IFMSA Clinical Exchange, Larissa, July 2016
Time spent in Greece was definitely one of the best experiences in my life. After choosing this country we just expected mostly sunbathing and swimming but there was so much more than that.
Our stay in Greece was full of experiences – most of them were the amazing ones except our arrival that was a bit complicated as there was a train strike so instead of arriving by midnight we came at 3 a. m. using taxi for 150km long journey from Thessaloniki airport to Larissa. That was I think the last unpleasant event that happened to us.
First day in Larissa´s University Hospital still belongs to the most touching experiences of the whole exchange. People in Greece are very kind, warm and communicative in general and staff working at the hospital even more. We built friendly relationships with our supervising doctors and we are still in contact with them even after coming home. Everybody was so happy about our presence , even the professors and the biggest specialists wanted to greet us and show us as many things as possible. Since then the hospital became our favourite place in Larissa. We stayed at Neurosurgery department that was our first choice. Everyday we watched unique brain and spine surgeries that we might never see again.
After hours spent at the operating room we used to rest at the hotel that we were accommodated in. The rooms were big, well furnished, clean and the biggest advance was the air condition as we stayed at the hottest place in the whole country.
Every afternoon our great CPs organized many activities like going to the near beach which was about 20 minutes away by train or sightseeing. They also took us for the traditional Greek dinner where we could meet students from the other countries almost every day. As for the food there was lunch provided for free at the hospital´s cafeteria but we usually chose to eat in the city instead.
Greece has beautiful nature, islands and cities. We experienced that during the weekends when CPs organized spectacular trips for us – I will never forget trip to Santorini Island or Skiathos Island each unique in a different way.
To sum up staying in Greece was an amazing experience and opportunity to learn new things, make new friends and see interesting places and thats why I would recommend the exchange to every medical student.
