Teacher now an ayi, mom dismayed
Print Edition
• On stereotypes
Zhou: My eight years has changed my view of Chinese people’s stereotypes of foreigners, such as British people are arrogant, German’s are strict and most white people look down on Chinese.
When you meet more families from different countries, you’ll find that people are all different and there are no so-called types. The German lady I worked for was quite open and accepting.
• Happiest moment
Zhou: In the past few years, I’ve had good relations with families, especially the children I babysat.
An Irish family gave me flowers on Mother’s Day because the children considered me a second mother.
Their mother wrote a thank-you card, saying I looked after the children very well.
• Awkward moment
Zhou: Once a British family invited me to the United Kingdom for a holiday but I declined because I’m really shy and timid.
I don’t know how to start a conversation. I don’t want my picture taken and I don’t want to go out and meet people. That makes me uncomfortable. They had good intentions, but I couldn’t convince myself to go. It was awkward.
• Child rearing
Zhou: I used to believe foreign families were more lenient with their children than Chinese and would not spoil them, but I found all kinds of approaches among expats, good and bad.
They don’t beat their children, of course, but some parents never tell their children to say sorry, if they do something wrong. Some parents spoil their children more than we Chinese.
Zhou Youlan:
45, from Taizhou, Jiangsu Province. A former English teacher and English tutor, she has been an ayi for eight years. She likes the hours, the pay and the employers. She currently works for several families and does a lot of babysitting.
For a long time, her mother was very upset that she worked as a “low status” ayi. Before working as an ayi, Zhou never did much housework.
“I could do simple cleaning, but I didn’t know how to iron or use household appliances,” she said.
That was back in 2004 but her employer then didn’t mind because it was hard to find an ayi who spoke any English. “She was nice and patient and trained me,” she recalled. But her family situation made it impossible for her to work long-term for a single family.
Though Zhou said she has been content in her work, her mother still disapproves.
“She always told me that she didn’t pay for my education so I could be a servant,” Zhou said.
Zhou sees it differently.
“Being an ayi doesn’t mean I’m inferior,” she said. “We have relationships of mutual respect. Besides, the pay is fairly good and since I work by the hour, I have more freedom.
“I’m satisfied with what I have and what’s more important is that my husband and daughter are open-minded and supportive.”
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