Work in Egypt
January 31st 2010 08:54
People are not preoccupied with their own happiness but instead they want to share their knowledge, thoughts and laughter. The spice man in Asala, a small suburb out from the sea, once told my friend all the advice in the world when really he just wanted some spices. The old Sheik, as he liked to call himself, had all the time in the world to chat and share with a stranger.
Another thing the Egyptians seem to not worry about is time. When you’re waiting for someone for an hour or so it’s quite normal, as Egyptian time is no time whatsoever. There is also the unspoken rule that if you say you will wait for someone you will always wait no matter how long they take. I know you may think working would be impossible but when it comes to work the Egyptians are extremely strict and they usually work long hours. Especially if they own a restaurant or manage a business sometimes the hours of work can be from 8-9am until 12 at night. Of course they are free to run errands, go home, eat, and sometimes rest but they still have to be in work mode all day and every day as there is no such thing as weekends. ‘To take a day off,’ says Mustafa ‘would not be looking after ‘my’ place.’ I reply with ‘Then what about looking after you?’
There always seems to be a lot of people hired within each job to do minor tasks. I previously worked at a bar where there were lots of Egyptian men; who knows what all their names were, but they all had a small specific job such as Sheeshas, or glass collecting. To me as a person used to working in the hospitality business in Australia and England I am used to doing everything at once such as serving, cleaning, clearing and all the extras.
Their restaurants all have cushions and small tables so when you eat, you rest as well. My friend once told me that one day she spent 18 hours in one particular restaurant called ‘El Salam’. Now that has to be relaxing.
The people that pass through seem to vary immensely as there are the tourist tourists, who pop through to look, swim, and sun bake naked or with little on and spend loads of money on unnecessary things. The Bedouins see them coming with dollar signs around their necks and they know they can overprice them.
When you come to stay longer than 2 weeks or decide to live here you become a ‘local’. This can give you cheap prices from restaurants and shops. The locals vary extremely though as there are old hippies, young hippies, chilled out people, party people, loads of divers that are all ages and nationalities. The list is endless. Now there seems to be a lot of Russians embarking on the adventure to Dahab, and their babies are seen flying around on the beach doing baby yoga.
There is one thing about being a local and that is people begin to recognize you, remember your name and know all your business. There is one main road and that is the strip to the sea. To walk from one end to the next would only take 1/2 an hour to an hour. The Central strip where all the hassling occurs is only for around 5-10 minutes walk. Each day you’ll get pick up lines that will make you laugh and then comes the day they seem to give up as they know you only ever go to one restaurant and that their not going to make any money out of you.
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Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
Really interesting post... I'd really love to go to Egypt someday...
~Dianna
Comment by Anna Cameron
AnnaBanana
Real World Stories
An Aussie in Egypt
You must take the plunge and get out here. I never thought it would be a place I would visit, let alone live but it really has character and the people are over welcome.