So where am I currently at my 'Housemaid Drama'?? I'm now trying out a new Indonesian maid. Today is her 8th day with us, and so far so good. I never dare to say much about a maid, because, through first-hand experience, I know that they can live with you for 2 years or more and never show their true colours. No matter how 'good' they seem and how highly you regard them, you don't ever really know them, truly.
So anyway, here's to recap. Our maid of almost 2 years left us with promises of returning. I paid her full 2 years salary, even though she had another 2 months to go and even bought her return air tickets. Well, surprise, surprise, she never boarded the plane back here. We trusted her and she went home with lots of clothes and toys and ang pows. Now, in hindsight, we suspect that she had been stealing cash, and we never even bothered to check her luggage.
I don't mind so much these petty crimes, but the fact that she did not have the responsibility to just let me know that she did not want to come back really irks me. Instead, I had to wait for 2 crazy, 'maidless' weeks to realize that she was not returning, and that was smack in the middle of a ban on visa approval for all Indonesian housemaids!
So in the end, we managed to find ourselves a Filipino maid, through a Filipino lady who is married to a local Chinese. These are 'nightclub' people, and really hard to deal with, as she was pushy and not very honest, nor polite/refined! I let Hubby deal with them, as I found it very frustrating!
This Flipino maid was 46 yrs old and I have to give it to her, that she was very clean, to a point of obsessiveness! When she first got here, she had already been rejected by 2 families, so she worked really hard to make a good first impression. Boy, my house had never been that clean before! She was the kind who would clean behind and under cupboards! Even plastic bags were neatly folded and stacked in crisp even rows!!
I thought I had struck gold!!
After a while, she seemed to be sitting on her a$$ and on her phone more than anything else, constantly texting and sometimes talking with that loud voice of hers which she seems unable to control! The worst part was that she did not seem interested in the children. She did not even bother to talk to the kids and did not seem to care where they were or what they were doing.
I explained what I wanted from her, that taking care of the kids was the higher priority and housework came second. She was very defensive and would always have something to say when you confronted her. She claimed that in the Philippines, she did not interact much with her child and would just leave her in a corner while she went about her work! I told her that we did not do things like that here and I just asked her if she still wanted to try and since she said yes, I gave her another chance.
You see, she has a little daughter, of around 5yrs who is mentally handicapped. That was the reason she came to work in the first place. So I pitied her as well, and thought if I could train her to be a good helper, it would be a win win situation for the both of us!
Well, I can't say I didn't try. In the end I blew my lid when she shouted at Claire unreasonably. I shouted at her and asked her once more if she wanted to work, because if she didn't, then I would not fork out the RM2000+ for her visa. Up till then (only 2 months), I had already paid RM1400 for her salary and RM300 to her agent, not to mention RM800 for a temporary pass and insurance and medical etc...
So anyway, she began crying and complaining that she didn't know what to do with my kids, implying that my children were a handful!! That really pissed me off, because we had been nothing but kind and patient with her. So she said she no longer wanted to work and I was happy to finally get rid of her!
As soon as we secured the new Indonesian maid, Hubby sent her back to her agent. She claimed that she wanted to go back to the Philippines and we encouraged her, as she obviously was not suited to work for people. Then she started crying about not having any money to go home etc... and we being the suckers we are (esp. Hubby the bigger sucker... which I love him for!) bought her air tickets. Hubby even gave her a RM200 ang pow, though she owed us money!
So here we are now, one week in with the new Indonesian maid. She seems okay, but like I said, I don't want to speak too soon. She's not as clean as the Filipino, but she does get the job done. She also seems more motherly and loves to cook. (Oh yes, the Filipino couldn't really cook, claims her husband is the one who cooks!)
So anyway, we'll see what happens... will keep you updated if more drama enfolds!! ;)
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