My full-of-contrasts Erasmus experience in Athens

I would recommend this school to any student studying Art, regardless of their artistic field of studies for the exceptional library that it has. It is the main attraction, both for students and teachers, a very complex library with modern structure and rules, whose fundamental principle is accessibility. It is a highly important thing and so necessary in my opinion.

But the School and its library seem to be two different institutions. The first difficulty I was confronted with there as an Erasmus student was the huge distance between the building containing all the offices of the School and the campus where all the classes take place. In fact, the big distance between them wouldn't be so difficult to surpass without the exhausting noise and agitation typical for this old metropol. But even letting aside the physical effort of moving from one part to another, this separation gives one the impression of abandonment. Mainly because the working spaces are placed in an industrial area, at the periphery of the city, in an old, wrecked, dirty building, with a chimney in the courtyard. Only the presence of olive trees and of a wild garden improved a bit the whole image. Then, while trying to discover the available courses, it was a surprise to find out that many of the activities are not separated (neither in time nor space) according to each year of studies. One class, although it had been held for more than three years, didn't even exist in the official paper yet, so the students who wished to choose the drawing class were forced to officially select the printmaking class.

Unfortunately, in the beginning, the ones from the Erasmus office were not willing to help, to offer me precise, useful information, but were more interested in finding ways to get rid of me. At first, they refused to issue the learning agreement during the mobility, saying that it is not their responsibility, but of my home school, which is not true. They asked me to modify the initial original document so that they only have to sign. I absolutely refused to do so. I wrote a long email to them and to my home university in which I explained the situation I was put in and asked for solutions. Only then they did it. And after this, their attitude changed to the better (it always worth fighting for your rights!). There were also problems with making the contract because in reality some classes had less ECTS credits than they officially announced. So I had to choose more classes than expected, with a complete schedule overlap, to get the required number of credits.

To get our student cards was also complicated because the School has a contract with a mobile service provider company to issue the cards. Only in mid-November they were available. It was another result of a general bureaucracy which postpones and complicates things a lot. Not to mention they don't provide free art materials as they boast officially on their website...

But a very useful thing which I really enjoyed (after the card was finally handed over to me), was having free access to most of the museums as a student. From the Museum of Cycladic Art, the Museum of Folk Musical Instruments, the Byzantine Museum, the Acropolis Museum to the Museum chain of the fantastic Benaki collection, and, of course, the astonishing archaeological sites, I explored these places with great wonder and joy, gathering fragments of cultures and life.

I also participated with big pleasure at the painting and mosaic classes. The open attitude of the teachers there allowed a beautiful and creative communication. The mosaic class is allotted the most spacious studio, with many instruments for cutting the stones and enough room for all the students who attend this course. It was the first time I created using this technique and I was happy to put into the mosaic pieces of stones found while walking on the beach nearby.

Another nice surprise was the room in which I stayed all the semester (I found it on my own, with no support for accommodation from the School), excellently situated at the base of φιλοπαππου – Filopappou Hill, close to the Acropolis, in a very specific old Greek house, and to my delight, with an old sewing machine, which helped me a lot. The smooth winter in Athens was very beneficial to me. I used to have long walks in nature, explored the small forests with exotic plants (a true revelation for my eyes), olive trees, lemon trees, orange trees or bay laurel. I breathed the healthy salty sea air and I had the pleasure to see many enchanting and new surroundings. Once a week, if the weather is fine (and usually it is), a market takes place on Zaharitsa street, where I could buy fresh fruits and vegetables. I always remember it in good spirits.

All in all, it was a marvelous experience, complex, very creative, which made me more aware of some aspects in life and strengthen my trust in the democratic values. It also allowed me to get into a new level of exploration and development in my personal creations. I am very grateful to the Erasmus Programme for the enormous horizon enlargement it brought through participation, collaboration and communication, a situation to which I wouldn't had had access otherwise. For me it is and it always remains an infinite source of inspiration, which I would transform and creatively transmit to others.

It has positively changed my way of living and thinking, it turned many good dreams into reality. This experience of living and studying abroad for a good while should make us become more open minded, cooperative, see ourselves and our life with different eyes and let us listen to ourselves and our hearts better. To have more trust in the power of communication and cooperation, in ourselves and our creative capacity and to fly over the barriers that stay between people through exploration.

It definitely worked for me. Therefore, I wholeheartedly thank to the Erasmus Programme for this wonderful support!