Chapter 11 Working days in Alaska

Time/September 8︱November 8, 1993 Location / Anchorage, Alaska, Alaska, USA Geographical location/ North Pole west longitude 140︱150 degrees (140︱150 W) North Pole latitude 62︱72 degrees (62︱72 N) Character/Alaska police officer︱Steve.Steve Sauna Chinese-American, Chinese restaurant owner︱Ma Yuwen and Chef Zhang Dawei, etc. Chinese Wandering Traveler︱Ma Zhongxin (Fred Ma) ◇ In September 1993, I set off from Los Angeles, USA, traveled 3,000 kilometers north, and arrived in Anchorage, the capital of Alaska. In order to stay in the local area and travel more, I decided to work in a Chinese restaurant.

︱ ︱ ︱ ︱ Part-time work is a worldwide term. In this world, except for a few lazy young men who don't know what part-time work is, most people, rich or poor, high or low, may encounter part-time jobs. Simply speaking, part-time work is forced by the needs of real life or facts, and temporarily succumbs to work for a period of time.Such temporary work generally does not matter how hard it is or how much it is paid. Foreigners who have just arrived in a foreign country must find ways to work in order to earn money to support their lives and to learn and experience life: such as serving dishes or washing dishes in restaurants, setting up street stalls or performing arts in markets, etc.; Whether it is a master's degree or a doctor's degree, they all have to humble themselves and submit to part-time jobs.

Young people in Europe, America or Japan, in order to realize their dream of traveling around the world, use part-time jobs to raise travel expenses.One is to make money; the other is to exercise physical strength, perseverance and confidence to cope with the difficult and complicated situations that may occur during global travel. There are many advantages of working part-time, and it can even be said that there are only advantages and no disadvantages.Working part-time has become a fashionable term in some countries and regions, and it seems that to be a modern person is to work part-time.

In August 1993, I traveled independently in the United States and Canada.The goal is to cross Yukon (Yukon) in the Arctic Circle of Canada and enter Alaska. After traveling for a month, I plan to fly directly to Japan to catch the maple red in October in Kyoto. Summer vacation in August is the special offer period of Greyhound buses in the United States. This year's super value discount price is that you can take it anytime, anywhere to travel around the United States and Canada within a one-month period for only seventy-nine dollars. America Greyhound (America Greyhund) uses a running dog as its trademark. The car is spacious and comfortable, running 24 hours a day.You can also get on the bus in the middle of the night, and you will arrive at your next destination as soon as you wake up, saving time and hotel fees.Greyhound buses also guarantee seats and ensure safety.But there are a few principles that need to be followed: First, the luggage is simple; the kind of small backpack that can be carried and hugged in the arms is the best.The second is to dress plainly. It is advisable to wear a peaked cap and dark sunglasses. It looks poor and pitiful.The third is to only put a small amount of change in the pockets of the body for food expenses during the journey, and it is safer to carry ATM cards or traveler's checks with you.

On August 30th, I took a Greyhound from Los Angeles to San Francisco. I enjoyed the coastal scenery of California along the way. After changing trains, I crossed the famous Golden Mountain Bridge. ), Seattle, the capital of Washington State (Seattle, Washington), Vancouver, Canada and other metropolises. After Vancouver, Greyhound entered the sparsely populated District of Columbia.After that, we finally arrived at the Greyhound's terminus on the west coast of the United States and Canada, near the Arctic Circle in White Horse (White Horse). On September 3rd, on a fine sunny day, I came to the long-awaited Baima Town.This town has a bit of background: more than 20 years ago, "Reader's Digest" introduced it in a special article, saying that it is a famous paradise for wage earners in Canada because it has rich gold mines.Not only Canada, but also many wage-earners from the United States and even the world come here for gold.Many of them are self-help travelers around the world. They traveled thousands of miles to Baima Town and worked as miners for two or three months. It is said that they can earn five thousand or even tens of thousands of dollars!It's a pity that Baima Town is close to the Arctic Circle, and there are only six, seven, and eight months of work every year. The rest of the time is freezing cold, with the coldest being minus 50 degrees, which is not suitable for people to live in.

It was quite chilly in Baima Town in September, and after the Greyhounds headed south, the bus station looked very deserted.I'm going to keep going north, into the Arctic Circle, into Alaska. Canada is a country with a lot of land and few people, and its reputation is well-deserved: there is no one in the station, and there is no one in sight outside the station.Under the big sun, a cold wind blows head-on, but I can't feel the slightest warmth. At present, the only thing I have to do is to try to find a car to go north to Alaska.There is no autumn here, and the severe winter is coming, cars are going south, and it is difficult to find a car going north.

In a thirty-minute walk, I have already walked all over Baima Town.There are two or three Chinese restaurants in the town, the business is slow, and they look listless.After I went in, the guys saw that I was not here to eat, and their faces were very ugly.They are old Cantonese who came here from Hong Kong, and lack the hospitable character of mainland Chinese.But after all, they are both Chinese. After I expressed my intention and asked for help, they instructed me to go to the gas station to try my luck. Without further ado.Ten minutes later, I was wandering inside the gas station.Cars followed one another, but most of them went south to Vancouver.After waiting and asking questions like this, I still couldn't get on the car after more than an hour.It's almost dusk, and it will be even harder to go if you don't go. Where will you sleep at night?

Suddenly, a huge monster drove up in front of my eyes. It turned out to be a motor house called a motor house, with six beds in it.A tall white American man jumped out of the car seat, looking very mighty and fierce.I walked forward without hope, and asked him when he was refueling: Where is your car going? Anchorage (Anchorage, the capital of Alaska). He answered simply and coldly. I gently whispered to him: Can I take a ride? He looked at me, nodded and said: OK, come up! In this way, I didn't even have time to be happy, and in a few seconds I got on this house car that I could sleep in.

Steve.Hello Steve Sauna! Hello, Fred Ma! After introducing each other and talking briefly, I knew that this mighty-looking big man was a police officer in a prison in Alaska. During the summer vacation, he took his wife and two daughters in high school to travel to the United States and Canada.With the inconvenience of three female relatives, it was really not easy for Steve to let me, a homeless man of unknown origin, get in the car and sleep together in the car for three days. Steve and his wife took turns driving, over mountains and ridges, across countless glaciers and valleys, after two days and two nights of hard running, they entered Alaska, USA.After passing through Fort Yukon and Fairbanks in the Arctic Circle, I finally arrived in Anchorage safely.

Steve is cold on the outside, but warm and hospitable on the inside.He and his wife invited me to his house for two days.I was leaving early in the morning on the third day. I took a photo with him and thanked him again and again. After that, I went to a Chinese restaurant there.The boss, Ma Yuwen, is an overseas Chinese from Korea. He likes photography and traveling. We quickly became friends.I decided to stay here and work for a month. Ma Yuwen took me to visit his restaurant, explained the work situation, and then asked me whether I wanted to be a waiter in the front canteen or do odd jobs in the back kitchen.

Serving as a waiter in the canteen, commonly known as the server or waiter, must be able to speak general English and menu English, write down the dishes ordered by the guests enthusiastically and carefully, and then submit them to the kitchen; when the dishes are ready, they will be delivered to the table.This job is simple and flexible. I usually work two hours each for lunch and dinner. The tips and basic salary I earn total between US$1,500 and US$2,000 per month.There is no need to pay taxes, because this is a temporary part-time job, and if you are a waiter with a fixed job, you have to pay a quarter of your salary as a tax.American restaurant waiters, because they take tips as their main salary, generally have a good service attitude, and the quality of the waiters themselves is relatively high.This is a respected industry in American society, and many restaurant waiters are often high-achieving students with a master's or doctoral degree. It's hard life being a handyman in the kitchen.Start work at ten o'clock in the morning and end at ten o'clock in the evening, a full twelve hours, absolutely no idle time.The handyman is the eighth grade worker in the kitchen, second only to the lowest rank dishwashing worker in the kitchen of an American restaurant.At present, although the dishwasher is used to wash the dishes, one still has to wipe the dishes by hand. It is monotonous and tiring, and the monthly salary is only 800 US dollars. This kind of work is generally performed by Asian, South American ethnic minorities and black women. brain.The handyman is still under the dishwasher, so you can imagine how low-level it is.Twelve hours a day, handymen all have to follow the orders of their superiors (including the dishwashers): carry rice noodles, carry drinks, peel onions, remove duck bones, chop meat sauce, put into the freezer, clean toilets, buy cigarettes, pour rubbish, wait.When the work was over in the dead of night, he had to clean up everything inside and out before he could leave.Of course, although a handyman is lowly, he requires strong limbs and sometimes brains, so the salary can be $1,000. As a canteen waiter, my ability is more than enough.But when I think back, I can't learn anything when I'm a waiter, and I can't feel the sweetness and sourness; besides, the inside story of the restaurant is all in the back kitchen.If you want to learn about Chinese restaurants in the United States, or even learn about the so-called low-level jobs that ordinary people can't experience, then you have no choice but to work as a handyman in the kitchen. good!Brother Yuwen, I decided to work as a handyman in the kitchen to see the real situation in the kitchen. That's wrong!Your brother is a world-class photographer, writer, and traveler. How can you be a handyman? Ma Yuwen is a Korean overseas Chinese with a successful career. He immigrated to the United States to run a restaurant, and he also cooks good dishes.He once invited me to his house as a guest and cooked his specialty cold noodles and kimchi; on Sundays, he drove me to see glaciers, go horseback riding, and even hunt polar bears.He couldn't understand why I let the noble waiter quit. It doesn't matter, brother Yuwen, travel is a process of continuous hardship and learning. The more hardship you endure, the more you learn.There must be a lot in the kitchen for me to learn, I am very interested. All right!According to you.However, I want to warn you first, the kitchen handyman not only needs strong physical strength and endurance, but also often enters the freezer to fetch things. Are you not afraid of the cold? rest assured!I am a good mountain climber and winter swimmer, and this job is just a test for me.But please, please don't tell the people in the restaurant about my background and origin, OK? OK!I'll give you a monthly salary of $1,000, free accommodation, not to mention three meals.During the holidays, I will go sightseeing with me.Work hard and don't get tired! In this way, on September 8th, the auspicious day when I was about to post, I started working in the kitchen of Ma Yuwen's restaurant. On the morning of the first day, Chef Zhang Dawei saw that I was at a loss in the kitchen and looked dumbfounded. In order to show his prestige as a chef, he gave me a warning: Ma, you look like a handyman.Come on, go to the basement and bring up two bags of rice! After receiving the order, I went down to the basement without saying a word.Fortunately, it was placed not far from the stairs, packed in 50kg bags.I have the experience of carrying heavy loads during travel, and I moved the rice into the kitchen in two strokes. After a while, the chef gave me another task: Ma, you peel this sack of onions, and then debone these 100 ducks.Look, will do it!Very simple.As he said that, the chef made a demonstration and deboned a duck.But I thought, this is one after all. If I get a hundred, I might lose my own hand bones if I don't pay attention. There were three jobs on the first day of part-time work, and I did them for more than four hours.Until 2:30 in the afternoon, all the guests were gone, and the hardworking people in the kitchen began to enjoy themselves, eating and drinking voraciously. Chef Zhang Dawei is from Hebei. He has been in the United States for more than a year. He doesn't know why he came here, his family background, or why he came to work as a chef.In the United States, this is called privacy, don't ask, don't ask. The second chef, Wu Li, is from Fujian. He is good at cooking delicious Fuzhou dishes, but Lao Mei doesn't like this kind of taste.Although Wu Li's craftsmanship is higher than that of Zhang Dawei, he is second to the second chef because of his moderate taste and unsuitable western style. His monthly salary is US$2,000, which is second to the chef's US$3,000.Wu Li's background is not simple. He used to be a professor in a domestic university, but he was useless in the United States. In order to survive, he had no choice but to be a chef. Xiao Wang, who is in charge of the oil pan, is a young man born and raised in Beijing. It is said that he has a family background of a big name in China, so he has a lot of background.He has a fat head and brain, and looks like an ignorant and incompetent son.Xiao Wang has some conflicts with the chef in the kitchen on weekdays: Although the chef does not have to rely on the man who handles the oil pan, if a piece of fried chicken for Xiao Wang is not cooked or burnt, and the customer reports it to the boss, the boss will blame the chef. The cook, in turn, has to scold the man who handles the frying pan.Coupled with a certain opposition between the two family backgrounds, they refused to give in to each other.This situation is like a time bomb, buried in the oil pan with knives and shovels, maybe one day there will be a kitchen show. Xiao Li, who is catching vegetables, is from South Korea. He is a Chinese-Korean mixed race. He is tall, thin, and not very talkative.His brother has long feet and long hands, so he can run quickly in the small area of ​​the kitchen. He used to be a fan of Kung Fu. He has practiced a few boxing moves, and his movements are brisk and skillful when catching vegetables.Sometimes when there are many guests, the chef can prepare a dish in ten seconds, which is largely due to Xiao Li.Of course, in all Chinese restaurants, the master chef or the second chef is unambiguous in grasping the dishes; grasping and frying must be combined, and the beauty and realm of Chinese cuisine are all in it. Dishwasher Kim Sun-il is a genuine Korean, about 30 years old, young, and can only earn the minimum wage of 800 US dollars a month.He has a well-behaved and lovely five-year-old daughter who often comes to restaurants waiting to go home with her dad.It was later learned that Kim Sun-il came to the United States to accompany his wife to study for a master's degree at the University of Alaska; in order to accompany his wife and let his daughter see his mother every day, he resolutely resigned from his high-paying position as a manager of a trading company in Seoul and came here.Because he has no status (U.S. citizenship or U.S. green card), he has to work in a restaurant, and $800 seems to provide basic living security. When I learned that Kim Sun-il sacrificed himself for his wife and daughter, I thought he was a great person and admired him very much.Often, I help him wash the dishes, even when he has something to go home early or can't come, I do the dishes for him for free. This afternoon, I had just eaten, and before I could catch my breath, the chef assigned the work for the afternoon.All assigned to me is thick, heavy and complicated: carrying drinks and canned food to and from the basement; moving frozen meat and fish to and from the sub-zero temperature freezer to defrost; peeling and cutting onions, deboning chicken, and taking out the garbage Wait; by the way, let me buy cigarettes for him. At five o'clock, when the first batch of guests were seated, the second chef suddenly ordered me to take a few carrots and shred them.I've never cut this thing.Just as I was shredding, the chef told the second chef to hurry up!The second chef told me to hurry up!It didn't matter if he called, because he cut too fast, and cut the knife on his own finger.Fortunately, only a layer of skin was cut off and some blood was shed.In desperation, the chef rushed over and cut it himself, scolding while cutting: Ma, you useless thing, you can't cut vegetables, what else can you do?Work as a handyman for a lifetime! I was busy stopping the bleeding, and I wanted to reply to him, but I endured it.I thought to myself, it would be disrespectful to argue with an old man like him, forget it, just be patient, wouldn't the world be peaceful! Americans attach great importance to dinner and treat dinner as a main meal, so the dinner time in restaurants is particularly tense and busy.I kept receiving orders from the chef, the second chef, Xiao Li, and even Xiao Wang, to do this and that, to run up and down, to get in and out; Plates and chopsticks piled up like a mountain, so I also went to help.All night, I was running up and down the kitchen, back and forth, left and right, doing everything. It turns out that the handyman in the kitchen is a bit like a doctor of all things. If you don’t know it, you have to learn and sell it now. This is exactly the same as dealing with various situations when you are on a self-help trip: fresh, exciting, and a little adventurous. The difference is that one has a vast sea and sky, and the other squats like a frog at the bottom of a well.Now, for me, it's both.I stayed in the big world outside for too long, and suddenly came to the bottom of the well, and found a very interesting small world here. Fast forward many days, and it's time for a particularly busy Friday dinner. That day, Xiao Wang seemed to have encountered something unpleasant, and he was depressed and unhappy all day long.Dinner was very busy on Friday. A dozen or so waiters kept ordering and ordering food, urging them to hurry up; the chef was even more busy.Xiao Wang was a little slow, but was severely scolded by the chef.At this time, the second chef was too busy, so he urged Xiao Wang to hurry up.In this way, Xiao Wang was attacked by the big chef and the second chef, and the more he thought about it, the more angry he became.Suddenly, he slammed a chicken leg into the oil pan, and the oil splashed all over the place. The chef dodged violently, and the fire was already burning in the pan.This moment is really adding fuel to the fire: I saw Xiao Wang holding a spatula for oil, and the chef copying a frying pan spoon. The two heroes confronted each other, and they were extremely nervous.The chef spoke first: Xiao Wang, put down the shovel, what do you want? I don't want to do anything, you have the kind to come outside.As Xiao Wang said, he moved his body, picked up a large kitchen knife, and made a gesture of walking outside. The chef saw that Xiao Wang had an extra knife in his hand, not to be outdone, he picked up a bigger knife and moved his body. Everyone in the kitchen stopped to watch, only the dishwasher couldn't stop, the dishes were piled up like a mountain, and if they didn't wash, they couldn't serve food. Xiao Wang moved outside, and the chef was about to follow up. At this time, the waiter had already reported to the boss, and the boss arrived in time, and angrily scolded both parties: Hello!What are you doing?If you really want to fight, go out and fight!Don't come back. Seeing the boss coming, the two quickly put down their weapons, returned to their original positions, and continued to work. This turmoil started quickly and ended quickly, less than three minutes before and after. Although Chef and Xiao Wang temporarily turned off the fire, the smoldering fire was still pressing in my heart, and the flame was still there. I was worried for them and for the boss.For this reason, I made some suggestions to Ma Yuwen, urging the chef to stop scolding a few words, and comfort Xiao Wang to be patient.Everyone gave way, and the kitchen has been much more peaceful since then. After everyone finished their work that night, they had a hearty meal and then drove home in silence.It turned out that Xiao Li or Xiao Wang drove me to and from the restaurant every day. Xiao Wang was in a bad mood that night, so Xiao Li took him to go shopping at nightlife, and Wang Kaili, a waitress from Taiwan, gave me a ride instead.As soon as I got in the car, I asked Kelly: If you don't live well in Taiwan, why come to Alaska to suffer foreign crimes? Foreign crime?I came here voluntarily!Let's change the environment! Kelly, have you seen the scene in the kitchen just now?Chinese people here should live in harmony and not quarrel. I've seen it a few times, and it's okay for them to use knives. Some restaurants quarrel and even draw guns to hurt people. That's terrible! Kelly has been in the United States for three years and has been working as a restaurant waiter. Seeing that she has a good temperament and an orderly conversation, why do you feel wronged?I asked her curiously, and she replied: Taiwan is small and crowded, and the air is terrible. When I came to Alaska to relax, I fell in love with it and didn't want to leave.I majored in liberal arts in college, which is not useful in the United States. Waiting in a restaurant is a suitable job for life!After another two years, my savings can buy a small restaurant and become my own boss. I hope you become the boss sooner, next time I go to Alaska to work in your restaurant, okay? good!Welcome.By the way, what are you working for, not for living?I don't look like you! Kelly is an intellectual, and she can sense my background, but let her know one, not the other. oh!I'm just a nomad who loves to travel around the world.On the road again in a month. Then your part-time job is just for fun, to see all kinds of life.However, most of the kitchen is full of ignorant old men, so be careful! Thanks, I'll be careful.I often cut my hands when chopping vegetables. The chef said that I can't even chop vegetables, so what else can I do! Ha, that chef is a genuine old man, and the dishes he cooks are extremely unpalatable. Only a fool and an old beauty can taste it. makes sense.I think the second chef, Wu Li, cooks good dishes, but it's a pity that they don't suit Lao Mei's taste. That's right, this is a Chinese restaurant for Lao Mei!oh!Here we are, the intersection ahead is the dormitory, good night! Good night!Thanks for sending me. The temperature outside the car was sub-zero, and the icy cold air instantly penetrated through the thin clothes and pressed against the skin, creating a feeling of coolness.When entering the well-heated room, there is another burst of pleasure that instantly penetrates and clings to the skin. It is warm and suddenly feels the hard work of twelve hours a day.People, it turns out that this is how they live, is it necessary or unnecessary? Alas, it doesn't matter how people live, how to live is the most important thing now: After a day of tiredness, take off your clothes, take a big bath, and have a good time!Turn on the TV, bury yourself on the couch, and enjoy a cold, refreshing beer.Life is nothing more than that, let's talk about tomorrow's affairs tomorrow. Working part-time is for living. When working part-time, a person is a machine.Part-time work is a way of life, a way to adjust the mind and body, a little tired, a little monotonous, and a little adventurous. During that time I will enjoy the natural scenery there to the fullest.The glaciers and icebergs in Alaska are one of the wonders of the world. On Sunday, I drove to the bay in the suburbs to open my eyes.It is really extraordinary, large and small icebergs are arranged in strings, some are like giant beasts, some are like beautiful women; icebergs are derived from the breaks of glaciers when they move, and they float around like duckweed, changing with changes in ocean currents, wind direction and temperature. Constantly fend for itself.I have also boarded a cruise ship to watch the magnificent scene of a huge iceberg breaking and pouring into the sea. This is like watching the magnificent Himalayas in Nepal, which has an absolutely shocking and moving sense of presence.Such a sense of presence is exactly what a persistent traveler longs for. The days of part-time work are hard and tense, and I start to be busy every day when I go to work, and it seems that there is no time to stop and think. The part-time job must be real and do all the things that should be done.Peace is a blessing, study hard, in this way, life will pass faster.In a blink of an eye, the day of vacation came again. This Sunday, driven by Xiao Li, we went north to Fairbanks (Fairbanks) and traveled into the Arctic Circle within 67 degrees north latitude. The car travels northeast along Alaska Highway 1, passes through Glen HwY, and turns north into Richardson HwY.Two hours later, the car crossed Fairbanks on Highway 2, proceeded along the James Dalton Highway (James Dalton HwY) parallel to the Trans Alaska Pipeline (Trans Alaska Pipeline), and crossed 67 degrees north latitude of the Arctic Circle.into the range of the North Pole.Areas north of this latitude, even under the scorching sun, still feel chilly.As soon as the car passed through the Endicott Mts (Endicott Mts), a large expanse of white and boundless Arctic Ocean (Arctic Ocean) appeared in front of it.This is the extreme northern part of the United States, with the small town of Prudhoe nearby, and the famous Eskimo town of Barrow in the northernmost part of the west. The Arctic Ocean has been gradually freezing since September. During the long three seasons of autumn, winter, and spring, the sea is completely frozen, and it is impossible to tell which is land and which is ocean. Overlooking the Arctic Ocean, the sky is blue and the sea is white.From the northernmost land here, walk onto the white ice sea, and go northward for 2,000 kilometers to the North Pole (North Pole).The first person in the world to reach the North Pole alone was the Japanese explorer Mr. Uemura.Back then, as the strongest and bravest man in the world, he brought enough clothes, food and locators, drove a dog sled, and hiked to and from the center of the North Pole with the same difficulty and danger as climbing Mount Everest, the highest point in the world. . forget it!Don't keep looking at the sea, it's a vast expanse of whiteness, what's there to see?Xiao Li reminded me that it is time to leave here; there are still more than four hours to go back! All right!It's time to go back and I'll be here again.Next time I'm here, I'm headed all the way, north to the North Pole! Of course I know it's not easy, just talk about it.But as a world traveler, why not dream wildly?Might be a dream come true! In fact, it is not difficult to get to the North Pole.On Victoria Island in Canada, there is a direct flight to the North Pole, and the round trip only costs 2,000 US dollars. Anyone can pay and easily reach the North Pole.But what's the point of sightseeing like that?Only after going through all kinds of hardships and going to the North Pole with both feet, this is a real hero, worthy of the title of explorer, and he has the conditions to travel deeply into the world. After working in Alaska for a month, I couldn't get enough of it. I extended it for a month, made many friends, and traveled a lot.In November, when the winter is approaching this year, I took a direct flight to Tokyo, Japan, and headed for Kyoto, just in time to catch up with the maple red day.