I Caved....and Hired a Maid.

This is the FRESH mint tea waiting for me when I walked in the door from school. 

This is the hot meal I ate with the tea, when I walked in the door from school. Sat down to eat it and got a warm feeling in my heart. Tasted Awesome too! 

Here is the Tagine pot bought by my maid in a small neighborhood, that cooked the amazing food that accompanied the tea, that I had when I came home from school. 

So truth be told its Super dusty here. Well after all it's the desert right? Good 'ol Saraha only a few hours away.  For those that know me well, I'm a clean freak and seeing the dust accumulate so quickly is not only unnerving to me, but bad for my allergies and asthma (that is thankfully in control for now). 

Ok, maybe I'm trying to justify just a little....

But seriously, it IS way dusty and I don't want to spend my free time cleaning. I'd Much rather be writing lesson plans or experiencing the culture. (The second option WAY better) lol

 I put the word out and got a referral from someone that uses a nanny at school. The woman has a sister who needs work. Yesterday I had an "interview" if you will, with this woman. Of course we needed a translator and she sat there smiling at me as I explained what I wanted. Ummm....what did I want? I just want my place dust free and white tiled floors clean! 

I read in the culture shock book (love that book btw) that many expats hire a maid or nanny and it is very reasonable to do so. With that comes the way Moroccan woman clean and what is traditional. Floors are scrubbed with a giant window wiper blade sorta thing. Laundry is done with strong detergent (did not ask for that this time) And any dishes left in the sink will be done. Well, since I have never done this before I asked for the basics. They told me if I leave ingredients she will put together a tagine for me as well AND make fresh mint tea. Oh snap! Who doesn't want to come home to a clean house and a hot meal??? When I found out the price I was sold! Sweet! 

Nervous and excited to walk through the door, I was pleasantly surprised. At first I did not even recognize the woman! She looked totally different. I was puzzled and then realized I only saw her with her hijab and burqa on (head scarf wrapped very tightly which only reveals the face and her burqa which is a loose garment worn from head to toe). I soon recognized her eyes and smile. Ah, ok, this is the same woman as yesterday....Phewww....lol

Once I took a quick glance, I could see everything was Clean!!!  Yay!!! 

It makes me so happy to have a clean space. It also meant I could go enjoy myself later with some friends in one of our favorite spots. 

Most, if not all of Morocco has tiled floor...pretty obvious why. I think once Sammi and Finster arrive they will enjoy laying on them because of the coolness it will provide. 

She brought me in the kitchen and poured me some tea. Wow-eee! On the cutting board I could see all the fresh mint leaves chopped up. Damn! It doesn't get fresher than this. She remembered I did not like sugar and therefore I really enjoyed it. :) She showed me the tagine pot she bought and uncovered the fish dish that was whipped together. Oh yeah, it looked so yummy! Without further due I served me some authentic Moroccan food, flipped on my computer, put my feet up, and thought......

......when in Morocco, live like a Moroccan right?

No doubt I am grateful I can have this woman come in and do this for me. I could never afford this at home. The best part of all this?

My friend stopped by, so I naturally offered her some tea that was just prepared. I went into the kitchen for a glass and at first found a mug, "no, no", the maid said, then I found a tumbler style one, really sorta for juice but thought it would do because it was glass. "No, no" said the maid. What is the problem?... I thought. And why is she watching me? 

She was Not letting me use anything I reached for. She then found a small glass, the kind that is typically used for serving tea. They do not use mugs for tea here, only coffee. 

At last my friend got here tea. :)

I love that. 

I love that I Needed to use the Right glass to serve the tea. Even if she tisked me for grabbing the wrong one, I appreciated that she wanted me to keep with tradition. 

Somehow I made a connection. The scrubbing of the bodies in the hammam and the way the house gets clean.....the Islam culture likes things clean, and I DEF like that. :) 

There was something very warm about this woman....she made my white floors sparkle, and even though it doesn't look homie yet....it's starting to feel more like home. <3

Plenty of leftovers and when my colleagues stopped by I gave them all a taste.
This woman might have some new customers. :)