The Small Hotel Room

by Ya Li Fan

I have been working at the Fairfield Hotel for almost 5 years. In the past five years I have gone from a person who knew nothing about house cleaning to a very skilled veteran and I feel somewhat proud of it.

The Fairfield Hotel is a warm family, where employees from different countries gather every morning. They greet each other in English, Spanish and Chinese. Our young and beautiful boss Erica often greets me in Chinese with a strong American accent. It warms my heart. Sometimes I forget to reply “Thank you” in Chinese. Instead, I say thank you in English smoothly. It makes Erica and I laugh continuously whenever Erica and I meet. This lively and heart-warming scene always makes me laugh from the bottom of my heart.

Erica’s approachable and amiable manner towards the employees made me immediately feel a bit in awe of Erica the boss.

Adrianna is a young, friendly and fair foreman. She helps every one of our staff clean the rooms. My English is limited, and Adrianna taught me how to use various disinfectants and write my name on the bottles of disinfectants with a pen.

Employees Lettie and Diana are mother and daughter. They are veteran employees who have been working in the hotel for more than ten years. When I first started working, I often asked Lettie for help when I encountered problems that I didn’t understand. Lettie always smiled and told me what to do.

I remember one time when I was cleaning my room and I knocked on the door. I forgot what housekeeping said. I said “Housepek’ing” smoothly. I know I made a mistake, but I couldn’t remember what the housekeeping department said. When I saw Lettie in the corridor, I gestured with my hand to knock on the door. Lettie smiled and said “Houseman”. I knew she was joking. This heartwarming scene.

After a long period of working, we employees get along very harmoniously. I feel like something is missing after not seeing each other for a few days. Whenever I finish work, I drive my car and face the sunset on my way home. I always singing loudly, hoping that tomorrow will be better…

Oh! The small hotel room is the big stage of my life!