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Instructions for arrival in Mexico

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Airport

• On arrival in Mexico City Airport, when going through Immigration, you may be pulled aside by Immigration officers for an hour or more. If this happens, please ask the Immigration officers to call CIMMYT (the contact number is listed below), so that the driver is informed by radio to keep waiting for you at the airport exit. Make your customs declaration as accurate as possible, and bring doctor’s prescriptions on letterhead for all medications that you have in your luggage other then aspirin or “over the counter” products. Make sure that you have the phytosanitary permits for Mexico well in advance if you are bringing seed, cultures, plants, soil or other materials with you.
• Please keep any documents that you have completed or received, as you will need them later (upon your departure).
• CIMMYT will be happy to assist you with arrival/departure transportation. In order to ensure that we have the correct arrival/departure time for you, please provide us with your flight details.
• Mexico City International Airport (Benito Juarez) is very large and has 2 terminals. In Terminal 1 there are two separate international exits (E1 and E2) and passengers may arrive through either.
• CIMMYT drivers will usually go from one exit to other looking for the passengers. Terminal 2 only has one exit for international arrivals.
  Upon arrival you should look for a CIMMYT driver holding a yellow sign (CIMMYT black letters) outside of the customs area - International arrivals, or in front of the information desk located between gates E1 and E2 (closer to E1). In the unlikely event that you cannot find the CIMMYT driver because of a missed connection, etc., please go to your airline counter and request their help to call CIMMYT’s 24 hour phone number 5804-2004 – ext.1251 or 1290 (a local call from the airport) or (595) 9521900.
  Besides airline staff or immigration officers, please do not accept help from anyone else in the airport to call CIMMYT, nor from public drivers offering ‘free’ services. By telephone, ask that CIMMYT send another driver to pick you up. Or, for your safety and protection, you should hire only official airport transportation at the airport. To hire an official airport taxi, purchase transportation tickets at the airport near the National exit. However, CIMMYT can not reimburse airport taxi costs.
• CIMMYT’s travel service (BCD Travel) has an office at the airport inside the international business club (located in Terminal 2, building D, on the 2nd level located above the international arrivals area) and they can also assist you in contacting CIMMYT. Their office hours are 08:30 to 18:00, telephone number 5764-6900, extension 1005.
• If you are arriving on weekends or holidays, please obtain in advance the home phone number of a contact person in the CIMMYT program you are visiting, for you to call in case the other options do not work.

Luggage

• If your luggage to Mexico is lost or delayed, or you wish to reconfirm your airline ticket, please contact the Capacity Building office or Mr. Guillermo Lopez, BCD Travel in CIMMYT, extension 1212.

Money exchange

• In the airport arrival hall there are many money exchange offices and ATMs; however, you will also have the opportunity to exchange U.S. dollar checks, dollars, and traveler’s checks for pesos at the official exchange rate at the CIMMYT Cashier's Office.
• The Cashier's Office will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 14:00-16:00.
• Should you need to obtain money on the weekend, an ATM machine is located at the side of the
  Dormitory building.

CIMMYT location and weather

• CIMMYT headquarters is located at Km.45 of the Mexico-Veracruz highway. It is 3 kilometers past the town of Texcoco, State of Mexico, or approximately 45 minutes from the airport, in a rural area.
• Mexico City / El Batan are situated 2,200 m (7,575 ft) above the sea level. The rainy season is June-September. Dress is informal. A sweater and/or jacket for evening and early morning are usually required. Please bring comfortable shoes for field or tourist visits.
• Weather data – Mexico City (21 years average)

CIMMYT contact details

• Complete address:

Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo (CIMMYT)
Km 45 Carretera Mexico-Veracruz
El Batan, Texcoco, Edo. de Mexico, D.F.
Tel. +52-5804-2004; Fax. +52-5804-7558

• Please consider that CIMMYT’s Administrative Offices are closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mexican holidays, but security staff is available for emergencies. (English language skills are limited after 21:00 and on weekends). Your emails and faxes will be read by CIMMYT offices from Monday through Friday 09:00 to 17:00 local time.

For emergencies at CIMMYT headquarters, El Batan, please call extensions 1251 or 1290.

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Housing at CIMMYT

Ms. Nalleli Flores (n.flores@cgiar.org) and housing staff can help you with housing matters Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00. Housing office - extensions 1248/1289.

Accommodation prices (as 1st of January 2008):

• Expenses for laundry services are separate from the room cost. Laundry expenses can be paid at the Housing office.
• Housing services include a living room with television with English speaking channels; billiards, table tennis room, tennis courts, and a gym (key available at the front desk outside of TV room in the Housing office).
• The power supply at CIMMYT headquarters is 127V-60Hz.
• Walking inside the fenced compound is safe.
• Cooking, electric grills, or coffee pots are not permitted in your rooms.
• Cooking is not permitted in the Housing facilities unless the house or apartment is equipped with a kitchen. Any damages will be your responsibility.

Laundry Room

• Please take your clothes to the Laundry Room located on the first floor of the Dormitory building, Monday through Friday, before 08:30, except on holidays. Fill out the list in your room and place clothes in the plastic bag. Washed and pressed clothing will be returned by 17:00 on the same day. (Dry cleaning has to be arranged through the Housing office and paid with personal funds.) Pressing service at CIMMYT will be provided only for garments sent for washing.
• If you receive an article of clothing that is not yours, please return it promptly. Someone else needs it. Neither the Laundry Room nor the Housing offices are responsible for any objects left in your laundry or for unclaimed clothing.
• Please do not send delicate garments to the Laundry, since washing machines and dryers will be used. Alternatively, you may use Texcoco laundromats using personal funds or wash delicate garments yourself.

Visitors

• For security reasons, outside visitors are not permitted in the rooms. Visitors are welcome in the lounges, the Rincon Mexicano, the cafeteria, and public places.

Quietness, TV Room, Dormitory Building

• The TV room at El Batan is intended exclusively for use by occupants of the Dormitories and Visiting Scientist rooms. For reasons of hygiene and cleanliness, food and drinks are not allowed in the games room or the TV room. Any damages caused by food in these areas or in your room will be charged to the visitor responsible.
• Please be respectful of others and observe quiet hours in the rooms and dormitories after 22:00.
• Your cooperation is requested to ensure care is taken with the furniture and appliances. Please ask for the key to the TV room from the Dormitories Office or the Security Office, ext. 1251.

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Food services at CIMMYT

CIMMYT cafetería

• CIMMYT Cafeteria (extension 1297) is open every day including weekends and holidays:

• There are generally two or three choices of food offered in the cafeteria. Food items other than those on the menu, such as your choice of eggs, fried beef or chicken, omelets, yogurt and sandwiches, can also be ordered at the counter. Lunchtime beverages in the pitchers are free of charge.
• Please inform the staff if you have any dietary restrictions or any other special requirements.
• Boxed lunches can be prepared on request from the cafeteria if you are leaving for another station or a field trip. You should order the lunch the previous day before 13:00 if you are leaving the next morning.

Snack Bar/Coffee Shop, Main Office Building, lower floor

• There is a Snack Bar and Coffee Shop on the lower floor of the main office building that is open from 08:30 to 16:30 hrs.

Rincón Mexicano

• The Rincon Mexicano is an extension of the cafeteria that is open at lunchtime from 12:30 - 14:30 and has a television.

Soft drinks and snacks

• An automatic vending machine with soft drinks and snacks is located on the lower level of the main CIMMYT office building outside the Snack Bar, and operates 24 hours with peso coins.
• There is also an automatic vending machine of snacks and drink located in the entrance of the
  dormitory building.

Sport Facilities at CIMMYT

Tennis Courts

• Hours are: 06:00 to 21:00 hrs. Please bring your own equipment. No guests allowed.

Swimming Pool

• Hours are: 07:00 to 19:00.
• Wear proper swimming attire; take a shower before entering the pool and follow pool regulations. No guests are allowed.
• For reasons of hygiene and cleanliness, food and drinks are not allowed in the swimming pool.

Gymnasium

• Hours are: 06:00 to 21:00 hrs. Please request the key at Housing or Security Offices.
• For information about regular exercising classes (zumba, yoga, aerobics) in the gymnasium contact the Capacity Building office.

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Medical Services at CIMMYT

• Medical services at CIMMYT headquarters are available to staff and official visitors at no charge. The doctor is on campus Monday to Friday from 09:30 to 13:00 in dormitory room #1.
• In case of any emergency (sickness, etc.) please contact the Capacity Building office or the Housing office. They will give you assistance; otherwise, please call the switchboard (ext. 1260 or 1280) or ext. 1913 (house of the CB coordinator). Bilingual help is available only until 21:00 Monday through Friday. Help is available 24 hours a day through the Security Office (ext. 1251 or 1290).

Health Insurance – course participants only!

• You are covered under Major Medical Expense Insurance. Under this policy, the patient is required to pay the deductible for medical expenses (1,400 pesos), plus 10% co-insurance; insurance will pay the remaining 90% of the cost. In case of an accident, you do not have to pay the deductible or co-insurance if you advise the insurance company within 10 days of the accident.
• If the price of medicine is less than 1,400 pesos, it must be purchased using personal funds.
• Medical insurance DOES NOT cover any optical or dental expenses unless they are the result of an accident while in Mexico. In addition, insurance will not reimburse expenses in Mexico for health check ups, homeopathic treatments, pregnancy and childbirth, psychiatric/ psychological treatment, aesthetic, dietetic, acupuncture, AIDS and treatment of some preexisting illnesses.
• If the CIMMYT doctor is not available, Major Medical Expense Insurance will cover you, according to the following rules:
  • Go to only one doctor, unless the doctor recommends in writing that you see another one (specialist). CIMMYT has names of bilingual doctors in Texcoco and will arrange an appointment.
  • Before going to an outside doctor, take a Medical Report Form with you. The Capacity Building office or the Housing office will provide this form. The doctor must fill out the page that reads "INFORME DEL MEDICO"(physicians report).
  • Take money with you, pay the doctor’s fees and obtain official receipts from both the doctor and the drugstore (farmacia in Spanish) when buying medicines. In the drugstore receipts, every medicine name must match what was written in the doctor’s prescription exactly. Otherwise, the insurance company cannot reimburse receipts. Cash register receipts are insufficient. Please ask for a "specified official itemized receipt" (factura desglosada/ recibo especificado).
  • You will be reimbursed only for medicines that are purchased under a medical prescription written by your doctor and only if the entire price exceeds $ 1,400 pesos. You must present the specified receipts and the prescription and the physician’s report in order to obtain reimbursement.

Life Insurance – course participants only!

• You are covered by Life Insurance. Please make certain that you have signed the proper form designating your beneficiary.

Telecommunications at CIMMYT

• At El Batan, please be brief on local telephone calls as we have a limited number of lines and extensions. CIMMYT's number when calling from Mexico City is (55) 5804-2004. From Texcoco the number is (595) 952-1900.
• If you wish to make telephone calls with the assistance of CIMMYT’s Telecommunications switchboard, please dial 1260 or 1280 and indicate the extension from which you are calling. Receipts for personal telephone calls will be sent to the Housing Office to be included in your bill.
• Please notice that through any telephone in Mexico, including the CIMMYT switchboard, you will be charged one minute for every attempt to complete a call, even if the line is busy or does not answer. After 5 p.m. and on weekends and holidays, the Telecommunications switchboard is closed. At these times and for emergencies, public magnetic card telephones are available at El Batan.

Incoming telephone calls

• You can receive incoming telephone calls in El Batan through our direct number 5804-7572 that rings outside of the Dormitory Building TV room. Please provide the persons calling you with this direct number or with your extension number (your room). The extension to the dormitory phone is 1248; the visiting scientist rooms have extension 1951/1952. Also, please provide your callers with your room number, so that you can be found easily. Please use these extensions sparingly, considering that other visitors may be expecting a call as well.

Outgoing telephone calls - local

• For outgoing local calls, dial 0 from a CIMMYT extension immediately followed by the eight-digit Mexico City number and 7 before a seven-digit Texcoco number. Such local calls are paid by CIMMYT.

Outgoing telephone calls – long distance (within Mexico)

• For local or long distance telephone calls, you can use the public telephones, LADATEL PHONES (Mexican Telephone service) - recommended because of their lower phone rates.
  These can be found at the entrance to the Housing Office and in front of the
  Telecommunications office (switchboard – main building).
• The magnetic cards needed to use these phones can be purchased at the Cashier's office or at the Housing office. You can use your AT&T or other phone cards without any charge if you make calls through CIMMYT’s switchboard.

International calls

• Please use CIMMYT’s switchboard (Telecom), extensions 1260 or 1280, in order to save money
  (they know the hours to call home at discounted rates). International calls from Mexico are very
  expensive. Making "collect" calls may save you money. In "collect" calls, the person called
  authorizes the operator to charge the number being called at usually lower rates from your
  country, instead of Mexico’s rates.
• For personal long distance calls, (during weekends or evening at El Batan), use the public magnetic card telephones located in the dormitory building. Dial your number and the machine will display how much you will be charged per minute. If possible, obtain the country and city codes prior to dialing, as operator-assisted calls are more expensive than direct dial. Magnetic cards are for sale at news stands, in Sanborns and other shops, and at El Batan at the Cashier’s Office, at the front gate Security Station, and at Dormitory Offices. We recommend that you buy
  the $100.00 peso card.
• All personal long distance and international calls must be paid from your personal funds.

Internet connectivity

• Cables for LAN/Internet connectivity of visitors' laptops are available through the housing office. A wireless connectivity antenna was installed in the Guest House where the permanent workstation is located, so guests with wireless connectivity support in their laptops can also work in the public areas of the Guest House and at other marked places. Important: Depending on the settings of your laptop, an IP number may need to be assigned to your computer before connectivity can be established. The CIMMYT IT help desk will be pleased to provide this. We ask that visitors connecting their computers to CIMMYT’s LAN have up-to-date anti-virus software installed and active on their computer and all the latest critical patches applied to their operating system. Help desk staff may wish to confirm this. Please note that the use of peer-topeer programs is not permitted at CIMMYT. Anyone introducing a virus or otherwise interfering with normal operations at CIMMYT will be asked to stay disconnected.
• The CIMMYT help desk can be reached at extension 5555 from any phone on campus. Helpdesk hours are 09:00 to 17:00.

Mail, fax

• Mail coming to El Batan for you will be delivered directly to your room. To send mail, please go to the mail room to have your letter weighed. They will inform you how many Mexican stamps will be required. Then purchase stamps at the Cashier’s Office, affix them to the letter and give the letter back to the mail room.
• We recommend that you inform your families and friends not to mail or send packages to you by courier while you are in Mexico. All packages are inspected by the local customs authority and charge expensive import taxes, even if merchandise is of little value or has been used before. Import taxes are considered a personal expense.

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Services & working hours at CIMMYT

• CIMMYT’s working hours for Support Services are from 09:00 to 17:00 Monday through Friday.

Library hours

• CIMMYT library staff only provides assistance during CIMMYT working hours. Library is open Monday through Friday 09:00 to 17:00 hrs. Any change in hours will be announced.

Capacity Building office hours

• Hours are: Monday to Friday, 09:00 - 17:00. Unless there is an urgent (emergency) need, please do not miss classes or course activities. The Capacity Building office will not provide any services to course participants while classes or course activities are in progress. Emergency number of CB coordinator is ext. 1913.

Holidays

• CIMMYT is in Mexico, therefore as much as possible, only Mexican holidays are observed as official holidays. CIMMYT cannot provide transportation for special days, such as national days at Embassies, religious holidays, etc. On weekends and CIMMYT's official holidays; you are welcome to attend religious or national celebrations by using public transportation.

No smoking policy

• Smoking is not permitted inside CIMMYT office buildings, the Atrium and the classrooms, or in the Cafeteria and TV room. Smokers should step outside of buildings during breaks or free time.

Rules of personal conduct

• Please refer to the attached "Rules of personal conduct" for CIMMYT staff and visitors, so you know the treatment you can expect from CIMMYT staff, and the conduct expected from visitors and course participants. This is a very important aspect of CIMMYT living. Please read carefully.

Ownership and confidentiality agreement

• All CIMMYT staff, course participants and visiting scientists need to sign the “Ownership and Confidentiality of Information Agreement” that obligates all of us to protect CIMMYT’s confidential information. You will receive a copy at the same time that you sign the agreement.

Suggestions/problems

• Please feel free to offer your suggestions, or if you have any problems please feel free to contact the Capacity Building office staff members. We wish you a successful experience at CIMMYT.

May you have a pleasant stay!

Capacity Building office
Norman Borlaug Building
Tel: +52-55-58042004 ext. 2111 or 2126

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