Starfucks 星法克

我以前是上班族。台灣第一家麥當勞就開在我工作的大樓的隔壁。在那之後美國餐廳要來台灣開分店，會選擇開在麥當勞附近，例如偉克商人、茹絲葵＆Tony Roma’s。當星法克侵入台灣時，當然也會在附近開一間。好奇心殺死一隻貓。我得去看看有名的星法克長什麼樣子。

I used to be an office worker. The first McDonald’s in Taiwan opened next to the building I worked. After that some American restaurants opened their first store around there, like Trader Vic’s, Ruth Christ, Tony Roma’s. When Starfucks invaded Taiwan over twenty years ago, certainly they opened a store there. Curiosity kills a cat. I wanted to have a look of that famous Starfucks.

我走進店裡，已經有一些客人就座，看起來很年輕。有些人在用蘋果筆電。超過二十年前，連３Ｇ都沒有的時代，擁有一台蘋果筆電表示你不是普通的某人，而是特別的某人。也許是因為這個原因，這些個某人希望別人可以看到他們的蘋果筆電，所以他們來到星法克展示他們的蘋果筆電。當這些某人感覺到有人在看他們時，你真該看看他們洋洋得意的樣子。

I walked into it and saw some customers sitting around there. Very young were they. Some of them were using their Apple laptops. Over twenty years ago, when you owned an Apple laptop, it meant that you were not just somebody; you were a more special somebody. Maybe due to this reason, they wanted people to see their Apple laptop, so they went to a Starfucks to display it. When they sensed people were looking at them, you should see how they gloated.

我站在櫃台前點咖啡，服務人員的問候超級友善。點好咖啡後，他們用英文重覆我的訂單。沒錯，用英文。我很不解。我到底在哪裡？我不是在台灣嗎？我很確定服務人員的母語是國語。再者，他們還問我姓什麼，好把我的姓寫在咖啡紙杯上，我只好告訴他們我姓什麼。我不明白發生了什麼事，只不過是買一杯咖啡，我得告訴他們我姓什麼？然後我的姓被大聲的喊出來，全店的人都聽到我姓什麼。我拿了咖啡後閃人。超級的不知所措。買一杯咖啡得到的熱忱款待對我而言太多太多了。

I stood in front of the counter to order my coffee and the servers greeted me super friendly. I placed my order, then they repeated it in English. Yes, in English. I was so confused. Where was I? I thought I was in Taiwan. Moreover, they asked for my last name to write it on the paper cup, so I offered my last name. What was going on here? I was pretty sure that I just came for a coffee. Why on earth did they want to know my last name? Then my last name was called, again in a super friendly way. I grabbed my coffee and took off. Super bewildered, I was. Such enthusiasm over a cup of coffee was too much for me.

我當然不再去星法克，不然會被店裡的熱忱淹死。現在很少喝咖啡，如果有也是去小小的咖啡店買。那種店通常是老闆一人經營的小店。他們很友善，但不會過度友善。他們很懂咖啡。如果你有時間，他們會把他們的咖啡知識全部跟你說。雖然店小，拜天龍國的高租金之賜，他們提供很多種不同的咖啡豆和飲料。雖然店小，他們甚至還能在裡面烘豆子。這些小店的主人總是讓我讚歎。在那一間小小的咖啡店，我看到澎湃的熱情。奇怪的是，他們的熱情一點都沒有讓我感到不舒服或不知所措。

I stopped going to Starfucks or I would probably be flooded to death by the over enthusiasm. Now I rarely drink coffee. If I do, I go to tiny little cafes. It is usually run by only one person, the owner itself. They are friendly, but not over friendly. They know a lot about coffee. If you ask them about coffee, and you have time, they can tell you everything about coffee they know. Even though the café is very small, thanks to the ridiculous rent in Taipei, they offer a variety of coffee beans and drinks. Even though the café is very small, they even manage to roast coffee beans in the store. These owners never cease to amaze me. I see their abundance of enthusiasm and passion in that very tiny café. And oddly enough, such enthusiasm doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable and bewildered at all.

照片是看書看到睡著的謝阿福

帕比樂英文小公寓上讀英文小說和會話

地點在台北市大同區

初級者有書蟲分級讀本可讀

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