The Sudanese and I
Short Note: Today I almost went to client's office by wearing socks and slippers. Luckily I realized it in time. I went back to car to change, and I heard loud laugh from my heart :)
Kun left me a comment for the post "Christmas Greeting from a Student", claiming that:
I'm curious about your encounter with that Kenyan.
Okay, I try to recall what happened, as much as I can.
Firstly, I have to thank my self-claimed boss, Yen, for introducing the Sudanese, Phillip to me.
(Now I realized I wrote wrongly, he was a Sudanese, not a Kenyan.)
Image by Homo pd
Yen was selling computers, computer gadgets and services throughout USQ to earn his living and tuition fees since 2003, and so far, he has got 2 shops at UniPlaza, a place that is within walking distance from USQ. Although he always failed his exams coz of working too hard, I've to say, he's a GREAT GUY (that's why I call him "boss")!
When he just started his business, he had only a car. He put A4-paper ads at almost all the notice boards within the campus, selling things at extremely reasonable price. Due to his experience of working at the farm, his stay at Downs View Lodge, and his business contacts, he knew a lot of people from all around the world.
Phillip, the Sudanese, was one of his "admirer" (I guess). He always went to Yen, asking him to tutor him in his studies.
Image from imageshack.us
Yen is always so busy (in the past as well as nowadays). Of course he couldn't spend time to tutor Phillip. Yen always told his friends and customers that I was the "student model from Malaysia". Therefore, he introduced Phillip to me, to be my so-called "student".
The deal started with mutually agreed fees, frequency and place. The venue was the top floor of the library, so that when he needed practices or help with regards to computing skills, there was PC to be used.
Not to mention his slow progress or the not-really-making-sense assignments he did, when I gave him advice on how should he improve his assignment to score better, he never listened but told me a lot of "great" excuses. Not to say he was 100% stubborn, but he ignored almost 70% of my sayings. Then, why did he want help from me?
Image from ThinkQuest
Don't tell me that I shouldn't care as long as I got money from him. I did care about my reputation (I cheekily assumed I had). I didn't wish him to tell someone, "this is what I can get by having Haan tutoring me on the subject."
I cannot accept!
WORSE thing was, he once refused to pay me! I couldn't really remember the details about why, when or how. I just remember that I was really pissed off that time.
Once, he made me so angry (forgot the details too), till I logged on to ICQ (we still used it 4 years ago) and sent a SMS to my good male friend (hereinafter referred to as "MGMF"), to vent my anger. During the night time, when we had dinner together, he told me, he felt so funny reading that SMS, and could imagine how furious I was during that moment. Funny???
Image by unoriginal.co.uk
There was another WORST incident.
For your information, I used to be very anti-mobile-phone during the years 2003-4. I didn't carry a mobile phone in that 2 years (before that, while in Penang, I did). I had a landline phone either in my room or office. When my friend complained that it was hard for them to find me, I would say, when you cannot reach me, that means that's the time I should not be reached. Very arrogant, huh?
Image by megalithicmatt
However, when the was a neccessity to use mobile phone, people were very willing to help (after all, I'm a friendly girl, although being very bad-tempered once in a blue moon). During that time, Optus Prepaid mobile offered 20 minutes free call every night after 9pm. So, a lot of people called extensively after 9pm, and hung up before 20 minutes, then called again. Of course, both the calling and called parties had gotta be Optus Prepaid users.
(enough of background info)
One day, I wanted to call Phillip to inform him of something (I've forgotten what the "something" was). Then I used MGMF's mobile to call Phillip's mobile. Some time after, Phillip called back, thinking that was my mobile number. Then MGMF received the call. I was not around. He told Phillip that's not my number, and asked him to call me at my house phone. Phillip wanted to leave message, but MGMF didn't want to help. He knew I was already quite mad with Phillip.
Image by launceston_lad
Couldn't remember if Phillip called me after that. But he went to tell Yen that "HAAN NO LONGER STAYS WITH HER BOYFRIEND".
This was what Yen told me. I hope Yen was the only person he said this kind of thing to.
After that, I told, and repeatedly emphasized to Yen, I don't want to see or deal with Phillip anymore!!! Don't mention about him to me as well!!! But Yen liked to tease me from time to time by saying:
Phillip wants to buy you an ice cream, why do you keep on rejecting him? You look down at them. You are so bad.
I was bad? I had bias on him? Nonsense!!!
When I was a tutor, Phillip's friend was in my tutorial class too. His name is Deng. He liked to challenge me regularly in class. But so bad, I always prepared myself fully before going to class. Hehehe...
Talking about Sudanese, they are very productive yet efficient workers in the farm, because they have very good stamina. The income from farm depends on your productivity, hence their lucrative income was "imaginable". Nonetheless, they have a tendency to owe others money. Even when they bought a simple keyboard or mouse from Yen, they wanted to pay by installment. I used to see how Yen scolded Deng for delaying payment and making unreasonable requests.
During the tutorials I conducted, I also met other Sudanese. The rest were quite okay. They didn't treat me badly but instead, respected me a lot. There was one, whom I asked him a same question almost every week, till he could answer me correctly. The question was:
What does a modem do?
Honestly, I've never had any bias on the people with dark skin.
I'm just telling the true story.
Because I'm dark too.
2 comments:
so this is the story... haha, I hope that Sudanese doesn't know the existence of your blog :)
i'm not so lucky. even if i'm, i wrote the truth. nothing to be scared of :)
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