The International Schools Review Forum

I have an offer at a school in Cairo. Ok package, dynamic expat community from what I can tell.

I'm on the fence considering where Egypt could be going, and especially where their currency could be going in light of the fact that I'd be paid in Egyptian pounds. I'd be curious to hear any thoughts, perspectives, musings, tirades etc. (Psyguy, I know yours already but thanks.)

Expect a devaluation of the Egyptian pound in the near future of about 7-10 per cent

If your salary is quoted in British pounds or dollars (but paid the equivalent amount in LE), you will benefit from the increase in the exchange rate. If not, you will lose out

Well then for preservation sake. I'll make it brief, I wouldnt work there.

If the package is only "OK" can i assume your thinking its late in the hiring season, and you dont have any other options?

How can you tell its a dynamic expat community? That could just as easily mean "all the expats stick together because there isnt any other option"? Is your intention to go all the way to Eqypt and just hang out with other westerners?

Of course my intention is not to go all the way to Egypt to only hang out with Westerners. (Who would do that?) My point is places with large expat populations tend to be far more interesting that those without. A support network of people who operate at more or less at the same cultural frequency are indispensable at those inevitable times you begin to tire of the local population.

The currency issue does give me pause. If the Egyptian pound tanks, I'm screwed.

I've worked at a few schools and cities where many ex-pat teachers only hang out within themselves and make no effort to make local friends. I've noticed it's more common with women for many reasons.

I also disagree about having to be in cities with large ex-pat populations. My first gig was in a city of 200,000 and there were ten foreign teachers in my school (two single, I was one) and maybe 20 other so in town working with NGO's. I really didn't have many options, but to make local friends. I spent 5 years in Latin America and I hung out 95% of the time with locals. Now I'm in Asia and that percent has gone way down, but try to make an effort to not be in the gringo pack.

Sorry about jacking your thread, I know nothing of Cairo :).

Well your different, I know a fair number of teachers that really only hang out with each other and other expats. Fewer socialization opportunities for woman is one reason, language is another. Safety concerns a third.

Cairo is so big, you can do the full integration with the locals, stay within the ex-pat community or find some sort of middle ground

A lot of it depends on where you want to live. If you chose to live in Maadi (the main ex-pat area) you could actually be in America - softball at the Ball Park, eat at the various delis, drink imported beers at the Maadi House (only if you work for various government sponsored companies) etc. Also, add to that the ACE Club, BCA, the Hash House Harriers and the various supermarkets that only carry imported (expensive) goods

If you choose to live in Nasr City / Heliopolis, there are far fewer ex-pats and fewer places to meet them. Social lives tend to revolve around coffee shops and (strangely) petrol stations!

Then there's the likes of Al Rehab or 6th of October which are much further out. Al Rehab is dry and starting to be dominated by white French converts to Islam. The clean, fresh air does not really compensate for the 100LE (and up to 4hours in a taxi) each way to Maadi on a Thursday night.

I live in Katameya so I get the fresh air and the ACE Club within 45 minutes so sort of the best of both worlds

Hi,

I noticed this thread, so I thought I would add my views.

We taught in Egypt, in Alexandria, from 2009 until last June 2011. We were in Egypt during the revolution and our school evacuated the expat teachers in early February. I still remember the Borg al Arab airport and the looks of desperation on many faces (reminded me of some movies where people were trying to flee). I also spent several nights out in the streets of my neighborhood, with our sticks and knives and rocks, to defend ourselves from the thousands of criminals that were purposely set free by the government, as a form of intimidation. I remember having my Internet and mobile phone service shut off by the government, in an attempt to control the population.

My wife and I left Egypt and are now teaching in Korea, partly because of the unstable nature of Egypt.

Should you have any concerns about safety now? I think you should. The country is still politically unstable. If the hardline Muslim conservatives continue to take over power, you might find yourself in an uncomfortable situation. If you are a typical pale skinned European/American/Canadian, you will stand out in a crowd. On the other hand, everything might work out just fine and you might find all concerns for safety to be overblown. My question is... do you want to take a chance?

As far as your being in Cairo and around other expats, I think there are a lot of people there who can provide a support structure. I still have a lot of friends in Egypt, expat and Egyptian, with whom I still stay in contact. I hope to return to Egypt someday, when things become more stable. There are a wide range of amazing things to see and do in Egypt. I had a group of about 20 Egyptian friends who would plan weekend trips to see cool places like Siwa and Rosetta, not to mention the typical tourist places like Giza, Aswan, and Luxor.

The value of the Egyptian pound dropped after the revolution. At our school, we were paid in US dollars, so it didn't hurt us at all. If you will be paid in EGP, you are taking a huge risk that your money will be worth less later on. Also, be careful about the quality of international schools in Egypt - there are a lot of very poor quality ones. I'll name just a few of the more reputable ones - CAC, Schutz, ESOL. Be sure to check out the schools on ISR, the reviews are very accurate.

Good luck and I hope everything works out well for you.

While Cairo (and Egypt in general) has become slightly less safe, it is still way safer than your average town back home in America. Traffic is horrible, and there is the constant state of bargaining going on every day. However, people are still treated very well here.

Lots of great things to see and very good travel opportunities. I would question a school only paying you in Egyptian pounds. There are so many schools over here - you don't need to take job at a dodgy language school (right psyguy?).

Keep checking in on sites like tieonline. There are still positions open now and then in Egypt. Seriously the country is not that bad. Safety has never been an issue as long as you stay away from the demonstrations (and even the locals will kindly plead with you to stay away). This country is way safer than your average city in America. The couple of bad nights during the Revolution were actually not that bad. My area in Heliopolis was very safe and people were amazing - they actually looked after their neighbors.

It was dodgy, but more then a language school, though that seemed to be the focus/objective.

Saying a school is safer then a large city in America is saying nothing.

I am currently in a large urban school in the US. No bombs, no terrorists, no one raped or sexually assaulted.

I think the whole school safety issue has been overblown here. Yes, US schools have problems, but personal safety isn't one of them.

How do you know there arent any terrorists? How do you know date rape or other sexual assaults dont go on at your school and just arent reported? Are you really saying that your US city has no violence (including rape and sexual assault).

Tim Daley, I did not mean to say that I feel schools are unsafe in America. I did mean to make a comparison of city safety. We all know that there is daily crime in larger cities - I wanted to make a comparison. I have felt generally safe in all cities back home (America) as I know where to go and where not to go at certain times of the day. However, most people do not know the same info for other countries.

Cairo is not that bad. Stay away from demonstrations downtown and it is as safe, if not safer than large cities in America. The school where I work is very good about letting us know about potential "hotspot areas" to stay away from. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Egypt (as far as safety goes). Sure there are the women's rights issues, religious issues, heat issues, pollution issues, etc. but safety would not be one I could say that people should be concerned with.

Are you really saying that your US city has no violence (including rape and sexual assault).


Of course not. And if you read my post you would see that.

It seemed clear to me.