With the bad comes the good and our new apartment is no exception. Sure, the drain in the kitchen floor backs up and floods the surface with dirty dish water. Sure, we can't leave any food or dishes on the counter or within seconds the crumbs are covered in tiny black ant hills. Sure, I have an "audience" from my backdoor neighbor who watches my every move when I'm struggling to figure out the organization of the kitchen. But, I also have "housekeeping" which comes every Monday and Thursday.
Yesterday was our "scheduled" housekeeping day but a note left on our dining room table said they would be on holiday (the last of their Ramadan celebration.) I was happy they would NOT come because I was in the midst of unpacking and organizing: luggage, shoes, papers, and bags of purchases from the mall were strewn across all the floors, up the stairs, and on the bed. Piles of clothes had been stuffed on the wardrobe floor because I was trying to work out how I would fit into the space previously occupied by Eric alone.
Apparently, the housekeepers did not get the memo because about 1:00 pm the doorbell rang. By this time I'd completely forgotten about housekeeping and thought it might be some neighbors stopping by to say "hello." But quick introductions proved me wrong. I did a mental survey of the disaster inside and thought maybe I could postpone them until another day.
Me: Nice to meet you. (big smile) I thought today was a holiday.
Housekeeper #1: (hiding her cheerful giggling with her hand over her mouth).I forgot. Holiday 4 days. (more giggling)
Me: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday? You can enjoy your holiday. You can come back on Thursday.
Housekeeper #2: We clean now. (smiling and giggling)
Me: OK.(I opened the front door)..... It's a mess.
Housekeeper #2: No problem.(She marched straight to the kitchen and saw my feeble attempt to clean aforementioned flooded floor.) What happened? (pointing accusingly at the floor but I felt like it was at me.)
Me:( I pointed to the drain and then the sink) Big problem.
Housekeeper #2: No problem. (She whipped out her cell phone and made a phone call to the handymen.)
They both got to work dusting, mopping, cleaning, changing the sheets, etc. and I actually got a lot of organizing finished because being distracted on FB (as I had been all morning) just didn't seem like a good idea with an audience. About two hours later, as they were winding down their work, Housekeeper #2, asked about my family and I asked about hers. They both were so happy to meet me. They told me they clean 7 houses and I'm the first person they've actually met who lives in one of the houses. When they learned that I'd been an English teacher they perked up and said maybe I could teach them English and I replied sure and that maybe they could teach me Malay. So, here's our first English lesson:
Me: How do I say thank you?
#1: Terima Kasih
Me: Terima Kasih.
#2: (pointing) kitchen - Dapur
Me: Dapur
#1: Dirty - kotor
me: kotor. Dapur kotor. (Dirty Kitchen)
#2: (hiding her giggle) Come! - Dafang!
Me: Dafang! Dapur kotor. (Come! Kitchen dirty.) How do I say, "please"?
#2: Tolong.
Me: Dafang! Dapur kotor! Tolong.
At this point they were both happy and smiling and giggling. Then #2 gave me her phone number and told me to call her if I have ANY problems. She said she will come.
Then they both said they had not met my husband. They ironed some shirts for him and cleaned but they never met him. They saw him one time riding his bike home but they hid because they don't wear their head scarves when they are cleaning (too hot) so they cannot see any men. Then #1 started laughing and told me what to say to Eric when he comes home from work.
#2: (with a mischievious yet playful grin) Mari Tidur. (Come to sleep)
#1: (She started giggling again and shook her finger at #1) Naughty. Naughty.
#2: (laughing a lot) Mari Tidur.
Me:( blushing a bit but laughing too.) Mari Tidur. OK. I understand.
After the giggling and laughter died down
#1: (in a serious voice) Your husband is a good man. He no have girls here.
Me: (smiling) I know he's a good man. I'm lucky.
I practiced saying thank you again and told them they were my first friends. We hugged each other, they walked out the door and finished their day.
I'm happy the apartment comes with housekeeping for many reasons!
Yesterday was our "scheduled" housekeeping day but a note left on our dining room table said they would be on holiday (the last of their Ramadan celebration.) I was happy they would NOT come because I was in the midst of unpacking and organizing: luggage, shoes, papers, and bags of purchases from the mall were strewn across all the floors, up the stairs, and on the bed. Piles of clothes had been stuffed on the wardrobe floor because I was trying to work out how I would fit into the space previously occupied by Eric alone.
Apparently, the housekeepers did not get the memo because about 1:00 pm the doorbell rang. By this time I'd completely forgotten about housekeeping and thought it might be some neighbors stopping by to say "hello." But quick introductions proved me wrong. I did a mental survey of the disaster inside and thought maybe I could postpone them until another day.
Me: Nice to meet you. (big smile) I thought today was a holiday.
Housekeeper #1: (hiding her cheerful giggling with her hand over her mouth).I forgot. Holiday 4 days. (more giggling)
Me: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday? You can enjoy your holiday. You can come back on Thursday.
Housekeeper #2: We clean now. (smiling and giggling)
Me: OK.(I opened the front door)..... It's a mess.
Housekeeper #2: No problem.(She marched straight to the kitchen and saw my feeble attempt to clean aforementioned flooded floor.) What happened? (pointing accusingly at the floor but I felt like it was at me.)
Me:( I pointed to the drain and then the sink) Big problem.
Housekeeper #2: No problem. (She whipped out her cell phone and made a phone call to the handymen.)
They both got to work dusting, mopping, cleaning, changing the sheets, etc. and I actually got a lot of organizing finished because being distracted on FB (as I had been all morning) just didn't seem like a good idea with an audience. About two hours later, as they were winding down their work, Housekeeper #2, asked about my family and I asked about hers. They both were so happy to meet me. They told me they clean 7 houses and I'm the first person they've actually met who lives in one of the houses. When they learned that I'd been an English teacher they perked up and said maybe I could teach them English and I replied sure and that maybe they could teach me Malay. So, here's our first English lesson:
Me: How do I say thank you?
#1: Terima Kasih
Me: Terima Kasih.
#2: (pointing) kitchen - Dapur
Me: Dapur
#1: Dirty - kotor
me: kotor. Dapur kotor. (Dirty Kitchen)
#2: (hiding her giggle) Come! - Dafang!
Me: Dafang! Dapur kotor. (Come! Kitchen dirty.) How do I say, "please"?
#2: Tolong.
Me: Dafang! Dapur kotor! Tolong.
At this point they were both happy and smiling and giggling. Then #2 gave me her phone number and told me to call her if I have ANY problems. She said she will come.
Then they both said they had not met my husband. They ironed some shirts for him and cleaned but they never met him. They saw him one time riding his bike home but they hid because they don't wear their head scarves when they are cleaning (too hot) so they cannot see any men. Then #1 started laughing and told me what to say to Eric when he comes home from work.
#2: (with a mischievious yet playful grin) Mari Tidur. (Come to sleep)
#1: (She started giggling again and shook her finger at #1) Naughty. Naughty.
#2: (laughing a lot) Mari Tidur.
Me:( blushing a bit but laughing too.) Mari Tidur. OK. I understand.
After the giggling and laughter died down
#1: (in a serious voice) Your husband is a good man. He no have girls here.
Me: (smiling) I know he's a good man. I'm lucky.
I practiced saying thank you again and told them they were my first friends. We hugged each other, they walked out the door and finished their day.
I'm happy the apartment comes with housekeeping for many reasons!
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