Scholarship in Thessaloniki 2016

Preparations before Traveling:

when i received the invitation from Aristotle university in Thessaloniki,i was really happy and i couldn't believe my eyes.

It was a program to attend a modern greek course in Thessanloniki for one month,i was busy preparing all the documents they wanted and at the same time i was busy in my work but at the end i got information about the school,the accommodation,my roommate,food and transportation on my email.

The greek cultural center in my city "Alexandria" helped me to apply in that scholarship.

my first day in Thessaloniki:

To be honest i was afraid because it was the first time to travel alone but i arrived there with a girl who is also from Alexandria and she was my roommate.

when we settled in the accommodation that the university provided ,we just tried to discover the place,at the beginning i was shocked because it was very quiet,just a hospital and a small kiosk around us so i was wondering " what the hell have i done to myself !!!! take me back to Alexandria" 

but 2 days later we just went to the center of the city and from that moment i felt better 

The accommodation:

The university provided us with that accommodation,which was for university students.

Some of our colleagues said that it was for free but i paid 4 Euros per day,we were 4 egyptian ,2 spanish,one ukrainian and one turkish.

We were all girls.

i didn't like the accommodation but better than nothing.

22/8/2016 The first day in university:

i just attended and met my colleagues and my teachers, our first greek teacher was "Eleni" then we met another teacher called "Erini" both of them are excellent and it was an honor to learn something from them.

i just knew my group and the place where our classes were held.

The modern greek course:

It was for only one month, and that's why it was an intensive course as we used to have lessons everyday from 8:00 am till 1:00 pm except the weekend.

As i mentioned, two teachers were helping us and both of them were really amazing but personally i prefered Erini's lessons, her way of teaching was very nice and many innovative ways to make her lessons really special.

At the end of the course we had a farewell party,i enjoyed it  alot but i was sad because i wanted that nice experience to last for more time.

Colleagues:

My university colleagues were so nice,i didn't deal with all of them as they were from many  different countries and i only got 3 of them as friends on the social media.

Now we are in different countries but i would like to meet them again one day. 

Greek friends:

i am really lucky because i have true greek friends there, they were living in Alexandria at the past and we met by chance from a facebook group. 

The man is a tutor of some languages like me and his sister is a teacher for kids, we enjoyed our time together,i visited many places with them and we shared alot of stories, although we are completely different but i felt as if i was with my family at my home and that's why my egyptian family was jealous.

They are very generous and kind.

If i go back,it will be for them.

Places you should visit:

The white tower:

It is one of the most famous buildings there, it is near to the sea and what i remember is that it was used as a prision, when you enter inside you will find many stairs in a spiral shape which will lead you to floors where you can find pictures,pots and other pieces and when you reach the top of the tower you can enjoy the view of the sea and the city from there.

The Rotonda:

i went there with one of my greek teachers and some of our colleagues,it is a very big building and i heard that it was a mosque in the ottoman period  then it became a church,i saw some writings on the entrance,i thought  they were written in arabic then i remembered that the ottoman alphabet was similar to the arabic. 

you can find it in a station called "Kamara" 

The church of Agios Dimitrios:

What  i remember is a part in this church where you can find a coffin of someone who was religious and many people wrote just letters and put them through the glass that protects the coffin and people were kissing it and a tap which contains sacred water for christians.

The anopoli of Thessaloniki: The old remains of this city 

The view from there is really amazing and with those remains of the castles, the walls of the city,old houses and shops you will feel as if you go back in time to another age.

Food:

i tried the "Spanakopita" a greek pie which we can prepare by spinach and cheese.

i also tried a type of desserts called "Samali" it is like the egyptian "Harissa" but in my opinion the taste of the egyptian harissa is much better.

What i really liked alot is the "Tzatziki" a yogurt salad that can be prepared with yogurt,garlic,cucumber and salt, i recommend it to anyone.

Similarities between "Alexandria" and "Thessaloniki":

i think that the center of Thessaloniki looks like the center of Alexandria specially when you have a walk along the sea. the "paralia" of Thessaloniki looks like the "paralia" of Alexandria but unfortunately now many buildings and cafes are built and it is very hard to enjoy the view of the sea.

What i also noticed that the streets there have "chess design" exactly like our streets and that's why it was very easy for me to discover Thessaloniki alone.