Kaohsiung's Full-Time Volunteer-Alex

　" If go to Taipei, people shake hands with me; if I visit Taichung people greet me, saying welcome; however, people of Kaohsiung invite me to drink beer with them." said Alexander P. Habereder (Alex), an Austrian who has chosen to live in Kaohsiung and has devoted himself to be a volunteer in our town for the past two years. Before he moved to Kaohsiung, he would fly 16-20 hours in order to visit the island over a weekend and fly all the way back to Austria, before he moved to Kaohsiung.

　As a volunteer, Alex regularly serves at Cijin Information Center from Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, he volunteers at the Confucius Temple in Zuoying. Alex's dedication to volunteerism and his knowledge about Kaohsiung has been recognized and appreciated by many other information centers around the city. As a result, he has an extremely tight schedule on weekdays and weekends, keeping him occupied as a "full-time volunteer." Alex remarked that many Taiwanese tourists do not realize how international Kaohsiung has transformed into, until they surprisingly discover that they were requesting information from him. In fact, tourists can find information about Cijin written in many languages, such as Chinese, English, German, Japanese, French, Thai, etc. due to the tremendous efforts of Alex and his colleagues.they surprisingly discover that they were requesting information from him. In fact, tourists can find information about Cijin written in many languages, such as Chinese, English, German, Japanese, French, Thai, etc. due to the tremendous efforts of Alex and his colleagues.

　Apart from being a city volunteer, he has also been appointed by Kaohsiung City Government as a commissioner on the Bilingual Environment Committee, which aims to create friendly English environments through working closely with the citizens.

　Alex's love for local food and people here has helped him develop friendships in his neighborhood community over the years. He enjoys having dumplings with neighbors or cooking for his friends who come from different countries. In the summertime, Alex takes the bus to Cijin I-Center. Occasionally, he enjoys taking a walk to the station in order to observe people and appreciate street sights. In wintertime, Alex always rides his bicycle to work. That's how our beloved "full-time volunteer" Alex starts his day of work at his very own pace.

高雄的全職志工Alex

◎文．攝影／王雅湘

　　來自奧地利的Alex曾在三年前數次造訪過台灣、台北，因為喜愛台灣的食物以及台灣的人民，他笑著說那時他會利用週末的時間，搭乘16~20個小時不等的時間，只為了到台灣短暫的旅遊三天，然後再飛回去。問起Alex 為何選擇落腳於高雄市，Alex給了個令人莞爾一笑的答案：他說如果他到台北，台北人會與他握手寒暄；台中人會跟他說聲歡迎光臨，而高雄人則會邀請他一起喝啤酒。

　　二年前，這份對台灣的熱情讓他選擇定居於高雄市，全心投入志工行列；事實上，Alex在高雄的志工工作可說是行程滿檔，稱他為「全職志工」可說是一點也不為過。Alex每週一至週四都會在旗津輪渡站旁的旗津旅客服務中心駐點服務之外，週五他則到孔廟擔任志工；Alex說時常有台灣旅客踏進旅客服務中心，面對跟外國人Alex咨詢高雄的旅遊資訊，總到感瞠目結舌，高雄國際化的程度著實讓許多遊客大吃一驚。旗津旅客服務中心在Alex與I-Center的工作伙伴努力之下，備有以中文、英語、德語、日語、法語、泰語等許多語言版本的旗津簡介，以及各個單位提供的旅遊手冊。

　　Alex同時也是高雄市政府「營造英語環境生活委員會」的委員，委員會的工作包括輔導、協助餐廳的英語菜單、英語街道名稱等，透過與市民密切合作，從不同的層面為城市創造出更友善的英語環境。

　　住在左營的Alex，平日會與鄰居一起享用水餃，也會在家設宴款待同樣來自不同國家的朋友，還會烘焙蛋糕與朋友分享；在夏季，會乘坐公車到旗津上班，心血來潮時會在五福路下車，一路踏著悠閒的步伐，觀察路人百態，揭開志工生活的一天；冬天，則騎著單車上班，這就是Alex─高雄的全職志工。