Mexico – PWS Intro Trip – 9 Day Teen Learning Community
March 25 – April 2, 2024
Are you new to the idea of living in community? Nervous about being away from home for such a long period of time? Wonder what this whole worldschooling thing is all about? Then this retreat is for you!
Join Project World School for our this short-form retreat, which will introduce you to the concept of learning from the world, and co-creating community. Why is learning in community important? Please take a moment to read this article called Inspiration, Osmosis and Empathy: What Can We Learn From Each Other? written by researcher and unschooling advocate
Our unique 9 day learning community takes place in Mexico’s Guanajuato with an emphasis on cultural and customary exploration. During our stay we’ll immerse ourselves in the local culture and explore the history and traditions of local Mexico all while practicing the principles of trust, teamwork and leadership. Ever thought about attending one of our month-long trips? This trip is a perfect introduction to the Project World School Teen Retreats!
The 2024 Mexico Retreat is a temporary learning-community with a focus on immersive learning. Project World School is not a typical study abroad program as it takes advantage of the power of a learning-community to produce collaborative goals, knowledge acquisition, personal development and changes in global perspectives.
01 WHEN
March 25 – April 2, 2024
02 WHERE
Guanajuato - Mexico
03 WHO
8 or more participants (ages 12-16) self-directed learners, unschooolers, homeschoolers & worldschoolers
04 COST
$1750 USD - Early Bird Rate (Before December 1st)
$1899 USD - Normal Rate (After December 1st)05 STATUS
Open & Accepting Applications
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
01 WHAT'S INCLUDED
Full accommodation for the duration of the learning community retreat
• All airport transfers
• All ground transportation
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinners during the retreat
• Entrance fees to all the included attractions
• All workshops, talks, guided tours, and classes throughout the retreat.
• Filtered drinking water to refill your water bottles (water bottle not included).
• Fun!
02 WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED
• International airfare
• Laundry
• Snacks
• Souvenirs
• Other personal items
• Meals on travel days (arrival & departure)
• International flights from your home country to each retreat location are not included
03 MEALS
Many of our meals will be prepared by our team in our hostel. Breakfasts will consist of fresh fruit, juice, eggs, fresh yogurts, cheeses and local breads. Lunches will be a combination of local dishes, salads, fish and other local Mexican flavors. On the days we have full-day outings, we’ll prepare and pack lunches for our trip, including sandwiches, fruit, chips and juice. Dinners will be a combination of self-prepared meals in our lodging and dinners in local restaurants. We will make every effort to accommodate everyone’s diet restrictions including having vegetarian and gluten-free options. Please indicate any special needs on your application.
04 ACCOMMODATIONS
During the Mexico – PWS Intro Retreat – 9 Day Teen Learning Community, we will stay in a hostel in Guanajuato, Mexico. Generally, teen participants always occupy dorm rooms that consist of bunk beds, so between 4-8 of our teen participants will be sharing a room at any given time.
05 PACKING LIST
Packing List
What to Bring?
You’ll be gone for a nine days, and for those of you who haven’t traveled for long periods of time, we’ve prepared this list in case you might need some assistance with deciding what you should pack. So here it is, our packing list ‘suggestions‘! Our recommendation to you is not to over do it. You’ll have to haul everything you pack around initially, and there are weight restrictions through all airlines. Also, keep in mind you will be living in shared space. There will be laundry available, and you will be able to purchase replacement shampoos, lotions, etc. during the trip, so no need to haul around ‘family size’ bottles of anything.
NOTE: Remember the list below is a suggested list! Feel free to modify, based on your own needs.
Packing List:
Clothing
1 Long Sleeve Shirt
1 Long pants (I would recommend wearing this on the plane)
4 T-shirts
3 shorts
1 raincoat
1 sunhat with a brim
sneakers or good walking shoes
sandals
personal items / toiletries
tooth paste & toothbrush
soap
shampoo & conditioner
sunscreen
lotion
insect repellant
travel towel
personal electronics
headlamp
small flashlight
camera
laptop computer
mp3 player/iPod
miscellaneous
passport
copy of passport
water bottle
day pack
anything you will need to lead a session
sunglasses
tiny first aid kit
duct tape
laundry bag
small padlock
ATM card
small journal or notepad and pens
musical instrument
costume, wigs, funky hats, etc. (if you are into that sort of thing)
sketch book
SCHEDULE
Schedule for Mexico
Day 1 – Arrivals – Travel day
Day 2 – Teambuilding Workshop
Day 3 – City Exploration + History of Guanajuato
Day 4 – Day of Art, Culture & Music + Callejones
Day 5 – Cooking Class + Sessions
Day 6 – Day of Service (TBD)
Day 7 – Mummies of Guanajuato + Markets
Day 8 – El Cerro De La Bufa – Day Hike and Nature Exploration
Day 9 – Travel Day
*Schedule is subject to shift
FACILITATORS & PARTNERS FOR THIS RETREAT
LAINIE LIBERTI
TRIP CO-FACILITATOR
Lainie Liberti, is a Project World School co-founder and facilitator who has organized and run over 25 international retreats since 2013. She is passionate about learning, archaeology, community and empowering young learners. She also mentors teens through her programs at Transformative Mentoring for Teens. To read more about her, click here.
MIRO SIEGEL
TRIP CO-FACILITATOR
Miro Siegel is an 24 year old traveler and youth facilitator for Project World School. His learning is self directed and influenced by the ever changing world around him. To him, this is Worldschooling. He aspires to bring cultural awareness and immersion to more people, because he truly believes that travel can bring peace to the world and inspire learning without measure. Miro is passionate about world politics, history, mythology and rock climbing.To read more about him, click here.
NEW FER
TRIP CO-FACILITATOR
Inspired by his grandfather’s expression, “If you don’t do it yourself, no one’s going to do it for you”, Fer loves learning new ways of creating and sharing experiences through art.
Fer is twenty seven years old, an avid watercolor enthusiast, digital artist, film maker and print maker. He believes creativity is the optimal way of sharing life, love and knowledge and ultimately connecting to one’s humanity.
To read more about him, click here.
