At first, none of the slaves that I arrived with, would talk to each other, other than official needs and instructions. We were all scared with the possibility that there are microphones and cameras hidden everywhere. Any conversation between staff could be punished. I thought it is silly that they call us staff like it’s some nice holiday job which we were lucky to get. We don't know what is going on, but we play along and do what we are told.
For the first month or so, my days were fairly monotonous. I cleaned bathrooms in the main facility, and cleaned the kitchen after lunch. In the evenings I would do another round of facility cleaning. Some slaves clean the guest rooms, some the pool area, and there are slaves assigned to the dining area for serving food and cleaning. Slaves are generally not allowed in the library, but someone is assigned to clean it daily. I’m told she cannot read.
Each area has a supervisor, who is also a slave, that has worked her way into a supervisor position. They make sure we do our work and don’t break the rules. The supervisors can be more admonishing than the guests.
I found some blank paper in a trash can, as I was cleaning. I put it in my cleaning supplies. I hid the paper in our dorm during a shift change. A week later, I found a pen waiting for me in a hallway. I picked it up, and put it on my cart expecting someone to ask for it. When I returned my cart to the storage space, I put the pen in my shoe. Hoping that I would not set off any alarms. When I got back to the dorm I put the pen in a slot in my bed frame. I need to find a better hiding place.
It took several weeks to build up the courage to start writing notes about my experience here. I am still not sure what I am going to do with my notes. I worry what will happen if they are found.
I write notes in the toilet stalls that I clean during working hours. I think up what’s important during the morning shifts and at night, then I write as quickly as possible. Usually only having moments for a sentence or two before I need to switch stalls.
I noticed that some of the slaves have different emblems on their collars. My guess is that it conveys some special status. I wonder if the collars unlock or open doors in one way or another. There don't seem to be any keys, but doors do lock. Of course, I suppose there could be someone remotely managing the doors.
We work three, six hours shifts. I was assigned 6 hours cleaning, then 6 hours kitchen cleaning, and 6 hrs in the cleaning restrooms and tables. we have a twenty minute break at the start of each shift.
Schedules were staggered so 1/3 of us woke up early, 1/3 woke up late, and 1/3 work the night shift. Someone said the shifts staggered in such a way to allow the supervisors to manage all the slaves. I also noticed the staggering allowed them to shift people to different sleep and mealtime patterns, either to reduce contact between us, or to break us down a bit. Sometimes there seemed to be various reasons for a shift change, and other times no reason at all. Later I learned that guests could have us removed or placed on shifts they wanted.
The staff room is next to the kitchen, which is down a separate hall near the store rooms. there is a cafeteria line at one side of the room where we pick up trays of food. While we eat, we are given our shift instructions. We all eat the same meal, although it does change on a daily basis.
Almost everyone obeys the rules to the letter. There are no complaints that I have heard so far. People are scared to talk in our dorm. Everyone believes there are microphones. Anyone who quietly sneaks a conversation, will receive disapproving stares, as if they’re endangering the rest of us. Some suspect our collars have microphones. No one knows for sure. I have never seen anyone punished for talking that was not witnessed by a supervisor.
It seems that the slaves who are deemed to be more attractive are given personal service jobs. This means attending personally to guests needs. They entertain and serve the guests at the pools and other rooms in the resort. Some slaves are specially trained for dancing, massage, or games. One slave leads yoga classes for the guests.
Women who are older or unattractive are given kitchen duty or some other maintenance job which is out of sight. Many of the older women work in the kitchen. By older I mean women in their forties. I have not seen any slaves older than maybe fifty.
Management positions, we call them overseers behind their backs, are staffed by slaves who seem happy to be where they are. Their job is to make things run smoothly, efficiently, and that everyone behaves properly. They take great pride in doing their jobs to the best of their ability. They do their jobs as well as any paid service, if not better. They are almost always smiling and cheerful. They come down on us hard when we do something we’re not supposed to.
The overseers wear different uniforms to distinguish them from the rest of us. The Guests treat them better, and go to them first with their needs. Overseers have separate sleeping quarters and don’t stay in the dorm.
The overseers treat the rest of us with contempt as if they are our owners, and not slaves themselves.
We work all day every day. Five hours is not enough sleep for the work we do.