If yesterday was difficult, today was probably the most eye opening. Waking up at 5 in the morning is not something we like to think of as an ideal schedule day in and day out. Driving through the chilly morning air to a farm in the countryside, we all prepped ourselves for a hard days work, looking forward only to body aches and a small amount of food. We emerged, however, realizing that a migrant worker must endure this lifestyle for months, if not years on end. Despite the fact that we were working at multiple farms, the general consensus was that the work was draining, yet enlightening. Everyone emerged altered by the fact that they understood the hours of picking under the hot sun that it took to put everyday food on the table; a migrant worker is paid minimum wage or below for this labor. Soon after, we were to find out that we would be surviving for the rest of the day on these wages of a typical migrant worker--roughly $1.50 per person. This was difficult at first but turned into a good exercise that further opened our eyes to the extent people who earn this amount must go to buy something as simple as dinner. Despite all of these hardships however, we were reminded at the end of the day that all these people are still human just like us. At the migrant camps we visited in the evening, every single child was interested in the same games or crafts we had grown up with. While the clear distinction was that these children worked much harder to aid their families, they accepted almost as brothers and sisters nonetheless. They say that blood is thicker than water. We found that the world itself can act as one large family.
--Daniel and Justin
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