Athens: An Experience Worth Having Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The teachers acted the same as many professors back in the U.S. in thinking that their class was the only class with homework. While this is reasonable because students are getting full credit for those courses, students need to take into consideration how much time they want to be spending on class versus how much they want to spend seeing the country they're visiting.

On-site administration of your program

The Athens Centre staff was extremely helpful. Someone was always there to answer questions or just to talk with. All of the workers had lived in Greece or had an extensive knowledge of Greek culture. Our program size was pretty small, which had its positive and negative aspects. My overall expectations were definitely met.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I shared an apartment with three other American girls from my program. The apartment was fairly good sized by European standards and was located in a very nice location close to the Centre. To get to where there was some nightlife took a bit of a walk, but cabs were super cheap. In terms of the kitchen we had some problems figuring out the oven and had to buy a cutting board, but otherwise didn't have any problems. The water heater (which had to be turned on 30 minutes before showering) took a bit of remembering, however a couple of cold showers didn't hurt us at all.

There were some big grocery stores close by the apartments that were pretty close to any Safeway or such in the U.S. The Centre staff always had good recommendations on where to eat out. In and around Varnava "Square" were many very, very tasty restaurants. One of my favorites was a pizza place between Archimidous and Varnava.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

My program had a lot of trips out and about. We went to Crete, which was amazing. Chania was absolutely gorgeous and had some really, really nice shops. My favorite place, which I went to on my own, was Meteora. There are these giant rock formations with monasteries on top. The area is absolutely gorgeous. Some of the best food I had while in Greece was in Thessaloniki, but I didn't see many of the sites around the city.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

There were some riots and some bomb scares while I was in Athens. The Centre staff was always aware of when riots were occurring and would alert students to avoid certain areas of the city. I never really felt physical threatened at any point on my trip.

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

The problem with our language classes was that, even though we were only there for three months, we only had class twice a week. This meant that we weren't learning the language quite as fast as I personally would have preferred. I personally chose to take an additional Greek class (which the Centre suggested). It did help my understanding of the language.

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• Apartment

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• Americans