Yung is 30-something years old. After finishing his Peace Studies abroad, traveling and working at an NGO in the Philippines, he brought his experience back to his hometown Tainan. He rented an old house in the city’s historical district, completely renovated the place, and opened up LGBT-friendly and bike-friendly café. The vintage bike parked at the door is an inviting sign for people to bike to the cafe. The atmosphere at the café is cozy and comfy. The bookshelves are full of travel books and magazines in both Chinese and English for the customers to read. Whenever they brew Thai milk tea and Vietnamese coffee, a vibrant aroma diffuses throughout the whole cafe. Yung said the thing he enjoys the most about owning that café is that there is an independent space for people with different opinions to exchange their thoughts and travel experiences. A customer who taught English in local school even quit her job and went to the UK to volunteer because she was inspired by Yung’s travel experiences.
阿勇年約三十多歲，到國外完成和平研究的學業跟四處遊歷，在菲律賓的非營利組織工作一陣子後，把在外生活的風景帶回故鄉台南，租了歷史街區的老房子大幅整修，開了一家友善同志跟友善單車的旅遊咖啡店，還沒進門就可以看見停在門口的一輛老單車，似乎是在邀請客人也多騎單車來跟老單車作伴。那裡的氣氛舒適自在，書架上擺滿了中英文旅遊書籍跟雜誌供客人閱讀，每當調製泰國奶茶、越南咖啡等飲品時，整間店總是香氣四溢。他說，最開心的事就是能有一個獨立的空間，讓各種不同理念的人們聚集交流想法，交換旅遊的經歷，過去曾經有學校的英文老師在聽過自己的旅遊經歷之後，就辭職前往英國當志工了。
Yung’s long-term goal is to open two cafés, one with a travel theme and the other to be called “Left Side Café.” He hopes that Café Flâneur, the one he is running now, can give him enough money to start the second café, which will be a space for people to talk about social issues. His café also plays an active role in “Democratic Store Front”. When the Sunflower Movement started in March, a group of people from Tainan came together voluntarily, hosting various speeches about social issues as well as meetings and sit-ins. Yung is one of the store owners that provides a space for people to discuss, and deepens the understanding of current events and social issues at the same time. When asked how “Democratic Store Front” decides which issues to support, he said that the stores involved strongly emphasize democratic process. As a result, sometimes consensus is only found after a long discussion. However, in exchange for the patience and persistence comes a better understanding of the partners in the discussion process.
During the Sunflower Movement, Yung and his girlfriend Mao-mao were restless and eagerly wanted to know the situation at the Legislative Yuan, so they went up north to take part in the sit-in. As well as being encouraged by the civil movement, they also saw the struggle and conflict in the social movement’s participants. For example, the people who were trying to help maintain public order at the protest site did not notice that enforcing order on the protesters is creating a different authority. He said that being part of the social movement in various ways given him more courage to be more vocal to express his own opinions about social issues.
There was once a member from a local church who stopped by to get coffee and criticized the Marriage Equality poster on the wall. Yung discussed his opinions with the customer freely. He said that before the Sunflower Movement he was hesitant about displaying brochures related to the “No Nukes” and Anti-Service-Pact movements in the store. Now he thinks he needs to be able to listen to more voices, even heated debates. Awareness of the China issues has been raised during the Sunflower Movement, and Yung entioned that the demographics of his clientele have changed a little. The style of the café is becoming closer to what he imagines for his second dream café.
阿勇的長期目標是開兩家咖啡店，一間以旅遊為主題，另一間想叫「左邊咖啡」。他希望現在經營的暖暖蛇咖啡館可以讓他有足夠的財力籌備第二家咖啡店，讓人們在這個空間裡討論社會議題。他的店也是台南民主店頭的活躍角色之一，民主店頭是三月太陽花運動後，台南一群民眾自發性地組成的行動小組，討論服貿跟核能等各種議題的看法，商家、設計師、上班族、家庭主婦等各種背景的志工齊力合作，舉辦各式社會議題演講、會議、靜坐等活動，提供空間跟討論平台，也深化自己對時事跟社會議題的理解。當問起民主店頭如何決定支持哪些議題，他說，這些店家很重視民主程序，所以有時會討論很久才能形成共識，但這樣的耐心跟堅持換來伙伴在討論過程中更了解彼此的想法。
太陽花運動期間阿勇跟女友毛毛急切想知道立法院現場的狀況，兩人搭車北上加入靜坐，除了受到公民行動的鼓舞外，也看到人們參與民主運動的掙扎體驗與矛盾，例如示威現場維護秩序的糾察，卻沒注意到規範想突破威權體制的參加者守秩序，本身就是建立另一套威權。他說，透過各種行動成為社會運動的一份子，讓他更有勇氣表達自己對社會議題的立場。
之前有位路過喝咖啡的教會人士在看到店裡的多元成家海報後頗有微詞，他坦然跟客人討論交換立場。他說，學運前本來會顧忌在店裡擺放反核跟反服貿文宣，但他現在認為，店裡應該要包容更多的聲音，甚至有更激烈的爭論。中國議題在太陽花運動期間引起危機意識，他說，現在店裡的客群有些改變。店頭的風格似乎也更接近他夢想中的第二間咖啡店了。
圖文: Lin Hsiu-Chuan
翻譯: Meihsing Kuo
暖暖蛇咖啡館臉書
