Aoife The Houseguest Speaks!

On Escaping from the Desert and Canadian Hospitality

“BaNAANAA!!”

This has become a familiar cry over the last few days. It is not a reference to my former dream job with Chiquita but to the future Mrs. Brooks' rather sizeable cat. Banana [the cat] is in the running for the largest cat I’ve ever seen, seriously…I’ve seen dogs that were smaller. He has been studiously ignoring me for the last few days but surreptitiously sniffing some of my possessions when he thinks no one is looking, so I think on balance he is warming up to me.

But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself…when we last saw our employment dodging anti-hero [i.e. me], she was heading for the Sinai desert…

As many [most?] of you know, I suffered a bit of a setback earlier in the year when the 3 month contract I had lined up after IMD vanished in 2 days. February in Zürich was grim and the prospect of a job hunt even grimmer so I ran back to the sun of southern Egypt and have been hiding out there ever since. I had taken up with a local guy for a while but it wasn’t long before the inevitable cultural and life experience differences came to the fore. Well, that and the fact that living on 3 Euros a day wasn’t much fun for me. Anyway, I heard the chap in question has already taken up with a Korean dive instructor, so I think it is fair to assume he is not dying of a broken heart…

So, what was I doing all this time? Mostly just hanging out but also discovering a little about Egyptian culture and just how badly businesses can be run while still ticking over. I took some Arabic lessons, but the teacher was rather theoretic, so although I can read quite well now, I don’t have the first idea of what I’m reading! Along the way, I also helped out at a friend's internet café and learned a lot about the business of diving while training as a PADI Divemaster….which means I am now qualified to lead certified divers underwater and ensure they don’t kill themselves…or me.

So all good things must come to an end and despite my fervent hopes, the economy has not picked up much while I’ve been burying my head in the sand. It's time to get back on the job hunting horse, and so I’ve come back to Switzerland to try and meet a few people and, if I’m lucky, get a job. This prospect has scared the sh*t out of me for most of the year so I can only hope that the reality is not nearly as bad as my imaginings….certainly it can’t be as difficult as getting through Israel!

That’s right folks, I paid a fleeting visit to Nir-land. He’d already gotten wind of this plan and, in a pre-emptive strike, moved to Germany. Let me state this as clearly as I can: It is never a good idea to fly through Tel Aviv.

From Dahab, geographically Tel Aviv and Cairo are about the same distance, in terms of finding a cheap flight to Europe. Geo-politically, though, the difference for a lone Irish lady having lived in Egypt and without either a job or an address is vast. It took me two hours to get into Israel – including interviews with security and immigration – and three hours to get security checked in the airport when I departed. This included a full baggage and body search, and for a few awkward moments I thought I was being taken for a cavity search too!!

Despite all that, and the baggage searches at the central bus station, once I actually got into Israel, I really enjoyed it. Tel Aviv is an awesome little town and I enjoyed the days strolling around the beach, the old town and the markets, while talking with the hostel staff in the evenings. The place is definitely worth a second look.

In between the job hunt, I’ll be catching up with as many of you as I can, and I’ve been having a fine old time chez les Brooks, who have been showing me what Canadian hospitality is all ‘aboot’. Ian certainly had the luck of the Oirish in finding a wonderful flat in a great part of town, almost immediately! New town, new job but Brooksie has retained his penchant for upper floor apartments with no elevators and staircases made from cardboard [or plywood or some such].

And I’m getting used to some interesting habits from my hosts such as letting Ian win in board games and storing tomatoes in the fruit bowl - logical of course, but certainly not the first place I looked…

Hope to see you as many of you as possible very soon!

Aoife

PS: Any and all help for my job search is gratefully accepted. My main problem at the moment is failure to get interviews due to lack of functional experience…