ste_noni

We have a gardener who maintains our lawn each week.  The protestant-work-ethic in me objects to this, but it's $10 a week.  When I hired them, they told me "$40 a month - well, actually $10 a week".  

Now, instead of leaving me a little receipt at the end of each month, he shows up standing in my driveway waiting for me to leave and then asks me for the money.  I don't usually have much cash on me and when I'm leaving the house in the moring, I'm always carrying breakfast, my bag, Ellie's bag, and sometimes Ellie.  Even though it's so irritating, mostly I think it's just creepy to step out of my garage and have this guy just standing there watching my house.

Oh, and for a while, I was paying him $40 because he said he would come once a month, but then it started to occur to me that he was coming sooner.  So I asked him and he said, "Oh, I come every three weeks."  I guess he had just been assuming that my extra $10 was a tip or something.

This is what frustrates me about living in another culture with another language.  He seems so weird to me - just showing up, every three weeks - but for all I know, he thinks I'm totally nuts for being frustrated with him.