So....I am living in a whole new world with whole new norms.
One of which is having live-in help. It is crazy cheap and crazy common here.
Some people may even have 2 or 3. I'm not talking richy-rich people either. I'm talking the "you's and me's" of the world.
I've met four Wives who's spouses work with Brian and 2 have help, 1 is looking and one doesn't. The three "pro-help" gals all have two kids a piece and one is a SAHM.
Before I moved here, I thought the idea was CRAZY. Seriously, have someone in your house and underfoot who doesn't leave that you are totally responsible for? But, after one week and a few conversations......I could be one of Them. Crazy, right?
But.....picture this......
It's 6:30 am and crazy morning time in the house. So... You AND the nanny wake up and one watches the toddler and one helps big kids. One makes breakfast and the other lunches.
Nap time for toddler...nanny stays home while you run to the store on your own.
Lunch date with a girlfriend? No problem, nanny can watch the toddler.
Volunteer at big kids' school? No problem, nanny has the toddler covered.
Hate laundry? Don't want to clean the bathrooms? The nanny is also a maid. Score!
Friday Night and want to go out with Hubby for the night?? No problem, the nanny is at home and you can be out as late as you want.
The going rate......$500 a month!!!! You supply the furnishings (villas usually come with a maids quarters so you can just get a twin bed, tv and a dresser).
You supply one round-trip ticket home and most Helpers come from Sri Lanka here so it's about $300 RT. You also provide one month severance at the end and a one-way ticket home.
Some people (usually non-Americans) only pay $200 a month with no days off. CRAZY but they get away with it.
Was told one family who used to live in our complex (not American), had 6 kids and THREE nannies living in bunk beds in the tiny 7x11 quarters.
CRAZY
Just because you can do it, do you?
Financially....makes sense. For what I would pay to have someone clean twice a month, daycare at the gym for two hours four times a week, babysitter once a weeks for evenings.....I'm coming close to $500 anyway.
The idea of someone LIVING here all the time though..........
I'm not good for house guests longer than 5 days.
We'll see. The plan is to do nothing until after my mom comes and goes in January.
Where would we put all our stuff if we have a maid/nanny and they live in what I think should be my storage area??
The whole idea is crazy and I can't believe I'm contemplating it at all.
I wouldn't be one to leave Cam whenever I did anything. I'm a SAHM so I can hang with him and do fun stuff together. He loves to be out and about with me and he's great at the grocery store and even clothing shopping at the mall. He enjoys seeing what's out there in then world and interacting withother kids.
Maybe I'll look at going back to work in a year or two and THEN look at having one????
Maybe I'll become one of the coffee and lunch mummies with a nanny home with the baby all day. (probably not)
Just trying to figure it all out.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Showing posts with label Nannies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nannies. Show all posts
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Abu Dhabi - Day 6
We started our day with a visit to the kids' school. It's called the American Community School or ACS.
The school is KG1-12 (Preschool to 12th grade). We applied over a month or so ago and both kids had to take an Assessment at their old school (essay and online test). Alexander passed no problem and we were told that Bella had to retest. I tried to not worry about it until today when it was time for her test.
The test was scheduled for 10 am so we had to leave the villa at 9:20 to allow for enough time to get downtown. We got there, parked and got through the security gate for our visitor badge. The campus is huge with separate buildings for Primary, Middle and High School. There are separate offices for each area too.
We got Bella check in with the counselor and I offered up a barrage of questions after she got settled in for her test.....
What can I do to assure she will get in? (nothing)
Does it matter that her brother will be here? (no)
Does it matter that I'll be an involved parent? (no)
What if she doesn't pass, is there something we can work with?
They will look at her grades, school reports and the whole test. If she struggles in one area, they can work with her and provide extra help. If she struggles in two or more, she won't be accepted. ARGH
We should know in 2-7 days.
If she doesn't pass.....we will have one week before school starts to find a school, register and hope she gets into that one.
Trying hard to NOT think about something until I have to.
There is another option, GEMS Academy that I've heard great things about for Elementary, but the idea of two kids in different schools and in a foreign country - ack!
While Bella was at her test, Brian, Alexander, Cameron and I checked out the area and came across a great Home store called "The One".
In case I need a huge chandelier or silver horse head I'm covered.
Or a gigantic silver chandelier for the dining room.
There were a few things I liked there actually, just nothing I needed (except a hand towel holder).
After we picked up Bella, Brian headed to work and I took the kids to meet a couple gals and their kids at a little restaurant (one of the few open during Ramadan in the daytime). One gal is from our development and she has an 8 year old daughter (3 days older than Bella and going into 3rd grade at ACS) and a 2 yo son (almost a full year younger than a Cam), The other gal was a friend of hers with 2 girls going to ACS (2nd grade and 6th grade). I got along well with her and her oldest is really into soccer like my kids so we'll figure out the athletics thing together.
So, one of these gals is East Indian and the other is Filipino. They are both
American and only speak English. But they aren't "Caucasian". They talked about the perceptions of people in AD because of it. People who have maids/nannies (lots of people) usually hire Filipino's or other Asian Nationalities so people have assumed that's what they are. Their kids are mixed so it looks like they could be caring for someone else's kids. One said she is very conscious about it and tries to "dress-up" when she goes out and about so people don't think she's the help. I thought I had things to worry about........
After lunch, we headed to another mall to check it out. Big, pretty, lots of stores and coffee places. Nothing special.
Then I got gas for the first time. Everything is full-service and gas is about $1.80 a gallon. Granted it's in liters and you pay with dirhams. It cost me 90 dirhams to fill up and I was almost on empty. That's about $25 for a full tank!
Then, it was home to swim and have a little snack before dinner. Remember how I mentioned the Dragon Fruit the other day?
It was yummy. Bella loved it and so did I. Can had a nibble and Alexander wouldn't touch it. It tastes like a mixture of Jikama and something juicy??
Then Brian came home and we had dinner.
I read about an activity going on that I wanted to check out. Here is the advertisement:
Ramadan and EID Festival
This popular show combines a consumer show with traditional celebration. The event showcases family-friendly consumer goods, unique gifts, Arabic food, toys & games, as well as traditional song and dance.
Sounds great right?
We got there at the time it stated online and it of course started an hour later than the Internet stated. So we played in the lobby of the HUGE convention center.
Then the Festival opened up and this is what I walked into:
Ummm...lets keep looking...
Look it's pictures of the founding Sheik and Spongebob????
Wait, theres more culture around the corner....
Celebrate your love of the Sheik or....Hannah Montana???
What other feasts for the eyes await??
There was Spongebog crap everywhere! It was so bizarre! There was also outstanding flea market grade toys and cheap purses and tacky clothes. Somehow people were walking around with BAGS of stuff. I bought one thing....
Kidding. I bought a box of frankincense chunks for our Oud burner (if thats what its called).
There were a few neat shops with pretty abayas or tea sets and TONS of jewelry (looks fancy but by the price, must be fake).
Alexander got a yummy corn snack while he waited for Bella and I to buy our frankincense chunks. It was corn kernels in lemon juice, butter and salt. So yummy!
We didn't spend much time there, but down the hall was this really fun activity for the kids that was sponsored by some AD Financial group in an effort to make people (especially kids) more active.
The kids had a blast and didn't want to leave. We will probably go back for the football "soccer" thing again on Thursday night.
Then, we stopped for some snacks on the way out.
Can you see the people in traditional clothes in the background?
This is just a potato that has been sliced round and round and fried with seasoning on it. It seemed like American Fair Food.
When we got home, I found this:
The gecko is having babies in my house somewhere. This thing is the size of a quarter!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The school is KG1-12 (Preschool to 12th grade). We applied over a month or so ago and both kids had to take an Assessment at their old school (essay and online test). Alexander passed no problem and we were told that Bella had to retest. I tried to not worry about it until today when it was time for her test.
The test was scheduled for 10 am so we had to leave the villa at 9:20 to allow for enough time to get downtown. We got there, parked and got through the security gate for our visitor badge. The campus is huge with separate buildings for Primary, Middle and High School. There are separate offices for each area too.
We got Bella check in with the counselor and I offered up a barrage of questions after she got settled in for her test.....
What can I do to assure she will get in? (nothing)
Does it matter that her brother will be here? (no)
Does it matter that I'll be an involved parent? (no)
What if she doesn't pass, is there something we can work with?
They will look at her grades, school reports and the whole test. If she struggles in one area, they can work with her and provide extra help. If she struggles in two or more, she won't be accepted. ARGH
We should know in 2-7 days.
If she doesn't pass.....we will have one week before school starts to find a school, register and hope she gets into that one.
Trying hard to NOT think about something until I have to.
There is another option, GEMS Academy that I've heard great things about for Elementary, but the idea of two kids in different schools and in a foreign country - ack!
While Bella was at her test, Brian, Alexander, Cameron and I checked out the area and came across a great Home store called "The One".
In case I need a huge chandelier or silver horse head I'm covered.
Or a gigantic silver chandelier for the dining room.
There were a few things I liked there actually, just nothing I needed (except a hand towel holder).
After we picked up Bella, Brian headed to work and I took the kids to meet a couple gals and their kids at a little restaurant (one of the few open during Ramadan in the daytime). One gal is from our development and she has an 8 year old daughter (3 days older than Bella and going into 3rd grade at ACS) and a 2 yo son (almost a full year younger than a Cam), The other gal was a friend of hers with 2 girls going to ACS (2nd grade and 6th grade). I got along well with her and her oldest is really into soccer like my kids so we'll figure out the athletics thing together.
So, one of these gals is East Indian and the other is Filipino. They are both
American and only speak English. But they aren't "Caucasian". They talked about the perceptions of people in AD because of it. People who have maids/nannies (lots of people) usually hire Filipino's or other Asian Nationalities so people have assumed that's what they are. Their kids are mixed so it looks like they could be caring for someone else's kids. One said she is very conscious about it and tries to "dress-up" when she goes out and about so people don't think she's the help. I thought I had things to worry about........
After lunch, we headed to another mall to check it out. Big, pretty, lots of stores and coffee places. Nothing special.
Then I got gas for the first time. Everything is full-service and gas is about $1.80 a gallon. Granted it's in liters and you pay with dirhams. It cost me 90 dirhams to fill up and I was almost on empty. That's about $25 for a full tank!
Then, it was home to swim and have a little snack before dinner. Remember how I mentioned the Dragon Fruit the other day?
It was yummy. Bella loved it and so did I. Can had a nibble and Alexander wouldn't touch it. It tastes like a mixture of Jikama and something juicy??
Then Brian came home and we had dinner.
I read about an activity going on that I wanted to check out. Here is the advertisement:
Ramadan and EID Festival
This popular show combines a consumer show with traditional celebration. The event showcases family-friendly consumer goods, unique gifts, Arabic food, toys & games, as well as traditional song and dance.
Sounds great right?
We got there at the time it stated online and it of course started an hour later than the Internet stated. So we played in the lobby of the HUGE convention center.
Then the Festival opened up and this is what I walked into:
Ummm...lets keep looking...
Look it's pictures of the founding Sheik and Spongebob????
Wait, theres more culture around the corner....
Celebrate your love of the Sheik or....Hannah Montana???
What other feasts for the eyes await??
There was Spongebog crap everywhere! It was so bizarre! There was also outstanding flea market grade toys and cheap purses and tacky clothes. Somehow people were walking around with BAGS of stuff. I bought one thing....
Kidding. I bought a box of frankincense chunks for our Oud burner (if thats what its called).
There were a few neat shops with pretty abayas or tea sets and TONS of jewelry (looks fancy but by the price, must be fake).
Alexander got a yummy corn snack while he waited for Bella and I to buy our frankincense chunks. It was corn kernels in lemon juice, butter and salt. So yummy!
We didn't spend much time there, but down the hall was this really fun activity for the kids that was sponsored by some AD Financial group in an effort to make people (especially kids) more active.
The kids had a blast and didn't want to leave. We will probably go back for the football "soccer" thing again on Thursday night.
Then, we stopped for some snacks on the way out.
Can you see the people in traditional clothes in the background?
This is just a potato that has been sliced round and round and fried with seasoning on it. It seemed like American Fair Food.
When we got home, I found this:
The gecko is having babies in my house somewhere. This thing is the size of a quarter!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)