Angst

We want to make some changes in our domestic help situation here but we are fairly frozen by fear and guilt. Log story short, Kathy Chen are family and leaving and they have an ayi who is a great cleaner, really nice, smart and solid – and a great cook. Basically, we can hire her and replace both Yu Ying and Mr. Li, which will save us about $400 a month and really streamline our lives. It’s a no-brainer, really, except…

… Except we feel really guilty and it is is unbelievably angsty for us to do this. Not so much about Mr. Li. I like him and would still use him for parties, special occasions, etc, but I think the will find more work without too much problem as his skills seem to be pretty unique. Not so sure about Yu Ying. She is really nice and loyal but she is not the best or most efficient cleaner. And apparently, all the other Chiense staff hate her, including Mr. Dou, Becky’s driver, and everyone else who deals with her.

I don’t fully understand why though Cathy discussed at length with Mr. Dou and the consensus opinion is she is lazy and shiftless, but really good at kissing wei-gou-ren(foreigner) booty.

Maybe so. All I know is her husband doesn’t work and she supports a big family in Anhui with this job. I actually think I can pretty easily help her get a new job, from my perch on the BJ Riviera Welcome committee (I know, I know). We would also give her a few months’ pay as a severance and then start the new year with what I really think would be a better situation. Like I said, it’s a no-brainer and it would improve our quality of life and I really think we are going to do it. Becky’s verdict: “I think we should do it but I am not going to deal with, so it’s up to you.”

Anyhow.. still working buying the car. We have made the money transfer, but now we have to change the money from dollars to RMB and it’s another multi=step process.