Everyone loves a monkey. Didn’t we all go to the zoo and stare at the monkeys as children, mesmerized by their furry faces, their near-human acts, their funny grooming behavior? I’ll never forget how I laughed when the DH told me of the time he and his friend M. went to see the monkeys in the Houston Zoo, and how they proceeded to torment one poor monkey by pretending to give him a peanut. The monkey became so enraged that they’re pretty lucky they didn’t end up with a face full of monkey poo.
So what’s with the English Monkey? Maybe you can really only understand this idea if you’ve lived in China, but I’ll try my best to explain. An English Monkey is usually an English teacher, or token foreigner, who gets “displayed” for English school promotional purposes. As in, “Step right up, folks and look-ey here! Our English school has got us a real, live FOREIGN English teacher!” What normally happens is everyone walks by, looks the English Monkey over and shouts, “Hello!” or “How are you!” before running away, snickering. You don’t even have to be an English teacher to be an English Monkey. Sometimes, just walking through downtown you unwittingly become one, as crowds of people gather around, trying to snap photos with you and trying out their best English. Sometimes being an English Monkey can be fun, but you have to be in the right mood for it. Other times you just want to hurl poo.
Today I was asked to visit a job fair with our human resources staff and conduct some English interviews. I was worried that I was going to be the English Monkey. Fortunately, it turned out to be a fun experience, as I chatted with different people interested in our flight school. I was also kind of dreading it because I am really shy, especially around total strangers. As I spoke with potential employees about their backgrounds, English studies and hobbies, I realized how scary it must be for them. They’re probably nervous enough about finding a job, it is really competitive here, never mind that they are forced to make small talk with a monkey!
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hi!