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In "My Summer at an Indian Call Center", written for Mother Jones (a San Francisco magazine), the American-raised Andrew Marantz, decamped to a workers' hostel in Delhi, describes the section of his training devoted to dealing with our friends from across the Tasman:
DURING OUR SECOND DAY OF culture training, Lekha dissected the Australian psyche. It took about 20 minutes.
"Just stating facts, guys," Lekha began, as we scribbled notes, "Australia is known as the dumbest continent. Literally, college was unknown there until recently. So speak slowly." Next to me, a young man in a turban wrote No college in his notebook.
"Technologically speaking, they're somewhat backward, as well. The average person's mobile would be no better than, say, a Nokia 3110 classic." This drew scoffs from around the room.
"Australians drink constantly," Lekha continued. "If you call on a Friday night, they'll be smashed—every time. Oh, and don't attempt to make small talk with them about their pets, okay? They can be quite touchy about animals."
Read Marantz' full article here. Gruelling, surreal, hilarious.
And if you've tired of the constipated Alasdair Thompson debate, check out the ever-so-slightly more ispirational Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's take on workplace gender issues here.
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India nails Australia
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