Mexico City and its metropolitan area have a population of more than 20 million. It is considered an important political, economic and cultural center of Latin America and even the world. For a year, it has also been the home of Nicole Jefferson, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College alumnae and adjunct instructor.
Jefferson, who teaches full time in Starkville Public Schools, is participating in a year-long Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange. The program comes under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and is intended to give exchange teachers an understanding and appreciation of different educational systems and cultures. “This is absolutely one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done,” she said. “I encourage teachers, administrators and college students to look into programs like this. It gives you a new perspective on your life, your job and the world.”
Jefferson is no stranger to travel. While she was an undergraduate in college, she visited Quebec, and as part of her graduate work in modern foreign language - Spanish, she spent a year teaching in a boarding school in Costa Rica. She has also visited Russia to visit her sister, Menya, who now teaches in South Korea.
“I still feel this is a more exciting time,” she said. “For one thing, I am a little older and appreciate it more. I am living out in the community as opposed to on campus, so I have to figure things out on my own. It is challenging but a worthwhile experience.”
Jefferson said she decided not to buy a car while she’s living in Mexico and has dealt with the vagaries of public transportation. “It just takes so long to get anywhere by bus that I have been traveling to and from work by cab. They are really inexpensive – it costs me about $2 to go one way to and from work, and I get to my destination much faster.”
Other tests she has faced include finding an apartment, grocery shopping and dealing with her classroom full of students. “The culture is different in many ways. For instance, an unfurnished apartment means no stove or refrigerator as well as no furniture. The English classes I teach to seventh and ninth graders are much larger than the classes in the U.S. I teach 40 students for each of my classes throughout the school day. Our day is split in half. I only teach in the afternoons since two sets of students attend the school – those on the morning shift and those on the afternoon shift.”
She said they also don’t have school buses. Parents pick them up, or they walk home or use public transportation. There is also no technology available in the classroom. “It is just very, very different. The teacher I replaced taught both in the morning and afternoon to earn more money,” Jefferson adds. “Since I teach only part of the day and have almost 250 students during that time; that means he dealt with almost 500 students. That is just incredible to me and makes me more appreciative of my job at home.”
Jefferson said she has prevailed over unique challenges in Mexico and at Mississippi State University because of the foundation she received as a student at Gulf Coast’s Perkinston Campus. “Both my older siblings and I attended Gulf Coast, and I never really thought of going straight to a university. It was a wise choice. Because of the caring and helpful instructors I had at Perk, my transition to the university was made easier,” she said. “Because of the great educational foundation I received there, I have been able to overcome many hardships and difficulties in education and in life. For instance, Mrs. Brenda Batey, retired foreign language instructor at Perk, really encouraged me to further my foreign language education and gave me a solid foundation that I use every day here. Additionally, taking the Spanish for Law Enforcement class really convinced me to major in Spanish in the first place. I guess you could say that my experiences at Perk were some of the first steps I took in my long journey to Mexico City.”
