Our New Helper

Yesterday was a very busy day. We had a contract for an apartment and it fell through at the last minute. So we basically had to start at square on on the apartment hunting front. We made an appointment to look at some units after Lee got home from work. We rushed to that appointment, then we had to run to get dinner, and then at the last minute a friend from church told me she had a maid/nanny that she wanted me to interview, and she wanted me to come that night at 8:00 pm! So, we rushed from dinner to my friend Suzanne's house.

Let me describe the maid/nanny situation. Here in Shanghai it is very inexpensive and a widely accepted practice to hire a helper who cleans house, does laundry, cooks dinner and helps with the children. For $300/month you can hire someone full time, M-F to come to your house and do all these things. The slang term is 'ayi' (pronounced ah yee). I had decided that we would hire an ayi, but not until we got into an apartment. Well, this friend wanted us to come interview her highly recommended ayi friend, so we did. We decided to go ahead and hire her right away, basically to 'reserve' her until we were ready to use her full time.

So, today was our first day with our ayi, whose name is Ing. She is great with the kids and wonderful around the house. Lee and I had to go apartment hunting so we left the kids with her. When we came home, the kids had eaten lunch, played at the park, and were quietly watching a movie when we got in. The house was clean, the refrigerator was organized, and the dishes were done. Our apartment was the cleanest it's been since we got here a month ago. Needless to say, I am excited.

We put in two offers on apartments today with two realtors. One of the apartments is a townhouse with a back yard and two patios. I like this one the best because it is set up more like a neighborhood. It is 3 bedrooms, with a huge playroom/shop/craft room upstairs in the attic. The attic is all wood paneled and is air conditioned and has skylights. It is neighborhood that I would be comfortable letting the kids ride bikes in. So everyone, cross your fingers!

The second apartment is an actual apartment on the 3rd floor. It is much newer and 4 bedrooms, but doesn't have some of the advantages of the other one. While it is closer to shopping and newer and we could actually pick our furniture, it is still an apartment and I wouldn't be comfortable just sending the kids out to play. We would still be comfortable in this unit, it just isn't my first choice.

So, that's the news on the homefront in Shanghai. I am including a picture of Ing and Ally and Eve in our little tiny apartment kitchen.