Life in India: The Housekeeper
I’m feeling better in getting used to Christina’s cooking of Nepalese spicy. Mmm… good.
As I’ve gotten tired of local Indians asking me if I eat spicy food, I pull out some stuff from Christina and have them sniff or taste. After that, they bow humbly before me. Even funnier is when I eat with locals, they’re sweating profusely and I’m just taking a sip of water.
Cleaning wise, Christina is a Godsend. This place is wow.
I’m not sure I ever want to go without a maid again
It’s the weekly meal plan where we bang heads a bit. I’m only caring about having fresh fruits and vegetables, light, healthy and tasty meals. Rightfully though, Christina is asking how to accomplish.
Being able to concentrate on the things of interest to me, is so very much a blessing.
In return to Christina, we’ve been cleaning out the nasty servants quarters on the building terrace this week. Additionally, I’m replacing the furniture, linens and fans. Before new stuff comes in, I’ll have a painter scrape and paint it how she’d like. Yellow walls, white ceiling and black window grating.
It’s quite humbling to see the servant quarters. My 3rd room is larger than any of the three servants rooms. I have 3 bathrooms, all with showers and 1 with a bathtub. They’ve got one room with a faucet for cleaning up in. Then one in ground stall for a toilet. No AC either.
Definitely a different perception on classes here
Christina benefits with a decent monthly salary about 1.5 times the locals. Besides inclusion of room and board, she has 28 paid days off per year, 1 months salary as Christmas bonus and I’ll cover up to 1 months salary worth of medial expenses.
I’m considered a good Sir because I don’t scold her and recognize that cleaning well takes time, she like’s being here and has turned down other employment offers already. Some even would’ve been closer to her friends.
It seems I’ve hired more of a companion that cooks and cleans for me at this point as I do allow her to sit with me for dinner and non-work mornings for breakfast. Additionally, I inquiry as to her well being, happenings and surroundings.
In the other households I’ve been in, servants are ignored unless something is wanted of them. I’m not comfortable with doing that at this point. So having more of a companion that works for me seems a good trade off.
While the world outside is wretchedly crazy, my home is peaceful.
September 18, 2010 - 3:14 PM
> While the world outside is wretchedly crazy, my home is peaceful.
Well said! Especially if you live in a foreign country.
It’s important – especially for the travelling mind – to have a peaceful place to come to rest sometimes.
Enjoy and thanks for your great blog posts!
Christian
September 19, 2010 - 8:52 AM
Christian, thank you for the reply and kind words. I hope more people are able to have a calm home to return too. Michael