Job Discussion Forums

[maccaliam]

Thanks VS. I just thought I would throw that question out there as I hadn't heard anything about them. They seem pretty dead-on and, as nstick says, they have been great in my communication with them, which is something I can certainly say isn't the case with many other schools.

Best of luck nstick! Hopefully we all (you, me and my gf) get jobs!!

[veiledsentiments]

I don't want to rain on any parades, but... it is not a really big place and doesn't have that many teachers, so I expect that most people who apply from in Cairo end up at best with a class or two. It takes a bit of hustle to make a living with a brand new CELTA.

Good Luck to all of you!! Have fun and enjoy the adventure of living in Cairo!!

VS

[SongsOhia]

Woo, another teacher headed for work in Egypt.
I recently got accepted for the CELTA, and am very excited!

We just had our certificate/graduation day at the college I was student-teaching ESL/EFL at. What a fun day.

Anyways, good luck with whatever comes your way. And you should know that the people at B.C. are a big help with finding work. The interviewer I had for the CELTA is helping me find places to teach English. It's especially nice since I don't have a B.A. yet, and we're working around this :/

[justcolleen]

A note about finding an apartment: June 1 - Sept. 30 is "tourist season" in Egypt - which means the semi-wealthy Gulf Arabs flood Egypt to cool off and because it's cheaper than Europe. Because of this, rents TRIPLE. They head back home in time for school to start in the fall, though. Expect that if you try to rent a flat during this period of time, if you can find one at all, you will be gouged. Another note about renting a flat: If you intend to co-habitate, expect to throw a little more money at everyone who knows so they'll keep their mouths shut and not report it to the authorities. Egyptians do not live together; they get married. They expect westerners to bring loose morals (their opinion, not mine) with them, but to do that it will cost those westerners extra.

In fact, everything costs extra for foreigners. Until you learn the price Egyptians pay, have an Egyptian do your shopping for you (apartment buildings usually have a "baweb" - a doorman/errand guy - who will do this, not as a courtesy, but to make extra money and whatever you pay him will be less than you will be overcharged if you do the shopping yourself).

Internet is readily available in Cairo. Either you can have a wire strung from the closest internet cafe or someone will string a wire from a switch within the apartment building itself. Either way, it shouldn't cost more than 30 LE a month. If there isn't a net cafe close or if there is no switch in the building, there are ISPs you can go to for service.

Nick, you said you've never seen the inside of an Egyptian flat. Try to rent a furnished flat, if at all possible. Furnished flats will come with appliances and you are going to want a washing machine. If there are clothes dryers in Egypt, I have yet to see one. Everyone hangs their laundry outside to dry. Floors are most often marble because it's cheap here and wood is very expensive. Washing them is nothing more than sloshing the cleaning fluids (soapy water, then clean water) onto the floor then shoving it into the floor drain with a squeegie. Even so, it's very inexpensive to find a maid for a day to clean the entire flat. Ask around and someone will help you find one. It's worth paying someone to move the rediculous amount of furniture (usually tacky looking French provinicial at that) around to clean. The going rate for a maid for an entire seven-hour work day is 30 LE.

If there's anything I can help you with, let me know.