Argentina Team Update #2
Day One, September 27
We all arrived on time to PDX and were able to get our 9 extra gear bags checked in with Jenn’s help. Then, up into the “blue yonder” for the next 18 hours as we made our way to Houston and then connected to a flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Flights are always difficult for me to relax enough to sleep. On top of being tired, I had a seat mate for the 9-hour flight to BA who was very comfortable practically linking arms the entire way. I will take that as a compliment that I appeared safe and approachable to another adult male. One crazy lesson I learned was after pressing the release button on my Contigo water bottle. The drink spout flung to the open position and the pressurized water shot out in a very respectable solid stream, drenching the elderly man in the row in front of me and even splattering over Darren’s book two rows ahead. Talk about making a spectacle of yourself… I apologized profusely and the rest of the flight went boringly well.
When we arrived in Buenos Aires, my stomach was in knots because last year Customs seized all our gear. This year I am happy to report that we cruised right on through without any incident. Thank you to all who prayed for us! This was a huge source of anxiety for our team.
On the way to Mar del Plata, we stopped at Mostaza, which is a fast-food burger chain where you can buy a burger drenched in cheese. They provide you with gloves to assist in eating the gloppy mess. I snapped a good picture of Mike Rider accepting the challenge of trying to tackle the big bloopy beef burger. He did great and kept his composure and dignity.
We rolled into Mar del Plata and met with Sebastian. We are feeling good about our training time and it looks like we will even be able to build some additional training props. We have a solid team, God is our focus, we have all our gear, and we are excited to get to know the 25 or so new fire fighters that we will meet on Monday. Like Mike Rider and his burger, it’s time to glove up and go to work.
