The Price of Tea

The Help

Rob and I recently watched the Help and thought it was a fantastic movie. I'm happy to see it is getting a lot of props so far this "awards season." I still haven't read the book, but it's sitting in my Kindle queue. It's funny, because when I first started writing, I wanted to write a novel told from the point of view of domestic helpers in China.

It was interesting to watch the movie from the eyes of someone who has a helper or two, especially here in China. It prompted me to share a couple of Ayi stories with you.

As most of you know, we have a full-time Ayi who acts as a nanny to the twins as well as a cleaning Ayi who comes to our house 2 times a week to top-down the house. As a middle class American living abroad it has certainly been a treat to be able to afford help around the house.

When we first moved to Shanghai, a Singapore-Chinese friend/colleague of Rob's invited us to his house for dinner (lovingly prepared by Ayi). He and his wife lived in a small flat - maybe 1200 sq. feet - in Shanghai with their 1 year old daughter. They had a full-time "baby-ayi" and a full-time cooking/cleaning ayi. At the time I thought this was absurd, as many of you reading this may agree, but now I'm just so used to having domestic help that it doesn't really phase me anymore.

Anyway, we engaged in this conversation with husband and wife about how the flat is small, how can you keep the cleaner employed full-time, etc. What does she do all day?

Husband: "If she has nothing to do I create work for her."

Rob: "Like what?"

Husband: "For example I will just take all of my clothes out of my closet, throw them on the floor, tell her they look like shit and to re-iron everything in the house."

Rob (and I): Speechless.

Another story comes after we moved to Beijing. As they do every day, the twins and Ayi were playing at the clubhouse while I worked out. When I finished my workout a local Chinese woman approached me and proceeded to tell me that my Ayi "tortures" the twins both physically and verbally. Then she told me I pay her too much money and I am artificially inflating the market price. I tried to explain to her that she cares for 2 babies, and she told me I should hire another ayi so they each had their own.

Obviously I was quite shocked by the accusation. This Ayi had only been working with us for a few months but I certainly hadn't witnessed any torture. She is firm with them, which is unusual for an Ayi, but these twins are no walk in the park and need someone they can't walk all over.

We had a chat when we got home. As it turned out, my Ayi had told this woman's Ayi how much money she makes per month, which was about 700 rmb ($100) more. So this woman's Ayi asked for a 200 rmb/month raise.

Mind you, this woman lives in a 2 million dollar house and has 2 BMWs but decided it was better to lie about someone and get her fired than give her own helper a $40/month raise.

The bit about the toilet really resounded with me because our old Ayi used to live with us. For a while, she shared a bedroom with the twins (she was in a bed and they were in cribs). It was a nice room with her own private bathroom and a double bed. I figured it was better than having her sleep on a cot in the basement. One day a little girl who is from a nameless developing country (who is also used to domestic help), maybe 10 years old, was playing at our house. She asked me where the Ayi sleeps, I told her she shares a room with the twins. Her response, "Eww, that's disgusting."

Disgusting? Really?

I could go on and on, but I won't. Obviously one of the major themes in The Help revolves around race relations in the US. I can't even begin to add anything productive to that conversation. Sadly, it was what it was. It is what it is now - which certainly isn't perfect - but slowly but surely I think it is getting better.

In China, though, it is more about social class. The rich people here like to pretend it's about the economy. They don't want the serving class to make too much money because that will cause hyper-inflation and blah, blah, blah. I call bullshit to that based simply on how I've seen Ayis and Drivers treated as well as conversations I've been a part of that made my skin crawl.

I always kind of thought race relations/class relations came down to time and education. I don't know what the government is trying to do, if anything, to help the situation. And I've been here for almost 5 years and haven't seen any positive change.

It should be interesting to watch the middle class develop in China. Of course, I don't know if "they" will let it because once the middle class reaches a tipping point a few problems could surface: the goods and services here will become too expensive and manufacturing (hence money) will start to leave the country and the masses will then get a voice and won't be able to be controlled.

If I was a betting woman, I'd say they will continue to supress the masses to avoid all hell breaking loose. Any body out there have any thoughts on the matter?

 

Recipe of the Week: Beer Bread

A little late this week. Chinese New Year, sick kids and husband, and most importantly, no Ayi to help out around the house prevented me from doing anything productive.

I've always wanted to venture into the art of bread-making but it seemed a little daunting. I figured it was way out of my league if "they" invented a machine to help facilitate the process. However, recently a couple things prompted me to give it a try: a good loaf of bread - one made with whole grains and nuts -costs about $6-$10 here. A bad loaf of bread - one that tastes like cardboard and uses caramel coloring to make you think you're eating whole wheat - costs about $3-$5. Plus, I've increasingly been trying to control what I am putting in my (and my family's) bodies for preventive health reasons.

I found this awesome yeast-free bread recipe somewhere online...I can't remember so I can't link to it. It's awesome because sure it tastes good, but since it uses beer instead of yeast, I don't have to worry if the bread raises properly, etc. Now, is this the best bread I've ever had? No. But it is worth sharing becasue it is so easy, healthy, flexible (see options below) and it makes the house smell so good! Caveat, this recipe isn't so good for sandwiches because it's really crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside...perfect to serve with dinner, though.

Beer Bread: 3 c whole wheat flour (I've used Oat Bran, too)

3T sugar (I use about 2T honey instead)

1T baking powder

1t salt

1/2 t baking soda

1 12 oz beer

Options: fresh basil and roasted garlic (or garlic powder), cheddar/jalepeno, sunflower seeds/flax seeds, etc.

Pre-heat oven to 375 (175 C), grease loaf pan

Mix ingredients

Bake 45-50 minutes

If you make it, let me know what you think.

Recipe of the Week - Lentil Soup

I discovered this recipe for lentil soup a few years ago (when I was following the Perricone Promise) and have been tweaking it to our liking ever since. According to Dr. Perricone, Lentils are one of the 10 best foods you can eat. The others include:

Açaí

The Allium Family (garlic, shallots, onions, etc)

Barley (make barley instead of white or brown rice)

Beans and Lentils

Buckwheat

Green Foods

Hot Peppers

Nuts and Seeds

Sprouts

Yogurt and Kefir

I made lentil soup over the summer (while we were in the states) with a left over honey baked ham and something about the honey glaze made it really good. My recommended tweaks: Use a whole bulb of crushed garlic, omit vinegar, basil and oregano. I use white pepper, black pepper and salt to taste. And, instead of just 8 c water, I use either veg broth or chicken broth. You can also halve the liquid and serve it as a side dish (I like to add some yellow curry when I do this). Let me know if you try it...especially if you change the recipe, I'd love to hear your tweaks.

Not Your Mother's Brussel Sprouts

In an effort to keep up the blog, but not bore you solely with tales about our misadventures in China, I'm going to start blogging about some other things...like food and photography.

One of the unexpected and hidden blessings that has come from our expat experience is that I have learned how to cook. Since I don't have to work and I don't have to clean my house, I've spent a lot of time writing and a lot of time cooking. So now, I'll write about cooking.

My cooking interests lie mainly in 2 areas. 1. Health food/finding healthier alternatives to typically unhealthy foods. 2. Making things from scratch. Imported goods are extremely expensive here, so I have learned how to make a lot of things (readily available in the states) from scratch. At first it was a chore...but now it is a hobby...and it ties in with #1 because homemade is a lot healthier (and cheaper) than pre-made processed foods.

I also got my very first grown-up camera for Christmas. It was stuck in customs for a few weeks, but it has been freed and is in my possession. I've always been a big fan of photography but am the absolute worst photographer. Luckily, I have a few friends here in Beijing who are excellent amateur photogs...I'm hoping to go on a few walk-abouts with them to learn a thing or two...and post my experiences and pics here (and on FB, of course).

Now for the easiest recipe ever:

I don't know about you but the mere thought of eating brussel sprouts used to gag me. Boiled "baby cabbages." Even the cute little moniker didn't make them any better...especially since I didn't like cabbage either.When my father-in-law informed me that brussel sprouts are the 3rd best vegetable you can put in your body I decided to give them another try. (Kale and collard greens are #1 and 2).

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

1 lb (500 g) brussel sprouts - quartered, 2T olive oil, garlic salt, pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375 (175C), lightly grease cookie sheet. In a bowl coat baby cabbages in olive oil. Spread evenly on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper(to taste). Bake 25-30 minutes or until the leaves are browned.

Voila! Delicious and nutritious side dish. All 4 of my kids clear their plates and ask for 2nds.

Let me know what you think.