God help us....with recruiting...

Considering I am the product of an essentially non-religious upbringing, I found the influence of religion (both Islam and Christianity) here alarming initially......

When I was here in the summer I'd become used to the incessant use of the expression "inshallah" (god willing)...eg: If you say 'I'll see you tomorrow', the response is 'inshallah" (because who knows what will happen to the person in the next 24 hrs...or you!!). Or in the supermarket...."do you think you'll have more strawberries tomorrow?" again: "Inshallah!" (what if the fields get flooded, or the truck overturns on its way to the store?). This used to annoy me because I thought people weren't taking responsibility for their actions..... I would say to my driver: you'll be here at 9 tomorrow, right?? he'd reply, "inshallah, Miss Catherine.." and when he was late, well.....it was god's will. But I've started to realize, it's not a cop-out, it's just that in their eyes, Allah is so powerful, it would be an insult to him to assume that there was something he didn't have control over....

When I was looking for an apartment, my broker who knew I wasn't muslim, excitedly told me one day that he had a flat to show me that was very near a Christian church...."you'll be able to walk!!" he said watching eagerly for my reaction..."Great!" I said, because I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was unlikely that I'd be attending....

Last weekend on our way back from Sharm, as soon as we landed, some Arabic writing appeared on the tv screen above my head. I asked Zoomie, who speaks and reads Arabic, if it was thanking us for flying Egyptair, and she said said no, it was a prayer to thank god for the safe landing.

In North America, the subject of religion in the workplace is a huge taboo, and we would NEVER mention our beliefs at work, but here it is thoroughly embedded in everything we do. When I first got to Cairo, I got an email from our new Front office manager, whom I hadn't met yet, but in it, he casually said that he knew I had a big job ahead, but that I shouldn't worry, because god was assisting me in the recruitment (interesting, because god has yet to offer to do a single interview or reference check!!!). At the end of every morning briefing, our GM finishes with, "have a good day guys, and god bless you". And Muslims pray 5 times a day, so it's a not uncommon at all to walk into someone's office and find them praying; one of our sales managers even leads the other girls in prayer after lunch. Applicants frequently tell me that they are praying for the success of our hotel and for my good health, ( the latter seems to be working so far so maybe I'll tell them to keep it up!)

Right now you're probably thinking... um, WTF, where is she going with this.... but what prompted me to write this post now was how normal it all seems to me now- this epiphany came today when my boss shut our office door and announced that if I needed her she'd be behind her desk praying..."mafishe mushkella!" (no problem) I said, as I continued eating my fat-free yogurt and typing an email to a new hire about an upcoming orientation.

Although I still don't feel a need to participate, it's nice to see how much comfort my friends and co-workers take from their faith. Even the poorest Egyptians seem to find some solace in the fact that there is someone looking out for them.....hard to believe when they seem to have little else than their faith, but then again, maybe some of them feel rich because of it...I guess it's all a matter of perspective isn't it...

Okay, too much thinking for one night...off to bed. I miss you all and Inshalla you will all have a great day!!

Over from Cairo. xoxo C

Why do vacations have to end.....?

Welllll, here I am in cairo again after a few days in Sharm El Sheikh and to be honest, I am not very happy about it!!! We (Zoomie, Chris and I) had an amazing  mini-break (as Bridget Jones would say) and I don't think any of us were ready to come home  as we shuffled up the stairs onto Egyptair flight 128 this morning.

Thursday was a holiday- labour day- and the flight to Sharm is only about 45 minutes, so we took a late evening flight from cairo on Wednesday night, getting in at a fairly reasonable hour.  

We had a really wonderful few days- it was so nice to breathe clean air and swim in the ocean and not think or talk about work at all (we made a rule!!), and I could go on and on about how incredible the snorkeling was {better than Pacific or the Caribbean side of Mexico, Hawaii and the Dominican put together!!} but it'll probably be more interesting for you  if I post some pictures and let them speak for themselves, and I'll just give you some of the more amusing highlights in point form: 

- One of our co-workers got us a great deal at hotel belonging to a well-known international brand in the centre of town, but "something" (aka higher rated business!) happened and they called to say we'd been relocated to another resort a bit further from the town centre. The location was fine, and the beach was beautiful but the service was TERRIBLE!!!! I'm not sure if the service is the same all over sharm, due to the difficulty attracting and retaining labour in resorts (we have that issue in the rockies too) or if it was isolated to this particular hotel, but save a few staff members, most of the employees looked  and acted as though they'd rather be getting an anesthesia-free root canal than working there. One of the more memorable interactions was from the front desk agent when I phoned to find out how to check telephone messages:

FD guy: allofrondask...

Me: hello? Front desk?

FD guy: yes, frondask.

Me:Yes, hi, there is a red light blinking on my phone, I think I have a message.

FD dude (I'm going to  go out on a limb and say that his name was mohamed): what?

Me: the message light. on my phone. it's blinking. how do I check my message? 

Mohamed: What? please say slower.

Me: message. phone.

Mohamed: I'm sorry ma'am, your english is very difficult to understand..

Me: what, MY english?!

Mohamed: yes, it is very hard to understand, you do not talk clearly. 

Me: ummmmm okaayyy, so you can't help me?? 

Mohamed: no. you are too difficult to understand. {hangs up}

Mush maool! (arabic for "unbelievable!")  In retrospect, maybe I should have spoken english in an italian accent...  (see next bullet)

 

-Besides a great South African couple that we befriended (Timo and Minx) we were the only english speaking guests at the resort, the rest were Russian or Italian. The guys in our crew stood out a little in their board shorts, as the rest of the men were wearing (my new fav nickname for a speedo) "grape smugglers". Also, I know you have been worried about this since the 80's, but the "rat tail" hairstyle is still alive and well in russia!! 

- I'm sure by now you've noticed my fascination with errors on signage and menus, wellllll on this trip, we had some doozies...... Our room rate included all meals, which were served buffet style, so each item was labeled. Yesterday's lunch featured, "peans", "parley soup" and "chicken winges"and each morning for breakfast, we ate a hearty bowl of "oaths". The coffee shop at the sharm airport proudly showed its versatility by announcing on a sign, that patrons were welcome to order either from the barista or "on their table". I know, I know, I shouldn't laugh, especially since my arabic is currently at a pre-school level, but I can't help myself sometimes...

On a more serious note, the Cliffs seem to be narrowly avoiding disaster lately-- I told you about the concert Tabitha was at last week where the floor collapsed... well 2 days ago, there was a terrible bus accident on the Sinai, a bus going from Sharm to Cairo, carrying 40 tourists flipped over and sadly, 8 people were killed. I drove this road about 3 weeks ago, and my parents will be doing the same in about 5 days.  Thanks to all of you who wrote for your concern, but we are (thankfully) all just fine. But they say bad things happen in threes don't they... so Mum, Dad, Michael, Uncle David,  Auntie Sherron, Tabs, Andrew, Nathan and Stephen, let's be extra careful and look out for each other over the next while, okay??!!!

In other news..... you might be interested in the latest goss in Cairo hotel circles! The Saudi ownership of  one of the biggest hotels in town has just banned alcohol completely!! Our favourite  blog for hotel news, vacantready.com has the deets...

Okay well that's all for now, I should go and mentally prepare myself for the 5 day week ahead. 5 days!!! In a row!! Mush maool!!

Hope you're all doing well, miss you!

C

Loooong Weekends....

Last night I was sad that my four day weekend was over already, but then I remembered that this week is only two days and this weekend is also a  long one...Thursday is Labour day in Egypt!  YAY! 

I had a relaxing few days with my parents and dropped them off on Sunday night at a {sketchy!!} hotel to meet the rest of their tour group,  who all seemed really nice. They are on their way to Luxor as we speak/type on an overnight train and will start a 7 day Nile cruise tomorrow morning... I will see them again at the end of their tour for a few days before they head to Sardinia (I KNOW, I'm jealous too!!!). In the meantime, I'm heading to Sharm again, this time with Zoomie and Chris, for a few days of swimming, snorkeling and generally doing nothing in the sun.  

I hear last Sunday was the TC 10K....I wish I could have done it- it's one of my favourite races (it's a tie between that one and the Royal Victoria 8K...oh wait, and the tri of compassion...and the Sri). I see from the website that my buddy Jim had a great time and came 2nd.... nice work JF!!!!!  :)

This week I have a lot to be thankful for, you might have heard about a terrible accident on the weekend- the floor collapsed at a concert at a church in Abbotsford and a lot of people fell about 5 metres.  My cousin Tabitha was there...thankfully she and her friends were all safe, and  although about 40 people were injured, miraculously, nobody was killed.  

I am also thankful that I have so many great friends, friends who apparently read this blog (who knew!!!)- thank you so much to everyone who has been so supportive after my post about feeling a little down about not being able to maintain the same standard of exercise I'm used to... your words have really helped me put everything into perspective :)

Okay I should get going, it's nearly midnight and I still have to pack for sharm!

miss you all!

xo C

PS: what do you think of my new look??

Doug and Angela's blogging debut!

A special treat for catincairo readers....a guest post from my parents on their first impressions in Cairo: 

To begin with, a quote from the Imaginative Traveller trip dossier....

"When you arrive in Cairo you are thrown headlong into the hustle and bustle of this wonderful city.  As you wander the streets your senses will be assaulted on all levels - an endless cacophony of noise with cars tooting, donkeys braying and the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer; ... cars vying for space on the crowded roads.  " and so it goes on.

Our reality was similar in some respects, but also different.  When we arrived we were whisked through immigration and customs by a hotel rep, met by Catherine and her driver, Abdou, and driven to Catherine's apartment, a shower, a nap, and a walk to a pleasant neighbourhood restaurant.  The next night entertained by Catherine's GM at a lovely Lebanese restaurant, followed by drinks on the stunning roof of a neighbouring hotel's outdoor lounge with spectacular views over Cairo.... thousands of years of history below you as you sip your Sakara beer and gaze at the stars and the passing hubub beneath you.

 The next night dinner at the hotel in Heliopolis in a lovely setting in a huge glass atrium.  A

city of 22 million people and many of these delighted to see Miss Catherine. 

Abdou is a wonderful driver, but still it is a bit terrifying at times.  There are vast amounts of traffic driving very fast, traffic signals are limited and lines on the road are suggestions at best. Our local muezzin, at the next door mosque, begins his loudspeaker enhanced call to prayer at 4:45 a.m. followed by a wrap up at 5:15 a.m.  Actually, two mosques, one further away, not syncchronized.  Five calls to prayer a day, in case you were wondering.

Looking forward to our two week adventure around Egypt and will give you an update when we return.

Mum and Dad in Cairo...

As you know, Mum & Dad arrived in Cairo on Thursday-- we've been mostly catching up and relaxing the last few days, which has been great....oh, and eating.... Last night we went with some people from the hotel for Lebanese food, and tonight we went to our hotel in Heliopolis for dinner- I had lamb, which was really good. I am trying to convince one (or both of them) to do a post as a guest correspondent to give their first impressions of cairo, so stay tuned! Bye for now, C

I used to be an athlete.....

The above has been on my mind for the last little while, but I've been trying not to focus on it because it makes me really upset and it's easier not to think about.....but the reality of the situation occurred to me yesterday when my parents arrived (yes, it's great to see them!! I'll talk more about that in a few paragraphs) and brought out some issues of Runners' World that had arrived for me in the last few months, as well as a brand new pair of Mizuno Mustangs (the shoe I've been running in for years) that I bought in January and left with them, with instructions to bring when they came. 

I think back to how big a part sports played in my life even just a few months ago- how I would plan my errands around swim practices, or decide not to go away for the weekend because there was a triathlon or a swim meet I wanted to be at-  and how much things have changed since then, and it makes me really sad.  Before I came I expected that it would be hard to keep an active lifestyle here, but I don't think I realized just how difficult it would be.

 Any type of exercise in Cairo is a huge struggle- the heat certainly plays a part (it was 45C a few days ago)- so you have to get up reallllly early so you can finish whatever activity you're doing before the sun gets really hot,  but even the culture is simply not one that values exercise, especially in women -who are, of course primarily for cooking and reproduction-- okay, okay, I might be exaggerating a little, but I'm constantly being told to eat more because I'm too thin (and believe me, at the moment, I am NOT thin- I even had to buy a new pair of pants because some of the jeans I brought with me are getting a little snug!)- if I was reading this 4 months ago, I would say "jeez, fatty, stop whining and get out there and run", but it's really not that simple-- the traffic and pollution here are insane (18M people, remember....) and the streets in most places are so uneven, a person could easily break an ankle... it's just not safe.

I can't lay all the blame on Cairo itself- working 11 hours a day has a lot to do with it as well- there is a running club in my neighbourhood that runs on a track at one of the high schools here, but I can never leave work in time to actually make it to the practices.   If nothing else, it's really made me appreciate how lucky we are in BC to have unlimited access to oceanside roads and bike paths to run and ride along and public pools and swim teams train with.  

Don't worry, I haven't completely given up-- I have my bike and windtrainer in my living room, and Nassiba (aka Zoomie) Chris and I have joined a gym near work that is open 24 hrs, so hopefully I'll at least be able to run on a treadmill a few times and get a few cycling workouts in, but the pool is too warm and is kidney-shaped, so not really practical for laps...... I knew I would have to make some sacrifices for this career opp, and I suppose this is one of them. Sorry, I don't mean to be so whiny, but I can't help feeling that I've given up a huge part of my identity... hopefully only temporarily... 

Okay, the pity party (I can't believe I just used that expression- what am I, 90?) is done now... as I mentioned earlier my parents arrived yesterday-- tired after their 23 hour journey, but safe and in one piece (well two pieces actually!). This weekend is 4 days!! Coptic easter and Sham El Nessim {a celebration dating back to pharonic times celebrating Spring-  apparently it is customary to have a picnic and enjoy the "fresh air" (HA!!!)} so I have some days off to spend with them before they head off on a 2 week Egyptian adventure. Next weekend Zoomie, Chris and I are off to Sharm, but this time for longer, and with no pesky mountain to climb!!

Okay, I should get going, but  I hope you're all doing well, and that you have a fab Coptic Easter, and a very happy Sham El Nessim!  Over and out from Cairo, ! xoxo C

First and last ever sheisha...