HCET Harvest 1-27

This week was the first time I was able to harvest with refugees and I quickly learned that working with them makes harvesting much more fun. Pro volunteer Joanne brought three refugee women from Bhutan to harvest with us, and one refuge from the Congo came. These are countries I’ve only ever read about and they seem so mysterious to me. It was interesting to hear from the women what their native countries were like, especially when compared to Tucson. I can only imagine what a shock it must be to move from those tropical regions to the desert of the Southwest. Trying to communicate with the refugees made me realize what a difficult transition coming to the United States must be for them. They impressed me with how quickly they are learning and adapting to life here. It would be so difficult to try to learn a language, get a job, pay for housing and food, and take care of a family in a foreign country. I left the Friday harvest with increased respect and understanding for all refugees learning to live in the United States.