China
World Cup nannies emerge in Shanghai
(chinanews.cn)
Updated: 2006-06-23 15:02
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Fierce battles for the world cup are being waged half a world away from china. Prim Shanghai people do not want to miss the quadrennial carnival.
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What is interesting is that even though they live a life as a night owl during the event, prudent fans in Shanghai do not forget housework. As a result, a brand new occupation, World Cup nanny, emerges in the metropolis.
There are different kinds of World Cup nannies, including "night nannies" hired by a couple who are both soccer fans and "self-sacrifice nannies" acted by housewives who offer logistic support to their husbands and sons on their own initiative. In order to obtain the "right to watch all games" at home, some female fans do all the housework; these people can be called "fans cum nannies."
Ms. Shen got married not long ago. She hired a "night nanny" during the World Cup. She said that both her husband and herself are soccer fans and stay up all night frequently. They really cannot spare any effort to do housework. Therefore, they hired a nanny to help them out.
Of course, such World Cup nannies who serve for a certain period of time cost a large sum of money, with a quotation of 1,200 Yuan (US$150), just like temporary nannies for the Chinese New Year. Ms. Shen intends to go Dutch with her husband in splitting the cost of the nanny.
If a family does not want to spend some money on a nanny, a member will certainly "sacrifice" oneself for the World Cup.
After the World Cup began, Ms. Zhang has been in "hot water." She has to coordinate different "watch and rest schedules" of her husband and son. At night, she prepares various foods and snacks. In the daytime, she specially arranges some exercises for them to relax in addition to finishing daily housework, in order to avoid "overwork due to the World Cup."
Fortunately the World Cup is on once every four years. Otherwise, my life will be destroyed." Ms. Zhang sighed that the round robin has not come to the end and fans in her family have not encountered overwork, but she herself is exhausted.
Mr. Peng, who is a soccer fan, has undertaken cleaning at home for two weeks in order to obtain the "right to watch the games." When mealtime arrives, he often calls restaurants for food.
Mr. Peng said that he does housework ordinarily but seldom. Now the World Cup is ongoing, he decided to take on housework to please his wife. Some medical experts in Shanghai remind such "fans cum nannies" that they should be cautious about "overwork due to the World Cup."