Our nounou is having a baby. Christine has been with us since before Mbalia was born, but now she's off to have her own little cutie. My new nanny search went right down to the wire. It took me some time to adjust to the idea that I would have to find someone new- which resulted in a bit of procrastination on my part.
About a week or so before Christine was leaving I finally started interviewing. The first applicant wanted too much in transport. In fact, the transportation allowance wasn't all that far from the monthly salary. When I pointed this out and asked if she could propose a solution she remained silent. I took this to mean bargaining was out of the question and continued the search. The second possiblility kept insisting on sleeping over, something I had no desire or physical space for, especially since on many days I finish well before 4:00. I kept imagining a nanny underfoot all evening and long into the night. I felt a moment of terror imagining the small seconds of privacy I currently cling to being ripped from my fingertips. I kept searching.
Then I met Koro. She was the third applicant and the most promising. After meeting at the main road, we'd managed to walk back to the house making small talk and finding common ground. She was willing to negotiate on the transport and I was happily able to accomodate a slightly later start time (thanks to Mohamed being home and able to step in for a few minutes each morning.)
Koro has picked up the tasks around with house with ease and Mbalia transitioned to a new care giver after just a few days. Having her brothers home surely helped with this. I came home one day to find 500 franc on the table. Apparently I;d left it in my pocket and it had come out in the wash. I never leave money in my pocket, mostly because I never have pockets. I do have one jean skirt with pockets, however, and I've noticed my hands tend to gravitate there when I wear it.
I was preoccupied with other details and shrugged the 500 franc off with a quick thanks. A bit later I thought about what returning the 500 franc said about her honesty. And a bit later yet I remembered an email I'd gotten from a friend at a time when she was going through a nanny search. Inviting someone into your home to care for your children and clean up your messes can be a disturbingly intimate affair. There are issues of trust and competence and moral alignment, aside from cultural, educational and linguistic bridges to cross. My friend had been doubting the honesty of her nanny and wondered if she should test it out by putting some small francs in a pocket to be washed.
Suddenly my 500 francs on the table took on new meaning. I groaned at the thought. I imagined nannies everywhere starting new jobs and finding small bills in the wash. The old 500-franc-in-the-pocket-trick initiation test. I hadn't done it on purpose, and I don't even really know if it is a thing, but my mind was busy imagining a clique of nannies huddling in a circle after work, laughing at the unimaginative white women who kept putting loose ch.ange in their pockets hoping to test the fidelity of a new employee.
I really hope she didn't think I'd done it on purpose. I'd hate to be perceived as so cliche. I realized soon enough that even if she did think it was a calculated move, she probably wasn't thinking too much about it. Just another new-to-the-job hurdle to jump in her world.A little bit of eye opening perspective in mine.
