My New Helper

It has been 4 days since my new helper had arrived.

I must say she is so far so good :)

I like her positive and willing to learn attitude! I remembered the eager and happy look she had when I walked into the agency on 30th March 2010 to bring her home. She had a very nice smile and showed initiatives even from the start.

And I can see that she loves children because she played with Jamie immediately and also she started talking about her children back home.

And I remembered how eager to start helping out immediately after she put down her luggage. She showed gratitude and appreciation by repeating 'Thank You very much' to the items we gave her.

The quality of her housework is good. I need not be checking too much on the tasks after she done it after the first day of OJT. She shows her passion in keeping the household clean and neat, as if it's her own.

And if she is not sure, she will always ask. And when she has finished her tasks, she will not pretend to be busy but ask for more.

I like her always wanting to learn more attitude. When she has time to rest, she will take out her dictionary and learn new words. I see that she also has a little note book to either write her diary or to write down new words she learnt from me.

Her spoken english is not very good but she is sharp. We just need to demo the way we want the tasks to be done once and she will remember. And if she is not sure, she will always ask. But I think her written english is much better. I started writing down the tasks for her to do just yesterday and she could get them all done. Even if she is not sure of what is the vocab or noun I use, she will check her dictionary. And once she learnt a new word, she will note it down and remember it.

On the 1st day, I woke up at 5am with her and stayed awake throughout the whole day, being worried about whether she can carry out her tasks well. But I realized I don't need to supervise her. She is an efficient and hardworking helper. So on the 2nd day, I told her the tasks she needs to do and went to catch up some sleep from 8am to 10am. The tasks were done well with no supervision. On the 3rd day, I could catch up even more sleep from 7am to 10am after writing down what I need her to do. And today, I don't even need to wake up.

Because I came home late yesterday after our dayout with Jamie, I did not get to remind my helper that I will not be waking up but will write down the tasks for her to do. So I intend to 'test' her to see how sharp she is. I wrote down the tasks and put it on the usual place I put the tasks book yesterday. And when I woke up at 9am just now and checked the book, she had done all the tasks I wrote down.

And she is a careful and respectful helper too. Though I told her she can enter my room to wash the milk bottles and change the dustbin even before I wake up, she will not do so. But once I woke up, she will ask me for permission to enter my bedroom to get the tasks done. Wow...

And after teaching her once to greet everyone every Morning and before she sleeps. And when someone returns from work or go out, she will follow the instructions and greet them with a nice big smile :D Anyone will be happy to see her big smile when comes home from a hard day of work!

And I noticed if she did not get to finish a task at the scheduled time, she will speed up her paces and still finished the tasks within the day.

Very happy to be lucky enough to get a good helper. Really hope she will stay as good as now :) It's only the 4th day and I am very happy with her.

I enjoyed the morning breakfast session with her. It's the best time for me to catch up with her to see if she is happy so far. Think I will try to wake up early together with her still maybe 2-3 times a week for our breakfast sessions :)

The only issue I have now is, I think she is so fast in her tasks that she may get a bit bored in the afternoon after she finished her tasks and when the baby is still sleeping. She had tried to request to go down for a walk 2 days ago, however, I explained to her we could not let her loiter around on her own because she is not familiar with the neighbourhood and we actually has some foreign workers clusters nearby in a construction site. We did not wish her to come to any potential harm and it is our responsibility to take care of her since she works for us. But I told her I will let her go down for a stroll with grandma 2-3 times a week. And when I am free, I will take her and baby out for a walk. Hope she is satisfied with my alternative arrangement.

Frankly, I don't believe in forcing someone to obey my 'orders'. Instead I wish the person can be convinced and put in her best for me because she feels I can make a difference in her life or that I am a worthy boss. Hence I believe in making my helper feels at home and well taken care of, instead of being treated like an outsider. But of coz, I may be wrong too because there are helpers who demand more after they receive 'good treatments'. But I am positive about my new helper and I hope she does not disappoint me.

Tomorrow is Sunday and I will like to reward her by letting her call home.