I am very lucky that I didn't have to go through the long tedious process of finding a nana from scratch (although I will in Antofagasta as far as I know). We are using my landlord's. Today was her first day, and she arrived at 9 and stayed until 5:30, and she was busy the whole day. I was quite impressed with her work ethic actually, although, it was the first day, so maybe she was trying to impress me. However, there was quite a lot for her to do since the landlords left it in a bit of disarray.
A very important note is that she DOES NOT speak any English. And, her Spanish is VERY Chilean (rough, fast, colloquial, etc), which made for an interesting day of conversation.
You might ask, what exactly is a nana and what does she do? I had the same questions. Well, it seems to me the role of a nana is very dependent on your situation. She will cook, clean, take care of the kids, grocery shop, run errands, help you do things, etc. Really anything (within reason) that you ask of her for the time allotted and the amount of money you discuss. So, in my situation, I'm not exactly sure what she will do since it will differ each day. She definitely cleans the house, and today she really did a deep clean, but she also offered to do the cooking when she is here (she comes 3 days a week). And, I know she will help with Sadie if I need her to (especially after the baby comes). Even today, I got home from grocery shopping, and she rushed to help unload the groceries and get things organized in the kitchen.
What was interesting was that before I left the house to run errands we discussed the type of cleaning supplies I needed to buy. As an aside, the landlords here made their own cleaning supplies, and didn't really have much in the way of what you would think of as cleaning supplies. So, in true American form, I told her I'd like her to use normal cleaning stuff as I was really looking to come home to a house smelling of bleach and lysol. She agreed and we came up with a very long list of supplies. She was funny because she was particular about the brands on some of the things but not others (hey, she does this for a living, so I'm all in, and I don't know the difference since they are brands I don't know).
I didn't know this, but she is supposed to eat lunch at my house using whatever I have in the house. This is completely fine with me, but I felt bad since we had no food in the house. Therefore, when I came home with food, I expected her to eat lunch, but she never did. I went in the cupboard to grab some chocolate that Steve had brought home last night, and my Twix bar was gone! I immediately cursed the nana, but then thought to myself, well we had no food and she cleans well, so really who cares (but of course I'm pregnant and when I need chocolate I NEED IT NOW). I told Steve the story this evening, and he said, oh, I ate that for breakfast. Ooops... I'm a terrible person.
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