I Finally Broke Down...

...and hired a helper. Or maybe she is a maid, I'm not sure. Titles are fuzzy here. Her name is Jacqueline, but I will call her J, just so I don't have to type that long name every time.

J is the lady who stayed at our house while I was in the States in September. It is hard to get complete stories from the ladies who do all of the work here in Taiwan because they are exceedingly humble. But from bits of information J has given me I think she might have lost some work due to being wholly committed to my family for 2 weeks. So J is now working for me 2 days a week. It is good for everyone, I think.

Yesterday I had to leave before J was supposed to arrive. I haven't given her a key yet, but I definitely need to. I called to let her know I would leave the gate open so that she could get in. When J arrived the gate was closed - whether from the typhoon winds currently blowing around here or the farmer closing it, I do not know. Nevertheless, when I arrived home J was cleaning away and she quietly told me the gate was closed. Astounded, I asked "How did you get in?" She went to the farmer working on the other side of our yard and asked if he would mind if she climbed over the wall! No small feat, since the top of the wall looks like this:

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