Norma

So, I have a confession. I have a Nanna, or, in English, a maid. I realize that I’m only 24 years old and that having a maid is a little bit on the excessive end of things, but it’s the culture here. Plus, I kind of inherited her when I got the apartment.

I came by the apartment to make sure that I was certain I wanted it, and Norma was here, cleaning. She had worked for the couple since they’d lived there and worked for the man’s family for years, so she is very trustworthy, does a good job, etc. Anyway, the woman, Brieta, asked me if I just wanted her to keep coming for me. For only $10,000 pesos a day, which is about $20. She comes for eight hours, cleans, cooks, goes to the store, washes dishes, irons, does laundry – you name it, Norma can do it. It’s remarkable.

Norma came this past Thursday to help me clean the apartment before I moved all of my belongings, so that I’d start off on the right foot. First thing, we go to the supermercado, because I clearly have NOTHING in the apartment, except some yoghurt, diet coke and a sponge. We buy cleaning supplies. Then, halfway through the supermercado, she asks me what I want to eat for lunch, and what kinds of things I like, so it turned into a grocery trip as well. When we returned, she put everything away and I went to rehearsal.

Later, I bought a vacuum and some other things on a list that she had given me, such as Tupperware, Ziploc bags, dish towels, etc. When I returned to the apartment, it smelled so fresh and so clean clean and then she began to vacuum. I felt like a princess.

Did I mention that she made me food and put it all in the fridge and that I haven’t had to cook the past two days because I’ve been eating this tasty brown rice/chicken/eggplant dish that she somehow made kind of like risotto?

I am so thankful for Norma. I don’t know if I’ll be coming back to the States…