Boon of the Ayi

I would like to think of myself as organized, but my sister calls me a cleanliness freak!

I don't think it's being too obsessive about cleanliness...but you'd find my hubby going crazy if I ask him not to use the bathroom as I'd just finished cleaning it :-)

Anyways, you know what they say about having a baby turn your world upside down? Yes! that's what happened to me... I can only think of getting some sleep and can't be bothered if my wardrobe is a mess or there are dirty utensils in the kitchen basin!

That's when you get your genie in the bottle! The AYI!

Living in Beijing, getting an ayi is quite easy, especially if you don't need one who can speak English.

There are many agencies who can provide you Ayis who you can pay by the hour, or else you can get yourself a part-time, full time or a live in ayi.

We have our Ayi coming six days a week from 08:30 am to 06:30 pm. We pay her 3000 RMB. 

My friends say that's a big amount, but my ayi did try to ask for more when I interviewed her.

Apart from her salary , we give her money every week to buy groceries for herself and we let her cook her food. Occasionally, we let her use our washing machine to do her laundry.

She has to have her afternoon siesta post her lunch and I let her do so on my sofa. ( The siesta is very important to the Chinese...you'd find people at work too taking their afternoon nap)

Workwise apart from cooking she does pretty much everything. Dusting, Vacuuming  Mopping, Washing the utensils...making sure the clothes in the washing machine are put out to dry and the dry clothes are folded neatly. She also helps chops veggies so it saves me time when I cook.

I'm working from home for the next six months , so she helps look after the baby when I'm having my telecons or if I need to use both my hands to do work..

Yep! Being a mommy makes you an expert at multitasking. Baby in one hand. Doing your daily chores with the other.

She's from another province so her accents is quite different. We do have our share of miscommunications...

But in the end we get along well with a lot of dumb-charades. 

A few tips while looking for an ayi - 

Always try to get an ayi with someone's recommendation ( a colleague, another expat mom)

Keep a copy of her ID card and give her keys to your home only if you completely trust her.
Give them time to get used to your routine...initially they will be slow, but they pick up really fast.

My little one with our Ayi

Some online agencies for nannies in Beijing -
http://www.xilaiyingyuesao.com/index.asp (Only chinese)
http://www.nannybeijing.com/