Job Discussion Forums

[justcolleen]

[Vgrace]

Thank you so much justcolleen!

Okay...I went to the site immediately and unfortunately most of the pages have nothing on them! Weird! I can't even find an email address or any contact information. Grrr. Anyone know??

Thanks again, all!

[nstick13]

Welcome to the world of Egyptian schools.

I went through the "Schools" or "Language Schools" section of the Yellow Pages for Egypt and "Googled" school names there. Some had sites, a handful were actually maintained and put together. It's part of what has made my preparation for my move so frustrating is the "unknown" and the fact that everything happens in person, not virtually, as in the States.

[justcolleen]

Maybe juliagirl has contact information?

<Busy spiffing up the school's web site>

[juliagirl]

see ur in box....

[Aklhoney]

I am sure you will enjoy Alexandria. EELS is well known and has a reasonable reputation in the city.

I am an expat teacher based in the UAE but for the last 5 years have been back and forward from Alex during my breaks. No family ties - just love the city.

I have just been paying LE2500 per month for a 3 bedroom furnished flat, 2 aircon apartment with elevator in Hadayia/Roushdie. This is now coming free as I head back to the UAE.

(Landlady is English and the rate charged to me was her standard rate that she had been charging the previous tenant, a teacher on a long term basis. Over summer this would normally have been double on a casual basis)

I have been very happy in the apartment as it is very close to all transportation and has been stunningly quiet.

For a reasonable one bedroom you will be paying 1500LE - 2000LE a month. Anything cheaper will be very small, stuffed full of old furniture and ill maintained. Large 4 bedroom deluxe apartments in Kafr Abdu go for 4500LE - 9000LE per month so I am afraid also that the 6000LE refered to in your previous posts may be for a very old apartment that might not be up to the standard you are looking for.

Yes it is still possible to get apartments here for 800LE a month but these are generally unfurnished or semi furnished in very local areas.

Alex is wonderful. There is a lot to see and do there if you enjoy people watching, history and culture. The library has many free or minimal charge events and the expat community is very opening. Easy access to Cairo and other cities for weekend trips.

Look beyond the crumbling plaster - there are some wonderful buildings in downtown.

If the shared apartment doesn't work out then it is easy enough to get a one or two bedroom furnished apartment but be prepared to pay a little more to get somewhere that is spacious and not stuffed full of hard uncomfortable furniture.

All the best.

[Rigby7]

Regarding EELS, if there is a reason they didn't offer you the e-mails of any of the previous teachers, then it's probably because they would have very little good to say about it.

I was one of the first foreign teachers to work there, and though you've already accepted the job, I thought it my obligation to share my experience for future applicants now that I see there is a forum to directly do so.
The school has a great setting, and very good classrooms and facilities. The teachers in the nationals are polite for the most part, and the kids are definitely amazing. Dealing with the supervisors, however, was the most difficult part of the job. They consistently did not follow through with their word--and this can range anywhere between delivering you your lesson supplies to securing your visa. (And throughout the single year there, problems also included breaking the contract on the flight home, displacing a native teacher with an Egyptian teacher who holds a skewed sense of prescriptive grammar, and sporadically deducting pay for frivolous reasons, to name a few). Though most of the benign things could be easily solved in Egypt, the higher-ups (including the owner) think its more advantageous to exacerbate problems by continually pressing further away from the truth. And though this lack of responsibility obviously shows no foresight from their side, when one attempts to correct this, their negligence quickly turns to enmity--this you'll surely pay for until the end of the term.

I agree with the earlier post to keep one's mouth shut when you're obviously thinking "this isn't how it should be". But I'd say, just be willing to accept that in the worst of times, when you're pressed to open your mouth, that you know how your protest will be met. The bureacracy is as clean-cut as an Aswany novel, and they will openly tout the affiliations they keep in order to keep themselves safe in instances they must renege on the contract. It is then, I was often asked to consider my own rights or stay for the sake of the kids.

For future applicants, please feel free to message me. But also, I'd like to encourage other teachers to share their experience, as I would like to hope my unfortunate time there was only an instance of bad management, and not a habitual abuse.

[yiannachristou]

Sorry have to agree with Rigby7. Will not say anymore than that if you want more details email or msg me.
I finished with this school in May this year and to be honest you have to be really tough to work there. Luckly due to my background I understand the culture and where they are coming from so this helped me a lot.
Not for the faint hearted......

[veiledsentiments]