position available for a chimp

I like to read newspapers in their print versions. Internet versions can serve the basic purpose of giving you the news. But newspapers, to me, are more than just a medium of delivering news. It is an indispensable implement for relaxation and part of a lifestyle. The Internet cannot give you (as of yet) the exhilarating smell of fresh newsprint. With the Internet version of the daily newspaper, you cannot solve crosswords or sudoku while reclining in a comfortable position. You cannot drink a reinvigorating cup of hot tea while scanning the news on the Internet without the constant worry about accidentally spilling the beverage on your keyboard.

I like to read classified ads in newspapers just for fun. They give you insights into a society that you may not otherwise get. The two Saudi English dailies feature less than half-a-page of classified ads. Not much in terms of volume, but you can go through all of them without feeling guilty for wasting your time. Here is what I have learnt after following them for several weeks.

1. There are lots of Indian Sunni Muslim bachelors in the Kingdom who are desperately searching for brides. These men are in most cases. Hyderabadi.
2. Indians, bachelor or otherwise, are people least satisfied with their names. Everyday there are many Indians announcing that they have changed their names.
3. Do not entrust Filipinos with the safekeeping of anything valuable. They have a tendency of losing their passports. On any given day, there would be a number of them announcing the loss of their travel documents.
4. Doctors and nurses are a very optimistic lot. They presume they can swap their jobs in remote desert locations with people from the same profession working in bigger, more livable, cities.

There are also 'wanted' ads, looking for people to fill vacancies. Usually they require the prospective employee to have some training and/or experience and a 'transferable iqama'. I know that iqama means residence permit/document required by all expatriates, but I don't know what transferable means in this context.

Recently there was an advertiser looking for a trained chimpanzee. Chimpanzees are not native to the Kingdom, so I am sure all prospective candidates will be expatriates. No mention was made of transferable iqamas, though. I wonder what kind of training the advertiser is looking for. Eating bananas? Climbing date palms? Spitting in the face of onlookers? I mean, what sort of functions do chimps perform, apart from monkey business?

Photo credit: patries71