Be nice to your domestic help when living in Indonesia

Ika and I have a pembantu (domestic helper) named Anna from Solo Java. We pay her 350,000rp per month and she does everything, including cooking, cleaning, gardening, washing, dishes. About the only thing she doesn't do is clean my motorbike, but if I told that to Ika I'm sure it would get done. Anna can't speak a word of English and is a very nice person. The other day Ika was laughing when she told me "She a hard worker, when she washing the clothes she change the water 6 times, with Wayan only once." I said to Ika "We know she's a hard worker so don't crack the whip too hard otherwise she might leave." Ika said "No, if she is diligent better to give her thing to do otherwise she might become lazy."

I have worked for yuppies in the US and know they are the worst people to work for, as they tend to look upon people with a lower income as 'less than themselves'. Pulling that attitude with other people is not going to happen with me as I think everyone deserves a level of respect. One time at the sports club I used to work at in Oregon I was pushing a cart of dirty towels into an elevator and overheard a father say to his young son "…because you don't want to end up like that" (pointing at me). Anna is not a 'that' she's a person and I hope working for us is a good thing for her.

Some expats have had trouble with their helpers recently and this is the other end of the spectrum.