Tracking down migrant workers...

It has been an eventful few days here in Shanghai and my story has made exciting progress…
My plan to stalk migrant workers on their construction site started bright and early Friday morning. I had an entourage to accompany me: my translators, Jessie and Sophie, and John Paul, with video camera in tow. At the first construction site right next to our hotel, we walked right in the gates and were immediately stopped by men guarding the door… and after some discussion between the guards and my translators, we had to leave.
The next few attempts at interviews did not fare any better. We began asking questions to a worker who was giving passionate answers until his boss came up and told him to stop talking to us. Another time, we tried to do a walking interview with a worker… Note for future reference: trying to record interviews at a brisk walk doesn’t work that well. Most of the other interviews were ruined by nosy bystanders. Since we were on the street, people passing by felt the need to stop and listen to the interviews which embarrassed and thus immediately silenced the workers. 
Feeling a little discouraged, we walked around looking for more sites and anxiously scanned the streets for men wearing orange helmets. We stumbled upon another site, peeked in and saw workers washing their hands so we waited at the doors for them to come out. This is where I met Mr. Liao.
Mr. Liao let us walk with him along the street as he headed home for lunch. One of the men from the site who presumably was a manager of sorts followed us on the walk. At each stop light, the usual crowd gathered. I knew no one was ever going to open up with so many people around or a manager creeping around so I asked if Liao would meet with me the next day. He said we could meet him at the same time the next day for his lunch break…
Saturday rolled around – Yes, migrant workers work on Saturday and Sunday and every other day of the week for that matter – and Sophie and I went back to the site hoping to catch Liao on his way to lunch. Luckily, we caught him on his way home, a home that is ONE room no larger than a dorm room that he has lived in for three years, a home with six sets of bunk beds and at least 8 other roommates that I met there. In an hour lunch break, I was able to get the tiniest glimpse into the life of a migrant worker in Shanghai. I learned so much from Liao; I feel so humbled that he welcomed me into his home and candidly discussed his feelings on living in Shanghai, being a migrant worker and the difficulties of being separated from his family. If you want to know more, you’ll have to wait for my story…