Work and Travel Greece

Guys after i returned from my first 8 months placement in Malta, i think i stayed home around 2 months and i decided to head to Greece for another placement during the summer. Just so i explain you get 12 months for study and 12 months placement, i'v been in Malta 8, so i still got 4 months available.

And Voila i took advantages and search myself an internship. Soon i'v got in contact to this amazing 5 star resort in the Halkidiki Peninsula in Greece. When searching for placements i just write a bunch of emails and send them to were i think i would like to intern/work, and if im lucky enough well then they accept me. So far i'v been too much lucky :).

So i headed to Greece...

I arrive there around mid May of course with my longtime friend and partnert in crime Peter, and after going into human resources office, we went throw the rules and infos about resort all details about our internship would look like.

Before coming to Halkidiki i heard about this peninsula is fully populated with romanians and moldovians but when i truly arrived here and i saw how many they were i was shocked. Too many even for my own dislike.

Sani Resort as i told you is a luxury resort with a bunch of hotels, private parking for yachts and luxury restaurants, shops and even pharmacy and church inside. It's safe to say is a small city looking amazing.

This year around i was in my first year of Master so i was thinking maybe they will put me eighter in a birou like office work, or in bad case reception, but not in my craziest dreams i couldn't imagine i will end up as a waiter :)). Yes me and Peter master students coming with erasmus we were now working as waiters. Jezz!

Work started...

They just give us 1 day of accomodation and we had to start work, because in this resort they dont care you came as an erasmus student or your just ordinarly searching for a job.

So we started working, schedule was split, morning work and afternoon, around 9-10 hours daily, only one day off per week... but in the crazy summer months where is full with tourists you dont get any days off. I remember i worked 4 weeks straight no days off.

The accomodation was free at least but it was far from the resort but there was a bus taking us at work and back. The rooms was actually 2 bedroom apartment which u had to share with other 3 girls. So i got 3 ukranians roommates.

At the restaurant i was working it was italian specific and there was another 3 romanian boys and of course other guys and girls from all parts of the world.

me, Joana from Poland, Milinka Serbia, back big guy Penti Finland, Guy Adi Romania and my manager Eleni Russian Greek.

us romanians with special guest Romanian Mayor in that time Sorin Oprea

Soon i got used to busy schedule and hard work maybe because i got financial motivated. I had my erasmus schoolarship, i got salary from restaurant which was 500 euros standard for Greece + i had tips, lets say i would have made around 600-700 euros monthly. So money was good.

I cannot say how much free time i had and what i visited because i was almost daily working and when i did had a free day i went fast in Thessaloniki for a quick shopping round in the Cosmos Shopping Mall. Near our village where we were staying in Nea Fokeia there were a couple of bars and small restaurants were in the night after the rounds we went to eat a waffle and beer. Also the Egee Sea was there for a quick swim.

In my lunch breaks or splits i will just got to the beach near my restautant which was exclusive for clients but for us the staff we had free entry so it was looking amazing.

Shopping was straight on my alley, with no free time of course i was shopping in the luxury brands shop in the resort, thanks to God for staff there was 25% discount so Voila! lucky me.

Time has passed fast, 4 months has gone like the wind. In september i decided to head home even if the season ended like end of october. Peter has returned home 3 weeks earlier due to fatigue and medical conditons, i mean to got to be strong to work like in hard conditions and being a waiter is not easy trust me, all day runing around sometimes you dont even get a bathroom break.

the italian restaurant 'Macaroni '

But it was an experience.

I arrived home double my schoolarship money which erasmus gave me and it was a bless. The greeks they made me 5 years work permit so anytime i can return there, even last summer my manager contacted me for returning. Will see maybe next summer.

If you want to make money i think is good oportunity for the summer, but work is hard and sometimes you feel like quit, but nothing in life comes for granted.

of course my name all spelled wrong lol

Next----> Portugal

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