# Moving to Alexandria in August



## mw1023

Hi all, how are you?

I am a young (early 20's) American moving to Alexandria in August. I have accepted a job as a teacher in an international school. I will be living in the Smouha neighborhood. I am looking for fellow ex-pats to get to know and be able to get a coffee or dinner with to ease the culture shock. 

I have a few questions (apologizing in advance if I come off as arrogant in any way, shape or form);
1. How big of an issue is the language barrier? I have been to Egypt before and almost everyone spoke some level of English so it wasn't that big of a deal but that was when I was a tourist in tourist areas. I am trying to learn Arabic but find it very difficult. I'm hoping to take lessons once I arrive.

2. For the women reading this, do you often feel unsafe? Any tips? I am from the East Coast and was raised near a big city so I would like to think I have a little bit of "street smarts" and am definitely going to try to not purposely put myself in a dangerous situation, but sometimes you just can't do anything about your surroundings!

3. Where are some fun places to spend time at? I have been doing some research and have read about the Smouha Club, the Lagoon Club & the Portuguese Club. How do these places work? Do you need to be a member? If so, how much does that cost?

4. Is Smouha a nice neighborhood & place to live?

any other helpful hints would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much.


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## Lanason

mw1023 said:


> Hi all, how are you?
> 
> I am a young (early 20's) American moving to Alexandria in August. I have accepted a job as a teacher in an international school. I will be living in the Smouha neighborhood. I am looking for fellow ex-pats to get to know and be able to get a coffee or dinner with to ease the culture shock.
> 
> I have a few questions (apologizing in advance if I come off as arrogant in any way, shape or form);
> 1. How big of an issue is the language barrier? I have been to Egypt before and almost everyone spoke some level of English so it wasn't that big of a deal but that was when I was a tourist in tourist areas. I am trying to learn Arabic but find it very difficult. I'm hoping to take lessons once I arrive.
> 
> 2. For the women reading this, do you often feel unsafe? Any tips? I am from the East Coast and was raised near a big city so I would like to think I have a little bit of "street smarts" and am definitely going to try to not purposely put myself in a dangerous situation, but sometimes you just can't do anything about your surroundings!
> 
> 3. Where are some fun places to spend time at? I have been doing some research and have read about the Smouha Club, the Lagoon Club & the Portuguese Club. How do these places work? Do you need to be a member? If so, how much does that cost?
> 
> 4. Is Smouha a nice neighborhood & place to live?
> 
> any other helpful hints would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much.


1. Language is not an issue at all - you can always make your self understood. Great if you can learn Arabic but it tough
2. no idea
3. no idea
4. no idea


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## aykalam

re 2. you will be harassed in the streets every day, even if you are not putting yourself in a "dangerous situation" (whatever that means). If you "look foreigner" you'll need to have a very thick skin not to get too upset. I get this harassment and I live inside a private compound.

sorry can't help with Alex specific questions. But yes, as a teacher in an international school you won't really need to learn much Arabic, although as Lanason says, it will make it easier to deal with the locals.


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## astraeus

smouha and lagoon club need a membership but the potuguese club u can pay for each time u go i think 15 le.. i dont think there is many foreigners lives in smouha most of Americans and british lives in kafr Abdo, Rushdy, Louran and king maryout but smouha is a quiet nice area..if u want to meet foreigners .. there is a group used to go to the portuguese club every Monday morning but now they moved it to be in San stefano Mall every Monday morning and my wife is 1 of this group she is English and been married 4 years and live in Alex.. i think joining this group will help u to get some experience about the life in alex .


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## SHendra

I recently left Alexandria after living there for 6 years. I'll be honest it was not my kinda of place but I've no regrets and there's parts I did enjoy. Smouha is an okay area but it also depend on where in Alexandria your be working. Alex's gets heavy traffic, especially in the times you would be on the move! 

I've not been to the Portuguese Club in sometimes but know its prol your best bet when it comes to meeting foreigners other than from your work place. 

I never really felt unsafe wondering around Alexandria but like anywhere it's common sense such as remaining in well lit populated areas. Same as anywhere. There is obviously areas' in Alex's where your more likely to get stared at than others. Smouha one of the safer areas as some others too. 

Language wise I never did learn full blown arabic just enough to survive. Like key words. Yes, No, Thanks etc etc.


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## Horus

Alexandria is FREEZING cold in the winter


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## mw1023

Thanks so much for all the info everyone!



astraeus said:


> smouha and lagoon club need a membership but the potuguese club u can pay for each time u go i think 15 le.. i dont think there is many foreigners lives in smouha most of Americans and british lives in kafr Abdo, Rushdy, Louran and king maryout but smouha is a quiet nice area..if u want to meet foreigners .. there is a group used to go to the portuguese club every Monday morning but now they moved it to be in San stefano Mall every Monday morning and my wife is 1 of this group she is English and been married 4 years and live in Alex.. i think joining this group will help u to get some experience about the life in alex .


I am going to be working as a teacher, so attending this meeting on a Monday morning will not be possible but I would love to know if your wife is involved with another ex-pat organizations that meet at a different time?


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## SHendra

mw, you may find the Club mentioned in this thread a good place for you. Your find Thursday nights maybe your best bet since that's the start of the weekend in Egypt. Your also may find that most the foreigners who go there are mainly teachers. So it maybe a little quiet in the summer. But maybe worth a go for you! It's quite a nice place really it's in a villa with nice gardens and a bar. The food always smell great too! Make sure you have a copy of or your passport on you however when/if you go!


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## mw1023

thanks =]


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## islander

I'm looking at options in Alexandria and would love to hear fair, honest reviews of the place.

What is it like for families? My wife and children will make the journey, too, so any hints to help them settle would be appreciated.

Islander


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## MensEtManus

In terms of the clubs mentioned:

Semouha Club: It is a huge sporting club that encompasses tons of sporing arenas (soccer, tennis, etc.). The social aspect of it comes as a secondary point.

Portuguese club: Mainly foreigners, and simply a social gathering area

Lagoon: A more economic version of a sporting club and a social club. In my honest opinion, it is terrible. However, it does have Gold's gym, which is actually the best gym in Alexandria. You can get a separate membership for the gym and it costs in the 3000EGP+ per year. 

The main sporting club in Alexandria is (interestingly named) "the alexandria sporting club."

In terms of fun places in Alexandria, you will have to rely on the crowd you hang out with such as your fellow teachers.

Semouha has become recently quite a nice residential area. It has almost all the main local chains around. In the area, you will also find three main supermarkets:
1) Metro (has tons of imported stuff and charges double for the local stuff - if you are from nyc, it is like the Amish Market in Tribeca or trader joe's)
2) Zahran (a mix of imported and local stuff at reasonable prices - similar to target/kmart)
3) Fathalla (cheapest prices around - similar to a walmart/costco)

Zahran is actually inside a mall called Zahran mall which has a movie theater. 

Personally, I like Semouha, it is situated sort of in the center of most key places.


As a genreal rule of thumb, don't walk outside past sunset and you should be safe. Starting in August it will be Ramadan. Just be selective in the places you visit. The locals will always use the excuse of "I'm fasting, therefore I can do anything and I will be forgiven" After Ramadan into the Eid, it has become quite the tradition of boys going around sexually harassing girls. Hence, many girls tend to stay at home during Eid.

However, I'm sure you'll make friends with other fellow teachers and eventually you'll figure out a way to make the best out of it.


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## h h

MensEtManus
his words about Ramadan are wrong wrong wrong!!!!!!!!


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## gerhardme1954

English is not as frequent in Alex as in Cairo, where it is not great either, even in expat paradise, El Ma'adi. You need basic Arabic words, even if you dont learn the language.
The thing is that even when you learn to speak Arabic you need to pronounce the words perfectly, or it means something else!


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## islander

gerhardme1954 said:


> English is not as frequent in Alex as in Cairo, where it is not great either, even in expat paradise, El Ma'adi. You need basic Arabic words, even if you dont learn the language.
> The thing is that even when you learn to speak Arabic you need to pronounce the words perfectly, or it means something else!


I was in the Middle East in the late 70s so remember the numbers but am finding the pronunciation of the words really difficult. And remembering the vocab is a struggle.

My brain isn't as young as it used to be!

Any good tips from Forum Members on getting to grips with the language or am I going to have to relax and dive into it when we get there and make 1001 mistakes?


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## MaidenScotland

h h said:


> MensEtManus
> his words about Ramadan are wrong wrong wrong!!!!!!!!


Not if history is anything to go by


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## h h

*I tell truth*



MaidenScotland said:


> Not if history is anything to go by


who knows more I who live in Egypt or you ? that's not history, please tell me what's the historic book tell this lies? what's your refrence? H go out in Ramadan month any time at night and no one bothered me


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## gerhardme1954

Personally, for me, nothing is simple about Arabic. I've been in Egypt 6 years and still only get around with basic words, not full sentences despite having attended a lot of classes. In the same period I learnt to speak another language quite fluently. Arabic is phonetic and very difficult for anybody coming from a Roman alfabet language background.


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## MaidenScotland

h h said:


> who knows more I who live in Egypt or you ? that's not history, please tell me what's the historic book tell this lies? what's your refrence? H go out in Ramadan month any time at night and no one bothered me


History is anything that has happened. I have just moved from Egypt and know first hand of the sexual barrage that goes on


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## islander

MaidenScotland said:


> History is anything that has happened. I have just moved from Egypt and know first hand of the sexual barrage that goes on


This is a strange one and I wonder if some poor women have just been unlucky or if there really is a predatory problem.

There are a few members on here who clearly have been harassed. When my wife and I visited Alexandria she was certainly ogled - if anything, the odd menfolk of Alexandria were more disrespectful towards me in that they would tell my wife that they were wonderful right in front of me. One taxi driver even stated, 'I.....love.....madam!' 

I spoke to a British lady in Alexandria who told me that she had never had a problem with harassment or disrespect. She would happily walk with her children to the shops and she never had a problem.

So, my poor wife is reading around the subject and becoming quite concerned about the stories that abound.


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## marimar

Hi Islander
you will find lots of people with lots of different experiences living here in Egypt, I can only comment on mine which is that after living in Sharm el Sheikh for 9 years and being here in Alexandria for 2 months now, I have never had any problems with harrassment. Yes of course the men look/ogle at the women (worse in Sharm than in Alexandria!!) and you will always get comments, although i can put up with "welcome to Egypt" or "beautiful lady"as they is the most common phrases i seem to hear. Also be aware that Egyptians when speaking English don't always know exactly the meaning of what they are saying, i have heard many an angry exchange over something said with good intentions but being interpreted as something else completely different.
I always dress appropriately for the culture, as i always did in the UK anyway so not a big change and am aware of not being over friendly with people, polite but not too chatty. I also think a lot of women get more problems when they are working here because they are interacting with the people more. I just tend to ignore comments and not stop to talk to people i don't know, much as you would in most countries anyway, and this is how the Egyptian women cope with the problem and for me it works!!! And having a basic knowledge of Arabic always helps.


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## h h

*I m not english*



gerhardme1954 said:


> Personally, for me, nothing is simple about Arabic. I've been in Egypt 6 years and still only get around with basic words, not full sentences despite having attended a lot of classes. In the same period I learnt to speak another language quite fluently. Arabic is phonetic and very difficult for anybody coming from a Roman alfabet language background.


my message was deleted by some one claim that my reply is sexiest he misunderstood me bec I may misused language so I blame him not to ask me first what I mean I am a woman and a moslem so I don't like to talk to men or meet them we are devout


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## jojo

h h said:


> my message was deleted by some one claim that my reply is sexiest he misunderstood me bec I may misused language so I blame him not to ask me first what I mean I am a woman and a moslem so I don't like to talk to men or meet them we are devout


 to offer help
The forum does not encourage posters arranging to meet to "help"

Jo


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## h h

*speaking in general*



MaidenScotland said:


> History is anything that has happened. I have just moved from Egypt and know first hand of the sexual barrage that goes on


History of any country is not the personal history, we r in Egypt live in safe dont mean 100% but nearly better than America and another countries and some egyption like comment before foriegner woman as beautiful woman and i love you meaning kidding not meaning somthing you mean if you know the egyption culture you understand them better


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## GM1

h h said:


> who knows more I who live in Egypt or you ?


why it is in your profile that you are living in Austria?


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## h h

GM1 said:


> why it is in your profile that you are living in Austria?


bec I didn't find my country name


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## GM1

you can't find Egypt??


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## jojo

GM1 said:


> why it is in your profile that you are living in Austria?


Would be a bit of a trek.

At this point it ought to be mentioned that its never a good idea to arrange to meet or make personal contact with people from the forum until you are very sure who you are arranging to meet. You really cant know from the forum who or what people are and sadly the Egyptian forum here does occasionally get a few men trying to arrange to "meet" western women to "help" them

Jo xx


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## h h

jojo said:


> Would be a bit of a trek.
> 
> At this point it ought to be mentioned that its never a good idea to arrange to meet or make personal contact with people from the forum until you are very sure who you are arranging to meet. You really cant know from the forum who or what people are and sadly the Egyptian forum here does occasionally get a few men trying to arrange to "meet" western women to "help" them
> 
> Jo xx


I am sorry I see now what you said


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## h h

jojo said:


> Would be a bit of a trek.
> 
> At this point it ought to be mentioned that its never a good idea to arrange to meet or make personal contact with people from the forum until you are very sure who you are arranging to meet. You really cant know from the forum who or what people are and sadly the Egyptian forum here does occasionally get a few men trying to arrange to "meet" western women to "help" them
> 
> Jo xx


excuse me I should go to my work
salam


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## h h

this site deleted my reply about facts I remmmmebered please delete all my posts


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## islander

marimar said:


> Hi Islander
> you will find lots of people with lots of different experiences living here in Egypt, I can only comment on mine which is that after living in Sharm el Sheikh for 9 years and being here in Alexandria for 2 months now, I have never had any problems with harrassment. Yes of course the men look/ogle at the women (worse in Sharm than in Alexandria!!) and you will always get comments, although i can put up with "welcome to Egypt" or "beautiful lady"as they is the most common phrases i seem to hear. Also be aware that Egyptians when speaking English don't always know exactly the meaning of what they are saying, i have heard many an angry exchange over something said with good intentions but being interpreted as something else completely different.
> I always dress appropriately for the culture, as i always did in the UK anyway so not a big change and am aware of not being over friendly with people, polite but not too chatty. I also think a lot of women get more problems when they are working here because they are interacting with the people more. I just tend to ignore comments and not stop to talk to people i don't know, much as you would in most countries anyway, and this is how the Egyptian women cope with the problem and for me it works!!! And having a basic knowledge of Arabic always helps.


Thank you - my wife will find this very reassuring.

Like you, she is a sensible dresser and utterly respectful of other customs and cultures. I think that your point about the language barrier is fair and a bit of bi-lateral tolerance might be the order of the day.


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## MaidenScotland

YouTube - ‪Sexual Harassment on the Streets of Cairo‬‏


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## MaidenScotland

h h said:


> History of any country is not the personal history, we r in Egypt live in safe dont mean 100% but nearly better than America and another countries and some egyption like comment before foriegner woman as beautiful woman and i love you meaning kidding not meaning somthing you mean if you know the egyption culture you understand them better




Please don´t try and whitewash me... I lived and worked with Egyptians so I know the culture very well


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## aykalam

islander said:


> Thank you - my wife will find this very reassuring.
> 
> Like you, she is a sensible dresser and utterly respectful of other customs and cultures. I think that your point about the language barrier is fair and a bit of bi-lateral tolerance might be the order of the day.


Egyptian women (and men) discuss the problem of sexual harassment in Egypt


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## MaidenScotland

Sexual harassment is a fact of life in Egypt...


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## hurghadapat

MaidenScotland said:


> Sexual harassment is a fact of life in Egypt...


Totally agree with you Maiden :clap2::clap2: and how any one who has lived there for any length of time can say they have never encountered it well  no matter how you dress or how you conduct yourself somewhere along the line you will meet some egyptian men who simply can't contain themselves from either touching or making some sexual remark in the passing....they seem to think that because we are european that we are all whores and are there in Egypt for no other reason but to be looking for a man....


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## hotcoco

Hello....hope you're getting settled in Alex. I am also moving there in 3 weeks time and would be most happy to get together for coffee, conversation, etc. I am Canadian and have been an expat for many years now currently living in Italy. Always nice to meet some english speakers to share the adventure of expoloration.


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## iCaesar

mw1023 said:


> Hi all, how are you?
> 
> I am a young (early 20's) American moving to Alexandria in August. I have accepted a job as a teacher in an international school. I will be living in the Smouha neighborhood. I am looking for fellow ex-pats to get to know and be able to get a coffee or dinner with to ease the culture shock. ]


Welcome in Egypt 


> I have a few questions (apologizing in advance if I come off as arrogant in any way, shape or form);
> 1. How big of an issue is the language barrier? I have been to Egypt before and almost everyone spoke some level of English so it wasn't that big of a deal but that was when I was a tourist in tourist areas. I am trying to learn Arabic but find it very difficult. I'm hoping to take lessons once I arrive.


Pretty Big the more you go deeper inside.. Tourism places are pretty much different than the actual cities , You'll find lots of people who speak English , just dont expect them to be as much as at the tourism sites. Learning arabic is a Plus if you plan to stay for some time. 



> 2. For the women reading this, do you often feel unsafe? Any tips? I am from the East Coast and was raised near a big city so I would like to think I have a little bit of "street smarts" and am definitely going to try to not purposely put myself in a dangerous situation, but sometimes you just can't do anything about your surroundings!


I am no Woman but You gotta take care ..Regular tips include not wearing too short or showy cloth , carry pepperspray just in case , and hmm.. be normal. 

3. Where are some fun places to spend time at? I have been doing some research and have read about the Smouha Club, the Lagoon Club & the Portuguese Club. How do these places work? Do you need to be a member? If so, how much does that cost?



> 4. Is Smouha a nice neighborhood & place to live?


Yup , it should be . I dont have much experience with Alexandria , But it should be a nice place for you to be in. 



> any other helpful hints would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much.


Stay safe and Good Luck!
John.


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## Helen Ellis

islander said:


> I was in the Middle East in the late 70s so remember the numbers but am finding the pronunciation of the words really difficult. And remembering the vocab is a struggle.
> 
> My brain isn't as young as it used to be!
> 
> Any good tips from Forum Members on getting to grips with the language or am I going to have to relax and dive into it when we get there and make 1001 mistakes?


I used the Michel Thomas method Arabic (and Spanish and French). Simple and easy to understand, take it slowly and you will end up with enough to get by on. The advanced is worth getting too. You won't be chatting away to everyone, but getting a bus or taxi, shopping, eating out, general day to day stuff will be easier. Some basic grammar is covered too.It will all come flooding back, honest. It really helped me. Not cheap but worth it, and yes I paid full price at the book shop.
The Egyptians do appreciate the fact that you are trying.


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## aegy

hi there, 
As a british egyptian, who is also from alexandria, i came across your post and was very interested to see how life and work in alexandria was treating you? whether you have adapted and liked the culture?


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## islander

*I'm loving it*

Thank you for asking how I am getting on in Alexandria - the short answer is 'really well'.

Clearly, flicking around the news channels and websites will tell you that today is not a great one in the history of Alexandria, although I dare say that it would depend upon your point of view.

Overall, my family and I love being here. Our children love the British School of Alexandria and they have made friends very quickly. Living in Kafr Abdou is very pleasant and we have met some wonderful people, both expat and local.

I will post a few things here that I wish that I had known before coming - perhaps I just didn't research deeply enough.

The level of bureaucracy is ridiculous. I had read that on numerous threads on this forum and thought to myself that it couldn't be that bad. Well, it is. My wife had to bundle me out of the Immigration Office to stop me ripping the eyes out of an officious little man! Hey, and I am normally a fairly laid back kind of guy, but it just gets to you (or at least me) after a while.

I wish that someone had told me that I should have brought wellington boots with me - Alexandria, no gutters, big rainstorms and inconsiderate drivers are not good for sartorial elegance.

The banking system is bureaucracy gone mad. How come I can sit on the internet and flick money between UK accounts with gay abandon but it takes 10 days and countless bits of paper to transfer MY money to MY account from here to the UK? And they charge me $33 for the pleasure! Yes, that is thirty three US dollars!

I wish that someone told me that Barclays Bank isn't Barclays Bank. Yup. It is true. I have banked with Barclays for more than a quarter of a century in the UK but that counts for zilch here in Egypt because Barclays Bank is nothing to do with Barclays Bank. So when my wife forgot her PIN for her UK account and we cleverly froze her UK account, Barclays Egypt could do nothing to help. I won't bore you with the rest of it.

I wish that I had known that Vodafone isn't Vodafone. Another little cracker! You know how you are a customer and you get service in the UK? I think that it is called 'Customer Service' but I might be wrong. Well, here you find four men in grey shirts smoking and drinking coffee in the front of the shop. You then have to take a ticket (back to that bureaucracy) and walk up to a woman who is actually the only one doing any work. She then proceeds to talk right over the top of you because the rule is that the louder someone speaks or the more words that they can say without taking a breath then the more right they are. So you lose because you have manners and standards. Oh, and if you want them to change your tariff then hard luck. You have to do all of the work yourself.

Now let me get on to the subject of being ripped off.

My flat costs around 3000LE per month which is fair. Some friends have a slightly larger flat and pay US$2000 per month. Saw them coming! Then we can talk about the traders. Now my Arabic isn't great but I know my numbers so that when a sign says 10LE for a kilo then when the man hands me a kilo of veg I expect to pay 10LE. But, oh no, not here. You see I am white. So clearly I am rich. So there is a different price for me. I told one fishmonger that I would pay the 75LE for the fish that should have been 40LE but I would never ever frequent his stall again. He demanded the 75LE so I paid. I now take great pleasure in greeting him with a cheery hello each time I pass him to buy from another trader a few metres away.

When will they learn....?

And don't get me on to the subject of taxi drivers. I learnt a new word to use with some of them - why is it that the first words that you learn in a new language are 'please', 'thank you' and then swear words.

However, despite all of this, I love this city. It is mad. It is maddening. But it has an energy and a life of its own.

And I wouldn't live anywhere else.........


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## aegy

**

Wow seems like yo'veu grasped the culture pretty well! As a british egyptian, who looks extremely egyptian, but has an awful accent, i too get the 'rich' prices, but it seems like you are understanding everything rather well. 
Its lovely to see westerns really getting stuck into the egyptian culture and actually like it!
You certainly got the Barclays and Vodafone part right! 
It would be lovely to keep us updated


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## MaidenScotland

islander said:


> Thank you for asking how I am getting on in Alexandria - the short answer is 'really well'.
> 
> Clearly, flicking around the news channels and websites will tell you that today is not a great one in the history of Alexandria, although I dare say that it would depend upon your point of view.
> 
> Overall, my family and I love being here. Our children love the British School of Alexandria and they have made friends very quickly. Living in Kafr Abdou is very pleasant and we have met some wonderful people, both expat and local.
> 
> I will post a few things here that I wish that I had known before coming - perhaps I just didn't research deeply enough.
> 
> The level of bureaucracy is ridiculous. I had read that on numerous threads on this forum and thought to myself that it couldn't be that bad. Well, it is. My wife had to bundle me out of the Immigration Office to stop me ripping the eyes out of an officious little man! Hey, and I am normally a fairly laid back kind of guy, but it just gets to you (or at least me) after a while.
> 
> I wish that someone had told me that I should have brought wellington boots with me - Alexandria, no gutters, big rainstorms and inconsiderate drivers are not good for sartorial elegance.
> 
> The banking system is bureaucracy gone mad. How come I can sit on the internet and flick money between UK accounts with gay abandon but it takes 10 days and countless bits of paper to transfer MY money to MY account from here to the UK? And they charge me $33 for the pleasure! Yes, that is thirty three US dollars!
> 
> I wish that someone told me that Barclays Bank isn't Barclays Bank. Yup. It is true. I have banked with Barclays for more than a quarter of a century in the UK but that counts for zilch here in Egypt because Barclays Bank is nothing to do with Barclays Bank. So when my wife forgot her PIN for her UK account and we cleverly froze her UK account, Barclays Egypt could do nothing to help. I won't bore you with the rest of it.
> 
> I wish that I had known that Vodafone isn't Vodafone. Another little cracker! You know how you are a customer and you get service in the UK? I think that it is called 'Customer Service' but I might be wrong. Well, here you find four men in grey shirts smoking and drinking coffee in the front of the shop. You then have to take a ticket (back to that bureaucracy) and walk up to a woman who is actually the only one doing any work. She then proceeds to talk right over the top of you because the rule is that the louder someone speaks or the more words that they can say without taking a breath then the more right they are. So you lose because you have manners and standards. Oh, and if you want them to change your tariff then hard luck. You have to do all of the work yourself.
> 
> Now let me get on to the subject of being ripped off.
> 
> My flat costs around 3000LE per month which is fair. Some friends have a slightly larger flat and pay US$2000 per month. Saw them coming! Then we can talk about the traders. Now my Arabic isn't great but I know my numbers so that when a sign says 10LE for a kilo then when the man hands me a kilo of veg I expect to pay 10LE. But, oh no, not here. You see I am white. So clearly I am rich. So there is a different price for me. I told one fishmonger that I would pay the 75LE for the fish that should have been 40LE but I would never ever frequent his stall again. He demanded the 75LE so I paid. I now take great pleasure in greeting him with a cheery hello each time I pass him to buy from another trader a few metres away.
> 
> When will they learn....?
> 
> And don't get me on to the subject of taxi drivers. I learnt a new word to use with some of them - why is it that the first words that you learn in a new language are 'please', 'thank you' and then swear words.
> 
> However, despite all of this, I love this city. It is mad. It is maddening. But it has an energy and a life of its own.
> 
> And I wouldn't live anywhere else.........



Welcome in Egypt

Doesn't matter the name Egypt does things its own way.. after all I complained earlier this week about Marks having music blaring out!!


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## MaidenScotland

islander said:


> Thank you for asking how I am getting on in Alexandria - the short answer is 'really well'.
> 
> Clearly, flicking around the news channels and websites will tell you that today is not a great one in the history of Alexandria, although I dare say that it would depend upon your point of view.
> 
> Overall, my family and I love being here. Our children love the British School of Alexandria and they have made friends very quickly. Living in Kafr Abdou is very pleasant and we have met some wonderful people, both expat and local.
> 
> I will post a few things here that I wish that I had known before coming - perhaps I just didn't research deeply enough.
> 
> The level of bureaucracy is ridiculous. I had read that on numerous threads on this forum and thought to myself that it couldn't be that bad. Well, it is. My wife had to bundle me out of the Immigration Office to stop me ripping the eyes out of an officious little man! Hey, and I am normally a fairly laid back kind of guy, but it just gets to you (or at least me) after a while.
> 
> I wish that someone had told me that I should have brought wellington boots with me - Alexandria, no gutters, big rainstorms and inconsiderate drivers are not good for sartorial elegance.
> 
> The banking system is bureaucracy gone mad. How come I can sit on the internet and flick money between UK accounts with gay abandon but it takes 10 days and countless bits of paper to transfer MY money to MY account from here to the UK? And they charge me $33 for the pleasure! Yes, that is thirty three US dollars!
> 
> I wish that someone told me that Barclays Bank isn't Barclays Bank. Yup. It is true. I have banked with Barclays for more than a quarter of a century in the UK but that counts for zilch here in Egypt because Barclays Bank is nothing to do with Barclays Bank. So when my wife forgot her PIN for her UK account and we cleverly froze her UK account, Barclays Egypt could do nothing to help. I won't bore you with the rest of it.
> 
> I wish that I had known that Vodafone isn't Vodafone. Another little cracker! You know how you are a customer and you get service in the UK? I think that it is called 'Customer Service' but I might be wrong. Well, here you find four men in grey shirts smoking and drinking coffee in the front of the shop. You then have to take a ticket (back to that bureaucracy) and walk up to a woman who is actually the only one doing any work. She then proceeds to talk right over the top of you because the rule is that the louder someone speaks or the more words that they can say without taking a breath then the more right they are. So you lose because you have manners and standards. Oh, and if you want them to change your tariff then hard luck. You have to do all of the work yourself.
> 
> Now let me get on to the subject of being ripped off.
> 
> My flat costs around 3000LE per month which is fair. Some friends have a slightly larger flat and pay US$2000 per month. Saw them coming! Then we can talk about the traders. Now my Arabic isn't great but I know my numbers so that when a sign says 10LE for a kilo then when the man hands me a kilo of veg I expect to pay 10LE. But, oh no, not here. You see I am white. So clearly I am rich. So there is a different price for me. I told one fishmonger that I would pay the 75LE for the fish that should have been 40LE but I would never ever frequent his stall again. He demanded the 75LE so I paid. I now take great pleasure in greeting him with a cheery hello each time I pass him to buy from another trader a few metres away.
> 
> When will they learn....?
> 
> And don't get me on to the subject of taxi drivers. I learnt a new word to use with some of them - why is it that the first words that you learn in a new language are 'please', 'thank you' and then swear words.
> 
> However, despite all of this, I love this city. It is mad. It is maddening. But it has an energy and a life of its own.
> 
> And I wouldn't live anywhere else.........



Why would you pay 75LE for fish worth 40 LE... if you can see the price pay that and not a penny more, you can always give a tip for having the fish cleaned


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