Well, it's time for one of those look back and laugh kind of posts. I've been here a week, and still find myself more dazed and confused than confident. I'm fairly certain that I'll get more up-to-speed on how life is over here, but for now, I figured that I'd best leave a touchstone for the anxiety / negotiation part of culture shock. For as much as I'm loving many of the things here, I'm starting to feel some of the set-up anxieties that will usher me in to stage 2 of culture shock sometime soon.
Here are just a few of the differences that I never expected:
Sunlight: I figured that the sun would rise at about the same time everywhere. Well, tomorrow the sun rises at 5:27 and sets at 18:27 in Cairo vs 6:30 sunrise and 20:07 sunset in Thorold. I'm not sure that the sun ever rises at 5:30 in Ontario.
Financial Transactions: I'm used to a world where everybody takes credit cards and debit cards. Even though I was aware that Egyptian society was far more cash-based, I have yet to find a shop that accepted anything but money. I'm taking my debit and credit cards out of my wallet as they're rarely any use.
Pricing: No price in Egypt is fixed. I figured that upon visiting one of the Souqs ... of course it would be barter based. But cab prices, store prices ... pretty much anything but food prices are negotiable. If you don't like the price, you ask them to lower it. If you still don't like the price ... you leave. (please note that I have yet to master this skill).
Change: Nobody has change. And if they do have change, they rarely admit it. If your cab ride comes to 5 LE, and you only have a 20 LE note ... you're lucky if you get away with only a 5 LE tip. And, if you want to see the unhappy side of a storekeeper - hand them a 100 LE note for a 10 LE purchase. Usually, you want to eliminate your small bills and coins ... here, you hoard them.
Language Barrier: Yes, I admit it. Despite realizing that this was an Arabic country, I had the unconscious belief that "of course everybody speaks English if there's an English sign out front. I will be learning Arabic as soon as possible (to avoid my current frustrations at not even being able to say good morning comfortably), but I have learned that there's nothing more important than a piece of paper and a pen. I've been able to draw things a number times to make myself understood.
Sanitation: I've posted about this before, but I'm amazed at the amount of garbage that is left lying around. I've seen city workers cleaning it up from time to time, but there are some sections of the city that seem to never receive a clean-up.
Animals: I've never seen so many feral dogs and cats.
Politeness: I knew that Egyptians appreciated the visits of westerners, but I had no idea the extent to which they would go out of their way to help you. Staff hold the doors for you at fast food restaurants. People often stop you to say hello and are thrilled to learn that you're from Canada.
Taxis and Deliveries:
Everybody takes taxis everywhere and everything gets delivered. I'm still trying to do almost everything by foot ... and I'm running into problems because of it. Aside from the blisters (drew band-aids yesterday), I'm going to have to realize that to get groceries and the other items I need, I'm going to have to shell out the 5 LE for a cab ride more often. It's not the money that makes me reluctant ... it just seems so lazy to call up someone to deliver a fast-food dinner or to hop into a cab to avoid a 10 minute walk.
Toilets: Yup, there's a different flushing mechanism over here. No little handles that torque downwards here as toilets are flushed by pushing in a button.
Overall, I'm going to have to start "doing in Rome." The main reason why I haven't got enough groceries is that I haven't yet found somewhere close where I'm comfortable getting them (along with a lighter for my stove). Even though there is a store about 5 doors down from me, I'm uncomfortable shopping there as they speak next to no English and the prices aren't fixed. As foolish as it is, and as much as I thoroughly enjoy the local Egyptian fast food restaurant Arzak (falafel and kofta tonight), I need to stop fighting it and just grab a cab and get the groceries.
The other thing I need to do is learn a bit more Arabic asap. I had hoped to wait for the Arabic staff to return to school (as they're more than happy to instruct the newer teachers); but, my current vocabulary isn't cutting it. I'd hoped that google translate would do the trick ... but Egyptian Arabic is not the same Arabic used in google translate (there goes my idea of typing in what I want to say and clicking the sound button when the electrical bill collector comes to my door in 2 weeks). Currently, I have about 10 words at my disposal ... and there are too many situations where my words and gestures / drawings aren't cutting it.
Speaking with one of the other staff members, he indicated that within two weeks, all of these set-up issues will be things of the past. For now, I'm back in the position where my to do list keeps growing ... and nothing is coming off of it.
Here are just a few of the differences that I never expected:
Sunlight: I figured that the sun would rise at about the same time everywhere. Well, tomorrow the sun rises at 5:27 and sets at 18:27 in Cairo vs 6:30 sunrise and 20:07 sunset in Thorold. I'm not sure that the sun ever rises at 5:30 in Ontario.
Financial Transactions: I'm used to a world where everybody takes credit cards and debit cards. Even though I was aware that Egyptian society was far more cash-based, I have yet to find a shop that accepted anything but money. I'm taking my debit and credit cards out of my wallet as they're rarely any use.
Pricing: No price in Egypt is fixed. I figured that upon visiting one of the Souqs ... of course it would be barter based. But cab prices, store prices ... pretty much anything but food prices are negotiable. If you don't like the price, you ask them to lower it. If you still don't like the price ... you leave. (please note that I have yet to master this skill).
Change: Nobody has change. And if they do have change, they rarely admit it. If your cab ride comes to 5 LE, and you only have a 20 LE note ... you're lucky if you get away with only a 5 LE tip. And, if you want to see the unhappy side of a storekeeper - hand them a 100 LE note for a 10 LE purchase. Usually, you want to eliminate your small bills and coins ... here, you hoard them.
Language Barrier: Yes, I admit it. Despite realizing that this was an Arabic country, I had the unconscious belief that "of course everybody speaks English if there's an English sign out front. I will be learning Arabic as soon as possible (to avoid my current frustrations at not even being able to say good morning comfortably), but I have learned that there's nothing more important than a piece of paper and a pen. I've been able to draw things a number times to make myself understood.
Sanitation: I've posted about this before, but I'm amazed at the amount of garbage that is left lying around. I've seen city workers cleaning it up from time to time, but there are some sections of the city that seem to never receive a clean-up.
Animals: I've never seen so many feral dogs and cats.
Politeness: I knew that Egyptians appreciated the visits of westerners, but I had no idea the extent to which they would go out of their way to help you. Staff hold the doors for you at fast food restaurants. People often stop you to say hello and are thrilled to learn that you're from Canada.
Taxis and Deliveries:
Everybody takes taxis everywhere and everything gets delivered. I'm still trying to do almost everything by foot ... and I'm running into problems because of it. Aside from the blisters (drew band-aids yesterday), I'm going to have to realize that to get groceries and the other items I need, I'm going to have to shell out the 5 LE for a cab ride more often. It's not the money that makes me reluctant ... it just seems so lazy to call up someone to deliver a fast-food dinner or to hop into a cab to avoid a 10 minute walk.
Toilets: Yup, there's a different flushing mechanism over here. No little handles that torque downwards here as toilets are flushed by pushing in a button.
Overall, I'm going to have to start "doing in Rome." The main reason why I haven't got enough groceries is that I haven't yet found somewhere close where I'm comfortable getting them (along with a lighter for my stove). Even though there is a store about 5 doors down from me, I'm uncomfortable shopping there as they speak next to no English and the prices aren't fixed. As foolish as it is, and as much as I thoroughly enjoy the local Egyptian fast food restaurant Arzak (falafel and kofta tonight), I need to stop fighting it and just grab a cab and get the groceries.
The other thing I need to do is learn a bit more Arabic asap. I had hoped to wait for the Arabic staff to return to school (as they're more than happy to instruct the newer teachers); but, my current vocabulary isn't cutting it. I'd hoped that google translate would do the trick ... but Egyptian Arabic is not the same Arabic used in google translate (there goes my idea of typing in what I want to say and clicking the sound button when the electrical bill collector comes to my door in 2 weeks). Currently, I have about 10 words at my disposal ... and there are too many situations where my words and gestures / drawings aren't cutting it.
Speaking with one of the other staff members, he indicated that within two weeks, all of these set-up issues will be things of the past. For now, I'm back in the position where my to do list keeps growing ... and nothing is coming off of it.
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