Satisfied Soul
Been feeling very accomplished/satisfied/fulfilled these few days. I think it's because these things that happened are the reasons why I want to go on this trip and am looking forward to experience :)
So! I tried hitchhiking! But not the thumbs up by the road side way. I went back to 七星潭 Chihsingtan Beach to take more photos on the film camera Josh Boss gave me. While spending the afternoon there, I started chatting with an Uncle who sells 炸蛋蔥油餅 erm. "Explosive Fried Egg Cong You Biscuit(?)" HAHHHA ANYHOW.
He mentioned that he lives near my hostel. Then went on to introduce a place at the beach where I can find sheeps! So I walked for half an hour to get there and found the sheeps and tried some desserts. Decided to treat the Uncle to a cheesecake to thank him. But boy, did I underestimate that long walk back to his food truck. Needed to catch the 4.30pm bus back to Hualien City to be on time for work at 6.30pm. But by the time I sprinted to where he was, it was already 4.25pm and impossible to get to the bus stop in time. So I was like. Hey! HEYYYYYY~~~~~~~~~ why notttttttttt.
I asked the Uncle politely if it was okay for me to hitch a ride back in his truck, and he was very willing! When the sun began setting, the vendors started packing up and he had some leftover drinks and explosive fried egg cong you biscuit, so he offered to give me as a treat!! So I sat at the front seat with a satisfied tummy while he drove his manual truck like a pro while enthusiastically sharing about Hualien and the people he knows. I got to my hostel safe while under the radar of Tammy and my sisters on Find My Friends on iphone :p and thanks to those who messaged to check on me when I posted the hitchhiking stories on instagram!!! ❤
The second thing that happened was an enjoyable and intimate conversation I had with Fiona (the other helper at Bayhouse) and ShuiLu (manager at the other hostel Cozyhouse) over beers and fried chicken. It really made me think over a lot of things in life and my respect for these 2 human beings just amplified over the conversation.
Fiona mentioned "你不覺得晚上睡覺時聽到火車的聲音很好聽嗎?" "Don't you love the sound of the passing train while you lie in bed?"
and I really loved that phrase. It made me go. Wow. Yeah! Like. I'm aware of the passing train and I do pay attention to it, and it's more neutral rather than annoyed. But after she said that, it shifted my neutral perspective to embracing that moment. You know what I mean? So now when I hear the passing train, I feel more serene than before.
And over our beer conversations, ShuiLu talked about many points that struck me in many ways. I'm not sure how to phrase them and sum them up for you guys to feel what I felt. But basically we were talking about customer service, ideals, human nature and shifting our perspectives to look at different problems and people. Don't jump to conclusions so quickly and understand your own limits.
If you can read Chinese, these were the words he said:
水鹿： "我做我自己的極限" (in terms of customer service at a hostel)
"價值觀不一樣"
"別人怎麼想關我屁事"
"在沒人告訴你這件事是錯的，那你也不會有這個概念"
some parts sound crude but it's meant in a positive way.
I think after this meaningful midnight conversations, my respect for these 2 human being grew so much I can't bear for the day we go our own ways :( really learnt a lot from them in this short time!
And thirdly! ShuiLu brought us (the little helpers from Bayhouse and Cozyhouse) on a road trip to WenShan Natural Hot Spring. It is actually closed after a rock slide accident a few years ago, so we had to climb through a locked gate to get to the area. Under the guidance of ShuiLu who has been there countless times, all of us got to the place safe and in awe~ it was amazing!!! Can't tell you how beautiful the entire experience was. Yeah, so that's another memory added to the Special compartment.
Lastly, Damon (the manager at my hostel) offered to teach me Korean! He speaks fluently and has a beautiful Korean wife :) so we had our first lesson today with a manager Marvis from another affiliated hostel nearby. Enjoyed and learnt a lot in that 2 hours.
All in all, I'm feeling a different kind of happiness that's never been felt before and am a satisfied soul. Can't wait to see what else this trip brings.
loves,
marilyn