慢城花莲换工旅游之沉淀、充电后 Afterthoughts on my working holiday experience

慢城花莲换工旅游之沉淀、充电后

当初毅然放弃了稳定的工作，在步入人生的下一个阶段给自己一个挑战，只身到异地换工旅游，并学习独立生活。很多人对我的决定感到讶异，不明白我为何选择放弃安逸、舒适的生活，不好好当个老师，而去异地当「免费劳工」。我相信也有些人认为我到国外换工和旅游两个月，简直是挥霍光阴，也是奢侈的行为。

我想这就是大家对理想生活与旅游的定义不同吧。

在离开工作岗位之前，我发现自己的生活品质已渐渐远离理想中的标准，与其不断埋怨，不如做出改变。对我而言，生活品质并不是物质可以衡量的，虽然其中也有一定的关系。我想要的是能够平衡身心的生活。虽然接下来的收入不比以往稳定，但在时间方面更有弹性，让我能更好地安排自己的生活。

这趟换工旅游其实让我学习到了如何生活。看似简单枯燥的打扫工作其实也是一门学问。在打扫房间的过程，我学习到了很多小贴士、也学习到如何更好地规划生活空间。民宿一楼的咖啡厅有很多优质书籍，在打扫工作完毕后，庆幸自己也有很多时间阅读，渐渐培养了我的专注力。回想起来，换工的一个多月，我没扭开过电视机或看连续剧。

在台湾生活了超过一个月也提供了一场文化大交流的经验。无论是文化或生活习惯，台湾人和新加坡人多少也有些差异。起初对垃圾分类的做方法不太熟悉，后来渐渐习惯将垃圾分类，自己也开始注重环保。

另一个较大的改变是自己的物欲大大减低，并不会想要买任何的衣服、包包。在花莲的一个月，甚至现在到了韩国，除了交通和餐饮费用，也没任何无谓的消费。

不知回到新加坡后，生活作息会有多大的改变。希望我能尽量坚持！

这趟两个月的旅游更让我坚持自己的旅游理念。旅游并不一定需要将行李箱装满，更重要的是，将心灵填满。回想以前旅游时买了很多无谓的纪念品，回国后还要烦恼存放空间。数年后，那些纪念品一般都会沦落到垃圾桶里。或许照片与记录旅程的点滴就是最好的纪念品吧。愿你我都能珍惜旅游遇见的每一刻感动...

Afterthoughts on my working holiday experience

Now that my working holiday has come to an end, I thought it will be helpful to pen down my thoughts, as a reflection for myself and for my readers who are interested to find out more.

Many people were taken aback when I chose to leave the Education Service, giving up a secure and stable job and forsaking my performance bonus. What shocked most people was I left without a new job and chose to go on a working holiday doing housekeeping tasks in a Bed & Breakfast without being paid. It really sounds like a crazy idea. 

Now that I have been through that, I must say it was a learning journey for myself. You may wonder, what is there to learn from cleaning up rooms and washing coffee cups? I believe in everything we do, we can seek improvements, be it working attitude or interpersonal skills. The biggest lesson I have learnt is learning how to live. The quality of life cannot be defined simply by the quality of things one possess , though I do not deny it is relational to a certain extent. I will most likely be having a pay cut in the future, but I believe work life balance will probably be something more within my control and I can define the lifestyle I wish to have.

Living overseas in Hualien county for more than a month changed my lifestyle. Surrounded by many good books in the Bed & Breakfast / cafe I worked at, I spent time reading and learnt to focus more in the process. Now that I recall, I did not watch any TV programmes or dramas for more than a month. Life was simple yet fulfilling. 

During my one month working holiday, it was a great cultural exchange for myself and others. One striking difference between Singapore and Taiwan is the method of sorting trash. I had to get used to sorting out recyclable products and food waste separately. Food waste are used as animal feed. I think we have much to catch up on our recycling efforts. 

The biggest change I see in myself is the diminishing material desire. Over the last two months, I have learnt to live simply. Other than spending on transport, food and beverages, I have not spent unnecessarily. 

I am not sure of the effects of the changes when I return home. We shall see! :)

After traveling for almost two months, I am even more certain there is no need to fill up my luggage with souvenirs, rather to fill my heart with gratitude for the blessings and lessons learnt. The greatest gifts are the memory and experiences recorded with a camera or thoughts penned down, treasuring the moments that touched my heart.