Episodio 34: Summer Jobs (Trabajos de verano)

En este episodio, dos historias sobre empleos de verano.

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Transcripción

Diana: Un día de otoño de 2012, Erin Phillips estaba trabajando de cajera en Parlee Farms, una huerta de manzanas y bayas en el estado de Massachusetts, en el noreste de los Estados Unidos. Había una fila de clientes en la puerta, pero Erin no podía centrarse en ellos.

Erin: It was the beginning of my second year of high school, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the essay I had to write for my English class. It was due the next day. I knew that when I finished work, I was going to have to stay up late to finish the essay. And then I had to wake up at 5:00 am the next morning to go to school!

Diana: El trabajo en Parlee Farms era el primero para Erin y ella quería impresionar a su jefa, Ellen, la dueña de la huerta. Pero estaba muy cansada…

Erin: My boss, Ellen, noticed that I was working slowly, so she asked another employee to help me at the register. I wanted to be a good student and a good employee at my new job, but I was worried I couldn’t do both.

Diana: Welcome, bienvenidos y bienvenidas a “Relatos en inglés”, un podcast de Duolingo. Soy Diana Gameros. En cada episodio podrás practicar inglés a tu propio ritmo, escuchando historias reales y fascinantes, contadas por las personas que las vivieron.

Los protagonistas hablan en un inglés sencillo y fácil de entender para quienes están aprendiendo el idioma. En cada capítulo, yo te acompañaré, para asegurarme de que entiendas todo.

Hoy, te traemos dos historias sobre trabajos de temporada, o seasonal jobs, y sus desafíos inesperados.

Diana: Erin se crió muy cerca de Parlee Farms. La finca es lo que se conoce como U-pick, es decir, el cliente elige y recoge la fruta que va a comprar. Las granjas U-pick son muy populares en algunas partes de los Estados Unidos. Hasta se considera una actividad familiar.

Erin: My family loved U-pick farms because they were a lot more fun than getting fruit at the grocery store. The fruit was very fresh and we could choose the best apples or berries. When I was just four years old, I was walking through the strawberry fields at Parlee Farms with my sister and a local newspaper photographer asked our parents if she could take our picture. That photo is still on our refrigerator now.

Diana: El verano en que Erin cumplió quince años, muchos amigos suyos consiguieron sus primeros empleos de verano. Es normal que los adolescentes en los Estados Unidos hagan trabajos de verano para pagar la universidad o simplemente para ganar dinero. Es lo que en algunos países de habla hispana se conoce como “temporeros”.

Erin: My mom thought I should apply to work at Parlee Farms. My family went there often, so we knew the owner, Ellen, very well. And I already knew a lot about the business because I talked to Ellen a lot. It was the perfect place for my first job.

Diana: La siguiente vez que Erin fue a Parlee Farms, le preguntó a Ellen si estaban contratando gente.

Erin: Ellen gave me an application to fill out. She told me to come back in a week for an interview. I was so excited that I filled out the application that night. When I arrived for my interview, I was so nervous. I really wanted to impress Ellen. We sat down at a picnic table. She told me she really needed employees who could work in the summer and during apple season.

Diana: En el noreste de los Estados Unidos, la temporada de manzanas es en otoño, que es también cuando comienzan las clases. Ellen sabía que tendría problemas si todos sus empleados estudiantes se marchaban en otoño. Necesitaba que Erin se comprometiera a trabajar turnos, o shifts, hasta noviembre.

Erin: I said, “No problem!” I could work shifts after school. Ellen was really excited, and she asked when I could start working. I had my first job!

Diana: Erin estaba un poco preocupada por aceptar el trabajo hasta otoño, pero siempre había sido una buena estudiante. Pensaba que no podría ser tan difícil compaginar el trabajo y la escuela durante solo tres meses. Y estaba emocionada por trabajar en Parlee Farms.

Erin: When I arrived on the first day, another staff member showed me where to put my things. They also gave me an official staff t-shirt to wear. My coworkers taught me how to weigh fruit and vegetables, count change, and help at the bakery counter.

Diana: La pastelería era donde Parlee Farms hacía y vendía tartas horneadas con sus propias manzanas. También hacían donas, o doughnuts, de manzana y arándano, o blueberry.

Erin: After I finished my training, the summer passed really quickly. I started during blueberry season, so I could always smell fresh berries and blueberry doughnuts while I was working. Ellen let us eat fruit whenever we wanted. She was a great boss.

Diana: Al principio, Ellen puso a Erin en turnos entre semana, los más tranquilos. Pero después de un tiempo, se tuvo que enfrentar a los sábados y domingos, que eran días mucho más ocupados.

Erin: Parlee Farms was one of the most popular U-pick farms in the area. We had thousands of customers on the weekends, and sometimes they were impatient. My first weekend shift was very busy. When I got home, my mom gave me some advice: just pay attention to one customer at a time. So, I tried that during my next weekend shift at the farm, and I was able to work faster, the customers seemed happier, and I had more fun.

Diana: Justo cuando Erin sentía que estaba empezando a mejorar en su trabajo, llegó la temporada de la manzana, que era la fruta más popular en la granja. Se cosecha en el otoño, justo cuando Erin debía volver a la escuela.

Erin: My first shift during apple season was on a Friday after school. It was the busiest day since I started working there. I tried to pay attention to one customer at a time, like my mom told me, but it was hard to do after a long school day. I was really tired.

Diana: Erin estaba tomando muchas clases complicadas y de inmediato se encontró estudiando de tres a cuatro horas todas las noches. Pero no quería romper la promesa que le había hecho a Ellen, de quedarse durante la temporada de manzanas.

Erin: I woke up early, went to school, then quickly went to Parlee Farms for my shift. When I got home around 7:30 pm, I started doing my homework, which took hours! I was so tired, and it was really hard to finish my assignments.

Diana: Un día de septiembre, Ellen le pidió a Erin que hiciera un turno en la pastelería. Parlee Farms acababa de comenzar a hacer sus famosas donas de manzana para la temporada y vendían cientos de ellas por hora. No pasó mucho tiempo cuando Erin ya se sentía agotada, o wiped out.

Erin: That day, I helped roll doughnuts in brown sugar and put them into bags. It was hard work, and there were so many customers. By the end of my shift, I was covered in sugar, and I was wiped out. But after work, I had to finish an essay for my English class. I came home and immediately started writing. The next morning, my mom found me sleeping at my computer. I was still covered in sugar. She said, “We need to talk.”

Diana: A Erin le quedaban seis semanas antes del final de la temporada, pero su mamá estaba preocupada. Erin debía solicitar ingreso a la universidad el año siguiente y necesitaba mantener buenas calificaciones. Su mamá le preguntó por qué no dejaba el trabajo.

Erin: At first, I was upset. I couldn’t quit! I promised Ellen that I could work during the fall. But then I looked at my English essay, which still wasn’t finished, and I realized my mom was right. When I started the job, I didn’t understand that it’s a lot of responsibility to go to school and work at the same time. My mom helped me write an email to Ellen.

Diana: Ellen respondió y dijo que le apenaba que Erin se marchara. Erin acordó terminar los turnos que tenía programados para esa semana antes de irse. Aun así, estaba preocupada: ¿Se sentiría Ellen decepcionada, o let down?

Erin: I apologized so many times. I felt terrible. For years after that, I refused to go to Parlee Farms with my mom. Ellen was super nice when I quit my job, but in my mind, I imagined that she felt very let down by me.

Diana: Después de terminar la preparatoria, Erin fue a la universidad en otro estado. Un día durante las vacaciones de verano, cuando estaba de regreso con su familia, su madre la invitó a ir a Parlee Farms. Ella aceptó, pero de mala gana.

Erin: It was my first time going back in three years. In the car, I worried that Ellen was still going to feel let down. But when we arrived, she was as kind as I remembered. As we left, I smiled. Even though I chose school over my job, I learned a hard lesson at Parlee Farms that I couldn’t learn in a classroom. I learned to be careful about the promises I make. But I also learned that people who really care about you understand when you make mistakes. And most importantly, you have to do what’s best for you.

Diana: Para Erin, dejar el trabajo fue doloroso, aunque fuera la mejor opción. Pero para Jesse Steinmetz, renunciar no era una opción, incluso cuando parecía que su vida estaba en juego.

En el verano de 2021, Jesse trabajaba como vigilante forestal, o fire lookout, alguien cuyo trabajo es detectar incendios en el bosque antes de que se salgan de control. La mayoría de los incendios forestales en los Estados Unidos ocurren durante el verano.

Jesse: Even though fire lookouts have to look for fires, it usually isn’t a dangerous job. The fires are normally far away. But one evening, there was a huge lightning storm, and I realized that my job was more dangerous than I thought. If lightning hit a nearby tree, it could set the whole tree on fire. And that would probably set everything around it on fire, too — including me! I really didn’t want that to happen.

Diana: La mayoría de los años, los incendios forestales, o wildfires, en el oeste de los Estados Unidos, queman un área combinada más grande que el país de Belice entero. Los incendios son una parte natural del ecosistema, pero son peligrosos cuando se acercan a pueblos y ciudades. Por eso Jesse y otros vigías como él ayudan a combatirlos.

Jesse: I grew up in the northeast U.S., where wildfires are less common. So, I never saw big wildfires as a kid, but I often heard about them on the news.

News reporter: Tonight, wildfires are burning across Northern California…

Jesse: It was scary to watch videos of the fires because they don’t only destroy trees and animal habitats — they also destroy people’s homes.

News reporter: …hundreds of homes have already been destroyed…

Jesse: Sometimes, people even die. I really wanted to go to the Western United States to help, and one day, I read about the job of a fire lookout.

Diana: Los vigilantes forestales se colocan en torres de incendios, o fire towers, en medio del bosque. Las torres suelen ser muy altas, con vistas a todo el bosque que las rodea. De esa manera, el vigilante puede detectar incendios casi tan pronto como se declaran, y alertar a los bomberos, antes de que el fuego amenace a las personas y sus hogares.

Jesse: There aren’t many fire lookouts in the U.S., so I didn’t learn about them until I read a book by Jack Kerouac. He’s a famous North American writer who loved adventure. In the book, Kerouac wrote about the time when he was a fire lookout. He passed the time reading, writing, and looking at a beautiful view from the fire tower all day. I wanted to go on an adventure like Kerouac, but I also wanted to help keep people safe from wildfires. So, a job as a fire lookout seemed like the perfect combination.

Diana: En el verano de 2021, Jesse solicitó un trabajo como vigilante de incendios en el estado de Montana. ¡Y lo logró! Entonces, dejó su casa en Carolina del Norte y se mudó al oeste.

Jesse: In late May, I drove for several days to get to Montana. And then, I finally arrived at the tower. From the tower, I could see trees, hills, and rivers everywhere I looked. The view was amazing, and I saw wild animals all the time. I was about 65 kilometers from the closest town, which basically meant that I was completely alone.

Diana: Cada quince minutos, de 8:00 de la mañana a 4:30 de la tarde, Jesse salía a la plataforma de la torre y vigilaba por si detectaba humo saliendo del bosque. Y durante los primeros meses, los días de Jesse fueron muy parecidos a lo que había leído en el libro de Jack Kerouac. No había muchos incendios y los que había no eran muy grandes.

Jesse: Sometimes, there were small fires, but the firefighters usually extinguished them quickly. There were big fires in that area in past years, but not during the first few months that I was there. Then, one night in early August, everything changed.

Diana: Temprano aquella noche, enormes nubes oscuras comenzaron a aparecer y Jesse comenzó a preocuparse. Las nubes oscuras a menudo traen rayos que pueden provocar un incendio.

Jesse: Around 9:00 pm, the wind became really strong. I was used to windy nights by that point in the summer, but I didn’t expect the wind to be as strong as 80 kilometers per hour. I could hear the tower making loud noises as the wind blew outside. Then, the rain began. It hit the windows hard. And soon, I saw lightning.

Diana: Los rayos suelen golpear el objeto más alto que encuentran, lo cual fue una mala noticia para Jesse, porque su torre de fuego era la estructura más alta en kilómetros a la redonda.

Jesse: I heard stories about fire lookouts that were in their tower when it was hit by lightning. The fire lookouts didn’t die, but after they were hit by the electricity, their bodies and brains were never quite the same again. I did not want that to happen to me!

Diana: Entonces, Jesse sacó un banco, o stool, especial hecho de madera, con patas de vidrio. La electricidad no puede pasar a través del vidrio, por lo que mientras Jesse estuviera de pie sobre él, estaba a salvo. Pero también significaba que no podía hacer muy bien su trabajo. De pie, en el banco, no podía ver exactamente dónde caía el rayo y si provocaba un incendio.

Jesse: As I climbed on top of the stool, I could see lightning all around the tower. After I stood there for a few minutes, I got a phone call. To answer the phone, I had to get off of the stool. I thought that it was probably an emergency call. And I was right — someone from the nearby town told me that he saw a fire just a kilometer or two from my tower. I hung up, and then I immediately called my boss to tell him the news. He said to prepare to evacuate the tower.

Diana: Para evacuar, Jesse tendría que correr hacia su carro. Todavía había relámpagos por todas partes, lo que significaba que era peligroso estar afuera. Además, su trabajo consistía en detectar incendios y no podría hacerlo si se marchaba.

Jesse: Even though my boss told me to prepare to leave, I decided to stay. I wanted to keep people safe. I looked for the fire that the man told me about, but I couldn’t see it anywhere. Instead, I saw something in a completely different direction. At first, it looked like lights from a car. But it started to get brighter and brighter. Then I realized that an entire hill was on fire, and the fire was moving quickly. I had to tell the firefighters before it became too big!

Diana: Jesse usó un mapa para decidir dónde podía estar el incendio y luego llamó a los bomberos por radio.

Jesse: I used my radio to call about the fire, and soon, firefighters were on the way to the location that I described. But I was nervous. Because the fire was so far away, I wasn’t sure that I gave them the right location. If I was wrong, and they couldn’t find the fire, it could grow and become really dangerous.

Diana: Después de un largo rato, los bomberos llegaron a las coordenadas que Jesse les había enviado, ¡y él lo había calculado correctamente! El incendio estaba exactamente donde él lo predijo.

Jesse: If firefighters go to the wrong location, then the fire will grow and people might die. So, I felt great when the firefighters arrived. They had to work hard to put out the fire, but I was glad that they went to the right place.

Diana: Pero la noche de Jesse aún no había terminado. Tuvo que estar atento a otros incendios, porque en ocasiones pueden comenzar varios a la vez en diferentes partes del bosque. Afortunadamente, después de un par de horas, la tormenta comenzó a irse y el viento cesó. Antes de que Jesse se diera cuenta, era ya medianoche.

Jesse: I spent all night looking at the forest, and after a while, it was hard to keep my eyes open. Eventually, I fell asleep after a long and scary day.

The next morning, I could only see the smoke from one fire — the one that I reported. It burned a big area during the night, but since I reported it quickly, several groups of firefighters started working to extinguish it, and nothing really bad happened.

Diana: Los esfuerzos de Jesse dieron sus frutos. Nadie resultó herido y ni una sola casa se quemó.

Jesse: I was proud that I saw the fire before it became really dangerous. I felt good that I did my job and maybe even saved lives. For the rest of the summer, there were a few more fires in the forest, but nothing was as bad as the storm that night in August. And when September finally arrived, I moved out of the fire tower. I was excited to see other people again, but I was very sad that my seasonal job was over. I was going to miss living in a fire tower because even though there’s always the possibility of lightning, it’s all part of the adventure.

Diana: Jesse Steinmetz fue vigilante de incendios en Ashland, Montana, el verano de 2021. Ahora es productor de la estación de radio WFAE en Charlotte, Carolina del Norte. Hay muchas tormentas de rayos en Carolina del Norte y él intenta evitar los edificios altos cuando se producen.

Nuestra primera narradora, Erin Phillips, es productora de podcasts y vive en Virginia. Todavía le gusta recoger manzanas en otoño.

Gracias por haber escuchado “Relatos en inglés”. Nos encantaría saber qué te pareció este episodio. Puedes enviarnos un correo electrónico apodcast@duolingo.com, o también puedes enviarnos un mensaje de audio por WhatsApp al +1-703-953-93-69.

“Relatos en inglés” es una producción de Duolingo y Adonde Media. Puedes seguirnos en Spotify o tu plataforma preferida. Yo soy Diana Gameros. Thank you for listening!

Créditos

Este episodio es una producción de Duolingo y Adonde Media.