The Indonesian pembantu (maid) is like a physician for houses. She watches over their general health, diagnoses and addresses problems, applies dressings or therapy or surgery as needed. Each is an individual patient for which she provides the proper care.
By way of example: There has been a problem for some time now with the water in my kitchen sink, in that the water from that faucet, which used to flow normally, now only trickles, making it very difficult to wash dishes or perform other kitchen tasks.
I discovered some time ago however--or rather, Pak Aan, the general maintenance man discovered--that if one turns on the water in the bathroom and then also turns on the water in the kitchen, both flow normally. (Local maintenance men, by the way, are also a wonder. How, after all, had it occurred to him to turn on the faucet in the bathroom to increase the flow in the kitchen?)
So I thought this morning, You know, I ought to wait for the maid to arrive so that I can show her this trick, given the stack of dishes in the sink that she was going to have to face. So wait I did, and at last, the Pembantu, Nengah, showed up with her little boy, Ajus. She stood patiently while I explained the matter, carefully demonstrating the strange mechanics of the dual sinks, and when I had finished said simply, 'Yes, I know.'
Astounding. Clearly, the housecare professional knows her patients well, and knows their quirks, their needs and the solutions before the patients themselves know.
By way of example: There has been a problem for some time now with the water in my kitchen sink, in that the water from that faucet, which used to flow normally, now only trickles, making it very difficult to wash dishes or perform other kitchen tasks.
I discovered some time ago however--or rather, Pak Aan, the general maintenance man discovered--that if one turns on the water in the bathroom and then also turns on the water in the kitchen, both flow normally. (Local maintenance men, by the way, are also a wonder. How, after all, had it occurred to him to turn on the faucet in the bathroom to increase the flow in the kitchen?)
So I thought this morning, You know, I ought to wait for the maid to arrive so that I can show her this trick, given the stack of dishes in the sink that she was going to have to face. So wait I did, and at last, the Pembantu, Nengah, showed up with her little boy, Ajus. She stood patiently while I explained the matter, carefully demonstrating the strange mechanics of the dual sinks, and when I had finished said simply, 'Yes, I know.'
Astounding. Clearly, the housecare professional knows her patients well, and knows their quirks, their needs and the solutions before the patients themselves know.
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