Empleadas

When the job in Ecuador was offered to us, we almost immediately accepted. The school, country, and package were a great option for us. Since then, it has largely been a steady stream of benefits we weren’t aware of when we signed up.

Our newest is named Olguita. Before moving here, we spoke with school staff, people who had lived in South America, and the internet. We were trying to get a gauge on what it would be like culturally in South America. We found out a lot of stuff about poverty, transportation, religion, and a myriad of other facets of Quito life. One thing that struck me however, was that every single person/thread/opinion that came out of this search was the fact that almost everyone in Ecuador who lived at or above the “middle class” had an empleada, or maid.

To me, the idea of a teacher with student loans having a maid was laughable. It truly was something that had never occurred to me. As I continued having these conversations, I found out that it was almost a cultural insult to have disposable income and not hire an empleada. Their services were cheap and you could help out a local family. It seemed like a very…how do I say this politely…”trickle-down economics” mindset. It seemed like a justification to be snobby in some way. Yet, I continued to look into the idea and apparently it really is a social norm and not a snobby thing to have an empleada help with household things.

I was raised in a family with blue collar humble means. It may sound corny and maybe even a little farm boy-ish, but I have always taken great pride in working hard, providing for myself, and not depending on anyone else for what I need. The idea of a maid struck me as unsettling at first.

However, the longer I thought about it, and the more research I did the more convenience and price won me over. Apparently it is very common practice while teaching overseas in almost any location for the teachers to hire a maid. As it happens, Shannon and I heard about a trustworthy empleada of another teacher at our school who had been with her family for over 17 years. She was looking for an extra day of work. Shannon and I decided to hire her to help us for one day per week.

The going rate for an empleada is about $25 per day for an 8 hour day, however since we were getting such an experienced on, her rate was $31.50 per day which breaks down to just over $3 per hour. On top of that, the employer is expected to pay into the empleadas retirement account once per month at a rate of $10. We found a trustworthy woman who was willing to work for us, and who loved dogs so we wanted to give it a shot.

When we got back from school on her first day, she had done the following:

•          Deep cleaned the bathrooms
•          Swept and mopped all of the hardwood floors in the house
•          Dusted every surface and thing we owned
•          Arranged for the guard/maintenance guy to get us some new gas (Jorge Lopez!)
•          Deep cleaned the kitchen
•          Ironed about 6 pairs of pants and about 13 shirts
•          Made homemade sopa de papas (Ecuadorian potato and onion soup)
•          Swept our back courtyard patio area AND wiped down all of our outside furniture
•     Washed, dried, and put away all of the dishes

She was remarkably efficient, the house smelled and looked great, and we had to do literally nothing when we got home from school. We were also told that if we ever need it, she can take a shopping list and cab fare and go grocery shopping for us, or make bank deposits and other similar errands.

She was just finishing up when I got home and she was so grateful for the opportunity to work for us. She was so sweet and polite as well; not to mention patient with my…developing Spanish. We have her scheduled to come tomorrow and I can’t help but feel like this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.