Walking and biking are good ways to meet people who you wouldn't otherwise get to talk to. I have befriended the security guards at the entrances of the campus. Here's a quick description of their work life.
The guard at the west gate is a thin man probably a few years my junior. Always cheerful and jolly, he does his job dutifully and cheerfully. He sits in a small guard house, checking the cars and mopeds to make sure they have the university permit before they enter. Occasionally he assists the campus security in towing illegally parked mopeds on the parking lot near the entrance. He works from 6am to 7pm, seven days a week, with no paid vacation days all year round. He makes about NT$40000 a month, a salary he considers incredibly handsome. (I heard that the average salary for a recent college grad is NT $20000+. This is lower than 10 years ago.)
He is married to a kindergarten teacher, and has a 4-year-old daughter whom he rarely visits, as she lives with grandparents in Kaohsiung. He told me that he plans to save all his money and send his daughter to an English-speaking country for education, so she "will have the advantage of being bilingual, which will make her competitive in the work force". These are his words. I feel sad for the little girl.
In comparison, the guard at the main gate has it much harder. He told me that he works 15 hours a day, from 7am to 11pm. He doesn't have a guard room or shelter. The campus entrance is now under construction, so his job is to stand in the traffic and direct the cars to a detour. I asked if he ever gets to spend time with family, and he said "I only go home to eat and sleep. " "Aren't there labor laws?" He shrugged, "This is Taiwan, you work and you get money, you don't work and you don't get money. Do you want to get the money or not?" I don't know about you, but I have a hard time imagining someone working 15 hours standing in traffic, in cold rain, in high humidity and heat, every day, all day. He must be just a few years older than me, and with a family to feed. Does he HAVE TO work so many hours? Or does he just think he has to work so much? Actually, he doesn't look as unhappy as I think he should be, which makes me wonder if I am worry for him unnecessarily. Time with family, time to get out into nature, time to relax, maybe he doesn't perceive any need for these things. Maybe he is just fine. I should ask him.
In either case, it's sad for me to hear the lives of these guys. They are very nice and cheerful folks. So why am I upset? Should I be upset? What do you all think?
