$740 for a “Life Experience” (and T-Shirts)

Rocket Frog owner Michael Kruchawski did not like the way we characterized his Costa Rica internship program in last month's issue, writing that his interns don't clean the pools or bathrooms. "We have a service that cleans the pool, and a maid service that cleans our bathrooms . . . The cost of the dive master internship is $740 [which includes] all course materials, three T-shirts and use of all dive equipment during the internship . . . Each one dives 80 to 140 dives during the six-week program . . . The interns learn how to be excellent divemasters, how to mix gases, how to maintain equipment, inspect and clean tanks; they learn point-of-sale operations and customer service, seamanship and boat operations . . . Interns require a good deal of mentoring to be successful, and the permanent local staff provides that guidance.

"With the exception of the Costa Ricans who wanted to work in the recreational dive industry, none of our other interns have sought employment diving with the exception of one -- she moved on to become an instructor and has since moved to the Philippines for work . . . Eighty percent of our interns are in Costa Rica participating in the program for a life experience! They are not seeking future employment at this time in the dive industry, even though they leave here fully qualified to do so."