Student exchange in Greece, Athens spring 2012

Written in October-November 2011

Geia sas!

My exchange project started very early. Since I was in junior high I really wanted to go somewhere to have an adventure of being an exchange student. Mostly I thought of going to Canada because that's the country where my hobby ringette got started and I could play it there while being at school. That never happened 'cause I was way too young and shy to be going anywhere at that young age. + it would have been really expensive! The next thing I thought was going to Canada in high school for a year. Again, I was too shy to leave and I didn't want to graduate a year after my peers. During the last year of high school I thought of going to somewere to be an au pair for a year. I had already made a profile to one page online and contacted couple of families. Ringette was the biggest minus thing. I wouldn't have been able to play. And that was too important for me at the time (and still is). I searched for families that needed an au pair only for summer months. That never happened.

Then on my second try to study physiotherapy (on the first try I was left out for one point) to Metropolia Applied Sciences I heard about the chance to go abroad to study. It would be a work placement through Erasmus program and I wouldn't be left behind and I would graduate at the same time as the rest of my class! That was it, I really wanted to do it! This was my time, now or never! I thought it from every point of view I could think of. It would a spring 2012 and the work placement would be from March untill the end of May. It would be the best time considering my ringette season. The choise which country to go to wasn't difficult to me at all since I saw Greece, Athens on the list.

Even though I had really looked into the exchange I was still not sure. Could I really do it? Could I live alone or with some other student in a city of million people? Could I understand anything at the work placement? What about my training, would I excersice there at all? Or can I really make food for myself? What if our ringette team makes it to playoffs and I would miss them? Millions of questions ran through my mind. Finally my friend Lotta got me into my senses and really gave me the courage! I had filled the applications online but I couldn't push the sent button. I was there thinking it again and again and asking what if what if when Lotta said you can and you will do it and pushed the sent button for me! And I was really happy and also really nervous! 

The first applications I sent was in January 2011. I had meetings with my teacher to think everything through like how I would manage the lectures I'm gonna miss when I'm in Athens. We had meetings about the exchange and what it requires. First I got accecpted from my home instution the same spring. Then I just had to wait for the acceptance from Athens! And it took a while before they answered! I had to wait until fourth of October 2011! Then I really got nervous! First months passed and I thought of Athens almost every day! 

I had emailed to couple of Finnish students who had been in Athens before me and I got nice tips from them. I'm also an exchange tutor in my school and we had two boys from Athens to do their exchange in Finland in fall 2010 and I became friends with them. They have also helped me a lot! 

In Athens the school doesn't help you much to get a place to stay and there are no student houses in Athens like we have HOAS in Finland. I started looking for a place to stay and I had couple of internet pages I looked from. The only problem I had was that Athens is so big that I wasn't that eager to travel hours in the morning to my work placement (I don't know the work placement place..). One of the first notifications online, was sounding really promising! I started emailing to this woman and the more I talked with her the more I fell in love with the apartment she was renting. It had a great location, near the metro station, near the gym (only 700 metres!), near the center of Athens and within walking distance from the main sights of Athens. I wanted it! 

During chasing a place to stay I filled many papers that had to be sent to my host institution of Technological Educational Institute of Athens (T.E.I.). The papers weren't that difficult to be filled but it was difficult to know what needed to be filled! I also had to order an European travel insurance card, get a travel insurance from Metropolia and fill all the papers to KELA (where the students get student and housing allowance).
 

I got the apartment even though there was a little misunderstanding. The woman renting the place had thought that the girl living there before me would live in the beginning of February but she is leaving in March. I was planning to arrive to Athens somewhere around 13th of Feb. We solved the problem that I would try to stay at that woman's place (try because she has cats and dogs and I'm allergic..) If I can't stay there I'm gonna live in a youth hostel for maybe couple of weeks. 

I bought my plane ticket on 15th of November, paying 120€ and I'm leaving for Athens on 17th of February 2012! τώρα ή ποτέ!

Me in Athens in summer 2010