I <3 ATHENS June 05, 2024

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

All of the classes I took, except COMM346 with Michael Nevaradakis, were very interesting and high quality courses. My favorite class was my Greek language course (with Angeliki). The first two months had incredibly light coursework but after midterms things increased a lot. I still liked my classes but felt less motivated to do the readings due to the amount of work I was assigned.

On-site administration of your program

Pretty well done. I had to move apartments a week in and they were extremely accommodating and efficient. I honestly had very little interactions with admin, but I was able to borrow a guitar for the semester after a brief conversation with an administrator!

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Really nice! I had to move because my roommates were not satisfied but frankly both apartments were miles better than any Brandeis housing I've had and paid 3x as much for.

The food served by CYA was hit or miss, and repetitive after a while. The local food was extremely good and affordable. Try to shop locally as much as you can, many shops depend on CYA students as regular customers.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Very great job of combining the course materials and field studies with the real life experiences of Greek living. My Greek class also covered language and culture, so we did presentations on the holidays and other events that occurred during the semester. There were also a lot of protests and strikes happening so it was awesome to be in the midst of a lot of social change without feeling unsafe.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had a lot of allergy problems but no real health concerns. One of my friends went to Urgent Care because of a small scratch she got, and from that experience healthcare seems pretty accessible for foreigners.

Amazing. Literally felt so safe in nearly every area of the city (within reason of course) and often stayed out late at night. I walked very often and felt safe on the metro and other public transportation. Everyone in Greece is very friendly and they are excited to help others.

IF there was another solid program like this in Greece I would maybe consider changing but I think my complaints concern the 'luck of the draw' element of who your cohorts are.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Hmmmm. Greece and CYA were already very affordable, particularly in regard to my home university. CYA held some budget workshops that I went to and provided a lot of cheap and fun opportunities. I struggled a bit at times because I lost my wallet and had to get cash from other people. But that's not really something that's advisable

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

I LOVE GREEK!!!!! I was ordering in Greek, talking in Greek, engaging with locals. Super amazing experience with the language and I would love to continue learning it. This is especially due to my amazing professor but also the friendliness of the Greek people. So many Taxi rides were spent on mini-Greek lessons.

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