Esperanza Rising

The other day I had the pleasure of working first class for a charter flight. Everyone was being flown north to work 16 hour days at a cannery for a month to three months. The occupants, many of whom did not speak English, had never sat in first class before and they were tickled to have been ticketed as such. Whenever I asked them if they would like something they said "No, thank you." When I mentioned everything was free - the warm hand towels, the beverages, the meal, the use of the forward lavatory they were gobsmacked and I was humbled. 

I was reading Esperanza Rising on the jump seat and I felt as if the characters in the book were reincarnated and sitting before me. They were all relocating for a physically demanding work opportunity and most were from Latin America and the Philippines. 
I do not know what they will be paid. I do hope it is fair. 
There were two young ladies sitting in first class, one with her husband, the other with her mother and father...either one of them could have been Esperanza. It was a surreal experience....and just as the protagonist in the book has hope, so did these first class "Esperanzas".

When was the last time you experienced esperanza?