KL Book Fair and Linguaphone

Crowded. Not worth my time coming there. Many people came here and most of them were school children. As I rode the escalator, I overheard someone talking that they need to get a booth near to the entrance door. Easy to attract customers and money will flow. One of them said that it is difficult to get booth near the entrance because everybody want it. The other guy said “if I were you, I can get the booth just like that. You people pikir macam ni, macam mana nak jadi.” I do not why they were able to talk business so loud in front of public. I consider this as unprofessional. To me, loss and profit of your business shouldn’t be discussed where there are too many people. Probably today is the last day of the book fair and business is not going well. They were so frustrated that they wanted to express it to everyone.

We were at the wrong floor. We went down and separated. I was looking for language course which I know it is somewhere in that building. Usually they have language course such as Linguaphone at the Book Fair. I want to learn Mandarin which will help me in becoming bilingual and useful for me (Actually I am jealous of my brother who can speak Mandarin and he is improving). I found the Linguaphone booth and one of the promoters approached me. She asked me whether I want to improve my English. I said no but looking for Mandarin course. The girl was surprised. She still persuaded me to learn English but I rejected her offer. She asked me to sit down inside the booth and we had this conference. She explained to me about the course and the payment. When she told me about the price, I was fucking shock. The program came with CDs, textbook and so on was RM 2878 after discount. You can pay every month. You can get the language kit on the spot if you pay RM 50 and pay the rest every month. When I heard the price, I was ready to leave the premise. But I had to stay cool. Need to act a bit. I told that girl I am going to discuss with my parent first. I cannot make a decision right now. Then, a guy came to our table. I guessed he overheard our discussion and know I am about to leave. He tried to persuade me to buy the kit and tried poking with my pride that I am old enough to make decision myself. He also recommended me to buy the English language kit. I told him I do not need it. He asked where I am studying right know. I told him. He said that university students have a lot of problem with English language and English is important. I was so frustrated and annoyed that I began to speak English with them.

Listen here. I don’t want this English language tool kit. Right now I am taking TESL course. I am going to be English teacher soon. What on Earth do I need English language tool kit if I am learning English and learning how to teach English language to my students? What I want right now is to learn Mandarin. If I want to improve my English, I better go to British Council.

Everybody was fucking shock. So I continued.

Now, you said that I can make my own decision. Yes, you are right. I can make my own decision. However, the problem is my parent is going to sponsor for my language course. I need to discuss with them. They want to know what best for their son. If I make a wrong move, I am dead.

The guy could not say anything. They thought I was stupid Malay, who could not speak English very well due to my clothes and using Malay language when conversed with them. My clothes were very sempoi. Even my brother scolded me many time about my clothes. I remember he said “You are university student, you are a thinker and you are going to become a teacher. Wear proper clothes, PLEEEASE!”

I like to wear like this. It creates an illusion. I like seeing other people faces when I show them the real me. Hehehe. I told the girl that I need to leave and discuss with my parent. So, I left the booth and looked for my mom. I told them about the Linguaphone and they thought it is a scam and that the language kit cost more than a thousand. Back home, I look in the internet on learning Mandarin. Accidentally, I found a website on French language. The best part is, you can download mp3 for pronunciation. How helpful the Internet is.