A final greeting from Florida!

More than 300 hours of working with the Putnam County Health Department have come and gone by. Less than 8 weeks ago, I arrived here in Florida, and since then I have been in situations and lived within cultures I’ve never experienced before. I’ve been bitten by so many different kinds of bugs, walked through swarms of blind mosquitoes and “love bugs,” and seen animals like armadillos, alligators, chameleons, and giant spider webs. Without city lights, the night sky is gorgeous, and a full moon provides just enough light. And that’s just outside of work!

Just recently, we were able to experience firsthand why providing healthcare resources to migrant workers who live on camps and understanding their lives are such difficult tasks. Everything from advertising clinics and transportation to finances and clinic times presents a challenge. In addition, a trusting relationship between the healthcare workers and the camp’s crew leader must exist before any exchange of information can take place. Maya and I tried for a couple weeks to contact a specific camp in order to visit the camp and possibly interview the owner. After these weeks of failed attempts, we were advised to go to the camp with a community member who knows the owner. However, our arrival was met with immediate hostility from the extremely angered camp’s owner, and we did not get two steps away from the car before we got back in and left.

For me, our visit to the camp (and learning why camp owners have such strong reactions to the arrival of unfamiliar faces) brought much of our experience into perspective. I leave Florida with a new understanding of challenges in the delivery of healthcare to migrant workers, a respect for the healthcare workers who build successful relationships with the migrant workers and the crew leaders, and knowledge of a working class that previously was unknown to me.