Am I lazy? Messy? Rich?
A bit of all those things, I must say. While I would not be considered rich back home, I am definitely considered to be on the rich side in Vietnam. Hey, I'm technically a millionaire here (too bad those millions aren't in Canadian dollars, though!) ...
Anyway, the other day a MAID visited the apartment. I always told myself I would not get a maid here. Lots of people do, since it's really cheap, but I felt weird about it. After we heard of our friends getting one and being satisfied with the results, we thought we'd give it a try. Our rental agent set us up with her cousin, who was looking for new clients. She arrived promptly at 6:00, asked what she needed to clean, and then got to work! She stayed for 2 hours and cleaned the bathrooms, kitchen, and also mopped the tile floors.
The grand total was... 40,000 x 2 hours = 80,000 VND. That is equivalent to about $4 !!! We gave her a tip also, but they are not expected in Vietnam. It is crazy to think that someone in this country will clean your house for $2 an hour. While I'm very happy with the service, I felt a bit uncomfortable having her in the apartment cleaning while I was just on the couch doing school work on my laptop. I sort of felt like a rich snob!
I keep trying to tell myself that it was good to have called her because she is looking for clients and needs the money... but at the same time I wonder if I will ever get used to it. In general, I feel uncomfortable in many situations in Vietnam where I am being served... restaurants, stores, at school dealing with the cleaning staff, etc. I know that these workers are making very low wages, and that they probably know that I make a lot more money than they ever could. I sometimes imagine what it would be like to be that waitress in the restaurant serving me my food, or the cleaning lady who scrubs my classroom every day. I wonder what they think about us rich "foreigners" hiring maids, eating out all the time, and taking taxis everywhere. I try to occupy my mind with other things, but I can't help but feeling almost guilty when being served by people here. I rarely had these feelings in Korea because I knew that I wasn't making as much as the Korean staff members were, and that the general income of the population was higher than it is here. Everyone I knew in Korea seemed to live in a highrise apartment, wear nice clothes, and have a fancy cell phone. Here, that is not the case. Living in a country like Vietnam really makes me realize how lucky I am to have the things that I do!
A bit of all those things, I must say. While I would not be considered rich back home, I am definitely considered to be on the rich side in Vietnam. Hey, I'm technically a millionaire here (too bad those millions aren't in Canadian dollars, though!) ...
Anyway, the other day a MAID visited the apartment. I always told myself I would not get a maid here. Lots of people do, since it's really cheap, but I felt weird about it. After we heard of our friends getting one and being satisfied with the results, we thought we'd give it a try. Our rental agent set us up with her cousin, who was looking for new clients. She arrived promptly at 6:00, asked what she needed to clean, and then got to work! She stayed for 2 hours and cleaned the bathrooms, kitchen, and also mopped the tile floors.
The grand total was... 40,000 x 2 hours = 80,000 VND. That is equivalent to about $4 !!! We gave her a tip also, but they are not expected in Vietnam. It is crazy to think that someone in this country will clean your house for $2 an hour. While I'm very happy with the service, I felt a bit uncomfortable having her in the apartment cleaning while I was just on the couch doing school work on my laptop. I sort of felt like a rich snob!
I keep trying to tell myself that it was good to have called her because she is looking for clients and needs the money... but at the same time I wonder if I will ever get used to it. In general, I feel uncomfortable in many situations in Vietnam where I am being served... restaurants, stores, at school dealing with the cleaning staff, etc. I know that these workers are making very low wages, and that they probably know that I make a lot more money than they ever could. I sometimes imagine what it would be like to be that waitress in the restaurant serving me my food, or the cleaning lady who scrubs my classroom every day. I wonder what they think about us rich "foreigners" hiring maids, eating out all the time, and taking taxis everywhere. I try to occupy my mind with other things, but I can't help but feeling almost guilty when being served by people here. I rarely had these feelings in Korea because I knew that I wasn't making as much as the Korean staff members were, and that the general income of the population was higher than it is here. Everyone I knew in Korea seemed to live in a highrise apartment, wear nice clothes, and have a fancy cell phone. Here, that is not the case. Living in a country like Vietnam really makes me realize how lucky I am to have the things that I do!
Ange,
ReplyDeleteComing from someone who was a nanny and cleaned and ran around while (sometimes) they would be sitting on the couch doing other things. . . it isn't awkward unless you make it. You're right, you're paying them and you tipped them and that is completely okay! You could never be a rich snob :) Love this! Enjoy it while you can afford a maid!
Ange!!
ReplyDeleteIt sure must be nice having a maid. Sounds like you and John are like that old tv program "The Jefferson's". You have that deluxe apartment in the sky! Enjoy it while you can.
Thanks for the comments!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa, that's good to know. I feel better about it now!! :)