Peggie on the Road

「漂亮。」走進員工電梯，Adam上下打量穿著制服的我，中文帶有濃濃口音。

「謝謝。」週末飯店客滿是家常便飯，一個下午已經幫好多組客人辦理入住，口乾舌燥的我沒什麼心情聊天，只想趕快到員工餐廳打好菜，安靜地吃頓飯。

Adam是來自越南的行李員，混血臉孔、笑容陽光，很受客人喜歡。行李員薪水不高，但只要客人開心多給小費，存到錢回家買房的也是大有人在。

於是這群離鄉背井的男孩各出奇招，發展出自己專屬的市場客群，酷似韓劇男星的、旅遊知識淵博的、多種外語流利的，能讓對方賓至如歸就是優秀的行李員。

他問我今晚花火節，想不想一起去宿舍頂樓看煙火，他教我越南話，我教他中文。電梯開門，我對他笑了笑就往餐廳走，「下次吧。」

"Piao-liang." I walked into the staff elevator. Adam looked me up and down, and said with a heavy accent.

"Thanks." Another full-house weekend. Having checked-in for so many guests this afternoon and spoken for several minutes to each of them, I'm just not in the mood for chatting. All I want is to arrive at the canteen asap, and enjoy a quiet dinner.

Adam was from Vietnam. Mixed-race face, smile brighter than sunshine, he is widely adored by the customers.

Bellman's salary is relatively low, but as long as they can make the guests happy and get tips during each shift, many of them went home with enough saving to buy a house.

He asked me if I am interested in enjoying the firework festival tonight at the dorm’s rooftop. We can even do language exchange. He’ll teach me Vietnamese, and I can teach him Mandarin.

"Maybe next time." Door opened. I gave him a polite smile, and headed toward the canteen.