I feel like I never got to this post as things turned sour just as you put it up. First off, Western Oregon has a HUGE Hispanic population. In the town of Woodburn alone the demographics say that it is 26% Latino!!!!! The reason is the high agriculture, but many are becoming permanent citizens. Yeah, I'm going to need/ want some Spanish.
It is truly a Godsend having Gulnara to help me! When we first arrived, I was literally drowning in dishes and laundry. I did VERY little else, as I had to study language 40 hours a week.
It would be very weird for me to NOT have a helper around the house. Here's how it works here. The youngest male child ALWAYS stays home after he is married, and his wife becomes the "slave" of the home. They are expected to care for the aging parents, but in return inherit the home and land. So there is always a helper in the home. For older siblings and their families, there is a social system of younger women being obligated to help when circumstances arise such as parties, new babies, etc... to go over and help the relative. So, to have someone around to share the load is normal, and necessary. No one has ever batted an eye about us having someone to help with shopping, prep cooking, laundry, or cleaning. She also pays our bills and navigates property/neighbor issues. Most women in the US HAVE househelpers but do not realize it. They are called vacuum cleaners, butchers who grind their meat for them, clothes dryers, automatic bill pay, and sidewalks to keep most of the mud out of the house. We have none of those.
Pul-eeze.... but then again, I don't know the whole story either.
She is an amazing role model that's for sure!! But from a completely different culture with different social obligations than we have. Nevertheless, we can certainly learn a lot from her!
I don't think it's from lack of knowledge, but more from missing a clue or 2 due to the busy-ness of life. Don't worry about it; it was really meant to be a fun source of diversion rather than a cut throat game, right??
(Shhhh, don't tell Tim or Cynthia, though)