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That’s Some Pretty Expensive Shampoo…Wait, What?

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March 21, 2008

I used to not write in here for lack of inspiration. Now I have about a hundred different topics that I could post but I just haven’t had the time. Take a look at my sidebar and see how many different blogs I’m writing for. That should help you understand my total lack of dedication to JMCS.

Anyways, so one of the crazy things that I was thinking about the other day might sort of surprise you. We have a nana who comes once a week to clean the whole apartment. I’m really embarrassed to tell people that because our apartment is so small and that’s such a cuico thing to do. Cuico means a rich, upper class, snob. All I have to do though, is write one extra story and that covers the cost, so how could I pass that up?

The concept of nanas is something I’m not really comfortable with in Chile. There’s such a distinction between the life of a nana and the life of someone who can afford a nana. And then to bring a nana into my home and have her cleaning everything and fricken folding my underwear…well, that just seems not only degrading but also as if I’m rubbing in her face everything that I have that she probably never will. I also don’t like the fact that having a nana is definitely a status symbol in this country. You haven’t made it big until you have a nana. And the people who make it really big have nanas to assist their nanas. That’s mostly because labor here is just so cheap.

But, nonetheless, I still hired one. Every Chilean person that I’ve ever talked to has had the same attitude — if you can afford a nana why in the world wouldn’t you have one? My mother in law basically convinced me that any any woman in Chile who works must have a nana. If not, a career is an impossibility. Because you can pretty much count on zero help from the male half of the family this means one thing. Basically upper/middle class female liberation in this country came at the expense of females on the lowest socio-economic level.

The cost of my nana is less than what I pay for my shampoo and conditioner set. And no, I don’t pay exorbitant prices for my shampoo, although it’s definitely a lot pricier here than in the U.S. That’s probably because it’s a blond person shampoo and there are only like three blond people in all of Chile, myself included, so the demand is not real high.

Anyways, back to the point. Nana < Shampoo + Conditioner. And that's considering that I overpay my nana significantly.

We are part of the ruling caste class. I know we work extremely hard for all that we have. But, that doesn’t change the fact that once a week, when Eloisa is working hard to make my little apartment spotless, and I’m sitting on my couch, using my computer to write my stories, my guilty conscious works overtime.

23 Comments

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23 Comments »

  1. I had the same feelings when I had a maid in the US. She was also about my parent’s age, which didn’t help. (although I will say she did actually cost more than my shampoo, but less than my hourly wage for her three hours).

    We’re just in the process of hiring a maid here. She cleans the administrator of our building’s apartment and comes three times a week, twice to clean and once to iron their clothes! Man, we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

    Comment by mexpat — March 21, 2008 @ 9:40 pm

  2. It’s so weird, how totally normal it is in Latin American culture, isn’t it?!?

    Comment by Mamacita Chilena — March 21, 2008 @ 10:09 pm

  3. Wait, wait, wait! I’m a little confused about this:

    “But, that doesn’t change the fact that once a week, when Eloisa is working hard to make my little apartment spotless, and I’m sitting on my couch, using my computer to write my stories, my guilty conscious works overtime.”

    This means you feel guilt about the level of labor involved in Eloisa’s job vs. your own or are you sitting on the couch writing articles while she’s in the other room folding your underwear?

    Comment by Blaark — March 21, 2008 @ 10:41 pm

  4. Blaark, I’m at my house working while she’s here. I don’t feel guilt about the level of labor in her job versus mine. I feel guilt about the fact that I have money to have a nana and live in a nice apartment…

    Haha, and just for the record, I don’t ask her to fold my underwear, she just does it! I actually don’t ask her to do anything because I feel too weird about it.

    Comment by Mamacita Chilena — March 21, 2008 @ 10:46 pm

  5. by the way Blaark, I think your server is down, I haven’t been able to access your page.

    Comment by Mamacita Chilena — March 21, 2008 @ 10:47 pm

  6. My suegra has occasional help in the house but she feels guilt about it. I would have a hard time with it as well. The weirdest thing when I was in México was when I saw was the section in walmart where they sell maid outfits. I just have to say, though, I am glad that eloisa has someone like you who understands her worth as a fellow human being and not someone who is truly cuico and would just look down at her. (cuico is fresa en México)

    Comment by Rachel — March 22, 2008 @ 1:33 am

  7. I totally get what your saying. My parents never wanted a “chacha” (short for muchacha -girl- and the mexican equivalent for “nana” (which by the way, means “girl” too in French although more like “chick” …))

    Anyway, the point is we were 7, living in a two storie, 5 bedroom house and STILL my parents refused to give in. My (american) mom had pretty much the same take as you, guilt of the fact that cheap labor was so easy to come by and my (mexican) dad simply hated the idea of a stranger coming in and touching our stuff (ie underwear)….

    Their common reply whenever we raised the subject: “we’re 7 in this house, we can clean up our own mess”…. and so “saturday cleaning” became “hell day” for us.

    Then, one day they caved and this woman came to work for us. 2 days a week she would come to clean up the entire place…. At first I thought it would be great.. at last a clean house AND you we got our saturdays back! But we soon realized that 1) a 7-people mess is too much for ONE person to clean by herself even in 2 days, and 2) her cleaning methods were a bit questionable (ie using the same rag in the kithchen and in the bathroom :s). But no one had the heart to tell her because we knew that our “business” was a good part of her income. She stayed with us for a little over a year. I think when I left the house that gave my parents the perfect “excuse” to let her go (there was now only a 6-person mess, they could handle it)….

    Now I live in a 2 bedroom appt with hubby and all I ask is that we have someone come in ONCE a week to dust the place and iron our clothes (the TWO things I hate to do because my feeling is no mater how careful we are… it unavoidable) but hubby refuses to budge giving me the same arguments my parents used to.

    I can understand that he doesn’t want someone washing his underwear or cleaning his used dishes and I agree with him that it’s our mess so we can clean it ourselves. But dust and wrinkles are NOT our fault so why not have some help in that department?? Specially when you’re working full time during the week and weekends are all the free time you get?

    Good for you S and you are on the same line of thought. Besides, your place doesn’t strike me as the “messy and hard to clean” sort of type so I bet Eloise is glad that she has your business ;)

    Fned.

    Comment by Fned — March 22, 2008 @ 2:34 am

  8. My Nana (paternal grandmother) actually had her own maid service for awhile, when I was growing up in Maryland. She never seemed to mind cleaning houses; for her it was easier and less dirty work than working in bars and restaurants like she did until she got too old. For her, there was a certain satisfaction in making things clean and tidy, and it was peaceful work.

    When I moved out into my own apartment in Los Angeles, she came to visit and cleaned the place from top to bottom for me. Your “nana” is probably glad to be working doing light housework for nice people rather than some of the other dirty jobs out there.

    Comment by Mere Creetur — March 22, 2008 @ 7:49 am

  9. You pay your maid a price freely agreed and she’s doing it. If it wasn’t for this job, she would have no income at all. She won’t get hurt or she won’t suffer from it. You both benefit from this transaction. Don’t feel guilty.

    Is she peruvian or chilean? Chileans even love the peruvian nanas, they can teach children to speak in that soft and well enunciated peruvian accent, and they cook delicious stuff. Let alone how hard they work.

    In America people work flipping burgers and although the income is higher, comparatively the gap is less striking (although they are still better off) that this odd jobs in Chile.

    In a way it makes a good way to share wealth in the country, by giving hand in cash to people willing to work. If the workers are treated humanely there shouldn’t be a reason to feel “bad” about it. I think a lot of people are aware of it and feels the same, but think about it: what if there were too many restrictions and regulations on these jobs? Poverty would be even worse.

    Comment by Carlos — March 22, 2008 @ 11:15 am

  10. Carlos, she’s Chilean. People (or at least older people, because sometimes students flip burgers for part time income) in the U.S. flipping burgers is bad, but I think because they’re not actually in your house, the contrast is less marked. I agree though, about giving money to people who are willing to overwork. I’d rather overpay her than give money to all the beggars I see on the street who just ask for money.

    Rachel, it’s so weird that they have Walmart in Mexico and even weirder that they have a maid’s uniform section!

    Fned, what is the price of getting someone to do that in France? I’d imagine that in Europe having help like that is really expensive!

    Mere Creetur, I’m not sure if my nana finds doing housework peaceful but like your nana, she does seem to get some satisfaction out of it because she is always calling me over to show me how amazing my newly organized closet looks, and things like that :)

    Comment by Mamacita Chilena — March 22, 2008 @ 1:02 pm

  11. It is unfortunate that having a nana is a status symbol but your nana is doing a job that needs doing, not one that is degrading. It is also sick that the pay scale is so skewed. I think it is great that you at least are aware of the fact that having a nana is a privilege that you work hard for and not your “God Given Right”.

    Comment by Reb — March 22, 2008 @ 1:39 pm

  12. Having a maid is the same here in Brazil, although it doesn’t seem to hold the same culture status. Here everyone has a maid, even those that are less financially well off.

    We had a choice so I chose not to. We just didn’t feel we could trust someone coming into the apartment.

    When we first moved into our apartment the cleaning girl from my husbands company got things cleaned up for us. It was hard for me to see someone so young (barely 20) cleaning for me. I guess this is my (north) American perspective coming into play, but I just wished a brighter, more prosperous future for her. I hated to see her doing something that paid so little, but she seemed perfectly content.

    Your comment about the blond shampoo cracked me up. I’m not even sure that they sell it here. Ha, ha!

    Comment by Lori - Blondie in Brazil — March 22, 2008 @ 7:02 pm

  13. Mamacita,
    No way I could deal with having someone clean my house… I can’t even ride in cabs and I hate eating out unless it’s a lunch-counter where every slop of the spoon is delivered like a fuck you to the face… Were I you I’d be finding the closest coffee shop or Chilean approximation to hide out…

    Thanks for the server warning– seems to be working fine just now but I’ve noticed that blogger and blogspot pages are a little iffy about linking out of their domains; there’s always the possibility that I typed it wrong… Not much going on over there anyways as no one bothers to write much so you’re stuck with my vacation photos and Odyssey-lite notes…

    Meanwhile I’ll wonder if Easter’s the day to mop the kitchen…

    Comment by Blaark — March 22, 2008 @ 9:01 pm

  14. You know…I have to admit, if I could afford it, though, I’d have a “girl” in my parents’ house like they have in India. Someone to cook, clean, and do errands.

    And after seeing how much easier they make a working woman’s life (I mean, who hasn’t had to take off work to go pick up an important personal document?)…I mean, I definitely wouldn’t mind having one around either.

    Jayna

    Comment by Anonymous — March 23, 2008 @ 11:24 am

  15. It’s ok, Kyle! I think Eloisa’s business has gone well for her, and she’s lucky to have nice bosses. I’ve seen some people really mistreat nanas. It’s much better to come and do a job in a few hours a day instead of living with someone or coming in everyday.

    I on the other hand have no excuse to have a nana. I worked only part-time, and as much as I hated it, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Even now, Oscar and I are just going to clean our apartment together, with a little help from his mom, of course.

    But I agree, it’s quiet peaceful work and better than other alternatives.

    And you know, at least you’re grateful for what she does. Remember that conversation we had with a certain man who obviously had no respect??? I guess that’s what happens when you’re from a country like that and it’s so accepted to treat people like shit… I don’t think even Chileans are as bad at that… but oh.. I digress.

    Comment by Amanda — March 23, 2008 @ 2:53 pm

  16. Wow…I actually think it’s wonderful that you are letting yourself have help at the house, no matter how big it is. It is exhausting to work out, work your job and then come home and think about spending more time working hard…my mother and I were just talking today, and she said it was really hard to put your energy into doing more than about 2 things in your life really well…I mean, that may sound spoiled, but I think it’s hard not to spread yourself too thin, and if you can afford it, and it makes your leisure time that much more enjoyable…well then, why not? I mean,you have the rest of your life to clean, eh?

    (thank you for the sweet comment on my other new blog…you are a doll!)

    Comment by Chickenbells — March 23, 2008 @ 7:31 pm

  17. Mmmm, I dunno… I never had one! XD
    My grandma had this woman working at home since the 60, and at the end she was part of the family, there was not a bis distance between her and us, we helped her sometimes in little things if we could… and so on.
    Now my parents have a woman who goes and cooks and cleans, because they have worked the whole life and are just tired and needed (need? needed?) help, and its weird to me, because i dont see a reason for me to ask her to bring me something, when I can do it myself… BTW she is more or less my age!
    If I think about it, theres a lot of women who need to work, and have no chance because they havent studied anything, and their only chance is to work for some family… so, with the escanario is not that bad, but it would be great if we can give all the people good education, that would be fair. But that will happen in 390292489 years.
    One thing I dont understand: what do you mean when u say you pay her the same money you spend in shampoo? you mean per hour? day? week? or what… O_o

    Comment by Irantzu — March 23, 2008 @ 8:42 pm

  18. I remember years ago, a few days after Lagos won the presidential elections, someone popped up at my parents’, begging. I told him: Please ask Mr Lagos to help you, we don’t have spare cash here. He obviosuly retaliated with some derogative language.

    Today, atmy parents, a woman came (with a child) and asked me “could you help me and give me anything to cook for my child”. First, I thought why we don’t have proper sex education laws in Chile and an abortion law to prevent irresponsible people having children. But I just said “you look healthy and young, why don’t you offer me something to do so I can pay you for it?”. She looked at me angrily and stormed out.

    There’s a real problem of laziness in this country. I find a handout something just worng. Why people think that because they are poor they are entitled to beg? I find offensive to give a handout, as much as I dislike people begging, and there are so many. I read today that in the Atacama region they need people to work, and Peruvians come instead of Chileans.

    What you’ve done Mamacita is great, is just a fair and honest exchange. Far enough, the money is not much, but this Eloisa girl is a hard worker, unlike many others who just couldn’t be arsed to work.

    Comment by Chile Liberal — March 23, 2008 @ 9:05 pm

  19. Oh I feel your conflict! On the one hand, Rodolfo is amazingly non-macho and has no problem doing most of the tidying since he’s at home more, but on the other hand we still have to do a more intensive cleaning every couple weeks, and it just takes up precious weekend time together. That said, I still can’t quite bring myself to pay someone to clean my 36 m2 of apt…I feel like a real nana would just laugh at me for needing help with such a small space! I think if/when we move somewhere larger I’ll rethink it , because it really is just such a help that makes sense to have if you can (especially when the pollution settles like fine ash over EVERYTHING and is impossible for me to ever get completely clean), although my North American guilt does kick in a bit at the thought of being so lazy. But hey, when in Chile…

    On a different note, yes, we must hang out, but right now my friend is here from the US so I’m playing tour guide with her. And then next week another friend is here. But after that, ie. second week in April, let’s make definite plans! Drinks one night with our men? Or a more extensive gringa get together? We’ll figure something out. PS. I read Styledash every day now and want to go shopping.

    Comment by Emily — March 24, 2008 @ 7:51 am

  20. I think maybe you assume you enjoy your work more than Eloisa enjoys hers because you think cleaning up after someone else is automatically either unpleasant or degrading. Maybe Eloisa doesn’t see her work that way–maybe she takes pride in what she does … she probably just wishes she made more money at it (enough to have her own nana, perhaps.)

    Maybe instead of feeling guilty, you should just resolve to always be courteous and respectful to Eloisa, but never patronizing, and always pay her fairly.

    I wish I could have a nana … but then I’d feel guilty, too ;-)

    Comment by Lisa B. — March 24, 2008 @ 10:56 am

  21. hey im all for if you can afford it then get it!

    Comment by TD — March 24, 2008 @ 6:47 pm

  22. wow. I never realized this. Other cultures are way different then the US. I knew that but I didn’t realize the inflation of prices were so dramatic. wow.

    Comment by TaraRae — March 26, 2008 @ 5:19 pm

  23. I love how youre all so good at making yourselves feel better about actively encouraging classism. Of course, Eloise wouldnt have a job if you didnt employ her, but that is just the rich person’s Prozac to help them sleep at night. Of course, if Nike didnt pay the 16 year old Indonesian girl 50 cents a day she wouldnt have a job, but she might have incentive to go and educate herself and work towards closing the gap between the classes. That will never happen in Latin America unless there are no opportunities for creating those subservient roles, so good on you everyone for being hypocritical about criticising the classism of Chile, Mexico etc and then paying someone a crappy wage (you know its true, even if you are ridiculously overpaying them) and encouraging their subservience. You should all know better.

    Comment by Anonymous — April 1, 2008 @ 9:50 am

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