Saturday, December 31, 2005
Yesterday Patricia Maria Apolinario and her daughter, Christina, came to the house and brought a bag of miniature peaches from Mantacra. Maria has worked for the family since she was eleven, cleaning, cooking, washing clothes and careing for two generations of the family Gutierrez (Paty and her brothers and Paty and her sons). She is now 35 years old. As soon as she arrived, after greeting everyone she began washing dishes and helping in the kitchen. Even as we all had lunch together, everytime there was a need, she leapt to her feet to take care of it.
Maria stopped working full-time in Paty's house a few years ago after after Paty's boys moved to Lima. Afterward, Mama Eddy called Maria occasionally when she needed help. However, since all three boys will be here during Christmas, I suggested that we hire her to take care of things so that Paty and Mama Eddy would have more free time. (Yes, this probably sounds sexist. At home Paty and I share the chores. But here women feel impelled to "attend" to their families. When I ask to help, I am told not to worry about it - my offer is rejected. In fact, if I don't allow Mama Eddy to "attend" me, she feels bad. So, I go with the flow, even though I don't feel right being "attended to.") The family pays Maria between ten and twenty soles a day ($3.50 to $7.00) depending on how much work there is.
Maria's husband is a chemical engineer, and she and her sister have a . She doesn't need the money. She is here because she loves Paty, Mama Eddy and the boys.
I noticed that Maria seemed uncomfortable around me yesterday, so I asked Paty about it. She said that Maria doesn't quite know how to react to me. So I asked her how I should speak to Mariea. She said I should speak to her informally (in "tu"), so today I started speaking to her in "tu." It feels a little wierd to speak to her that way, but it seems to make her feel much more comfortable, and today she looks me in the eyes and smiles. (Although I speak to her informally, she speaks to me in "usted" (formal address), and indication of how polite she is.) It's interesting how something so small can make such a difference.
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