Maids in Brazil

This week in discussion we discussed about maids and nannies in different countries and how that affected our lives (or the lives of people who had nannies and maids). My family has had a maid since I was five. In Brazil, having a maid is natural and very necessary because the houses are very big and the gap between the rich and the poor are very big (and the poor need jobs). Although I did not have a nanny as I grew up, our maid was like family to me since she worked for our house since I was a young child. She taught me how to speak the Brazilian language and helped me through some of my Portuguese homework. However, I noticed that not all maids had a special relationship with the families they worked for. My friend's family, who had recently moved to Brazil, hired a maid in order to facilitate their daily chores. As I observed, my friend did not have any contact at all with her maid and rather ignored her in the house. In addition, her mother did not seem comfortable around the maid because she did not speak any Portuguese and they could not communicate. As I watched this, I thought that the most important requirement for maids and their employers to have a good relationship is to communicate well. Communication will not only bring them closer but will also help each other understand and be more accepting towards one another.