"Who am I, Your maid?"

September 2, 2011

I spend my days reminding 4^th graders to pick up after themselves. Push your chair in. Somebody throw that piece of paper away. You are not ready to be dismissed until your tables look ready. You dropped that – pick it up. I remind myself that when I was their age I left trails of crap behind me just as much. I can still here my mum asking, “Who am I, your maid?” as I left messes or didn’t replace items to their homes. 

Today, as I returned home from work, I thought of those words moms and teachers are so good at spitting out, and I answered to no one: “No, you’re not, but Maria is!”

Allow me to introduce Maria. I have actually never met Maria in person, but I know she is a South African woman and she likes tea. She is a hard working woman who spends her week bouncing back and forth from apartment to apartment here in my complex. Maria is my new maid. As hypocritical as the previous statement may be, let me defend myself by saying that my decision to have a maid is directly improving South Africa. As a temporary citizen of the Republic of South Africa, I feel it is my duty to do my part to stimulate the economy. Not to mention, I am providing a salary for Maria. AND, let’s face it – I am not that messy of a person, so it can’t be that hard to clean my place! ;)

So, how does it work? Well, Chelsea and I actually split Maria’s time one day a week. She comes on Fridays from 8 until 3pm. We each pay her 100Rand a day, which amounts to just over $14.  She washes the dishes, mops the floor (which is great because I HATE mopping, and I have all tile/wooden floors!), cleans the bathrooms, dusts, vacuums rugs, and does the laundry. She washes, line dries, and even irons – EVERYTHING, and by everything, I am including my undies!! One day, she even cleaned Chelsea’s running sneakers! It’s like magic. On Friday mornings, I leave my apartment somewhat a mess, and when I return home – voila! It’s immaculate! My favorite part (aside from the ironed underwear) is the absence of breadcrumbs under the toaster! Sounds silly, I know, but that is an area in my former kitchens that has always been neglected!

I never imagined I’d be the kind of person who hired a maid. I pride myself on cleanliness and responsibility, but as I sit here with an overflowing laundry basket hovering in the corner of my room and breakfast dishes waiting in the sink, I can’t help but wonder – has South Africa changed me?! J