My job as a SwimAmerica coach, technical assistant, and administrative assistant

I decided to turn part of an email i wrote to mom & pops into a blog post, with some adjustments. I'm halfway through my summer here, and i haven't really written about my job. despite what it looks like in the pictures, i am definitely working ALL the time. so, here it is:

i'm loving my job here in Wadi Degla Sports Club. it's so fun. i love the kids- all 1,500 of them. well no, there are some big brats in there too. anyway, all summer ive been teaching almost completely in arabic. when i have a whole class of older kids that do english, it feels satisfying to know i've communicated as well as i possibly could with them. with the arabic it can be frustrating if a certain swimmer just ISNT getting it, and i wonder if there is any fault owed to my language barrier.
so, i love the kids, and i try not to let it hurt my feelings when certain little kids say "seebini! seebini" or "let go of me! let go of me!" because they dont want me to help them, and i question myself: am i holding onto them too much just because i like holding their cute tiny little bodies? ha, most of the time i try to let them do everything without help though. It's hard, but funny to see them try to climb out of the pool alone (because they're strong-willed and want to do it alone "liwahdi!"), and their legs end up higher than their head while they dangle there helpless.

people in egypt really are friendly. i could say that about almost any country i go to, but here i LOVE that men everywhere play with kids, whether they know them or not. women do too, but its mostly the men here and everyone trusts each other. not only are the coaches (almost all male) affectionate and playful, but every egyptian on the street will care for and watch out for a stranger's child, or play with them. i love that. here i can ask for kisses on the cheek from kids all the time, and i even exchange greeting kisses with rana, my 16 yr old girl that has private lessons 2 days a week. she is so sweet, a little shy, and always holds my hand. i feel like a community affection for children is lacking in the US. we dont trust each other.

Anyway, in one of my preschool swim classes (ages 3-4) i have a tiny little boy named kareem. he is more comfortable in the water than any other toddler i know, and he is ADORABLE. i'm excited to hear about the progress he makes after i'm gone. there's one 6 yr old here named Ali that is in station 10 (there are 10 stations, or levels). he swims laps in all swim strokes (free, back, breast, fly), and doesn't get tired. it's an amazing sight to see! coaching is very rewarding for these reasons. teaching in a classroom is similar, but not in the same way. i'm so glad i came here this summer to develop this part of me that was clamoring to develop!
I have serious moments of indecision when thinking that i could possibly stay and continue working here, just because it's satsfying, fun, and i could become completely fluent in arabic after a few more months.
a couple nights ago i was invited to eat dinner with the boss of all bosses, sheriff habib. he owns ours and many other swim programs in the middle east. he has coached the egyptian national swim team for the last 5 years with no losses. he is opening a new swimamerica location in dubai and told me that he'd want me to come back and work in administration there next summer, since i told him i need a summer internship. dang, its tempting, but it isn't PUBLIC admin, which is what i'm studying and need an internship for next summer.
SO, no worries, i'm coming home and i probably won't come back to the M.E. for a while. (makes you really think about those offers from guys who will pay for you to come back because they say they "love you". too bad "love" in arabic doesnt mean anything to me, and most egyptian guys are NOT the kind i would date)

Here are the basics about my job:
-I am in the club 6 days a week from 10am to 10pm (there's a 3 hr break in the middle but i dont leave). There are two clubs: maadi and katamiya. This month my schedule only includes maadi club, but every month is different for the girl coaches who must fill the 'female' position at both clubs.

-Roughly 1/3 of my working hours are hours in which i work as "technical assistant." this means that I walk around on the pool deck, clipboard in hand, making sure coaches are on time and in the water, i take attendance, write comments on each swimmer, and give tests when swimmers are ready to pass from one station to the next. i probably should feel proud of the fact that I am one of about 4 technical assistants here, out of the 20-ish coaches at this club. I don't even have much experience compared to other coaches, so I'm just thankful William sometimes recognizes my strengths more than my weaknesses. That or he thought i was least likely to complain because being OUT of the water means sweating buckets, ugh.

-Preschool classes are 30 minutes long, with 3 swimmers each.
-stations 1-3 (bubbles, gliding, kicking) are 40 min long w/ 5 swimmers.
-stations 4-7 (front crawl, breathing, back, breast, tread water) are 50 min.
-stations 8-10 (flipturns, longer distances, butterfly, etc) are 1hr.

Until a new administrative assistant was hired recently, i was working in the office with ayman to help parents register their kids(a beastly process with no way of improving it), answer questions, and update rosters, make brochures, etc.

i generally like doing anything, but being in the water with the kids is the best.
now that i've bored you with all the work info, i hope you all have a great day and find some way to get satisfaction from work like i do!

here is a video treat for you to liven up the blog post. this kid has the MOVES and the coaches make him dance just about every time he steps out on deck. you can see why.


captain nicole