www.borderlinks.org

General Information

In many ways the border region is a country unto itself. It is important that we, as a group, approach our time on the border in an open-minded, adventurous manner.

We ask that you come prepared to be flexible. Our plans may change from one day to the next, and we sometimes experience difficulty trying to stay on a fixed schedule in Mexico. No matter what happens, we'll learn and we'll have fun.

Spanish

It is not necessary to speak Spanish in order to participate in a BorderLinks trip. A BorderLinks staff person will interpret for group activities and meetings. However, for those people who do not speak Spanish, you should be aware that it will sometimes be difficult to communicate verbally with people we meet. Most participants view the obstacles to verbal communication as an opportunity to explore alternative ways of forming bonds with the people they meet.

Living Arrangements

In Tucson we will stay together in the BorderLinks complex which includes a dormitory facility for up to forty people. Cooking and cleaning tasks are shared by the group.

Most groups will spend several days in Mexico and our living arrangements there may vary. Luxuries that we're accustomed to in North America, such as hot water or even running water, may not be available. Many of our groups stay at the Casa de la Misericordia (“House of Mercy”) in Nogales. The Casa facility is on a one acre lot. Besides kitchen and dining hall facilities where lunch is served to kids each day, the property includes dormitory style housing and shower/bathroom facilities with (usually) hot, running water.

Most trips also include a trip to a migrant shelter. We often stay overnight at the shelter, on the floor in a separate room to ourselves. The shelters have pads for sleeping on the floor, but participants should bring their own sleeping bags. Also, for large groups (over 20), consider bringing your own groundpad as the number of pads provided by the shelter is limited.

We are aware that some folks have special physical needs, and we try to be as sensitive as possible to those. If there are special considerations that cause you to wonder about your ability to participate in a trip, please contact the BorderLinks coordinators and we'll do all that we can to accommodate you.

Personal Stress

Obviously, the trip is not meant to be a relaxing vacation. Rather it is a time for new ideas, relationships, study, and reflection.

It is important for you to recognize that this trip will be physically and emotionally draining. You will be expected to adapt quickly to living with a new group of people, some of whom you may never have met before. You will be bombarded with a lot of new information and experience—much of which may be difficult to understand and process fully. You may experience some level of culture shock—the poverty that we will see will probably be difficult to absorb—and feel uncomfortable some of the time.

We believe that feeling uncomfortable is an important part of learning. The experience has been very positive for those who have come, and we hope you'll join us.

Group Responsibility and Participation

It is important to recognize the importance of experiencing this trip as part of a community. We will be living, eating, learning, and discussing together during our trip.

Past trips have taught us that it is disruptive and hard on the group when participants skip some of the sessions or come and go during the week. For this reason we ask that you commit yourself to be a part of the entire trip. If you have family or friends that you would like to visit in the area, please try to schedule extra time with them before or after our time together.

Occasionally someone arrives for one of our trips without having arranged appropriate immigration papers to enter Mexico or re-enter the U.S. after being in Mexico. If it becomes impossible for one of our participants to cross the border or remain with the group because of that person's own failure to take responsibility for his or her travel documents, we will attempt to make the participant as comfortable as possible at our campus in Tucson while the rest of the group continues their trip. We will not be responsible for providing staffing, program, or meals for that individual.

Packing List

We ask participants to be fully engaged in the delegation experience while with BorderLinks. Please leave ipods/mp3 players, DVD players and disc players at home and limit or avoid cell phone use while on the delegation.

If you will be staying at someone’s home, the best way to thank them for their hospitality is by sharing pictures of your family. Please do not bring gifts.

You may want to carry spending money for any additional purchases on the road. There is no need to exchange to pesos, since dollars are accepted on the border.

Health and Safety

Health

As you may be aware, Mexico is a country that lacks much of the infrastructure that we take for granted in the United States. That reality brings with it a complex array of health-related issues. In Nogales, and other border cities, there are many neighborhoods that lack running water, electricity, basic sanitation measures, and safe drinking water.

The most common health problem that travelers to Mexico and Latin America experience is "travelers' diarrhea," sometimes called la turista ("the tourist"), resulting from contaminated food or water. This can generally be prevented by paying attention to a few basic guidelines, such as always washing one's hands before eating or drinking, drinking only purified water, and choosing foods that have been thoroughly cooked. Bouts with diarrhea can typically be treated by replacing lost fluids, continuing to eat, and, if necessary, taking Pepto Bismol and/or Imodium. These medications usually allow you to continue functioning with relative ease. Traveler's diarrhea can be uncomfortable, but it is almost always self-limiting and rarely dangerous. In a few, more severe cases, antibiotics may be necessary.

In addition to traveler's diarrhea, there is always the risk of other, more significant health concerns, such as hepatitis A, typhoid, intestinal parasites, and encephalitis. However, to give you a sense of the magnitude of this risk (which is minimal), we are only aware of handful of cases in our history as an organization in which a BorderLinks participant returned home with anything more serious than a queasy stomach. Again, the risk of these more significant illnesses can usually be reduced with the same precautions—assuring that you are eating and drinking safe foods, washing hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and clean water, receiving the appropriate vaccinations in a timely way before coming, and using insect repellent in mosquito-ridden areas.

In the next section, we offer a few recommendations based on advice from health professionals, and our experiences with groups traveling along the border.

Before You Come

Please be sure to bring any medication that you use along with you on the trip, and wherever possible, a copy of your prescription. You may also want to bring a small first-aid kit with handi-wipes, anti-bacterial gel, aspirin/Tylenol, insect repellent, and Pepto Bismol or Imodium.

Please make sure that you have had all of your common "childhood" vaccinations, and that you have had a tetanus booster in the past ten years. Talk with your health-care provider about your plans to travel, and discuss any personal health concerns you may have.

Our medical advisors recommend that, because we will be spending our time and eating meals in poor communities, participants should consider being immunized against typhoid and hepatitis A. Immunization against hepatitis B is suggested only for participants in longer-term programs, such as Semester on the Border participants or interns. Typhoid immunizations should be completed by at least two weeks before traveling to the border; hepatitis A series should be completed at least one month before your trip. This requires some planning ahead, so please be attentive to the time-line required to complete these medical procedures. Call your health care provider, local public health clinic, or traveler's clinic for more detailed information. We do not necessarily encourage participants on a one-day trip to immunize against these diseases. Your risk is limited by the brevity of your stay. However, it is ultimately your responsibility to make the decisions about how you want to protect your health.

Both of these diseases mentioned above (typhoid and hepatitis) are preventable by good sanitation and proper hygiene. We will discuss additional guidelines during our orientation before the trip, offering more detailed suggestions about how to avoid ingesting contaminated food or water. Although typhoid and hepatitis A are rare in the United States and in other "developed" countries, hepatitis A outbreaks may occur even in countries where there is adequate infrastructure to provide good sanitation. We recommend that participants get vaccinated for hepatitis A (which lasts years with a booster and is a good preventive measure in general), or a simple immune serum globulin shot which lasts three months and takes effect immediately.

Typhoid is caused by bacteria in the typhi family. It is transmitted through food and water contaminated by sewage or from the unwashed hands of an infected food handler.

Hepatitis A is an infection of the liver. Hepatitis A is highly contagious and is transmitted hand to mouth. The most common way to contact it is if a person preparing food, who carries the infection, does not wash her/his hands thoroughly after using the restroom.

While You Are With Us

Early in your BorderLinks experience, the staff will facilitate a session to discuss more in depth any health concerns and questions you may have. At this time, our staff will also go over guidelines about simple ways to select safe food, protect yourself against traveler's diarrhea, and address cultural concerns surrounding the matter of eating and drinking with our hosts. During your trip, BorderLinks will have a supply of purified water available and will work with our Mexican hosts to assure safe food preparation and handling.

Five Easy Ways to Stay Healthy

1. Always wash your hands before eating or drinking. If possible, use clean water, soap, and a dry, clean towel, or some sort of antibacterial hand gel. This is a simple and very culturally appropriate way to dramatically decrease your exposure and risk.
2. Drink safe, purified water. Always use water that has been boiled or is purified, even for brushing your teeth (avoid opening your mouth in the shower, etc.).
3. Watch Out for "Hidden Water." Be aware of the water borne in raw fruits and vegetables (such as lettuce and tomatoes on a taco), as well as the fact that they may have been washed in unsafe water. Watch out for unpurified ice and uncooked salsa. You can enjoy raw fruits that have protective skins, such as bananas, oranges, and mangoes.
4. Enjoy yourself! You can safely enjoy well-cooked foods, bottled beverages, breads, pasteurized cheese, tortillas, and packaged candies or snacks. Try not to let these tips get in the way of simply enjoying the warm and generous hospitality of our Mexican hosts.
5. Find a Balance. Too much stress or compulsion over staying healthy can make you miss a lot of the joy in your experience. Too little attention may also contribute to becoming ill. Find a healthy balance between protecting your health and being open to new and different experiences.

Safety

As you may be aware, there has been a rise in drug and human smuggling and a subsequent increase in militarization of the border over the last several years. That said, we make our best efforts to minimize our contact with these areas. Generally, traveling on a BorderLinks trip is like traveling in a big city in any country. We will give a full orientation on safety information upon the group’s arrival, but we generally ask our participants to follow common sense principles like walking only during reasonable daylight hours, staying in pairs or small groups, not wandering too far away, etc. As a bi-national organization, we rely heavily on the wisdom of the Mexico staff to make decisions about safety while on the Mexico portion of the trip.

Emergency Contacts

In order to focus fully on your trip and the other participants, please make an effort to leave work and other concerns at home.

During our time in Mexico, BorderLinks staff will have regular contact with co-workers in Tucson. In the case of an emergency, please advise family or friends to call the BorderLinks office at (520) 628-8263 so the message can be relayed to the BorderLinks staff with your group in Mexico.

If there is a medical or family crisis that must be dealt with outside of office hours, you may reach a staff person on the on-call phone at (520) 449-2104. If you have failed to contact a staff member on the on-call phone and the call is urgent, call (520) 623-7718 or (520) 204-6295.

Note that Arizona does not have Daylight Savings Time. During the winter months we are on Mountain time, and in the summer we are on Pacific time.

After Your Trip

If you become ill shortly after your trip, be sure to tell your health care provider where you have been (including such details as home stays, rural visits, and the like). Our medical advisors suggest that trip participants (except for those on day trips) may want to consider receiving a tuberculosis skin test eight weeks after returning from the border.