The office has started implementing the English Friday program. We are all supposed to speak only English on Friday afternoon. There is a fine of 5 Baht for every Thai word. The money will go to food/snack fund in each department. We all have a food corner to leave the food/snacks we've bought, everyone can eat those.
Last week was the first week of this English program. After lunch break, the office went quiet for a while. Then there was some giggling, as some people wanted to talk, but couldn't think of the expression they like in English. Then there were some expressions like...
THIS IS A BOOK! (This is joke from one of the Thai comedy movies that was out last year or a couple years ago. I only remember it vaguely. It was like one of the characters in the movie announced this sentence while pointing at a pencil or something obviously NOT a book.)
HI, HOW ARE YOU?
I AM FINE, THANK YOU. AND YOU?
I AM FINE, THANK YOU. SIT DOWN. (This is conversation that we had to say at the beginning of every English class, when we were in school.)
And every once in a while there were some broken English exclamations. It was pretty awkward, but in general everyone was trying not to speak Thai.
Today is the second English Friday. And it became a big failure. The big boss who started this program took vacation... so “Big Brother is not watching you.” After lunch, some people were still trying to speak English, but not for too long, because the senior engineers who are supposed to set example just ruined it.
One senior engineer started the afternoon, asking first question to one of his subordinates, do you want me to explain this assignment in English or Thai? That's a LEADING question, and surely the answer would be “Thai”.
Another senior engineer, one of the harder heads (and pretty weak in English), just plainly ignored English, and started talking freely in Thai. During lunch he said he felt OK speaking English with Farang, but felt uncomfortable talking English with Thais. He also commented stereotypically that “ (Other) Thai people would not pick on you if you made mistakes talking with Farang, as you would with Thais”.
Oh, I don't know... all those were just excuses. People don't want to do things that they are not good at. I was about to speak up “aren't we supposed to speak English?” or “if you guys who are senior don't set examples, and think it is OK to break the rule, others will follow you”. However, I was sure that would ruin the little popularity that I have... so I said nothing (but wrote this diary!)
I would have judged them for not trying to do this, but then I was thinking, I have been being hard headed and refused to do the management stuff too. What's the difference between not speaking English and not managing people? The answer: NONE. So, I have accepted that if the program works, that's only because everybody was willing to participate.
5:59 p.m. - Friday, Jul. 30, 2004
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