Maids and gardeners

Today I'm going to tell you about the new experience we have encountered the last 2 weeks, with a gardener and a live-in maid. Something completely new to a Swedish person with a normal income. In Sweden I was happy and felt very fortunate to have a cleaner once every two weeks, sponsored partly by Jon's company. Otherwise it would have been very expensive. The fact that I'm home all day and have a need for a maid and gardener may seem slightly snobbish, depending on how you see it, but really I can explain...

When we first moved into our house, people came knocking on the door every day, asking if we needed a maid or gardener. With very few trees and flowers, I really couldn't see the need and a maid seemed very strange to me. Could I really have a maid in the house all day? And what would she do all day? After everything I had heard about these poor maids from the Philipines, leaving children and husband to come here to work, I didn't really want to encourage this kind of society.
Then one day Chaturi showed up, she lived on our street but needed a new family to live in. She was from Sri Lanka, only 20 and didn't know much English. Her auntie came with her to explain the situation but I said no, we don't need a maid.
Another week went by, and I found myself mopping the floors everyday, because of the sand and dust that seems to be a constant bother. And the girls running in and out barefoot, from the pool or the park. And all the floors are white tiles, so every little foot mark shows. And if you don't clean the floors, you get other inhabitants....ants.
After another week, I met Chaturi again, and then I said ok, we do need someone to clean the house a few hours a week. She was happy to do it, so I tried to make up a time-table for her. After another few days, the weather got hotter and I had to bring James out in the heat to go to school twice a day. And Isabelle was having a fit now and then as I picked her up or took her there. I was breaking out in sweats too often...and poor James. Then we'd come home and I had to help Emma with homework. And Isabelle wanted to go to the park, but I didn't really want her going there by herself. Even though it's close. It's not like they have friends everywhere, as in Lidingö, and I don't know alla the parents. And actually, the park is just full of maids and kids. No parents...So, I gave up...I do need a maid or I'm going to go crazy.
I like to think of Chaturi as an aupair, not a maid. She is kind of doing the same thing as I did in London, when I was 19. So I kind of now what she is thinking. Although, of course, we come from completely different backgrounds. And she is a much better cleaner than I was. And cook! She has cooked us Indian meals twice. Amazing! We could get spoilt. So now she comes in every morning to take care of James and help us with breakfast. Then she comes back in the afternoons when I go to school again, and the she helps me until Jon comes home. It's great and the girls really like her. She has her own room, with her own door, it's called a maidsroom. She has a fridge and cooker and she seems very happy, so I'm glad. This summer she is going home to Sri lanka, cause her auntie is getting married, and her mother is having an operation...her father cut off two of her mother's fingers when he was drunk...what do you say to that...
And about the gardener, she we have one now, it's so cheap I couldn't resist. But he only comes twice a week, the rest I have to do. Maybe I'll do it all myself eventually. The thing is, the hotter it gets, the more watering and looking after it takes. And what will we do in summer when we are not here? Everything will die.
Right, It's time to head of to coffee morning with expat mums and babies, for James sake
of course. They do have nice scones though...
Here is a link I found on the web, showing the exact street we live in!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgd02K2ce2k
I'll try to put some more pictures in this afternoon.

Anna