"Where are you in 5 years from now?"
- a very popular job interview question that I did not master in. Hello Darling, I was 20s, maybe even Bill Gates did not even know what he aspired to be in his 20s, like why he was a prestigious university drop out?
To maintain a professional image, I answered - "Well, I would be a career woman, and still take care of my family - husband, and kid." Pointless and blunt, I did not get the job. It was either secretary/marketing/assistant job in photography equipment company. I did not know what the boss expected from a fresh graduate who applied merely as a secretary.
Things had not changed for some years. Big glimmering dreams and entrepreneurial always not a thing for me. I just want to settle down, have a happy small family and maintain my career or job-if it's not that glamour to be called career. My mom called me no ambition. Well, it's tiring to have ambition, you got to fight and to risk losing right?
Now, mid 20s, I did a bit progress. Aside from family and job, I got some blurry dreams. I want to have a thematic small hostel or bed and breakfast, it's still blurry.
借下来的天堂 - in literal means heaven on rent, a humble inn I stayed in when I traveled to Yunnan, China. It was a regular house with no more than 5 rooms. There were some beds in a room rented out for travelers. The room was very regular and simple with wood flooring to make it feel warm. Perhaps they intentionally did no decoration to the room as the owner wanted guests to gather and socialize in the living room rather than just shutting down in bed.
In the corner of the porch, there were sofa, tea table, and stools. Naturally, everyone would just sit there and chat, while boiling tea traditional way. I sat on the hanging swing just next to the sofa, looked up there was a pretty pattern of canopy decorated with vines hanging down. It was a very lovely living room.
My friend, who I knew from Couchsurfing, was a British, and we were the only foreigner -non Chinese. There was a traveling mid age old couple, and single happy guy. The host was young couple and the mother in law came to visit. They are all Chinese from different hometown. We all just chatted about everything.
I had just learned proper Chinese for 6 months that time working hard to understand Chinese conversation. Sometimes I got to translate their question to my friend in English and replied them back in Chinese. That was the first evening just right after we arrived, apart from home, we were welcomed by strangers we just met who talked not our mother tongue.
There was night we went out for hotpot dinner in restaurant and we were just like a big family. Then in the last night before we separate with each other, the host invited all of the guests for home-cooked dinner. We sat on a stool with full table of Chinese home-cooked food, drank beer, and toasted.
It all happened 4 years ago, I didnt even remember attraction I went that time without photos. Yet, their warmth and genuineness vividly stay in my heart til at the moment.
What a very sentimental and tangent paragraph I wrote just to say that I wanted to build that place. Place that would blend stranger into family despite of nationality, hometown, and language they speak.
Not sure if by that time everyone would socialize or just focus on their gadgets, but food always bring people together right. I would come down every breakfast, approach and talk to guests about the place or help them for their day travel and hear stories from where they come from and stuffs.
Break even is expected, but I would just forget about profit and focus on people: grow the staffs, and connect people - to each other, to the next destination they are going to.
That place may not come through in 5 years, but at least, this unambitious finally has a dream.
To maintain a professional image, I answered - "Well, I would be a career woman, and still take care of my family - husband, and kid." Pointless and blunt, I did not get the job. It was either secretary/marketing/assistant job in photography equipment company. I did not know what the boss expected from a fresh graduate who applied merely as a secretary.
Things had not changed for some years. Big glimmering dreams and entrepreneurial always not a thing for me. I just want to settle down, have a happy small family and maintain my career or job-if it's not that glamour to be called career. My mom called me no ambition. Well, it's tiring to have ambition, you got to fight and to risk losing right?
Now, mid 20s, I did a bit progress. Aside from family and job, I got some blurry dreams. I want to have a thematic small hostel or bed and breakfast, it's still blurry.
借下来的天堂 - in literal means heaven on rent, a humble inn I stayed in when I traveled to Yunnan, China. It was a regular house with no more than 5 rooms. There were some beds in a room rented out for travelers. The room was very regular and simple with wood flooring to make it feel warm. Perhaps they intentionally did no decoration to the room as the owner wanted guests to gather and socialize in the living room rather than just shutting down in bed.
In the corner of the porch, there were sofa, tea table, and stools. Naturally, everyone would just sit there and chat, while boiling tea traditional way. I sat on the hanging swing just next to the sofa, looked up there was a pretty pattern of canopy decorated with vines hanging down. It was a very lovely living room.
My friend, who I knew from Couchsurfing, was a British, and we were the only foreigner -non Chinese. There was a traveling mid age old couple, and single happy guy. The host was young couple and the mother in law came to visit. They are all Chinese from different hometown. We all just chatted about everything.
I had just learned proper Chinese for 6 months that time working hard to understand Chinese conversation. Sometimes I got to translate their question to my friend in English and replied them back in Chinese. That was the first evening just right after we arrived, apart from home, we were welcomed by strangers we just met who talked not our mother tongue.
There was night we went out for hotpot dinner in restaurant and we were just like a big family. Then in the last night before we separate with each other, the host invited all of the guests for home-cooked dinner. We sat on a stool with full table of Chinese home-cooked food, drank beer, and toasted.
It all happened 4 years ago, I didnt even remember attraction I went that time without photos. Yet, their warmth and genuineness vividly stay in my heart til at the moment.
What a very sentimental and tangent paragraph I wrote just to say that I wanted to build that place. Place that would blend stranger into family despite of nationality, hometown, and language they speak.
Not sure if by that time everyone would socialize or just focus on their gadgets, but food always bring people together right. I would come down every breakfast, approach and talk to guests about the place or help them for their day travel and hear stories from where they come from and stuffs.
Break even is expected, but I would just forget about profit and focus on people: grow the staffs, and connect people - to each other, to the next destination they are going to.
That place may not come through in 5 years, but at least, this unambitious finally has a dream.