Just a few years back, the number of speakers of English as a Second Language surpassed that of those to whom it’s their native tongue. This should position countries like India or Sri Lanka at a head start over many other developing countries in global business. If you’re like me, you may have already encountered the voice of a South Asian on the other end of a call centre conversation. Many large North American companies outsource technical assistance support centres to these countries.
Today was Sunday market in Minuwangoda. There were crowds of people shopping at tarp-covered, open-air stalls. As well as lots of vegetables we picked up a variety of newspapers. The English language newspapers in Sri Lanka are the best on weekends. They are fat, cheap, and have lots of interesting articles. The papers also have more general interest and speciality sections than the weekend Vancouver Sun back in Canada. I like looking at everything including the classified advertisements. Occasionally the contents surprise me though. The following is a verbatim copy from the Sunday Observer Magazine:
"A house and a chicken are playing in a meadow. The horse falls in a mud hole and is stinking. He calls to the chicken to go and get the farmer to help pull him out to safety. The chicken runs to the farm but the farmer can’t be found. So he drove the farmer’s Mercedes back to the mud hole and ties some rope around the bumper. He then throws the other end of the rope to his friend, the hourse, and drive the car forward saving him from sinking! A few days later, the chicken and horse were playing in the meadow again and the chicken fell into the mud hole. The chicken yelled to the horse to go and get some help from the farmer. The horse said, “I think I can stand over the hole!” So he stretched over the width of the hole and said, “Grab for my ‘thingy’ and pull yourself up.” And the chicken did and pulled himself to safety.
The moral of the story: If you are hung like a horse, you don’t need a Mercedes to pick up chicks."