August 18th - Whooray for the Ayi!

One of the first goals on our list when we arrived was to find an Ayi, the infamous hired “auntie” who spends her day cleaning, washing, ironing, folding, shopping and cooking – all for us and for what is a relatively inexpensive fee. Who would have known there were such simple blessings in this world for a working mom with three children?

By chance we had received a reference from a US expat we met back in May. We arranged an interview shortly after our arrival for her and three others. This all sounds simple but it requires some strategy. You first have to find an interested and experienced Ayi who likes kids, has a solid background, likes dogs and can cook. I must say just about anyone could WOW me with their cooking abilities as I fall slightly (ok – significantly) short in that space. Then you must arrange to have a translator because the Ayi’s native language is typically Chinese. Are you thinking what I am thinking? How I am supposed to communicate a daily need or requirement?

The reference we received and the interview were a success and Zhao was hired and has been simply wonderful. She has this place tackled and manages to get whatever needs fixed accomplished by calling the management office and making her demands – in Chinese. Another luxury of an Ayi. The only thing that frightens us is what we refer to as “underwear burritos”. She carefully folds every pair of underwear into a small burrito shaped rectangle and organizes them in our drawers. AHHHH!!!! Who organizes an underwear drawer? This manages to be the topic of conversation at the dinner table every few nights.

Any pitfalls? One - trying to explain some of your needs and the translator device doesn’t provide a reasonable translation. The grocery list was marked with “water bottles” and we came home to find a sweet little glass pitcher that holds water. Hello!!! Water… Bottle… We take for granted our language and explanations. Even the driver took Jon to a phone store when what he really wanted was a foam topping for those stinken bricks of a mattress!!!


Daily Myth Solver: Everything is cheap in China – for goodness sake it is made here – and sold reasonably cheap in the US. WRONG! The prices are outrageous – unless you want to barter in the black markets which I actually find enjoyable. The question is how well the items you purchase there hold up.