Dan Coleman

The fee you paid for this trip will cover all your basic necessities: food, hotel and transportation in country, with one small exception. The Argentine airport will charge you US$18 as a departure tax, and that is NOT included in the fee. So I suggest that you secrete a $20 bill or the equivalent in a recessed part of your wallet or purse so that when you depart the country it will be available for this use.

You should also bring a few more dollars with you for discretionary use. While we provide all the meals and drinks (except acoholic beverages), including all the bottled water you want to drink on the work site, we do not provide much in the way of snacks, assuming you are snacker. You also surely will want to take home some souvenirs and we will provide plenty of opportunities for you to bolster the Argentinean economy in this way. It all depends on you.

Of course, you will have to exchange your currency for the Argentinean currency “the Peso", and the best way to do that is by using a ATM (Caja Automatica). These usually give the best exchange rates, and every bank will have one on its premises. Money exchangers will buy your dollars but at a much less favorable exchange rate. One note of caution: the money exchange booth in the customs hall at the airport does not give a good rate. Wait until you go through customs and then use the ATM in the airport’s public area. If you are arriving before the 14th, you will need to pay for your own transportation to the city. The driver will probably ask to be paid in local currency, so exchange some money at the airport before catching a ride, preferably by using an ATM.

In an earlier “soft communication", Frank passed on some tips about bags and packing. I am going to elaborate a bit on his comments and suggest further that you bring along one bag that can fit in the overhead bin and another smaller bag that can fit under the seat in front of you. Why do I suggest this? According to news reports, airline flight delays in the U.S. are at an all time high. Moreover, because people are checking their bags more frequently, bags are being lost at the highest rate ever. Most of you have a connecting flight which increases considerly the possibility that a checked bag will not make it to your connecting flight even if you do, particularly if you change carriers. So, if you can hand carry your bags with you on the flight then you know you will not have this problem when you arrive - happy but groggy - in Buenos Aires.

As you know, the Department of Homeland Security has placed restrictions on what you can carry with you in the cabin on U.S. flights. Go to www.dhs.gov to check this out before deciding whether or not to check your bags.

If you still decide to check a bag or two, be sure to attach a nametag to each bag’s handle or somewhere else on the outside as well as place a nametag inside the bag. You might also want to put the contact information for Habitat for Humanity in Argentina on these bags. See the Emergency Contacts List that I sent you a few days ago for this information.

Still the odds are very low that your bag will be lost even if it is checked, and if it is mislaid it will show up on the next flight, normally the next day as well, and be delivered to Habitat’s office in Buenos Aires before we leave for Santa Fe. Nevertheless,I am going to hand carry both of my bags on the plane to Argentina, as I always do.

Most of you have worked previously on a construction site somewhere, so what I going to discuss here may be overkill but I need to say it regardless. Bring your Habitat T-Shirt; you will definately want to wear it on our first day at the work site, and maybe everyday if you wish. Also you might want to wear it on the plane to Argentina, particularly if you are going to be on the same plane with another, yet still unknown, team member (as is the case with four of you). Since you will be sharing a room, you might want to bring ear plugs to help you sleep, if you know what I mean.
Frank has also talked about what to wear on the build site, but let me add a couple of items. A hat, a cap, just something on your head; the sun might get pretty strong by mid-day. Gloves fit for construction work (not garden gloves) is a must. You saw the photos taken by the previous team in Santa Fe where they were digging a pit latrine using shovels, and they wore gloves! Plastic goggles is another must; just make sure they are the type that will fit over your everyday glasses if you have to wear them at the same time. Finally, work pants. I looked at those photos mentioned early and in every instance where I could identify the type of pants the team members were wearing, they were long pants. So be sure to bring a pair of long pants, perhaps the type that can be unzipped at the knees to make short pants. Or just bring a pair of short pants just in case. Does anyone have any other suggestions or questions?

I have some good news and some bad news. Let’s take the good news first so as to put you in the right mood for the bad. Argentina is a major producer of wine, the 6th largest in the world. It is probably better known for its reds, and one in particular, a varietal called Malbec. In fact, Argentina introduced the world to Malbec, and Malbec was a major factor in the development of Argentina as an important wine producer and exporter. Now the bad news. Many of you may want to sample a glass or two of Malbec or one of the many fine wines in Argentina, BUT, if you do, you have to Buy Your Own (BYO). Habitat for Humanity’s policy is that the purchase of wine, or for that matter, any alcoholic beverage, is not included in the fee that you paid for this Build. You may consume such beverages, but you pay for them. There will still be plenty of non-alcoholic beverages available for you to drink that are included in the fee - juices, soft drinks, water, etc. - both with your meals and on-the-build site. So don’t despair, you won’t go thristy. So if you imbide from time to time, bring a few extras dollars. For the most part, wine in Argentina is priced competitively, as the economists might say. So - Salud!

Last Saturday I spent the morning working in Habitat Valdosta’s warehouse making wall panels for a new home that will be trucked to the build site and erected on the concrete foundation. I was assigned the job of making wooden window and door headers for this house, essentially a saw and hammer job. There was a good sized crew working that morning (it was a half day build), including faces that I see nearly every time I work on a build here, one of whom was a lady born in Argentina, now living as a US citizen in south Georgia and a devoted Habitat worker. There were also new faces, many being students at Valdosta State University who were members of the Tri-Beta Club (a biology honor society). It was hot and humid as a deep south town can be at the end of summer, but it was better than working out doors. Two big floor fans and gallons of water kept us at it. We worked hard but we also took time to rest, talk and socialize, something that we will also do in Argentina. Naturally the Argentine lady and I talked a lot; she is from Buenos Aires but has been here most of her adult life here and speaks English very well. Alas, I didn’t get a chance to work on my Spanish. After I returned home to rest (recuperate may be a better word) for the remainder of the day, I called Frank to discuss some administrative details for the upcoming trip. To my surprise he told me that he had also been working on a Habitat build last week in Hertford. I hope other members of the team have a chance to do the same before we leave and I also hope Frank will make a comment here and tell you what he did on his build. Frank, your turn.

Frank has already written you about kind the weather we might expect to experience while in Santa Fe. But, why now follow the weather yourself. There are two websites that you might want to look at, particularly as we are now closing in on our departure date, about four weeks hence, except for those of you leaving a little early. One website is www.worldweather.org while the other is www.weatherbase.com. Believe it or not, the latter gives the weather forecast for some 80 Argentinean cities, yet does not give it for Santa Fe, clearly one of the 10 largest cities in the country. Have no fear, it does give the weather for the city of Parana which is just across the river from Santa Fe, and much smaller in size, so just assume that Santa Fe is the same. Right now, the weather in Santa Fe and Buenos Aires looks pretty good to all of us who have sweated through a hot summer. Remember that the seasons are reversed in Argentina.

This blog is being written for the benefit of the 15 volunteers who will go to Argentina next month to help build houses for Habitat for Humanity over a two week period. It will be used before we leave as a way for me to pass on information to the participants and, I hope, to get some feedback from them.
When we are down in Argentina it will be used to inform our friends and relatives back home about our activities there. I hope to be able to gain access to the internet each day, log on this blog, and then I, or others on our team, will write a brief description about our work on the site that day, plus anything interesting that we might have done in our spare time. I will also try to note the comments that the home folks post for a particular volunteer’s benefit and then pass that comment on to him/her.
I encourage everyone who reads this blog to share its address with other people. Not only is it a way of communication but it can also help to promote Habitat and its Global Village program.
I look forward to receiving any comments and questions you might have.