laotou's post was awesome, take not BillDan, there is a challenger to your unofficial title "King of Rants"!
But on the subject, laotou sounds he has had a lot of experience with local ayi's. I didn't realise it was that bad! I figured it would be more like HK which seems to be pretty good (though 90% of the Ayi's are Filipino... maybe a cultural thing? Or maybe a pay thing?).
Anyone else got local Ayi experience? Any good ones?
Has anyone considered that Crazy.Laowai might be a troll? He's been writing slightly off posts and threads since before he (supposedly) came to Yunnan. Also, he seems to be running into an awful lot of trouble ("Help me buy a scooter!", "Want to pay 100 kuai for a Chinese tutor", "Kunming this and Kunming that", I'm sure you can find more examples easily on his posting history). To be honest, some of his writing reminds me of Gaoxing but of course from a different angle. He's either a bit weird or a troll IMO.
@CL
You're obviously kind of a newbie to this part of China. Advertising generous compensation is quite nice and ... well generous. HOWEVER, in this part of town, it's akin to saying - "Will the person who lost the ¥100 please line up at my door." You'll be attracting all kinds of reptiles and insects. Good luck wading through that mess.
@blobbles
Yeah...soapbox. It's not that the ayi's tick me off (which they do) - but it's indicative of the malaise and culture retarding the growth of this city. THIS part of the culture needs to be squashed like a bug. There are poor people all over the world - my family was once poor dirt farmers - but we were raised to be honest, ethical, honorable, loyal, patriotic - standard Confucian ethics.
What I see here - is prolific opportunistic petty thievery. If it's present at the ground floor - it means the leadership must be heavily involved. As the leaders lead - the followers follow.
There's allegedly an ayi agency somewhere in the north of KM (rumor & hearsay) that actually teaches ayi's their job and responsibilities, but I don't know if they're still around as their ayi's allegedly command top dollar - but that depends again on whether these top dollar ayi's also have respect for their profession or if they're just donkeys all doodey dah'd up for the prom.
For KM and greater YN, for now - I think it's akin to teaching a snake to shake hands. You can teach a layabout new tricks - but it's difficult to change their innate culture or behavior - you just end up with a well trained lout. I'm not a welfare organization and resent being used to take free money. I once had an ayi - all she did was sit on the sofa - no cooking, no cleaning, nothing - just sit & watch the tv with the kids. Fired her when I got home (830pm - still no dinner). The worst part - I had to pay her 1 day's pay...for sitting on my sofa and watching TV.
The rules for Beijing ayi's since 2005 - one calendar week probation. If they fail probation - they don't get paid. Ayi's think - ah, they'll cheat me to get a free week of maid service. However MOST people who hire ayi's (at least in Beijing) are looking for stability in their home. AND an ayi who thinks this way - will probably fail her job anyway as she expects to fail probation - as opposed to an ayi with the opposite character - I'd better work darn hard to impress my potentially new benefactor for a solid week. I've had poor ayis in Beijing - but NOTHING compares to the laziness I've seen and experienced here.
GOOD AYI STORIES
Does ANYONE have any GOOD experiences with LONG TERM ayis. For KM 3-6 months is long-term for me, as none have survived.
@CL
Good luck - unfortunately (rants and expletives aside), I can't offer sage advice, except perhaps - import talent from other provinces.
@dan
cl did a cigar post - so I'll just assume ... different. And he/she lives out in the styx, outside the second ring road - which again is unusual for most first time expats. Cigars and no car. Most unusual...perhaps.
Isn't living utterly immersed in a foreign culture somewhat eccentric anyway? Some would say adventurous.
laotou's AYI RANT...awesomeness!
kingkonger, one reason I want to pay well for a tutor is that I want to only find someone with teaching experience and convenience. And I found one.
I live outside second ring because that is where my company gave me my free flat, and I could hardly pass that up. Also, sure I am a bit eccentric, but that is just who I am lol.
We have had 2 good Ayis and about 5 bad ones, the rest were indifferent/tolerable.
It is just a matter of luck or a numbers game. Expect to go through several.
