Spirited Away

We watched the part of Spririted Away about the stink/river god tonight. After Sen pulls out all the garbage that was inside the river god, she becomes enveloped in a bubble of water. When the river god talks to her, does everyone hear what he says, or is he just talking to her? He just tells her that she did a good job, but I don't know if the rest of the gods and workers heard the compliment. Does this acknowledgement play a large part in her maturity in the story, or is her maturity just a factor of the labor? I cannot recall specific actions she takes before and afterward that would show the maturity. Let me know what you think!