TouristTrap

Typical selfish attitude Il came to expect from all the American expats I knew back in Africa, who'd sit there wringing their hands about the poverty all around them, but wouldn't go out of their way to help someone by offering them a job, thereby helping to feed 4 to 6 people or more sometimes.

Jerseygirl

Awww just as I thought everyone had made up and become friends again.

Perfumdiva1

[QUOTE=Sallyanne]
Misjudging is easily done on-line

Believe me, I aint no heroine

Have a nice evening, I am off for a very large glass of white wine and to watch American Idol (sad I know, but I do like Simon)

Sally

[QUOTE=Perfumdiva1] Cheers.

Just Jenney

Well, considering that my ex-husband and I only made about $1500/month when we were living in Santiago, and our rent alone was $500/month, we weren't exactly rolling in dough. We couldn't afford to spend $50/month on a maid!

Perhaps the American expats YOU knew were there working for American companies, where their luxury housing and cars and drivers and maids were all provided for by their employers. Hell, I knew American expats in Chile working for Coca-Cola who got an extra $1200/month just to compensate them for the smog! Yeah, that would've been really nice...

We weren't those kinds of expats. We were the kind who stuffed a bunch of our things in a couple of suitcases and showed up in Santiago a month after college graduation with a few hundred dollars in our bank account, a desire to experience life outside the US and to improve our Spanish language skills. And that's exactly what we did. The two years we lived in Chile were a constant financial struggle, we had to pinch every peso. We saved every peso we made that didn't need to be spent on necessities, because eventually we knew we'd want to go back home and needed to be able to afford the airfare.

So call me selfish if you want. But we would have been stupid to spend $50/month on a maid when that money was needed to put food in OUR mouths.

~ Jenney

Jan Alaska

... until recently that was me. But I have seen the light and I'm onto pastures new with a job back in the horticultural industry. I will of course still find time to wash, cook and clean for my own family, even with 60 hour work weeks looming, but then thats how I was bought up.

TruBrit

ohh jan that job sounds interesting...good luck with it....yeah i was brought up like you by the sounds of it...mum cleaned, washed, scrubbed, shopped/ took care of the garden for us 3 kids, no second car... dad had that for work. in the school hols every wednesday us 3 kids were taken to our nans via 2 bus rides each way with mum. while she mowed nan's long garden (we tried to help but think we were more of a hinderance), mum shopped for her and cleaned, then back home by 6pm to get dinner ready. mum also had a part/time job outside the home at the local dentist. when i started working full time at 18 i saw the light and thought that aint going to be me...and i hired my first daily....and have always had a cleaner...paid out my salary...just so that i know once a week all floors have been cleaned/toilet/baths/sinks etc have been done..naturally with a family things need doing daily but after seeing my poor mum slave...nope sorry not for me.

TouristTrap

I apologise for assuming you were a 'regular' expat (the company transfer type).

Partystar

So that makes me an irregular expat then?!?! Actually, that's about right!!!