I spent my summer internship in Greece and it was one of the best months ever. I have seen many beautiful places, met new people and got to know greek culture and traditions.
I was at the neurosurgery department in Larissa. Everyone there was really nice and welcoming. All of the doctors spoke english fluently and they were always willing to explain or teach us new things. We could go to surgeries (spinal or cranial) or we stayed at the department and they showed us some CT or MRI scans or we went to the outpatient clinic. We usually chose surgery, it was amazing, but sometimes quite long- 8 hours.
Speaking about travelling, we flew to Thesalloniki airport from Budapest. We wanted to catch the last train to Larissa, but when we got to the station, we found out, that there had been a strike. We had to take taxi to Larissa, which was about 150km far away. They often have strikes like that in Greece, so be careful and always ask your CP if there is a strike around the time you come there.
At the station our contact persons were waiting for us and they took us to a hotel. They were really nice, always trying to help us or show us some good places to eat or have fun. They also brought us to hospital the first day and picked us up in the afternoon. Our LEO was also amazing, he always solved our problems or suggestions as soon as he could.
We stayed in a hotel, which was located in the centre of Larissa. It was a really nice place, clean and with nice staff. Sometimes we had a breakfast there, which cost 3 euros or we bought something in the bakery, which was nearby. We had lunch for free in the hospital cafeteria, but it was not very tasty, so sometimes we went to the restaurant instead.
We went to many amazing places at the weekends, we visited Santorini- it is probably the most beautiful place I have ever been to. It has great atmosphere and we had a perfect social programme prepared. We took part in a cruise, we also enjoyed traditional wine testing and visited typical greek village and last, but not least we went to Oia- place where tourists all over the world go to see the famous sunset. Our next trip was to Skiathos- it has beauatiful beaches and great party life.
As for other students that took part in this exchange programme, we met people from Spain, France, Serbia, Malta, Turkey and even Brazil. We often went out for dinner together or took part in some trips. I was also very suprised that many of them said, they would like to come to Slovakia at some point 🙂 .
This month was a great experience, I am sure I will remember for a very long time. I recommend everybody to take part in something like that- you won´t regret it 🙂
