The Shack Experience – Day 3 – The Fields

Today the students had an opportunity to work in the fields along side many Mexicans. They woke up real early to prepare for the day and walk down to the highway to meet me there. I picked them up at 5:45am to be at the strawberry field at 6:00am. Once we got to the strawberry field we were told that the was no work for the day but we should wait around because maybe the boss can find some work for us. I thought this experience was great because it is the way it is for so many field workers; some days there is no work. If there is no work, then there is no pay and you have to dive into the little bit of savings that you have, or not eat. We waited a while and a man in a white pickup drove up and told us there is some work in another field. We drove to the other field and they were cleaning the irrigation hoses out of the rows in the field, from under pea plants. This was the job of the day. It was dirty and smelly from the chemicals that were used during irrigation. The students dove right in, gaining a few friends during the day, teaching them how to pull out the pipe and wrap it up properly. Some of the girls in the field seemed to like some of the our boys and were giggling and trying to talk to them all day long. By 10:00 the fog had lifted and the sun started to shine. I think at that point the students were tired and ready to go home, but they persisted. They told me at lunch time, that this job was hard, but still better than picking rocks. At 3:00pm the day was over and they were ready to go home. They were tired, a little grumpy and their hands hurt but they had gained a new respect for the people that work everyday, for years in the fields. Tomorrow they wake up, head to the beach and go clamming in the cold ocean water.