I should have known since yesterday was such a great day with all the great finds at the grocery store that I was in for a not so good day. That turned out to be today...lucky me. I have really tried to have a positive attitude since I came back in August and be happy and not let anything bother me much but today was the breaking point. I am not sure why but living here and dealing with the same things that could happen in the US just seem 1,000 times worse.
I woke up this morning with what I believe is pink eye. I do have antibiotic drops here that we brought from the US so I started them this morning. I went to exercise class this morning and it was good but now I am so sore I can hardly move.
The plumber came to the house today after being asked for two weeks to come. You would think the fact that he showed up would be a good thing and it was until he finished. Our downstairs toilet has been running and with our water problems we wanted it fixed so we didn't run out of water in our tank again. This guy is very cocky acting and acts like it is a burden for him to have to do HIS JOB. So he fixes the toilet and says it's good madame and I ask him to wait and let me flush it and make sure.....after all he has been here numerous times for this same problem. I can tell that he is a little upset that I do not believe that he fixed it but I don't really care. I flushed it and it stops running and he gives me a smirk and says ok madame (like I told you so). Then water starts flowing back into the toilet worse than before he fixed it. I look at him and ask if it is suppose to do that and he tells me he doesn't speak any english. I point to my eyes and then the toilet telling him to look in it. He looks and says oh no and takes the lid to the tank off and the inside is broke in half. He starts turning the water off and tells me he will have to come back tomorrow. This guy is known NOT to come back tomorrow so I ask if he is sure he will be back and he just smiles and in his sweet little child voice says over and over madame, madame, madame tomorrow I promise. If he comes tomorrow I will put on my surprise face just for him. :-)
If this wasn't enough....Sela, my maid, came to me and asked where our gardener has been. She said she has only seen him a few times since she has worked here. I told her he never comes and she said Chef(Kenny) says do not pay him if he does not work. She got me thinking....I pay him almost as much as her and she works all week for at least 7 hours a day and he has only been working maybe one day a week for an hour or two. Kenny has talked to him numerous times about coming to work and it works for a week and then he stops coming again. I talked to Kenny about it and we decided I would talk to him tomorrow. I am going to tell him that he can come one day a week and that is what I will pay him for or he can come everyday for a few hours and I will pay him for the month. If he chooses everyday and doesn't come I will find a new gardener. Kenny said he has already been talked to and that I should just tell him the time has come. I feel that way too but then I think about where he probably lives and all 5 of his kids and that they probably sleep on the ground and don't have much to eat. That is what makes me want to give him another chance. If I was in the US and had this guy working for me he would have been gone long ago. I guess I do have a heart....sometimes!!
I woke up this morning with what I believe is pink eye. I do have antibiotic drops here that we brought from the US so I started them this morning. I went to exercise class this morning and it was good but now I am so sore I can hardly move.
The plumber came to the house today after being asked for two weeks to come. You would think the fact that he showed up would be a good thing and it was until he finished. Our downstairs toilet has been running and with our water problems we wanted it fixed so we didn't run out of water in our tank again. This guy is very cocky acting and acts like it is a burden for him to have to do HIS JOB. So he fixes the toilet and says it's good madame and I ask him to wait and let me flush it and make sure.....after all he has been here numerous times for this same problem. I can tell that he is a little upset that I do not believe that he fixed it but I don't really care. I flushed it and it stops running and he gives me a smirk and says ok madame (like I told you so). Then water starts flowing back into the toilet worse than before he fixed it. I look at him and ask if it is suppose to do that and he tells me he doesn't speak any english. I point to my eyes and then the toilet telling him to look in it. He looks and says oh no and takes the lid to the tank off and the inside is broke in half. He starts turning the water off and tells me he will have to come back tomorrow. This guy is known NOT to come back tomorrow so I ask if he is sure he will be back and he just smiles and in his sweet little child voice says over and over madame, madame, madame tomorrow I promise. If he comes tomorrow I will put on my surprise face just for him. :-)
If this wasn't enough....Sela, my maid, came to me and asked where our gardener has been. She said she has only seen him a few times since she has worked here. I told her he never comes and she said Chef(Kenny) says do not pay him if he does not work. She got me thinking....I pay him almost as much as her and she works all week for at least 7 hours a day and he has only been working maybe one day a week for an hour or two. Kenny has talked to him numerous times about coming to work and it works for a week and then he stops coming again. I talked to Kenny about it and we decided I would talk to him tomorrow. I am going to tell him that he can come one day a week and that is what I will pay him for or he can come everyday for a few hours and I will pay him for the month. If he chooses everyday and doesn't come I will find a new gardener. Kenny said he has already been talked to and that I should just tell him the time has come. I feel that way too but then I think about where he probably lives and all 5 of his kids and that they probably sleep on the ground and don't have much to eat. That is what makes me want to give him another chance. If I was in the US and had this guy working for me he would have been gone long ago. I guess I do have a heart....sometimes!!
For the grandparents. This was after only two lessons. We are so proud of how good he is getting.
Ode to Joy....September 2012
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