexico. If you’re calling from outside of Mexico or from a non-Mexico phone then you must dial 011-52-1 before the numbers written above. The application Whatsapp is the surest way to connect.

As a student you will be asked to adhere to the policies of the Roca Blanca Mission Base regarding dress and culturally sensitive issues. For details you can go to https://rocablanca.org/orientation-information/. Although this page is really designed for short term teams, you’ll find useful cultural and packing tips there! We also talk quite a bit about cultural dress and behavior norms in our first day orientation in class. The primary issues are modesty and discretion, and a zero alcohol policy during your time here, all for the sake of our indigenous friends and neighbors, whose norms and habits may be quite different from those of some students. If you have any particular questions regarding piercings, tattoos, types of clothing, etc., please fell free to contact us about them!

One option for baby and toddler care is with a local family or a single adult at their or your house in town. This can be for the four actual class hours, 8:00 to 10:10 a.m., and then 11:10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Between 10:10 and 11:10, with the children eating almuerzo (a kind of late breakfast) with their parents in the common dining room with everyone else. Or your child’s care can be done for the five hours between 8:00 and 1:00 without interruption. The students currently pay 100 pesos (around $8.00 US) a day per child for that service.

On the Roca Blanca base there is a Christian Pre-school, Elementary, Middle school, and High school with most classes taught in English, the rest in Spanish. Children of our Spanish school students are very welcome, and there has always been a space for them in the classroom. The cost for these schools is around $50/month (USD) per child. The school uses mostly ACE (Accelerated Christian Education) curriculum , which you’ll need to purchase and bring, which normally costs between $200-250 USD per child for the year. We can help you determine which curriculum materials to purchase.

If your child is sixteen or older, and speaks English, another option is to do their classes online with a fully accredited program available to us where they can finish grades nine through twelve with career training included within six to eighteen months.

For schooling with zero English, if you prefer, there are a few options. On the mission base we have a Mexican curriculum high school. Also in Cacalotepec (our little town) there is a national elementary school and a televised middle school. In Río Grande (a 10 minute drive from here) there are more national schools, elementary, middle, and high school. Homeschooling has been successfully done by some students, as well.

You’ll want to bring a set of twin sheets if single, double sheets if married. Also towels and washcloths would be handy. Linens here are quite expensive and good quality linens are not easy to find! It’s advisable to have something warm to wear for the occasional mountain trip. Also, if you bring a Spanish Bible, we use the RVC (Reina Valera Contemporánea) version, which will be used in class most days. The Reina Valera 1960 version is the most commonly used version in the Mexican churches. A good dictionary will be a help, although not absolutely necessary. A few small items from home are a nice addition for your lodging. Insect repellent and suntan lotion is advisable, and any medicines or personal items that may not be available locally. Please feel free to write about any other items you might be wondering about.

Here are some photos of some of the houses and host home apartments that our students have rented, just to give you an idea of where you might stay while studying with us. They are the same quality that our townspeople live in, and somewhat rustic for many. But the incarnational model that Jesus lived is ours too – live with them, live like them, love them where they’re at.

There are a few kinds of visas that may apply to your stay here. The most common and easiest is the standard tourist visa. That’s given to you at no cost, and you’ll fill it out when you cross the border by land or on the airplane by air. This visa is sufficient to come and study Spanish under, and is normally given for six months. The lodging address to write on the tourist visa is: Roca Blanca Mission Base, s/n frente a la playa Roca Blanca, Cacalotepec, Oaxaca. With a tourist visa, if your Spanish school time goes beyond the six months then you’ll need to make a border crossing before it expires, some taking advantage of a quick bus ride to the Guatemala border to cross and reenter, which is significantly closer. You do not need a “student visa” for our school. That visa is for those coming to study in a Mexican university for a year or longer. There are also various resident visas that will be necessary if you’re coming to live or do public ministry in Mexico. In that case, your sponsoring church or organization will help you with the application process.

Your present cell phone provider may offer an inexpensive Mexico plan. This is usually the best and most economic way to use your cell phone here. Or you can unlock your phone and use a Mexican carrier’s chip ($2 USD). You’d have to investigate on the best way to do that. Or cell phones can be purchased here for around $30 USD and up. They use pay by minute plans, usually at the rate of about 6 cents US a minute.

We have a secure Internet Wifi at the Spanish school for about $7 US a month. Some homes have Internet service in our town, but the town coverage is not as fast or reliable as what we have on the Spanish school. The Internet in the Spanish school works well.

There are a few different options for health insurance here. Some come with no insurance, depending on the local hospitals for normal medical issues, which is far less expensive than similar things in the US, i.e., chest x-ray $15 USD as opposed to $200 USD Stateside. We also have a Clinic on the base that is able to take care of the normal day to day medical necessities for most.

Some students come with a plan that they’ve kept from their home country that covers them while here. Others find a missionary travel type plan, of which there are many. Look here, for example: //www.missionaryhealth.net/brigada/. We also suggest doing a search for “insurance” at //www.brigada.org/search-brigada for possible additional plans that are advertised on that site.

We organize various cultural and/or fun activities in each session for those who wish to participate in them. There is usually a modest cost. Some of these are snorkeling, scuba diving, horse riding, hot springs, waterfalls, river hikes, beach activities and nighttime campfires, fishing, surfing, cooking classes, visits to a coffee plantation, Oaxaca City and Monte Albán, and museums, along with other typical cultural events in and around our area.