Costa Rica Retirement – Cleanliness Is next to Gallo Pinto

My third month in Costa Rica, I moved.

The reasons will probably appear in another essay on what to watch out for when choosing a rental location, but I’ll give you a hint and say that I was having trouble breathing in my beautiful but poorly located rental house. So I moved to a small gated complex with four townhouse apartments and the owners’ house in back.

I had almost everything unpacked but had not really cleaned the apartment when a neighbor told me I could hire her maid, a young Tica woman, to clean my place for $6.00. Only $6.00?! I was achy from bending over suitcases and bone tired from traipsing up and down the stairs to find places to store all my stuff. For only $6.00, how could I pass up this little bit of pampering?

She did a good job. I felt safe to sit on the toilet. Then she asked if I wanted her to come every Tuesday. I hemmed and hawed because of course I DID want her to come every week and clean my place, but the nagging guilt of “Can I afford this on my stringent budget?” and also the thought that “I’m still strong and able to fend for myself” made me think the answer was no, yet I heard myself tell her, yes, next Tuesday will be fine. So I had a maid, or as they’re called here, an empleada.

The most important thing about having an empleada is trust. If you can leave the house and trust your empleada to clean it and to leave your valuables in place, then you have an exemplary employee.

According to our agreement, said empleada was to come every Tuesday to work for four hours. I gave her a written list of what I wanted her to clean. The first couple of weeks she did as she was told and I was pleased with her work. Then she started to shave off time and items from the list.

She did a fantastic job cleaning the floor every week, but then the dust started to build up on the furniture and sometimes the toilets didn’t get cleaned, until finally I had a sit-down with her. A bilingual friend translated for us. The long and the short of it was this woman had another job working in a soda (small neighborhood restaurant) and really didn’t want to clean my house.

Enter empleada number 2. Marielos also came recommended. She cleans five days a week for my landlord and a half day for my next-door neighbor. I knew she could be trusted with my valuables, just as the other woman could be, and I hoped that Marielos would clean the things I wanted her to clean.

It has turned out that she cleans well enough, not everything I want cleaned every week, but good enough so I don’t want to find a replacement. I don’t know what it is about Ticos and clean floors, but while she might occasionally forget to clean a toilet or dust a bookcase, she will make all the tile floors shine every week.

I began working in the evenings, teaching English to adults in San Jose. To catch the 5:00PM bus in front of my apartment, I had to eat a very early dinner. I didn’t really want to cook or eat too much at that time of day, so, upon prodding from my neighbor whose empleada cooks for her, I asked Marielos to make a dish every Tuesday that would be my dinner for three nights. I also happened to mention that I had never tasted gallo pinto, the national breakfast consisting of rice and beans and other ingredients that individual cooks like to add.

In addition to making a protein meal to last me a few days, Marielos started making gallo pinto. She made huge amounts of gallo pinto. The gallo pinto was okay, but I didn’t want to eat gallo pinto every day, the way Ticos do, and when I did eat it, I wanted just a few tablespoons.

In my weekly note to Marielos, I asked her to make less. She may have decreased the amount a little, but she kept making huge amounts of the stuff. I asked for only one cup of beans and a half cup of rice. She made enough to feed all the neighbors. Finally, I told her I didn’t want any gallo pinto. She reacted incredulously, “No gallo pinto?” What must she think of this gringa?

So now she prepares only a chicken or pork dish with vegetables that lasts me a few nights. We steer clear of rice and beans, the house gets cleaned, the floors sparkle, and I no longer feel guilty about paying for these chores.

Written by Margie Davis – Retirement Advisor for Women in Costa Rica

[custom_script adID=97]

If you are serious about buying a home, apartment or land in Santa Ana or Escazu, then please contact us using the simple form below:

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.