面試

English version

        午餐吃到一半時，接了一通電話。對方講話速度飛快，完全聽不懂。直到他提到我的履歷表，當下了解是潛水中心打來的。

        前一天在別家潛水中心應徵工作，因為沒有駕照，第一關填寫資料就挫敗。所以找工作不敢挑三揀四，影印了幾份履歷表，打算像發傳單一樣，發給凱恩斯所有的潛水中心。幸好一早只發了兩家，而且有一家老闆還在海上，最快下週一才會回覆。即使電話中沒聽到對方說的，也知道是兩小時前剛去過的潛水中心。

        「…面試...今天下午...」 對方講話依舊飛快，我只聽得懂幾個字。「或是...」對方難得停頓了一下，「...下週一早上...」 大概是以為要我立馬去面試太倉促。

        「今天下午沒問題。」不只是為了迎合對方，自己也不想多等一個週末。

        兩小時之後又回到那家潛水中心。講話飛快的是潛水中心的訓練官，年約三十出頭，中等身材。坐下後，我簡單扼要地描述之前在帛琉的工作內容，訓練官看看履歷表，沒有提出什麼問題。

        「你有汽車駕照嗎？」訓練官一槍打中要害。又來了，昨天挫敗的回憶湧現。

        「呃，這是我在澳洲面臨的最大挑戰...」不想直接承認，默默準備接受再次失敗的結果。

        「沒關係，嗯...」講話飛快的訓練官停頓了一下，思考要講什麼好。「華語教練大都沒有澳洲駕照...」訓練官繼續緩和一下氣氛。

        講話飛快的訓練官沒有花太久的時間，決定下週一派我到潛水船上試工。這是我遇過，最飛快的應徵流程了吧。訓練官應該很需要有個可以即刻上工的華語教練。

        照片是凱恩斯的賭場，多年前來過，下錯注反而小賺一筆。希望下週試工能有那時候的好運。

Job Interview

    The guy spoke so fast, especially the greetings. He probably had spoken the same greetings for a million times. I was not prepared to take a call in the middle of my lunch. His speaking was so fast as if a machine gun firing over the phone, and I could not catch the words until he mentioned my resume.

    Luckily, I had not distributed my resume to all dive centers in Cairns. Not yet. I was going to all dive centers door-by-door to hand out my resume. I visited only two dive centers this morning. One of these dive centers would not reply me until next Monday, because the manager was on a cruise to outer reef this weekend. I instantly figured out that it was a call from the other dive center that I had just visited two hours ago.

    '... interview ... this afternoon…' the speedy guy kept shooting words, but I could catch a few of them. 'Or,' the first time he made a pause between sentences. '… next Monday…' probably thought that it was too fast for me to go to the interview in the next hours.

    'I can do it this afternoon.' I interrupted him. Not only for his convenience, but also mine. I did not want to hang in the air in the entire weekend.

    Two hours later, I was there again. I was expecting a senior person because the speedy guy was the training officer in the dive center. However, he looked like a guy at his early thirties. I should have known that because senior persons do not speak so fast. I briefly narrated my past work experiences. The speedy guy did not ask many questions afterwards.

    'Do you have a drive license?' he asked. Here again. The same problem I had yesterday. I had been rejected for no drive license. Bad memory was flashing back.

    'Uhh, that’s the most difficult challenge I have in Australia.' I was preparing myself for the upcoming failure.

    'Okay, it’s…' he hesitated to think of the wording. 'No Chinese instructors have a drive license in Australia…' he continued.

    Without too much thinking, the speedy guy decided to give me a try and sent me to a dive boat next Monday morning. It was the speediest interview process I had ever had. I supposed he needed a Chinese/English bilingual guy to start work immediately.

汽車駕照

English version

        沒有想到這麼早開始應徵工作。本來只是來參加急救課程，沒有信心能符合這家有名的潛水中心徵才條件。可是，一起上課的一個澳洲潛水教練慫恿我來應徵。那個澳洲教練在這家潛水中心工作，覺得華語教練在他們店裡很有機會。下課後，他立馬要引薦我和他老闆見面。可惜老闆不在，要我到櫃台填寫應徵表格。

        填寫表格的時候，和櫃台的高挑美女閒聊起來。她長得像電影X戰警的琴，不過是金髮，不是紅髮，而且至少年輕十歲。尤其是她溫柔友善的聲音，比起一般櫃台接待人員發現你不是客戶時的冷漠制式回應，讓我覺得機會很大，前途一片光明。一直到金髮美女看到表格最下方填寫的資料，

        「你沒有汽車駕照！」和之前的語調反差太大，金髮美女驚訝的語氣顯得很突兀。

        「我們的教練都要開小巴接送客人，」語調逐漸緩和，想掩飾剛才突兀的驚訝。

        「沒關係，我會把你的表格給經理看的。」雖然金髮美女想彌補窘境，我已經知道有沒有機會得到這份工作了。

        對啦，我不會開車啦，不然要怎樣！不曾如此後悔，沒去學開車。

        照片是凱恩斯各家浮潛/潛水船的等候大廳。

Drive License

    I was filling an application form for a job in a big famous dive centre that I had not dare to apply for. I came here for a first aid training course not a job opportunity. But, an Aussie attendee in the first aid training encouraged me to take a chance because of a huge demand for Chinese-speaking instructors in Cairns. He was a dive instructor in the centre and willing to introduce me to his manager right after the training. However, his manager wasn’t in the office, so he told me to fill the application form at the reception.

    While filling the application form, a tall slim gorgeous blonde receptionist was chatting with me. She reminded me the character Jean in the film X-Men, but the blonde receptionist definitely must be younger by more than 10 years. Particularly her voice was so friendly not like most receptionists’ cold and routine voice. It made me feel so promising that I would get the job. All the signs were so positive until the blonde receptionist looked down to the last few rows on my application form.

    'You don’t have a drive license!' she couldn’t help to raise her voice. It sounded a spike in contrast to her tender tone earlier.
    'All our instructors drive a bus to pick up customers…' she continued with a fading volume to ease the spike.
    'That’s okay. I’ll show your application to the manager…' she tried to make up the awkward atmosphere, but I could tell how good my chance would be for the job.

    Damn! I have never so regretted that I cannot drive.

悠閒的生活

        住在布里斯本的舅舅家一個月了，一點都沒有飄洋過海來當外勞打拚的感覺。

        每天早上去昆士蘭大學的游泳池，比照在台灣的習慣，連續游自由式1500M。游完還有力氣的話，就隨便划划踢踢水，反正不用趕著上班。洗完澡就在游泳池畔吃早餐和上網，直到腳丫子晾乾了才走。奢侈一點的時候，喝杯奶泡上灑滿巧克力粉的卡布奇諾，或是去看早場電影。下午，有心情的話就看看書，不然就逛超市看看有沒有特價的肋眼牛排和紅酒。每天晚上十點就寢，隔天早上六點又去游泳。

        計畫了幾個月要去凱恩斯，今晚終於要出發，卻沒有什麼特別的感覺。反倒是悠閒的生活過久了，有點捨不得離開布里斯本。希望打工仔生活告一段落，回復上班族的身份時，還能這樣悠哉。

        照片是昆士蘭大學的游泳池，每天吃早餐的地方。