Sad But True

No matter what time I wake up I always consider my first meal as breakfast. Despite the fact that I wake up at 12 pm 😅 And THAT is my most favorite meal of the day. While my teenage girl has grilled cheese sandwich or toast with peanut butter to start her day, I would enjoy a big plate of nasi goreng telor or nasi uduk lengkap or ketoprak komplit. Whenever our family stays in a hotel I never miss the breakfast buffet regardless how sleepy I am. A plate of scrambled eggs, sausages, sauted veggies... Yummm... Come to think of it, breakfast is probably the main reason I love to spend nights in a hotel 😄 So yeah... Minutes after I wake up I'd ask our maid Yuli to prepare or buy my breakfast. While Yuli is cooking and I'm enjoying my favorite meal, the two of us usually have a conversation about day-to-day life as a wife and a mother, or boss and a maid 🙂

Today our conversation was about the daily budget for food. Every Sunday afternoon Yuli will send me a text. A very long text! 😆 It's basically her proposal for 1 week's menu 😄 For example, last Sunday Yuli sent me this:

Then the 2 of us would exchange texts back and forth until we come to a mutual agreement. Does it end here? Oh of course not! After the menu is set, we have to talk about money 🤪 Yuli will give me a certain number. I'll ask why and what for. She'll explain about this and that. We'll bargain on how much the final expense is and only then I will finally transfer the money. Yes. It is THAT rempong! 😆 

Lately Yuli has been complaining about how expensive the spices are and some ingredients are hard to get. This morning while I was enjoying my first cup of coffee Yuli went on about which mas/mba who has the best chicken/meat/fish with the most reasonable prices. Yuli explained that to get the best chicken you have to go to a particular market. While to buy the freshest meat you have to go to another. That's why it takes a long time for Yuli to shop for groceries. Because she has to go to several markets to get the best ingredients to cook for our family 😊"Kalo ngga seger, ngga enak. Bapak, ibu sama si neng nggak bakalan mau makan, bu! Rasanya pasti beda." she said 😄 Our conversation went on and on because I was curious about her previous work places. What kind of menu the families have in a week, how much budget did she get, etc. Yuli looked at me straight in the eyes and said "Nggak kaya di sini bu!" 

Curiouser and curiouser 🤪 I must say the stories she told me... Oh man... It was quite shocking 😅 Then Yuli went on about her family. Now on this part I was... How should I say it? Shocked? Amazed? Or did I feel sorry? I don't know...

So... Yuli told me that her daily menu at home consists of 1 thing, max 2. For example, cah kangkung and tempe goreng. "Kalo akhir bulan belum gajian kita bertiga makannya bisa Indomie kuah, bu! Kuahnya dibanyakin biar kenyang, pake nasi terus dibagi 3. Yuli, Aylen sama bapaknya Aylen. Sukur-sukur ada telor. Kalo ada Yuli bikin telor ceplok, dibumbuin lagi terus bagi 3. Kalo ada sisa sambel dari sini, daripada dibuang Yuli bawa pulang. Nanti nasinya diaduk pake sambel. Sukur-sukur ada kerupuk atau pilus." I was like... 😳 I asked her cautiously: "Lauknya apa Yul? Ngga pake ayam? Kalau daging mahal ya... Tapi misalnya ikan?". Again my maid looked at me and answered "Walah bu... Makan ayam paling sebulan sekaliii! Kalo dapet ikan agak gedean juga dibagi 3. Kalo daging???? Paling setaun sekali dapet dari kurban. Atau ya dikasih dari sini yang udah nggak dimakan." I didn't believe her. Yuli laughed. "Tanya aja Si Jun kalo ibu ngga percaya!" 

Right at that moment our driver came into the kitchen to make coffee and I asked him immediately "Jun! Istri suka masak apa?" Jun replied lightly: "Ya biasa aja bu... Oseng tempe. Tahu. Sayur lalapan. Paling gitu aja. Kalo lagi ada uang, ya beli ikan Nila. Dimakan sekeluarga. Kalo akhir bulan paling Indomie pake kuah banyak biar kenyang. Kenapa bu?" Again, I asked about the chicken, fish, meat and side dishes. Jun: "Wah ayam sih paling sebulan sekali bu! Itu juga dipotong kecil-keciiiil! Paling sedikit dibagi 10. Terus ditepungin tapi tepungnya dibanyakin supaya keliatannya gede dan ngenyangin." Yuli turned at me with I-told-you-so look and laughed. Come to think of it... Maybe she was laughing because of my expression...

I didn't know how to react. The way Jun and Yuli told me made their stories funny. I did laugh. But obviously it was also sad. Very sad. Every Sunday I think about the food my family will have for the next 7 days. Meat, chicken, fish, vegetables, side dishes and dessert based on mood. Yet there are times when the 3 of us "don't feel like it" and still order from Gofood... I felt guilty. And again. Very sad. Especially because there's always some left-overs. Then our maid and driver said the same thing. "Makanya kalo sama ibu dikasih sisa makanan dari sini semua orang di rumah seneng banget bu! Rebutan! Soalnya ya ngga setaun sekali juga bisa makan kaya beginian! Alhamdulillah! 😂" 

.............................................................

 Sad but true. Indeed 😔