Meals: Breakfast is taken in our dining room while lunch or dinner are eaten in various San Miguel restaurants -- all picturesque, quaint and colorful, and often outside in flower-filled courtyards. Students always eat together. The food is fabulous! Students have many choices and menus are chosen weekly to guarantee everyone's satisfaction.  Cuisine includes Mexican, Italian, Chinese, as well as American. Vegetarians have diverse and interesting options.

Housing:  Participants live in a small, centrally located, charming hotel. There are 2 to 4 participants in a room depending on the size of the room and 1 to 2 rooms per casita.  The 7 casitas making up Casa Crayola are situated within a walled in property and have a central meeting room and dining room area. Among the 20 participants there are adult staff members who live with the participants in their hotel. These staff are responsible for the well-being of the students, making sure that they are healthy, participating in activities, and are integrating into the MexArt program and local environment. These staff members undergo in-depth training that includes group leadership, health, safety, adolescent needs, homesickness, culture shock, and Mexican culture and integration techniques.

Casa Crayola:  The home of MexArt since 2004, Casa Crayola is a small hotel with 7 casitas, which house MexArt's students and counselors. Throughout the rest of the year, the 7 casitas are rented to visitors to San Miguel. For MexArt's summer use, the casitas are modified, stripped of their living rooms to have more space for additional beds.  To view more information about Casa Crayola and see photos of the facility, visit

Health & Safety:  San Miguel is an extremely safe small town.  When crime does occur, it's usually in the nature of petty theft.  As a precaution, participants should not bring valuable items.

The water in Mexico is not potable. Participants will be educated upon arrival about drinking only bottled water and in what cases fruits and vegetables may be eaten. If sickness or injury occurs, MexArt has an arrangement with a local doctor who is on-call for MexArt participants. This doctor is capable of handling most medical situations. However, the hospital in San Miguel is more than capable of handling medical emergencies. Medical treatment in Mexico is much less expensive than in the United States.  However, since participants are responsible for the cost of any medical attention that may be needed, students should have their own medical insurance coverage that covers them while traveling in Mexico. Participants should check with their insurance carrier prior to travel.