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!

It’s 3am the phone rings, husband has left the day before for the US, somehow I turn on a light and remember who I am. 

“Hi I’m here”

“Great”

“What’s the combination to my suitcase?”

“Use your key for the padlock”

“No what’s the combination”

“Okay try 3333″

“No”

“okay try 1111 or 2222″

“NO”

“That’s because I put a padlock on it”

“Oh *#%^ I have someone else’s suitcase”

“bye”

It took me a little while to get back to sleep and meanwhile I thought about that particular suitcase.  The o/s trip last month saw that case come home with major damaged.  It had obviously had an altercation with a conveyor belt, the trim was sticking out the zipper damaged and the padlock gone. United Airlines sent out their man to collect and repair the suitcase.  I remember taking off all hanging nametags – had I replaced them – was his newly repaired suitcase marked?  Who was the unfortunate soul in the Bay Area wanting their clothes? Had I left the red ribbon on to mark our luggage?  What did he have in his suitcase?  I guess he could go to Mervyns and buy new clothes, a buying spree, wish I were there.

When we spoke in the morning (my morning) he had been back to SFO and picked up his suitcase.  All was back to normal.

Moral to story when travelling make sure you take your suitcase off the carousel. Make sure you easily mark your suitcase so you know it’s your suitcase, tie a ribbon, big colored belt around it or stickers.  Who cares if you suitcase stands out at least you won’t get to your destination and discover you have the wrong one.  You might even witness someone else picking up your suitcase from the  carousel.

And if you happen to meet my husband waiting for luggage remind him his case is the one with the red ribbon on it.

Happy travels

Side Note;

Though Samsonite’s are built to last – we have now had two eaten up by Chep Lap Kok’s conveyor belts – and the airlines have been more than willing to admit liability and fix at no cost to us.   Dragon Air did a no questions asked fix it job when I returned from Beijing last year some time and United Airlines also replaced a zipper and sewed up the side of the case in question.  In the case of Dragon Air I didn’t notice the damage till I got home – they never queried it.