Some tips to prepare your trip...

Like I mentioned several times, I decided to spend a semester abroad for my studies. I applied, one year ago, for the Erasmus+ program, and in February 2024, I flew from France to the beautiful city of Athens, Greece.

I decided to write this article to give some tips to those who are preparing or considering a trip in Greece and/or an Erasmus mobility in general.

First of all, when you apply for such a program, you have to give a list of several destinations, and it is important to choose the right ones. You will spend one or two semesters there and you need to be sure that you will feel comfortable and safe.

We always underestimate how hard and stressful it can be to be far away from our family, in a country where we don't speak the language or don't know the culture. For some people, like me, it is also the first time that we move out from our parent's home and live alone.

I know some friends, who came back to France during their mobility because it was too much to handle. To avoid that, you need to be mentally prepared.

First, I would advise you to contact former students who already went to the country you would like to go to. Ask them questions about the cost of life, the studies, their personal feelings about their trip. It will help you to adjust your expectations.

You will also need, of course, to do researches about your dream destination. Personnally, I read books and blogs about Athens to have information about the mores, habits and potential cultural shocks (I will post another article about this).

It is also more encouraging to know in advance what activities you can do there! There are a lot of great places around Athens: Delphi, Meteora, Crete, Poros, Agistri, Aegina, etc.

Here is the link of a good book, that lists places and activities in Athens:

https://www.cultura.com/p-athenes-en-quelques-jours-5ed-9782384920556.html

In Greece, like in most countries which are part of the Erasmus program, there is an organisation called the ESN, which plans trips, events and activities for the Erasmus students. They also have a platform, called Buddy System, which gets you in touch with a local student to help you accomodate yourself with your new life. Mine is called Phoebe, for instance. She is an angel and she helped me a lot, especially with the administrative stuff and the transportation card.

Here is the link for the Buddy System website:

https://buddysystem.eu/en/login

For those who are easily anxious or stressed, I would advise you to contact a psychologist, with whom you could have zoom sessions when you feel lost or sad. It is essential to keep in mind that this experience is for you and that you need to take care of yourself first, to be able to fully enjoy it.

I will soon post about how to prepare a budget and what to expect from Greece. I hope that these tips helped you with your researches! 

Thank you for reading <3