Student Life

Typical Day

While there are no "typical" days at TrackersTEAMS Jungle Marine Immersion, our way of learning and working does have a familiar rhythm. Each day begins with breathing and movement or martial arts training session to wake you up and keep you fit and healthy. We then may move into either a brief lecture or seminar on the topic to be studied that day. Lectures include expert instruction and engaging storytelling. Seminars are student directed conversations on course reading material that inspires new ideas and ways of thinking for the team. Hands on activities make up the largest portion of the day. Students apply themselves to the skills they are studying. We often wrap up the day with group storytelling and discussion of how our experience applies to our greater lives.

Life in the Village

Beyond scheduled field and class days, you are woven into a village of experience. Community members are always sharing laughter, knowledge and responsibility. We are essentially creating our own neo-nomadic mariner tribe. Culture is an important part of any tribe, and we fill ours with good food, music and storytelling. Each location brings with it a culture all its own. On the boat life is more rhythmic and we don't see other people as much. At Punta Mona we are immersed in a Permaculture Design Course with many other people from outside our program, here fun and play abound until late in the night. In Pavones, we live on our own little plot of shoreline in a primitive camp, using a modern house for cooking and community events. Travelers hanging out in Pavones bring with them fun and community.

Breaks and Time off

We have intensive amounts of time on and also some periods of intensive time off. During breaks students are welcome to stay at our base location at the time. We share meals and responsibilities. The breaks can also be used to go off and explore other parts of Costa Rica on your own.  In our daily schedule students are welcome to take time to themselves during class hours whenever they need. Our days move at a relaxed pace and adhere to the energy and enthusiasm of the group. If a skill is better taught at 8pm we may shift class hours accordingly.

Transportation

Students are responsible for finding their own transportation to and from our different course locations. While in Costa Rica we travel as a group on buses and ferries.

Living Without Rent

Life in this program will be that of the wanderer, the adventurer. Often on the move, we will make our home where we find ourselves each evening. While sail training in the Bay Area and on our offshore voyage to Portland, we will share tight quarters. Everyone will get their own bunk and a cubby. We will be like a waterborne wolf pack in our ocean den. The mind set we will develop as a tribe to undertake our initial sailing voyage will be a good lesson for us to utilize during the rest of our 9 months together. We will try to pack as little as possible and share as much as possible so as to lessen the load on everyone. It may be nice to know that this lifestyle won't last forever, and that at the end of 9 months we can all go back to a more luxurious stuff filled existence, but consider this 9 months of simple living as a life training.

Meals

Meals will be provided during our overnight expeditions and during our stay at Punta Mona. The rest of the time we will share food costs and cooking/cleaning responsibilities between everyone including staff. You are welcome to make your own meal separately though or go out for food whenever you want. Food is cheap in Costa Rica and when we order and cook in bulk we will save even more. Become more in tune with the seasons and their effects by learning to cook seasonally with fresh local food.

We will have access to a car and will make occasional trips to larger towns for supply runs and phone calls.

Vaccines

More information on vaccinations will be given to you upon registration.

Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Rabies
Routine Immunizations
Typhoid