My mane is Suhani, I am from Calgari which is in Alberta, it’s a province in Canada. I went to UBC which is the University of British Columbia, I went to Okanangan Campus, and I graduated in 2021.

I chose to do an internship here at Iasis because I have a medical undergraduate degree in microbiology and I decided that I wanted to go into a master’s in counselling. So I have a biological and genetic bicrobio background that I really wanted to get more counselling and psychological and sociological support background. A little bit more exposure to counselling and that area to help bridge those two departments to help me in genetic counselling because you are working with healthcare, which combines both those fields. So, when I was looking for opportunities, unfortunately, there were not as many hands-on or shadowing opportunities in the region where I’m from. Especially around Calgary because of the way, but there are other volunteering opportunities. So, when I was looking for options, I decided to look abroad, and I found this particular internship.

What I really liked about it, is that it allowed me to learn about different sides of psychological and sociological support, systems that are available internationally, in different cultures, this has been my first time in Greece and Athens, so I was able to learn a lot about the culture, the people, how diverse it is. I did not realize how diverse Athens is. I mean, how populated it is compared to where I am from. We have a fraction of the amount of people that we do here in the city. There were a lot of similarities that I’ve noticed as well because I was born in India. So I’ve visited Mumbai and Bangor many times throw-out my life, so there are a lot of cultural similarities between Indian cities and Athens, I have noticed. So I think it was easier for me to adjust, get used to the city life, the transit, the people, the communication style. It was also very helpful, a lot of people spoke English here, so I think that people here in general are very open, kind, and very expressive I’ve noticed. It’s very different to where I am from.

Some things that I’ve found interesting during my internship is- because I don’t speak Greek- I had to rely a lot upon non- verbal ques so a lot of facial expressions, social queues, things that I would not necessarily be able to tell based on the language but looking on inflections and the way that people are speaking rather that what they’re exactly saying. Also I’ve had support with other interns and volunteers who were able to translate for me, but at the moments that I was unable to I feel like you can learn a lot based off of how people behave. Based on social ques there. The way they interact with one another and other volunteers and other social workers and psychologists here, I could see the changes from the beginning of a group activity towards the end. For some people there was like an increase in their mood, they were more social towards the end, they felt better, whereas for others it was like a gradual progress. It was very settling. You have to be really paying attention to their social ques to really see the difference, but it was noticeable. Another thing that I found very interesting is the similarities and the different types of psychosocial support that is available here and in Canada, so things like CBT, group activities, I’ve had to deal with mood, social ques, social skills, some of similar group activities like having an exercise component in order to deal with the psychological side of mood but then also have like talking within a group, introductions, styles of activities, the questions, the work, which are very similar to group activities that I’ve seen in other psychosocial support groups in Canada. So I thought that was really interesting, how despite being miles and miles apart- completely different country and culture- a lot of the practices, the types of support are very similar, it’s very applicable because at the end of the day we are all humans. We all need very similar things.

I am very happy with the internship coordination here. They were very accommodating. We got lots of support. If I had any questions I was able to ask. Get direct answers very quickly as well. So I didn’t necessarily feel like thrown in the middle of nowhere. That was very helpful. I really did enjoy my stay here, I think that people in general are very helpful. If I got lost or if I had questions about certain things that I didn’t really understand what was going on, I could just ask, and then there was no fear and no judgment, at least none that I could perceive. Thank you so much.

Hi, my name is Monica Coleman, I am a senior biology engineering student hailing from South Carolina, but I attend school at the North Carolina A&T State University. I chose this internship in dentistry because I am highly interested in the dental field. With being a student, it’s really hard to shadow with student hours, and I thought this internship would help me get a more in-depth view of dentistry.

There are plenty of highlights. I got to see lots of fascinating cases. Every day was different. I learnt so much. My doctor was very in-depth and explained a lot of things that were not clear to me before. So, I think I am leaving this internship with a lot that I didn’t know before, and I think it’s going to be very helpful in the coming years.

The coordination was great, everyone’s super supportive, you would always get help from your Cerca Abroad team, your doctor, the other interns, and everyone has been super supportive. Even in Athens itself, everyone is super nice, like- you’ll be fine.

The biggest highlight of Athens for me would be the food, like, everything is great. I have discovered souvlaki- it’s so good. If you come to Athens try the food, try the bakeries, there are coffee shops everywhere. That is so great. Everything about Athens is great. Its small, everything you need will be within distance, it’s a great city.

My name is Eniola and I am from Houston Texas and I go to college at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. I interned at IASIS in Greece and I choose this internship for many reasons. One reason was to get out of my comfort zone and immerse my self in Greece and to see how the psychological system is done here compared to the States and elsewhere. During my time here I have learned a lot, I learned different units, how they operate, for example the Fabric Republic and how they make cloths and distribute cloths for the community and also how they set up different sites for people to donate it, so its actually more of a community participating to help the community, which is very nice to see. I have really enjoyed my time here, I enjoyed the coordinators as they gave me a nice place to stay, which was very safe and they also gave me a map with tips which I was able to use to explore around, which helped my immersion because I was staying here for one month so having that really helped me get to it right out of the bat. Over all my experience in Athens Greece was amazing, the weather was nice, the people, the culture, the food was all just wonderful. I enjoyed my time here and I do plan on coming back here just here for the visits and just to go back to see all the sights that I wasn’t able to see.

Hi everybody, my name is Kjell, I am a student from Belgium, I am twenty two years old and I decided to go abroad with Cerca to visit this place- this one over here (Athens Medical Center Group)- in Athens. It’s been my pleasure to have been able to get a whole new experience with both my studies, the language and to go to run in this place. I’ve been here for about two weeks now and I have to say it has been very fun for me to experience, well, a whole new dimension of my studies. I got to see surgeries being done, patients while before and after the treatments and in this way it allowed me to grip or get a new view on everything I’ve been learning so far. I mean, it’s been very enjoyable.

Hi, I’m Ainsley, I am from Alberta Canada and I wanted to do a medical internship because I am really interested in going to medical school and the human body and just helping people in general.

The organization is great, they take you everywhere you need to go and make sure you know exactly where you are supposed to go or supposed to be doing. Organizing the accommodation, was perfect and made you feel less lost coming into a different country.

Athens is beautiful, it’s so clean, and everyone is so nice including the doctors. They want you to be involved and they talk to you and they are interested in where you’re from and who you are. It’s great.

Hi, my name is Maddy, I am from Utah, and I am a pediatric medical assistant. And I chose to go into the medical field because I love helping other people and this experience has been incredible. I’ve loved it everywhere, especially surgeries. I got to do orthopedic surgery down here and I loved it. I also got to go up to the nursing floor and would meet with some of the nurses which I also really liked.

This whole organization was really organized. They have picked me up from the airport up to my apartment. Everything at the hospital was organized too. I got exactly where I wanted to go and they were all very nice about it.

I love Athens, I love Greece, I will move here when I’m older- I love it so much. I went to Mykonos and if you go to Athens you have to go to Mykonos. Have a good weekend. I just loved the whole thing, I've loved everything about Greece.

Hi. I’m Ella Glover, I am from Coastal Carolina, I am a major in science, so that’s why I chose this internship. It’s allowed me to watch live surgeries, follow daily protocols. Personally my favorite surgery was a knee replacement since I am hoping to work either as a surgical doctor. Overall this experience went on very well. Everything was very organized. I always knew where I had to be. Well, Athens, I loved this city. It couldn’t have been a better city in order to experience this medical internship.

Hi, my name is Jessica Escobar and I am from Los Angeles, California. I did a medical internship here at the Metropolitan General Hospital. Overall the experience was amazing, I got to see so many different surgeries as well as being in many different departments that I wouldn’t have necessarily known about if I didn’t do it here.

I thought my highlights of this full experience were definitely being in the theatres downstairs, in operating rooms, seeing orthopedic surgeries as well as cardio surgeries, and neuro surgeries- they do it all here. It was amazing to see, witness, and even be able to scrap, in some surgeries.

Overall, the coordination through this program was amazing, from the airport pickup to even the drop off at your apartment with your fellow interns which honestly made it amazing. Because you aren’t alone, you have your interns that you have to work with every day and, other than that, you’re also in beautiful Athens. So there’s a lot to experience and see. Obviously all the tourist spots but it was nice for you to go with your roommates as well. So, go to work also have some fun. Overall this experience was amazing. Personally, I did it for medical school since I will be applying for the next cycle hopefully getting in. Meeting a bunch of top surgeons here has really elevated my medical application, so I would definitely be getting some letters of recommendation from multiple doctors here.

So, if you’re thinking about it, just do it. This program is amazing.