花莲换工旅游 Hualien Working Holiday Day 2

Day 2: On the job training

As there were no guests yesterday, all of us could sleep in. I am thankful for the extra time for my much needed rest. 

This view greeted me when I opened my door. :) The crisp, cooling weather woke me up from my tiredness immediately. 

After breakfast, we headed to 静巷里的二十七号 to clean up the house together. 冠羽 demonstrated the process so that I know his expectations. I love the feel of the house. Those who know me well will probably agree it is my style. I shall share more about the house when I start staying there. :)

We had some customers over at 法采's cafe in the afternoon and 冠羽 prepared hand-drip coffee for them. Good coffee-making requires precision and lots of experimentation. 

Here's an interesting quote from a book I read yesterday -

 '咖啡，对我来说是一种思考的工具，可以沉淀思绪，拥有清楚脑袋' 

The effects of caffeine? :)

Here are some shots of the place I am working at. This is the cafe area:

As this is a long weekend in Taiwan, it is full house today and tomorrow. We will need to wake up early to prepare breakfast for the guests. Some preparation in advance:

Freshly baked buns by 阿仰。Love 祐钺's expression here. :p

A simple dinner we had tonight. Japanese curry prepared by 祐钺 and chicken and mushroom soup prepared by 阿仰.

There is less awkwardness on the second day and I am feeling more warmth. This place feels like home. :)

花莲换工旅游 Hualien Working Holiday Day 1

Day 1 Let the Adventure begin!

After much waiting and traveling, I finally reached Hualien. The boss of the homestay, 冠羽 came to pick me up. 法采时光 is located about 10 minutes drive away from the train station. 

The first day was mainly settling down. I will be staying here temporarily, after which I will be staying at 静巷里的二十七号, another homestay owned by the boss.

冠羽 brought me to 静巷 to take a look. As the occupancy rate for March is low, I will basically have the whole place to myself for the whole month. ^^

阿仰，the chef at 法采时光 prepared dumplings for us. After dinner, we shared the pandan cake I brought over. 冠羽 prepared coffee using Columbia beans which tasted a bit acidic and fruity. Together with the February helper 祐钺, we all had a nice chat. The initial awkwardness I felt was gone after having a meal and chatting with them. Throughout our conversation, I have learnt much from them. We talked about food, lifestyle, work, coffee, etc. Meeting people from different countries really widened my horizons. One takeaway was the serious attitude they have in all that they do, so that their guests can have the best experience in Hualien.