Around 20 years ago now, my husband’s job took us to Oman in the United Arab Emirates, and we spent around five happy years there.
Hubby worked in the oil industry and his post was so well paid that we could easily afford (as most western families did) to have a live-in maid. Our own maid, Jacinta, was originally from Sri Lanka and as well as helping with the housework, she occasionally looked after my daughter Barbara, who was eight years old when we moved out to the UAE.