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I guess this story can be appropriately called:
“It was my fault”

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As I was rushing to an appointment, I briefly stopped in our kitchen. We were trying out a new cook who had only been working for us for a few days. She seemed to understand English. Quickly grabbing a can of kidney beans from our pantry (it was my fault) I handed them to her, clearly saying (in my best English), “For dinner we'll have grilled cheese sandwiches, chips and the beans. You know?” She replied, “Iya, iya.”

Later that evening, my daughter, son and I (my husband was fortunately out at a meeting) were preparing to sit down for dinner. My daughter went in the kitchen for something and returned quickly. With a very grim face she said, “Mom, she put the kidney beans in the sandwiches.” We were all shocked and had no idea what to do.

We tried to keep a straight face when the new cook proudly served dinner. Carefully inspecting the sandwiches we found the beans neatly arranged along with the cheese. After our new cook was safely in the kitchen, the kids and I laughed and ate the grilled cheese and kidney bean sandwiches. Other than having the kidney beans in the sandwiches, the sandwiches were dry, hard and overcooked! I wouldn't recommend this recipe to anyone. Tidak enak!

Note: This cook will remain nameless, just in case she happens to be working in your house :)

Mini Glossary:

iya - yes

tidak enak - doesn't taste good

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Housing and schooling information for expats in Indonesia expatriate website for Indonesia Indonesian language translation of article

Practical Information for foreigners, expats and expatriates moving to Indonesia - find out about housing, schooling, transport, shopping and more to prepare you for your stay in Indonesia

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