Work

1465444641_415d532246_bThe main difference between Mexico and the United States is that in Mexico you can sleep in sometimes, but in America there is no time to sleep in because it seems like you are always working. When I worked on the farm back home we could get up at whatever time we wanted because we did not have a boss, but in the United States the boss always told us what time we had to be at work. I never wanted to be late because then you run the risk of getting fired. The first job that I had in the United States was at a nursery. I worked there for three months with my brother, but the place eventually went out of business. The owner saw how hard we worked, and he referred us to another larger nursery in Buckeye, Arizona. I really enjoyed working there because I got to drive tractors and move dirt and plants around.

I have worked at many other places during my time in the United States. I worked as a butcher in a packing factory. Slide1My job was to cut the beef so that it could be processed. Also, I worked at the Sunkist factory where I would sort and pack oranges into packages.  That Sunkist job was hard work because they would have us work twelve to fourteen hour days and sometimes on Saturday also. Later, I started working for this man who built pools for wealthy families. Most of these families lived up in the mountains which made it more difficult because we had to dig through sheer rock most of the time. The main tool that I used was a pick, and after a while swinging that pick over and over against the stone made my shoulders and back ache. It was very tough work, but at the time I had to endure this in order to provide for my family.

One day I decided to become an entrepreneur and open my own landscaping service. I bought equipment and hired three guys to work with me. I managed to make a deal with this man, who owned a lot of houses, to design the landscaping on the homes so that people would want to buy them, and in exchange he would pay me. The only downside to the job was that I had to work outside which can be very difficult in the Arizona’s relentless summer heat. 6116281887_5982414435_bOne of the first jobs I had upon arriving to Arizona that I didn’t have to work outside was a busboy. I became a busboy at a local restaurant and that was one of my favorite jobs. I quickly learned that if I helped out by providing the customers with good service, they would reward us with a good tip. I really liked working as a busboy because it was so much easier than most of my other previous jobs.

Maria