馬爾他故事集 - 其名為家

「我有想過回去遠端上班。」

「但除非下定決心回去置產，否則我應該不會回去。」

在說出這句話的同時，我見到他眼裡似乎有些濕潤。

-------------------------------------

此時的我在他家樓下，

起初，穿著短袖短褲的我，在半途回去套了件薄外套。

徐徐的冷風及微爍的掛燈提醒著人們即將到來的節日。

不一會兒，我見到他穿著短袖短褲出來。

「嗨，你還好嗎?」

眼前的同事A今天請了病假，在回台灣的這段期間，

是他替我照顧了我養的兩盆小羅勒。

「一般般吧，至少不是Covid。你呢，這趟旅途怎麼樣?」

「累，見了不少老朋友也認識了些新朋友。雖說是放假回家，但似乎沒有什麼休息的感覺。尤其這單趟飛機可是要將近一天的時間吶。」

「話說回來，看看你的服裝，可不像生病的樣子。」

「哈哈，現在這季節對我來說是最舒服的時候。」

「是呀，畢竟英國比這還冷的多。」

一年前，我是公司新項目第一位入職QA，隨後便是這位同事A，整個部門就我們兩位專職完全不同項目，也因此我們彼此有較多的互動。如今，因組織變動我被抽離了專案，但彼此仍會不時談及專案目前的情況。

「所以你上次說，上個月團建你在Dr.Juice似乎出了一點狀況?」在我回台灣的這段期間，剛好該專案成員來馬爾他團建，成員多來自西班牙，在我還在專案時，我們在馬德里團建過。

「哦對，事實上那一天我們有在其他餐廳吃了魚，之後才在Dr.Juice。但回去之後我有了嚴重的過敏反應，我不確定是因為那條魚有毒，還是果汁的關係。」

我仍記得，第一次跟同事A聚餐時，他一而再再而三地向服務生確認餐點的情景，因為他不能碰奶製品、不能接觸酒精、也不碰咖啡因。這樣子的人生，該是多麼的辛苦。

之後閒聊了一番，談及了他是專案中目前唯一仍在馬爾他的成員。

「或許我這週會進辦公室?我不知道，大家都在西班牙，不管有沒有進辦公室感覺都沒有什麼差別，甚至覺得沒有什麼意義。」我能理解他的說法，當初整個QA部門近20位，只有我們2位在不同的專案裡面，而現在我不在了。他近乎是馬爾他辦公室技術部門的唯一位該項目成員。

「聖誕節你有什麼安排嗎?」這算是最近我逢人必開的一個話題，雖然我本身不怎麼過節日，新北耶誕城什麼的根本沒去過，但還是挺好奇別人有什麼樣的安排。

「我可能會回英國過節吧。」

「其實，我曾經有想過，何不乾脆就回去英國上班，反正整個團隊都在西班牙，對我來說都一樣是遠端。」我靜靜的聽他訴說著，每次我們相見，他彷彿都有不少話可以講。

「但是英國現在太貴了。」

印象中同事A家鄉位在曼城附近，剛出社會時曾到倫敦討生活，也曾至蘇格蘭待過一陣子。於2019年到馬爾他，之後遇到疫情及英國脫歐，直到今年才首次回到家鄉去探望家人，而這段期間，都是採取跟人合租的方式。

「有個仍在英國的朋友，以前我們是同事，他說他前陣子吃Subway要20鎊，你能想像嗎?」

20英鎊，大約台幣近800元，聽到的當下我很是震驚。事後我查了20鎊不是一般的潛艇堡價格，而是一份platter，但看網路上的照片感覺也不怎麼有份量。

「現在英國生活太貴了。」

確實，我自己也有認識的朋友在倫敦生活，就算是跟人合租，一個月房租也要近3萬台幣，相比之下馬爾他這邊只要1萬5，而我現在自己住則是3萬多。我還記得同事A剛入職時，問我的第一件事情就是公司什麼時候發薪水，且這情況持續了好幾個月。平時也沒見他怎麼社交，他曾經說過剛入職時被帶去吃很貴且CP值很低的披薩導致他有些陰影。簡而言之，我對他的印象就是節儉，且彷彿被錢追著跑。

「不過上次回去，踏過那熟悉的街道之後，再回到馬爾他時，真的覺得，哇，很不一樣。」

「讓我忍不住思考，為什麼我會在這裡。我是指，大城市的氛圍，嬉皮文化，那些我曾經熟悉的一切。」

「除非我下定決心回去置產，不然，這太瘋狂了。基本上我是不可能回去英國的。」

此時的我意識到，他眨眼的速度變得頻繁，同時眼裡變得有些濕潤。而我也下意識的回過頭，避開他的眼睛。我曾經問過他，英國脫歐對他有什麼影響，他說在脫歐之前他就在這辦了10年的簽證，所以暫時對他還沒有太大的影響。但是理論上，他如今的身分應該跟我一樣，所以除非他下定決心回英國且不再出來，否則在整個歐洲之內，簽證將會是個問題。他曾說過其實當時沒人認為脫歐公投會通過，然而在大時代背景之下，我們往往都是隨波逐流。

「你會想家嗎?」他問著，而這也不是我第一次被這樣問。

「我嗎，老實說我沒有什麼感覺，就只是從一個地點移動到另一個地點而已。可能我還不到那個年紀吧。」

「或許吧。」

我們靜默了一會兒。

月兒當空，萬里無雲，今夜的馬爾他，感覺特別的明亮。

換作是英國，依照那邊的爛天氣，肯定不常見到這番景象吧。

「你如果要進辦公室的話喊我一聲吧。」我說著。

他看了看我。

「要不週五?或是週二、週四也行，就是週三不行，那天有人要來我家換熱水器。」

雖然我早能料到答案，還是微笑著對他提出邀約。

儘管文化背景不同，

今晚的我們，同為異鄉人。

EN version:

"I have thought about going back to remote work."

"But unless I am determined to return to buy a house, I probably won't go back."

As he spoke these words, I noticed a hint of moisture in his eyes.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I was downstairs at his house at this moment,

Initially, I was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, then I put on a thin coat halfway through.

The gentle cold breeze and the twinkling hanging lights reminded people of the approaching holiday season.

After a while, I saw him coming out wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.

"Hi, how are you?"

Colleague A in front of me took sick leave today, and during my time back in Taiwan,

he took care of the two pots of basil I raised.

"I'm okay, at least it's not Covid. How about you? How was your trip?"

"Tiring, met a lot of old friends and made some new ones. Even though it's a holiday trip back home, it seems like there's no sense of rest. Especially since this single trip on the plane took nearly a day."

"Speaking of which, looking at your outfit, you don't seem sick."

"Haha, this season now is the most comfortable for me."

"Yeah, after all, the UK is much colder than here."

A year ago, I was the first QA hired for a new project in the company, and later Colleague A joined. During that time the entire department consisted of just the two of us working on completely different projects. Even though I've been reassigned due to organizational changes, we still occasionally discuss the current status of the projects.

"So, about what you said last time, during the team-building last month, it seems like you had a bit of trouble at Dr. Juice?" During the time I was back in Taiwan, coincidentally, the project members had a team-building activity in Malta, with most members coming from Spain. While I was still on the project, we had a team-building activity in Madrid.

"Oh, yeah, actually that day we had fish at another restaurant before going to Dr. Juice. But after going back, I had a severe allergic reaction. I'm not sure if it was because of the fish being toxic or the juice."

I still remember, during our first team dinner, Colleague A repeatedly confirmed with the waiter about the meal, as he couldn't consume dairy products, alcohol, or caffeine. Such a life must be quite difficult.

After chatting for a while, we talked about how he's currently the only project member left in Malta.

"Maybe I'll go to the office this week? I don't know, everyone is in Spain, and whether I go to the office or not doesn't seem to make much of a difference. It doesn't even seem meaningful." I can understand his point. Initially, in the entire QA department of about 20 people, only the two of us were working on different projects, and now that I'm no longer there, he's practically the only project member in the technical department in Malta.

"What are your plans for Christmas?" This seems to be the topic I bring up whenever I meet someone, even though I'm not particularly festive myself, I've never been to New Taipei City Christmasland, but I'm curious about what others have planned.

"I might go back to the UK for Christmas."

"Actually, I've thought, why not just go back to work in the UK? After all, the whole team is in Spain, and to me, it's all remote work anyway." I silently listened to him speak. Every time we meet, he seems to have a lot to say.

"But the cost of living in the UK is too high."

I remember Colleague A's hometown is near Manchester. When he first started working, he lived in London for a while and spent some time in Scotland. He came to Malta in 2019, and during the COVID and Brexit, he only returned to visit his family this year and lived in a shared apartment.

"I have a friend who is still in the UK, we used to be colleagues. He said that he had to pay 20 pounds for Subway recently. Can you imagine?"

20 pounds, about 800 Taiwanese dollars. I was quite shocked when I heard it. Afterwards, I checked, 20 pounds is not the price of a regular sandwich but a platter. Yet, from the photos I saw online, it didn't seem to have much quantity.

"Life in the UK is too expensive now."

Indeed, I also know friends living in London, even with shared accommodation, the rent is nearly 30,000 Taiwan dollars a month, whereas here in Malta, it's only 15,000. I still remember that when Colleague A first started, his first question to me was when the company paid salaries, and this continued for several months. He doesn't seem to socialize much either. He once said that he was taken to eat an expensive and low-value pizza when he first started, which left him somewhat bad experience. In short, my impression of him is that he's thrifty and seems to be chased by money.

"But when I went back and stepped on those familiar streets, and then returned to Malta, I really felt, wow, it's so different."

"It makes me wonder why I'm here. I mean, the atmosphere of a big city, the hippie culture, all those things I used to be familiar with."

"Unless I am determined to return and buy a house, it's crazy. Basically, it's impossible for me to go back to the UK." At this point, I realized that the blinking speed of his eyes became frequent, and at the same time, they became somewhat moist. Subconsciously, I turned my head, avoiding eye contact with him. I once asked him about the impact of Brexit on him, and he said that he had a 10-year visa before Brexit, so there hasn't been much impact on him for now. But theoretically, his current status should be the same as mine, so unless he is determined to return to the UK and not come out again, visas within the whole of Europe will be an issue. He once said that at that time, no one thought the Brexit referendum would pass, yet in such a big era, we often go with the flow.

"Do you miss home?" he asked, and this wasn't the first time I've been asked this question.

"Me? Honestly, I don't feel much, it's just moving from one place to another. Maybe I'm not at that age yet."

"Perhaps."

We remained silent for a while.

The moon hung high in the sky, cloudless, and tonight in Malta, it felt particularly bright.

If it were in the UK, given the bad weather there, scenes like this would probably be rare.

"If you're going to the office, let me know." I said.

He looked at me.

"How about Friday? Or Tuesday, Thursday also works. Just not Wednesday, someone is coming to my house to change the water heater that day." Even though I could have guessed the answer early, I still smiled and extended the invitation to him.

Despite different cultural backgrounds,

Tonight, we were both strangers in a foreign land.