Eyes up for the Expo ayi

• Source: Global Times
• [13:45 May 31 2010]
• Comments

Ayi Si takes a Brazialian family's infants to play at the Huashan Greenland, Changning district. Photos: Du Qiongfang

By Du Qiongfang

While Shanghai's makeover for World Expo 2010 seemed a most logical thing, though a bit overplayed, some transformations that are Expo-driven can truly leave you speechless; the Chinese ayi, for instance.

Now, excellent cooking and cleaning skills can wait. Knowledge of Chinese culture, history, the art of story-telling, singing and dancing are some of the new skills that will help them get attached to a family visiting the Expo for work or for leisure. And the reward? Well, it surpasses imagination. Expo ayis can earn up to 7,000 yuan ($1,025) per month compared to others who earn 2,500 yuan ($366) to 4,500 yuan ($658)per month.

For years, an irreplaceable part of expat families in the city and increasingly also in local Shanghainese homes, some ayis are turning over a new leaf. They are learning new skill sets to enchant the families that have plans to stay here for about six months for Expo-related work. In the process, these ayis are setting a new trend in their domain.

Rise of the new force

Most expat families in the city rely heavily on ayis and they keep the home and hearth going. Their roles are clearly defined: cooking, baby-sitting, cleaning and helping with the shopping. So what brought about the rise of this new multi-talented, diverse work-force?

With the Expo 2010 being held in the city, from the beginning of the year more and more foreign families have made Shanghai their base. Some of the families have been sent to Shanghai for the construction of Expo pavilions and others have come in as tourists. Most of them stay at serviced apartments which provide cleaners and cooks so that their basic needs are taken care of.

Hence, the basic responsibility of housework that an ayi usually undertakes is not so crucial for these families. But as quite a few families have children tagging along, the need for ayis who can watch the little ones, keep them engaged by teaching Chinese language and culture is growing.

The agencies that provide ayis found foreigners coming up with unusual demands as Expo activity began in earnest. Families wanted ayis who could speak foreign languages and also knew about Chinese history. The demands grew and became more varied.

Unique requirements

The new ayi is more like a family assistant entrusted with the task of arranging and supervising the activities of the family during its visit to the city.

"The ayis working for foreign families stationed here especially for the Expo, are all selected with great care. They need to display excellent language skills and sound management ability," Kong Jing of American Sino Expatriate Assistance Professional told the Global Times during the interview.

The ayis are expected to have some basic knowledge of the World Expo and be acquainted with related information about where and how to get tickets, how to make reservations for visiting a pavilion and interestingly, how to cut down the waiting times in queues.

These skills are elementary. The frills come by way of knowing how to book hotels, make reservations and plan transport. Because the families are not staying in Shanghai for a long time and want to travel within and outside Shanghai on a relatively tight schedule, they need people who know Shanghai and the surrounding cities. The new "Expo" ayi is the answer.

 

Ayi Cai with one of her charges. Photos: Du Qiongfang

Ayi-profile

Younger ayis in their 30s, with college degrees, are favorites with household service agencies. Yang Ling, a 35-year-old ayi from Shanghai, is now working for a foreigner who is here on a professional assignment. As this is the first time that he and his family have visited Shanghai, the ayi has the responsibility of planning the weekends for the family. "I like jobs involving management very much. I hope I can be a supervisor for a household service company in future," said Yang.

"Many ayis in our company are Shanghainese. Shanghainese are more in demand," Kong said.

As well as management skills, the ayis have to be good guides as well. Many of these foreign families like shopping in Shanghai as well as visiting the Expo. So the ayis have to extend their roles here too. Shopping, entertainment, which also includes taking the families to popular restaurants, are all the job of the ayi.

Cities around Shanghai, such as Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi, Taicang and Kunshan, are often included in the travel plans for the foreign visitors. "The ayi working for an Expo-related visiting family is expected to be well-educated with knowledge about the stories and legends surrounding historical sites," Ji Weiping, the manager of Hey Services, another household service agency, told the Global Times.

Cai Xiang is one such ayi who has travelled to Hangzhou and Suzhou with the family she served. The American family she worked for stayed in Shanghai for two weeks for the Expo. When they finished the visit of the Expo Park, they took Cai to the cities near Shanghai with them as a tour guide. "Being an ayi as well as a guide was a good experience. I was lucky to get such a job," said Cai.

Baby-sitting

Agencies providing ayis to foreigners are taking special care with the unusual baby-sitting demands. For the children in these families, the searing heat of the summer months can be very difficult. "Our ayis are trained to pay attention to the amount of water they feed the baby as this can save them a lot of trouble when they visit Expo," said Ji.

Quite of few of the ayis that take care of children for the foreign families were once kindergarten teachers. Wang Liu, a 27-year-old ayi, is now working for an Italian family visiting Shanghai for Expo-related work. As there are two children in this family, taking care of the children while the parents are working or travelling is not an easy task. "I sing songs and tell stories, which I never thought would be needed from an ayi, but here it is a big help in comforting the children," said Wang.

Besides taking care of the children, some ayis have to also look after the elderly and handicapped members of the foreign families.

Income

The big salary is the major incentive for these ayis. Assisting an Expo family is far more rewarding than working in factories, supermarkets or kindergartens. According to Ji Weiping, the average income of the ayi can work out to be about 7,000 yuan per month. Some ayis who can speak fluent English can even earn up to 10,000 yuan ($1,464) per month. "I earn 5,000 yuan now working for this foreign family while I could only earn 1,500 yuan at the supermarket before," Cai told the Global Times.

Some ayis with higher academic degrees earn even more. Zhang Qian who has a college degree and used to work at a kindergarten told the Global Times that she could only earn 3,000 yuan ($439) as a kindergarten teacher.

However, now she earns 7,000 yuan while working with a family that is here for the Expo. "I have decided to develop my career in this field from now on. It is really promising," said Zhang.

Apart from their own swelling salaries, these ayis also get more freedom while managing the daily spending budget of their hosts. According to Lou Peizhen of Yash Professional Family Care, since the ayis need money to manage the whole household, the foreign clients usually give them money every day to buy food, book tickets and purchase household items.

However, not all ayis have the same opinion of foreign families about money issues. Some think the foreigners are quite miserly. "They haven't given me red envelopes on festivals, although that's a tradition in China," said Yang Huiling, who has been working for a Spanish family for the last six months.