Help with helper situation!

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  1. #11

    Caring fellow

    I am not sure as to whether you are new to HK, but I have been living
    here for many years. I too have had such problems with the countless
    out-sourced domestic help that I have had over the years.

    It took me some time to work out why there were so many geckos around my
    maids rooms- and I learnt whilst holidaying on the islands of the
    Philipinnes, that Filipinas believe that the Gecko is a fertility god
    and they diliberately feed them with candies and food to make sure that
    when they get holiday leave (which i totally disagree in paying for, but
    that is a seperate issue), they can go home to their husbands and
    concieve ( more money from me!!).

    Gecko urine is as poisonous as cyanide, and there have been many cases
    of gross negligence in Hong Kong involving Filipinas, Geckos and expat
    children!

    If passive resistance does not work, try squeezing the fridge into her
    room, a tactic that many expat wives have employed over the years to
    help solve their out-sourced domestic help issues.

    Good luck, and remember-the Filipina for "yes" (or-or) is the same as
    "whatever (or-or)!


  2. #12

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    Im curious about this gecko thingie you guys are talking about. What is this?


  3. #13

    a gecko is the deadly asian version of the lizard we get back home...these things are reverred in Asia for even killing spiders and mosquitos.


  4. #14

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    Ah ok... Found it quite bizarre than Filipinos actually believe in such a thing (being a Filipina myself). We're a Roman Catholic country and I never encountered anyone back home in such a cult - all my maids never did it...

    Maids come in good and bad forms, I guess some of you are just unlucky.


  5. #15

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    Not too sure about "deadly".

    http://www.hkras.org/eng/info/hkspp.htm - commonly found geckos in Hong Kong.

    http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/liz...iled_gecko.htm

    http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_...941/Gecko.html

    Never heard of anyone mention "cyanide" in the same breath as geckos before, in Hong Kong.


  6. #16

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    >> I guess some of you are just unlucky

    I'm going to get this of my chest once and for all, as this is the type of discussion that attracts the fringe population from AsiaXpat into the picture.

    Many expat housewives have never managed helpers or employees in a domestic situation ever. For many it is their first expat posting in an area where domestic help is affordable and does not involve hiring an illegal who has broken through a fence.

    Result ... lots of misplaced expectations and issues, mostly because expectations have not been set from the very begining -- even before hiring.

    What works really well for GeoBaby.Com members who are often first time moms and hiring their first helper is a book written by an ex-Hong Kong Tai Tai of sorts...

    http://www.shopinhk.com/product.php?productid=1510

    http://www.geobaby.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114395


  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by coolgirl:
    Ah ok... Found it quite bizarre than Filipinos actually believe in such a thing (being a Filipina myself). We're a Roman Catholic country and I never encountered anyone back home in such a cult - all my maids never did it...

    Maids come in good and bad forms, I guess some of you are just unlucky.
    Christianity around the world is full of local pagan influneces.. no matter the denomination.

  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Clovenpine:
    Gecko urine is as poisonous as cyanide, and there have been many cases of gross negligence in Hong Kong involving Filipinas, Geckos and expat children!
    Could you please provide a link to any evidence whatsoever to support either of those assertions?

  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by kostas:
    Christianity around the world is full of local pagan influneces.. no matter the denomination.
    true, true. agree. It's just sooo bizarre! Never heard of such a thing. I will phone my maid back home asap and ask about this. I never had friends gripe to me about such an incident, and my house is squeaky clean 24 hours a day.

    KIA, so true. It's not only about managing expectations, but also being reasonable and realistic about it all. It's also how you treat them, that's how they treat you back. of course there will always be bad ones, but you shouldn't hire them anyway.

    and by the way, the term for yes and whatever, in Tagalog, is not the same.

  10. #20

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    Gecko Pee and Maids..

    Geez..
    We really have opened a can of worms??
    Never heard the cyanide thing myself.. not saying that it true or not!
    But i mean.. come get a grip people.. have u ever put your child down on a floor?? or has your child ever fell over?? i think so.. well do u go and wash your childs hands with disinfectant and scrub them silly!!
    The thing about children is they build resistance to infections by getting dirty once in a while!
    Otherwise they live in a bubble and r constantly getting ill!
    I have lived in asia for 7 years and i hope that i have never treated any member of my staff over these years badly! I know i sometimes have yelled and whined but i treat them with the due respect that i would expect for myself.
    I worry when i see people treating their dtaff badly and i am sure if will come back and bite them someday!
    Also the yes and whatever word r totally different as i just asked my best friend who is fillipina so not sure where that one came from!
    How this conversations veered so far off amazes me?? hahhahahha
    Oh well hope ur all having a good day?