My understanding of the phrase “Tai Tai” is that it’s the rich wife who never does any work. It’s what is assumed that all expat wives here in Asia qualify as Tai Tais.
Last week I finally caved (after a year plus of asking) and went with my girlfriend to get a pedicure. Sitting there in the cushy chairs getting our feet worked on the ladies teased us that we were just Tai Tai out for a day of fun with all our money. My friend goes for a pedicure a couple times a month, so they are friendly with each other and can tease her.
Tai Tai. That’d be me for sure, right? I don’t do much at all. Just a “lunching lady” who shops and goes to the spa. Ummm…NO. I have a good life, make no mistake about that. Gina has made it better to be sure, but in my western mind that has only freed me up to go do more volunteering and be more involved in the school lives of my kids and read and play with the short people I share a life with.
Today I got an email from Madison’s kindergarten teacher. It was the chaperone list for the Chinatown fieldtrip next week. There are 22 kids in the class and 20 have a parent coming along. The other two are working parents – who I happen to know because they come every single chance they get, which is most of the time.
Is that NUTS??? Nearly 100% chaperones. Rock on Tai Tai’s of the world!! (And the dads that are taking work off to come are also pretty stellar.) This world I’m living in is pretty great.
I’m curious to see how it all plays out as they age though. I also arranged chaperones to Jurong Bird Park for Ben’s third grade class this week. Of 22 I had 6 offer. And it was PULLING TEETH to get support out of them for our class project – just email me a recipe their kids like. We had SIX deadlines before I gave up, but that’s a topic for another post about my cultural analysis of cooking in a country with helpers….
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