Following on from my previous Tai Tai blog here are my thoughts on being a Temporary and Turnabout Tai Tai;
Temporary Tai Tai - probably has been in the work force for a number of years. She now no longer is employed. She is a mom, and takes the children to the bus for the first few months and then realize they can leave it to the maid. After all that’s why you have a maid.
Temporary Tai Tai’s definitely enjoy tennis, lunches and shopping sprees in Shenzen or Bangkok. She will be a member of expatriate women’s organization and has a husband that travels a lot. That’s why he encourages her to enjoy the lifestyle and not work.
Guilt runs along the belly of this wife. These are her sins: she is guilty of having the maid to look after the kids, guilty of no longer bringing in extra income, and guilty of spending husbands COLA (cost of living adjustment) …. And any other guilt you can think of.
She will eventually have to give up this lifestyle and return to washing, ironing and cooking but for the moment she will ENJOY the guilt.
Turnabout Tai Tai – it’s just her and her husband here. She refuses to have a full time maid but still has the part time maid who does the basics and frees up her life. The part time maid probably cleans house, and prepares at least one meal for reheating later in the day.
This Tai Tai travels more, plays bridge on Tuesdays, Mahjong on Friday, eats out Saturday night, takes up Golf in the winter and goes home in the summer to visit the grandchildren.
She continuously buys furniture and considers her life perfect and easier than the Temporary Expat because she doesn’t really have the same worries on her return home. After all when she goes home, she can still have a cleaner come once a week, and buy pre-made meals at her favorite store Costco!
