Erasmus Experience in Athens, Greece by Houmayrah

Why did you choose to go to Athens, Greece?

To be honest, that was my only option hahah. But it's an amazing place!

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How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

It's for 3 months. I get 800€ per month for living costs. It depends on how far away you are travelling and the cost of living in you home country and the current one (Athens).

What is the student lifestyle like in Athens?

I only attend one course with lectures. And it's pretty interesting. The students feel at ease to ask questions and there is no pressure at all. It's like we genuinely want to learn. It might be difficult to understand the professor's spoken english occasionally.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Athens to other students?

Yes definitely! Panteion university is the best, according to me, for social sciences. And the professors are very kind and helpful. There's a 3 floor library with books both in greek and english. The infrastructure is a bit of a mess right now because of reconstruction, but overall it's a great university.

Athens is a busy city. And there are safe and not so safe neighbourhoods, as in every other country. I live in Pagrati and it's a very safe and busy neighbourhood. What's great is that almost everything is available with 2-10 minutes walk from my apartment: restaurants, cafes (a lot of them), markets, supermarkets, bank, pharmacy, pet store, clothes shop, shoes shops, places to eat, pastry shops, bakery, hair and beauty salons, nail salons, Cinemas, bars,.. Athens is rich in cultural landscapes, so whenever you are free you just take a trolley to the Acropolis or the Lycabbetus hill. They are pretty close to where I live in Pagrati. The living cost in this neighbourhood is pretty cheap. You can get clothes as from 1€ from the Outlet Store. And there are plenty other shops that sell things (clothes/shoes/house stuff... ) at very cheap prices.

What is the food like?

I am vegetarian. But it's quite easy for me to find veg food that are tasty and cheap. There is a nice place on Imitou street, Dream Angel, where I ate the best Margherita pizza since I've been here. The sandwiches are also delicious, as delicious as a veg sandwich can get. However 2€ for a small baguette with cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise is a bit too much for me. You'd better buy the baguette at the bakery and the ingredients at the market and make your own sandwich. The food quality is great though. The fruits and veggies are quite big and fresh. The best and only souvlaaki I had was at The Sultan in Attiki. (It's halaal, for the halaal eaters out there).

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I also had waffles at Davinci's in the plaka area. It was awesome. Just don't ask for chocolate topping if you've asked for chocolate waffles. That's too much chocolate for me. Everest and Gregorios (hopefully that's how you write it), two competitors in cafes/juices and sandwiches/desserts, can be found almost everywhere around Athens.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Athens?

There are a few pages on facebook where they advertise accommodation in Athens. If you are on Erasmus, you can also ask the people at ESN or the person who's in charge of dealing with your papers from the Erasmus office. My apart costs 350€ per month for 2 persons, with separate bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, a small hallway and a laaaarge terrace. This does not include the electricity bills, that amount to around 60€ during March-April-May. And there was also a deposit of 350€.

How much does it cost to live in Athens?

Most of the places that I've looked for online were at 250-300€ per person.

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

There are language courses available at the university. But I arrived in Athens too late to enroll in these. To be honest, it's quite difficult to get acquainted with the language. I still do not understand when people talk to me in greek. But I've been able to decipher which greek alphabet stands for which english alphabet and that has helped a lot in terms of transportation and other times too.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Athens from your city?

Trolley, tram, metro. If you are a student, you get the tickets at half price. I would recommend buying a 6 months ticket if you're going to stay for 6 months. Or you can have the monthly ticket at 15€ if you present your student id card. The down part is that it takes a lot of time to get your student id, around 3 weeks for me. And you can only buy the reduced ticket when you present your student id, also known as 'paso'.

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Athens?

There's the Athens Mall, in Marousi where you can find all sorts of entertainment. Shopping, eating, movies,.. For barsand clubs, I heard that there are some very good ones in the centre of Athens. You have to google them. Also, Ermou street is the most popular place for shopping if you live far from the Athens Mall. You can have live music in many restaurants around the touristy areas, like Plaka, Ermou, Monastiraki,..

And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Athens?

You can grab a sandwich and a coffee before you take the trolley to uni, at Everest or Gregorios. You can also eat good souvlaakis at the Sultan in Attiki, or have some pitta at Pitta King. There's also The Big Bad Wolf, where you can get good souvlaakis and other food.

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What good cultural sites are there to visit?

The Acropolis, of course. Tha Stadium at the Stavio bus stop. The national gardens, the lycabbetus hill, the syntagma square also facing the hellenic parliament. There are plenty of other places I haven't yet been to myself. Google them.

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Athens in the future?

It gets very cold at night before spring, so bring layers of clothes and it's quite warm during the day so bring your sunscreen. Also wait for your student pass to visit the cultural sites and you'll get in for free. Use Google maps to get around the city. If you don't have your student id yet and you know you will be using public transportation a lot, buy a 5-days pass for 9€ at the metro station. If you are not used to cooking, don't worry. You will learn through trial and error :P And you can always order Domino's. Or make yourself a sandwich. Look for accommodation in a neighbourhood that's safe. Use a prepaid card whenever possible, you won't have to pay a fee for conversion and stuff. Withdraw large amounts of money and keep it in a safe place, so the fee is less than if you withdrew small amounts. Anddd buy yourself a good camera, so you can sooth yourself with the pictures during the post-erasmus depression. You should also know that greeks will stare at you, it's quite normal. Viva la Vida :D

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