Coffee, Panadol & Cigarette

My 20 years old young helper was with us for 10 months now, we went through chicken & duck talk, miscommunication, surprises & culture shock before we can come to the present stage of understanding.

After she had completed her routine, she would come round to tell me tales of her village, her brought up. She would pour out her true feeling towards her family, her divorced husband, relatives and her friends. I must be motherly enough for her to behave like a daughter than a helper. I am also trying to empty out her sad soul so that she can work whole heartedly & happily for two years.

At her young age, she had developed some habits that annoyed me, first was her addictions to coffee, 1 mug every 2 hourly or 8 mug in a day. Anything less will cause her to have severe headache, and panadol will be replacement of coffee. Lately, she had cut down coffee intake to 2 mugs, but the panadol increase to 8 tablets daily. Oh yes, too much coffee will cause constipation, and she need banana, papaya or medication to help in easing or ‘pang sai’.

Secondly, she was a chain smoker, there was once, she hopped in front of me, putting two palms together begging for 1 stick of cigarette, ‘Madam, please please, I just need one stick, maybe it will cure my headache, please lah, madam.’ She knee down and begged. “NO” was the stern response, she was a bit upset and said, “This is god will, Jesus disallows me to smoke, Jesus uses madam to guide me.”

Sigh… will I be able to tame her wild soul that she had suppressed for months? I doubt and started to bit my nails ….