Chasing Goats in English

Two goats popped up in our neighbourhood overnight. They were hanging around like a bad smell even though I didn't smell anything. They look healthy and their coats were shiny. It is a welcoming sight for me at least but it is not the same story for many other residents. My Aunt's workers chased the two poor goats out of our housing area this morning. They obviously love our area because they came back this afternoon. They gobbled up some guavas from our tree and that infuriated my Mum who chased them away and told them off in English! It was hilarious. What made my Mum do that? She was telling them, "Shoo! Go away. Don't eat my guavas." The guy who came around to sell bread was laughing his head off. The goats took off without headbutting this little English speaking lady. That's what I feared they might attempt to do. It will be my fault again if she had fallen over.

I too turn to speaking in English when talking to animals and newborn babies. It baffles me as to why I do it. I am aware that when I am rudely interrupted, I tend to turn to English automatically. I also turn to English when I feel self conscious. When I first came home, I used to respond in English and it used to take me a while before I realized that I shouldn't have done it. Nowadays I try to be more conscious and when speaking to locals, I try to stick to Hakka or Malay to fit in. My thinking or self talk is still pretty much in English.