| One of the things I miss most from living in Shanghai is my Ah Yi. I had a great Ah Yi. She is Shanghainese, very honest, has a good work ethic, and a great cook. She always think of ways for me to save me money. She became a friend rather than just an Ah Yi.
I never call her Ah Yi because locals think it's derogatory. I don't order her around and instead politely ask her to do things for me. I always tell her I respect what she does and everyone makes a living their own way and that she is filling a much needed service in the city. Because I treated her with respect she went out of her way to do good work for me. By comparison, the domestic help in Hong Kong sucks! Expensive, spoilt, and dishonest a lot of the times. The Hong Kong government should allow much more workers from China to work in Hong Kong, especially in the area of doemstic helpers. This will definitely help alleviate the unemployment problem in the rural areas. Currently the minimum pay for domestic helpers in HK is about HK$3,270/month versus HK$800/month that I paid my helper in Shanghai. This will also help China as the money earned will be sent back to China to help families live a better life. |
Life in a Low Cost Labor World