Kisah Pembantu Rumah - Part 2

So I’ve got a new maid. She came in last Saturday.

Phew… you don’t know how relieved I was when I finally got the new girl. I was in panic mode when Sri told me last week that she wanted to go home mid-Dec. That’s too soon! I haven’t got a replacement for her!

I had inquired from an agent-friend earlier on but she told me it’s not easy to bring in Indon maids nowadays. Nak get yang illegal pun the same thing, lagi pulak sekarang ni we hear so many horror stories about maids. Eeee… I cringed thinking about our fate if the maid ran away!

As luck had it, two days after Sri broke the news to us and as I was frantically trying to call agents for a new maid (to which all said have to wait at least 2.5 months), a dear friend, SW, told me the agent for her Nanny McPhee ada lagi 4 orang maid available right now! And that I should call the agent right away!

I didn’t call him right away but he called me a few minutes after that. We arranged to meet and the best part is, I got to select and interview the maids as they are all here already. First time I dengar orang boleh interview maids, usually one just choose from the biodata and photos.

So,I went to the agent’s house with Mdm Tai Tai since MrNordin was in JB. Upon arrival, the agent called upon all the maids to line up in front of me so I could take a good look at them. Hee.. hee… rasa macam mem besar pulak!

Please remember that I have never hired a maid before in my whole life, that was the first time I was given such tasks. I didn’t know what to ask, not sure whether my choice would be the right choice etc, etc.

Out of 4, I picked 2. One elderly lady – I quite like her coz she had a pleasant face, but I think she’s quite slow… don’t think she larat kerja at my house. The second choice was this young girl aged 23 and had worked in Singapore before. She’s too skinny for my liking but highly recommended by the agent.

When it comes to choosing a maid, I think we just need to trust our gut feel. No line of questioning would bring out their true colors coz their answers would be standard answers. So, I did just that, trusted my gut feel, chose the young one and prayed hard that she would not run away!

Two days at my house, I think she’s ok. Only speak when spoken to, that’s what I like. Sri has been teaching her what to do around the house, boleh lah… it’s too soon to tell anyway.

One interesting fact tho’, this new maid prefers to converse in English. “I prefer English,” she said when I picked her up from the agent’s place. Having worked for a Chinese family for 4 years before this, she speaks better English than Malay, so it seemed.

But her sentences always ended with Chinese connotation like this, “I looked after the house, lor…” “I cooked, lor…” Hee.. hee.. I found it strange coming from an Indonesian gal’s mouth!

And yesterday afternoon, we all went out for nasi kandar lunch. We brought her along. Guess what? We all ate with our hands while she ate with fork and spoon!

Hee.. hee... not bad, huh… our new maid! I suppose, she was used to doing that before this and doesn’t know our norm yet. So we let her be...

And last night, we had Roast Duck for dinner. When I asked her, “Pernah makan duck tak?” She said, “Selalu !"

I think she’ll be happy staying with my family.

Comments

BJ,

Mine only speaks in English when she first came. Didn't want to call me 'Ibu' or 'Kak' sebab tak biasa panggil majikan begitu, she calls me 'Maam'. She worked in Singapore too before. After a couple of months..hmm...keluar lah bahasa ibunda dia bila bercakap dgn I! Dah tak cakap bahasa omputeh dah! Hehehe...

Does your new maid call Nizzar 'boyboy' and Nadim 'Koko' and the girls 'Cece', like mine does? :-)
Bj
banyak betul maid bercuti atau habis kontrak bulan Dec ni...

Tapi I tak boleh nak komen laa sebab tak da maid pun..tak pernah pun di panggil ibu,puan or maam..hahaha..cuma pandang lihat dan dengar saja..

Apa pun , I harap semuga you n family dapat pengganti yang baik jujur dan cekap..All the best to you dear...
MrsNordin said…
Gina,

I think so lah.. after a while sure cakap Indon jugak. But she's not from Jawa Timur, she's from Jawa Barat (Sukabumi). So she speaks like Verdi does, not like Sri.

She hasn't called any of my kids yet except for Nizzar which she calls Nizzar too. Funny, Nizzar calls her "Kakak Baru" as in, "Kakak Baru.. jom main!" Hee.. hee...
MrsNordin said…
Kak Ezza,

Kalau tak ada maid, lagi senang hati. Tak payah pening2.

My new maid calls me "Ibu", Sri calls me K.Yati saja. Tengoklah macamana yang sorang ni nanti...

Thanks for your well wishes!
Unknown said…
Hi BJ,

Wonderful news that u found a replacement in no time. I know how it fels when having to find replacement. I asked mine 3 weeks ago if she want to continue once her third year contract ends (in May 2010) mind u, cos I told her i need time to get a replacement. Luckily she agreed to extend her stay.

My previous maid was from Sukabumi. Org Sunda. My current one is org Sunda jugak but from Ceribon.

InsyaAllah all will be good.
DadaIQ said…
BJ
I was shocked when I called my maid tanya where she was and she replied, "I'm on my way" and "I'm in the taxi". Bukan main lagi maid zaman sekarang. Patutlah demand extra pay sebab pandai cakap omputih. Yelah, anak2 dia sume belajar kat kolej.
kay_leeda said…
MrsN,

Good for you to hv gotten a replacement fast. We have become so dependent on them with the kind of life style we lead and the work we do. Hope your English speaking new maid will be as good as Sri :)
Naz in Norway said…
I had a good laugh reading your post this time. Jangan you pun adopt her style of talking dah la, MrsN!
Cilantro said…
Hi Mrs.N

I am happy for you that you have gotten a replacement maid fast.
I burst out laughing so loud in the office when I read “We all ate with our hands while she ate with fork and spoon!”
All the best with your new maid. Hope and pray that she will be as good as your previous one.

Take Care
MrsNordin said…
Thanks, Aida. Now I know who to turn to if I had any problem with my maid later!



Dada,

Maid you pun pandai speak English? Wow... that's good! Tapi I rasa tak lama nya diaorang ni... lama2 nanti sure cakap melayu. I feel strange giving orders to them in English, I don't know why...
MrsNordin said…
Kay,

Thanks!!


Naz,

I hope so not! I used to speak that way before when I was working with a chinese company. Now dah tak reti!


Cilantro,

I so too. I think she'll be ok...
MrsNordin said…
Cilantro,

Sorry... I meant, I hope so too. I'm typing so fast coz I have other things to do at the same time!
MA said…
MrsN :

Good luck with your new maid. I think I (and my kids) will have problems adapting to a new maid (if any) should my Bibik decides to go home for good.

She has set a benchmark yang susah other maid wants to beat, so to speak.
tireless mom said…
Hi MrsN

Welcome to the world of maids with potential problems. The trick is, monitor and be nice to them. Your new one looks reasonably good. Hopefully can last. Cakap ngan dia compare working with Chinese family and yours, hands down, your family is much more tolerant I am sure. So she has to be thankful.
bella said…
Cool! dah jumpa pun replacement. thats good for you. I hope she'll adapt well to your family's ways. It's always "apprehensive mode" bila dapat orang baru masuk rumah kan.
BJ, glad to hear you have found one. Indon agent pun dah jual mahal, I dah malas tho Demand is still high for indon maids. BTW Sunda maids are among the best.

Maid makan pakai fork & spoon..thats common..and my maid calls me "mama" just like my children used to call me. Some majikan prefer to keep the distant but for me...tak kisah lah...
Renu said…
Hi I am looking for a maid urgently to take care of my grandmother and to do housework. is it possible to get one... or if i could get a realible agent.
natasha said…
ANYBODY HAVE INFO ABOUT MAID PLEASE CONTACT ME HERE,I REALLY NEED A MAID WHO CAN TAKE CARE 2 OF MY KIDS 5 AND 6 YEAR.

Popular Posts