I've hired me a cook!

Things have improved considerably since I have moved in with Timothy. Although it still isn't my own place, it is 100 times better than living in a guesthouse. I've actually unpacked my clothes! So the situation is improving.
Yesterday we get a knock at the door and when I answered it I found two Indian women trying to speak to me in Telegu (the state language). Timothy calls up his landlord and she translates for us that one of the women is looking for a job as a cook. I have been told that most working people have cooks in India and that is is economical to hire one. I think it would be a good way to learn how to cook Indian food. So I decided to hire her. She will come over everyday around 4pm and cook one dish that is enough for lunch and dinner(remember I am working nights) and she will make roti's or chapati's with that instead of rice. Indians can't believe how little rice I eat. The stuff makes me blow up! Anyway, the roti's are made with 100% whole wheat flour, water and a touch of salt, rolled out and cooked on a hot flat iron pan. I have also asked her to teach me to make Indian chai (tea). So she will cook me chicken curries, fish curries, aloo curries (potato), brinjal curries, which by the way has become my new favourite vegetable here. Brinjal cooked in a peanut curry is amazing!! Brinjal for those who don't know (and I admit I didn't know) is an Indian tropical fruit, which is cooked and eaten as a vegetable and related to the eggplant family (although much smaller in size but still purple in colour).

So my new cook starts on Monday, and so we will go to the market together and purchase the food and spices she will need. Timothy prefers Western food so he just cooks for himself. Now you are probably wondering, how much is this extravagance costing me (and most people in Canada would think having a cook is extravagant). Well folks, she's all mine for a cool 800 rupees a month. That in Canadian dollars is approximately $19 a month, or $18.84 if you want to get specific. How wrong does that feel????? I asked my Indian friends and they said that is a good and fair price. Timothy has a maid that comes in everyday to clean and do his laundry (she'll do mine as well) and he is paying about the same for her. So him and I both feel like we are running a sweatshop here. If this keeps up, I may never come home, or when I do come home, I am going to be one lazy girl. A maid and a cook. La vie est belle!