Top Ten Reasons Why We Need a Maid
Unlike most middle class North Americans, I grew up with a maid. My mom and dad both worked, and their jobs within the Latino community in Southern California presented them with opportunities to provide employment for an immigrant needing a hand. I thought nothing of it, till I came to Senegal and realized just how awkward it was for my husband to have someone in our home all the time, making our bed and doing our dishes. He'd thank our housekeeper profusely, repeatedly throughout the day, which she found quite comical.
Maybe most people reading this page would react similarly to Dan, and may wonder why we need someone to do work we should be doing ourselves. After all, most of you don't have maids! Even friends who live quite comfortably and can afford some help usually hire someone to come once a week, if not every other week. Why do we need someone every day? Allow me to share with you the top ten reasons why we need a maid:
10. Senegal is so dry and sandy that unless the floors are swept and mopped at least every other day, the entire house is filthy and your bare feet feel gritty walking on the tile floors.
9. There's no Costco, WalMart, or even a supermarket in town where you can get everything in one stop. We get our cheese at the factory/distributor, veggies at the local farmer's market, fruit at a separate fruit stand, dry goods in bulk at a wholesaler, whole chickens from a lady who lives around the corner, fish from the fishmongers who come to our door, beef at two different places (one shop for ground beef, another for chuck), and everything else at the little grocery store in town. Just keeping our fridge and pantry stocked is daunting!
8. Taking Wolof lessons with a toddler running around us crying out, "Play, mama!" in every language she knows can be quite distracting! Having a babysitter on call means I can study in peace. While I study Wolof with my teacher, Isabella is learning both French and Wolof with Germaine. We see this as valuable for her integration with us into life in Senegal, as well as good preparation for preschool, where she'll be immersed in both languages.
7. On Tuesdays, I'm able to attend a morning prayer meeting and afternoon bible study at the local prison, which would be impossible if I had to take Isabella along. Having help means I can also sit down to study the Word of God and prepare studies in Wolof (which I'll be getting back to as soon as I post this!).
6. Convenience foods are practically non-existent here. As a single, I lived off of boneless skinless chicken breasts, which made it easy to throw a balanced meal together in minutes. Here, all we can find is whole chickens, and we're happy if they're clean! That's just one example among a myriad of food items that N. Americans pay a factory to prepare for them, while we pay a domestic helper to. Just imagine that we're living in the pioneer era, where everything had to be made from scratch.
5. On a similar vein, finding healthy alternatives to white, processed grains is also a great challenge. If I want to feed my family whole wheat bread, not only do I have to bake it myself from scratch, I also have to buy a 50 lb. bag and be the local distributor for whole wheat within the missionary community!
4. While we may have a washing machine (which we can't run when the power cuts are bad), we don't have a dryer, and we certainly don't have a dishwasher. Do you? I know we did in N. America! (Although many of my Asian and Latino friends grew up using the dishwasher as a dish drainer, right? :D ).
3. Shopping malls are a rarity here as well. Most people have their clothes made at a local tailor. This requires picking out the fabric, choosing the pattern, and going back for refittings to make sure the outfit is just right.
2. The unemployment rate in Senegal is almost 50%, and practically every maid who has worked for us has been a widow with children to support. We pay a generous wage in this country, which enables them to provide for their families
1. I have one word for you: Naps. We're in the middle of the hot, humid season, and October is the hottest month of the year. Living without A/C means that lying down for an afternoon nap (which is very common here) is the best way to retreat from the heat and recharge.
There you have it! I hope this gives you a glimpse into our daily lives here. And if you decide you want your own Senegalese maid, I have a very long list of ladies who would be more than happy to move to America and work for you! :D
Maybe most people reading this page would react similarly to Dan, and may wonder why we need someone to do work we should be doing ourselves. After all, most of you don't have maids! Even friends who live quite comfortably and can afford some help usually hire someone to come once a week, if not every other week. Why do we need someone every day? Allow me to share with you the top ten reasons why we need a maid:
10. Senegal is so dry and sandy that unless the floors are swept and mopped at least every other day, the entire house is filthy and your bare feet feel gritty walking on the tile floors.
9. There's no Costco, WalMart, or even a supermarket in town where you can get everything in one stop. We get our cheese at the factory/distributor, veggies at the local farmer's market, fruit at a separate fruit stand, dry goods in bulk at a wholesaler, whole chickens from a lady who lives around the corner, fish from the fishmongers who come to our door, beef at two different places (one shop for ground beef, another for chuck), and everything else at the little grocery store in town. Just keeping our fridge and pantry stocked is daunting!
8. Taking Wolof lessons with a toddler running around us crying out, "Play, mama!" in every language she knows can be quite distracting! Having a babysitter on call means I can study in peace. While I study Wolof with my teacher, Isabella is learning both French and Wolof with Germaine. We see this as valuable for her integration with us into life in Senegal, as well as good preparation for preschool, where she'll be immersed in both languages.
7. On Tuesdays, I'm able to attend a morning prayer meeting and afternoon bible study at the local prison, which would be impossible if I had to take Isabella along. Having help means I can also sit down to study the Word of God and prepare studies in Wolof (which I'll be getting back to as soon as I post this!).
6. Convenience foods are practically non-existent here. As a single, I lived off of boneless skinless chicken breasts, which made it easy to throw a balanced meal together in minutes. Here, all we can find is whole chickens, and we're happy if they're clean! That's just one example among a myriad of food items that N. Americans pay a factory to prepare for them, while we pay a domestic helper to. Just imagine that we're living in the pioneer era, where everything had to be made from scratch.
5. On a similar vein, finding healthy alternatives to white, processed grains is also a great challenge. If I want to feed my family whole wheat bread, not only do I have to bake it myself from scratch, I also have to buy a 50 lb. bag and be the local distributor for whole wheat within the missionary community!
4. While we may have a washing machine (which we can't run when the power cuts are bad), we don't have a dryer, and we certainly don't have a dishwasher. Do you? I know we did in N. America! (Although many of my Asian and Latino friends grew up using the dishwasher as a dish drainer, right? :D ).
3. Shopping malls are a rarity here as well. Most people have their clothes made at a local tailor. This requires picking out the fabric, choosing the pattern, and going back for refittings to make sure the outfit is just right.
2. The unemployment rate in Senegal is almost 50%, and practically every maid who has worked for us has been a widow with children to support. We pay a generous wage in this country, which enables them to provide for their families
1. I have one word for you: Naps. We're in the middle of the hot, humid season, and October is the hottest month of the year. Living without A/C means that lying down for an afternoon nap (which is very common here) is the best way to retreat from the heat and recharge.
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| Isabella sharing a meal and some laughs with Tata (Auntie) Germaine |
There you have it! I hope this gives you a glimpse into our daily lives here. And if you decide you want your own Senegalese maid, I have a very long list of ladies who would be more than happy to move to America and work for you! :D
Isabella will always remember her Tata. Make sure you take lots of pics. I completely understand. In fact, nowadays, in the States families use cleaning services on a regular basis. I'm considering it myself! Sincerely, Pamela
ReplyDeleteI had a difficult time with the whole domestic help thing when I lived in Egypt, even though we did have a weekly housekeeper at my parents house. Now that I've returned to the USA and been able to think over it more and see all the ways life is "convenienced" in the USA I think being able to support someone through work is better than the American way (fast food, convenience food, costco, not knowing where your food comes from, etc).
ReplyDeletePamela, I have been under the impression that cleaning services are so cost prohibitive in N. America that they're only accessible for the affluent. If that's not the case, then I'm glad, and I hope it works out for you!
ReplyDeleteRana, good point. I forgot to mention the whole "fast food" problem so common in American homes. I have often wished for a Taco Bell around the corner so I wouldn't have to figure out what we're having for dinner. Again. But a part of me is thankful that junk food like that isn't even an option. (Who knows if I'll feel that way next time I'm pregnant, as my last pregnancy was brutal in that I had insane cravings for stuff I couldn't possibly replicate at home, nor did I have any desire to cook anyway!).
I can totally imagine how helpful a housekeeper must be. When we lived off the grid in the mountains, I felt a lot like a pioneer. No dishwasher, microwave or dryer. At least I could get to Costco by driving an hour, but my tiny propane fridge wasn't big enough to hold large quantities.
ReplyDeleteLife is easier now, but I could still see the benefit....I would love to help out one of those ladies on your list....maybe someday I'll be in a position to:-)
To those who consider it elitist, I don't think they are considering the fact that it is offering paying work to someone who needs it while blessing your home with cleanliness and more time, all of which are tremendously valuable.
not sure why I selected anon -too much multi-tasking?-that was me ^ Rana
ReplyDeleteI think it's wonderful that you are able to not only help your maid financially, but to minister to her and have her be a part of your lives. And no matter where we are we could all use a little help when it comes to managing and caring for our families (me especially!). Some have grandparents or hire babysitters to help. Others have maids. It seems like Tata is so wonderful with Isabella and what a blessing to have another person love and dote on her too!
ReplyDeleteOh, I would love to have a maid! I don't think it's elitist. If you have the budget and need for one, then that's fine with me. I just have to deal with my own envy and covetousness. Haha. But it really comes down to the family. I'm sure other people can give a list of reasons not to have one. In the end, we're all allotted different circumstances and blessings, and there is no partiality with God. He doesn't judge us by whether or not we have hired help, so we shouldn't do it to each other.
ReplyDeleteIf we could do it, I would totally get a maid to come clean even once a year or someone to babysit so I could nap! I spend 1-2 hours a day washing dishes because we don't have a working dishwasher, but I'm used to not having one and actually think my washed dishes come out cleaner than what our old dishwasher could do. I also handwashed my clothes growing up, but having a washing machine is glorious. Usually Manny has to take the kids to the park if I want to get some heavy cleaning done. Eventually things will get cleaner and less exhausting for us, I hope, but I don't have to deal with the perpetual sand!
I forgot to say this before, but thanks, everyone, for commenting!
ReplyDeletePamela, it's crazy to imagine living off the grid in N. America. You must've been quite the pioneer woman! I noticed from your latest FB status update that you have access to a Trader Joe's. What I wouldn't give for some of those goodies right now! :)
Patricia, I'd like to think of it that way, that I'm ministering to her and giving her work. But sometimes, I can't help but feel guilty for being at my computer with the fan on while she's mopping my floors. As for having someone else dote on Isabella, sometimes I'm actually jealous, b/c Isabella is so close to her and I see her speaking more and more French - even more than English or Spanish. It's pretty funny, actually. Pretty soon she'll be correcting our French herself! So cute!
Amy, you're right, having a washing machine is great. Having done laundry by hand as a child as well (although not in the bathtub!), I'm so grateful for ours! I imagine your little cuties keep you busy enough as it is! BTW, I was trying to keep Isabella distracted the other day, and since we don't have TV, I started showing pictures from your blog to her. She really enjoyed Lucas and Naomi! :)
I want to know your dry food wholesaler!
ReplyDelete