Nanas

When I start to write on a topic I often look on-line to see if anybody else has already done the research.  Oddly enough nobody has really covered the topic of the role of Nanas (I am not sure if it is capitalized ;-) ) in the Chilean middle/upper-middle class (although there are a lot of sites for Nana-seekers) so I am going to have to play amateur anthropologist and recount my own observations.  

It is a definite Chilean institution that seems to be changing as the standard of living rises.   Because labor has been so cheap, most middle-class and above families have traditionally had at least one Nana - several if you have a big house, entertain a lot, have a lot of kids, or are a neat freak.  If they have small children (or not), she is often a live-in and will accompany the mother shopping, to the sports club, to school etc. From what I gather, they cook, clean, do laundry, take the kids to and from school - basically the third (first?) parent!  People have this type of help in the States but it is usually just reserved for the wealthy - here everybody seems to have one.  Some families definitely look at the Nana as being an extension of the family by doing things like inviting her to a Bar Mitzvah.

They all appear to wear some sort of outfit/uniform.  Often it is almost like an art smock but they also wear a full dress or what looks like a nurse's outfit.  I had wrongly assumed that most would be from Peru or Bolivia but it turns out (at least from my limited sample) that many are Chilean.

I have been trying not to be too judgmental because it is very much a cultural difference and I am all for having help around the house and child care if both parents work but....

At the Estadio there are women who come in with their children following them and the nana herding the children and all of their stuff in the back as well as cleaning their faces.  At the grocery store I saw a women with her nana following her pushing the cart.  The woman would point at an item and the nana would put it in the cart (I would have taken a picture but they would have carted me away).  A common topic at pick up time at school is how to find a better nana and the awful thing that the nana did.  One woman was lamenting that she hasn't had one for a while - only somebody that cleans and cooks three times a week...  I try to turn off my judging meter but sometimes it is difficult.

It sounds like with increased economic opportunity it is getting harder to find nanas and also more expensive.  I have definitely met some people who don't have one for whatever reason.  That said, they are pretty ubiquitous.  It was a relief to see people cooking themselves in Buenos Aires!

I don't really understand the need for the smocks - cleanliness or a uniform?

Pick up at school

Thursday update:  I just came to the Estadio to meet the kids and a woman got out of a huge (read American) car followed by her Nana with all of her 2-year old's stuff subsequently followed by the chauffeur handing her the rest of the stuff and picking up after the Nana because she had too much stuff to carry.  The woman strolled away and the Nana proceeded to haul enough stuff (and child) for a week in Paris into the Estadio while the chauffeur drove away.  I needed a videocamera for this one.  I'm not in South Bend anymore!