Ayi Dinner Night

Ayi Dinner Night

My friend Emily invited John and me to her friend Rebecca’s house for dinner Friday night. Apparently, Rebecca has a really kick-ass ayi (cook/maid) who makes outrageously delicious meals. I had to see what all the fuss was about. Unfortunately, John baled out last minute to work. Boy did he miss a meal to remember! Mashed potatoes (clearly not a Chinese dish), lo mein, lotus patties, white bean soup, green veggies (some kind of sprout), tofu with tomatoes… every dish phenomenal. And the rate for such a luxury? 10 yuan per hour. That’s about $1.20 USD per HOUR. My friends here say there’s no reason to ever do housework again. As tempting as that sounds, I’m still a little reluctant to give in. Not sure what my hangup is… I guess I just feel like you should clean up your own mess. Plus, I kind of have this obsession with vacuuming. There’s just something very fulfilling about hearing the dirt rattle through the vacuum hose and seeing the before and after. Yes, I’m a little crazy. I’m sure all of you heard the story (from John) about how I opted for a new vacuum instead of a new tv when I moved to Florida for grad school.

I saw an ad the other day for an ayi cooking class. I suggested that John go and check it out. 🙂 Obviously, I don’t consider him my ayi. It’s just that he said he wanted to learn Chinese cooking so this seemed like a new opportunity. They said the class was taught in both Chinese and English. I think instead, John and I will consider finding an ayi to show us how to cook Chinese food. There are plenty of lessons to learn with picking out fresh ingredients and throwing them together to make something wonderful. We’ll see. My friends say good ayis are tough to come by.

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