Don’t look for this group of University of Wisconsin-Parkside students to be sunning on the beaches of Cancun over spring break.

Instead, a small group from Peggy James’ political science class left Friday to get their tan on while doing backbreaking work in Chiapas, Mexico — giving up comfy beds for hammocks, McDonald’s for food from the ground, and comfort for a crash course on how one group of people lives while defending their land and livelihood.

James first made the trip with students two years ago as part of a special class that studies Latin American politics.

And unlike tourist resorts that cater to the rich and keeps politics at bay, Chiapas is Ground Zero for a case study on how poor farmers have fought back against the Mexican government.

The people, calling themselves Zapatistas, after a famous Mexican Revolution general from 1910, took up arms against the government in 1994 to fight against the North American Free Trade Agreement, James said. They feared the government would kick them off their land and seize it for oil exploration while keeping all the profits.

The group seized four cities before the government pushed them back and cut them off economically and politically.

Both sides signed a peace accord in 1996, and the Zapatistas have resorted to peaceful resistance since, James said.

“It’s one of the poorest states, and the one thing they are protesting is their right to their own land,” James said. “They want to maintain land ownership and the ability to feed their children.

“With NAFTA, Chiapas has oil and the potential for certain trees with fast growth, and they’re afraid the government will take all their land away, and they won’t get anything in return.”

While the U.S. government has warned travelers to stay away from certain parts of Mexico because of political unrest and kidnappings, James said Chiapas is not part of that.

She and a group of eight, including two recent graduates from the first trip, left early Friday for the region.

“For me, I want to go into service like this,” said Emily Slovnik, 20, a sophomore. “I was a little hesitant when I learned of the conditions, but I don’t think that’s going to change my mind.”

To get to Chiapas, the group flew to Mexico City, then rode a bus for two hours before taking a pickup truck into the jungle.

Everything — from living to farming — is sparse.

“This is nothing like a spring break resort,” James said. “There are no hotels. We sleep in hammocks. We make fire and cook over the fire. We bathe in the river, and there are no bathrooms like we’re used to. They live without electricity. If they don’t have something, they can’t just run to the store. They don’t have gas stations, and there is no air conditioning.

“This is true community-service learning,” she added. “We’re going to work in town, cleaning out schools, helping with irrigation, seeing how they do it.”

The group took soccer balls and medical supplies, and even though they’ve learned and discussed the region in class, this provides a totally different perspective.

“You can read a book, but you’re never going to understand unless you’re there,” said senior Heidi Curtis, 22. “I’m excited and a little nervous.”

For many, it’s their first time out of the country.

“I did go to Canada, but that was only for a few hours,” said junior Camilla Simon. “I don’t think that’s the same.”

But it’s not so much about the excitement as it is the experience.

“Oh, more than anything, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime,” said Curtis. “This has real substance. It’s something we are going to remember forever.”