Working Your Way around Taiwan(b)|创意换宿游台湾

Traditionally, the first line of work to occur to most young foreigners coming to Taiwan has been teaching English, but in the past couple of years, backpackers have begun choosing to take up work at guesthouses and organic farms. There are essentially two kinds of jobs at guesthouses. General work includes things like cleaning rooms, preparing breakfasts, washing dishes, weeding gardens, and other manual jobs. Working holidayers essentially become assistants to the managers of these guesthouses, and for those who want to open their own guesthouses in the future, it's an invaluable introduction to the business.

However, the owners of different guesthouses have different needs. Some may want help with photography, travel articles written, websites translated, or instruction on using social media, so specialist work can be much more varied. By way of example, a student from National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism worked on a lotus-themed menu for the BeiCheng Villa in Yilan, while an economics major with a penchant for art from Hong Kong was invited to paint murals at Hualien's Shin-Liu Farm and left her creative mark on the farm's guest rooms.

Working holidays aren't just something for overseas travelers to enjoy, either. Taiwanese youth are encouraged to take advantage of their summer vacations to travel around their homeland and expand their horizons. They might even find their calling in the process like Luo qianyi and Lu Jun, of Taizhung and Taibei respectively, who first went to Old Five Guest House for working holidays, but ended up staying on full-time.

While these kinds of working holidays might pay little to nothing financially, they pay off in a more valuable wayife experience. Travelers get the chance to meet people from around the world, broadening their horizons and becoming more independent.

早年许多外籍青年到台湾最先想到的打工地点是英语补习班，但这一、两年来，民宿、有机农场已成为外国背包客来台打工换宿的最夯玩法。基本上，民宿提供的工作职务可分为两大类。一般换宿指打扫房间、准备早餐、洗碗、除草等劳力型工作。这些外国青年等于是民宿主人的小帮手，对未来梦想经营民宿的人来说，是很好的入门学习机会。

不同民宿业者的需求不尽相同，有的希望他们帮忙拍照，有的则想要换取一篇旅游报导、替网站翻译或只是教民宿主人如何使用脸书、部落格及微博。而专业换宿的工作内容，更为多样化。举例来说，高雄餐饮大学的学生曾到宜兰的北成庄协助开发莲花餐；来自香港的经济系大学生，因热爱艺术创作，去年获邀到花莲的欣绿农园，帮忙重新粉刷墙壁，并在房间墙壁上留下自己的彩绘作品。

以工换宿可不是国外青年独享的权益。鼓励台湾青年利用暑假多到各地历练，开拓视野，也许还会找到人生的志趣。来自台中、台北的罗千仪、吕骏，原先都是到老五民宿打工换宿，后来成为正职员工。

虽然以工换宿没有薪水，但却能学到难能可贵的生活经验，结交世界各国的朋友，有助于扩展国际观，培养独立思考的能力。

本社为尊重《台湾光华杂志》，中文原文注销，仅供参考，中英文如有不尽相符之处，敬请包涵。