Program Reviews

Hi, I am Irine, I am from Ontario, Canada and I am nineteen years old. I am majoring in Biology and I chose this program because I was interested in the medical field. I wanted to experience the workplace and how things get run around the hospital. My experience with the internship was amazing. We got to learn a lot from teachers and even surgeons. I really loved to see the OD department and be able to see so many great surgeons. I got to see an open heart surgery the other day. That was a life-changing experience.

The program was coordinated extremely well. Where I was staying was very pleasant. It was great to communicate back and forth with my workplace. The tourist areas were so nice to explore. I would definitely recommend coming to Athens. Whether it’s for the internship or just for tourism. It’s a beautiful place and I will definitely come back.

Hello, my name is Naomi Shah and I am from America. I study biology at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. I chose to do this internship because I thought that it would be a great opportunity to get a lot of hands-on experience.

Especially since dentistry interests me and I wanted to pursue my passion for it. I was able to see a lot of new techniques and surgeries and luckily I had the opportunity to shadow a pediatric dentist as well as a general dentist. So, at my time with the pediatric dentist I was able to see how treatment with surgery with children is really different to with adults. Specifically, things that the dentist paid attention to and there was something that I really enjoyed, especially considering the fact that I am doing my md in pediatric dentistry; it was really a great experience. And then, with my time with Dr Costas here I was able to see many interesting treatments like root canals, implants, how to take impressions, cyst removal, a lot of cool things and he was able to teach me a lot of terminology and the tools he uses. So he was showing everything as he treated the person, which was very informational and helpful for me.

I am overall so happy with my experience with Cerca Abroad. I would totally recommend it to anyone that is considering it. I had a very seamless transition and the managers were willing to help me the whole time. Before I came here they gave me a lot of information. Once I got here they were always willing to help, so I am really glad I got to do this. Overall I am even happier I got to do it in Athens, since the city is so lovely, the people are so nice, there’s so much to do, the food is great, so I definitely enjoyed the program. Thank you.

Hello, I am Isabelle Lu from Taiwan. Currently I am studying wildlife at the National Taiwan University. The reason I wanted to come to this internship program is because we don’t have a lot of wildlife in Taiwan and I really wanted to get to know that. Also I wanted to get this chance to travel and explore and try to get along with myself. Somehow I’ve met with a lot of school friends here. So I’m really grateful for this program. For me the highlight of the program is actual conservation of wildlife. There are a lot of wildlife animals and birds like seagulls, flamingos and a lot of falcons, owls and everything. I had to prepare for them, take care of the cages and try to help with the vet.

The people of the program are all very warm. They were always there to answer my questions with patience and try to teach me more. So, this is more than I expected.

For me the coordination is like, awesome, because since I was still in Taiwan they would check on me and when I have sent a lot of messages asking a lot of random questions such as what I should bring with me, they would always answer the soonest possible. As for my arrival in Greece, they started to check on me in a weekly basis as about my well being, how do I do, how the program’s doing and everything. And when I decided to travel they wanted to meet me in person which is very great. I’m very grateful for that. In my perspective I think that Thessaloniki is a very cute city. The people there are always so wonderful and I met some of them in the street and we became friends. I also like the view of the host in Thessaloniki, you never feel alone even in the night. I really loved those historical sites and the food there. Since I am a vegetarian it is hard for me to find food randomly in Taiwan but it’s so easy here and everything is so delicious.

Hi, my name is Shivani Setti, I am from Calgari, Alberta, which is in Canada and the University of Calgari. The reason why I chose this program is because the opportunity of working in this hospital, the experience that I got to seek in this hospital and physically get to view the operations, being able to talk to some of the patients here and also the experience of how other hospitals work in other cities and countries.

I think that the program was really nice. How friendly everyone was and how it was really easy to communicate with others even despite the language barrier. I liked it how easy it was to use the trains here and how accessible everything is, like, in one block there are like coffee shops. It’s really nice. Even the apartment that we got to stay was really nice and convenient. It was really close to the hospital. I just had to take the train and come here. It was really nice.

The city of Athens was also very beautiful. It’s a shame I came here during the winter time but for where I come from this is really warm. I didn’t even have to wear winter jackets, which was really nice. The city has a lot of history and diversity which I really enjoyed and I felt comfortable and I enjoyed my stay here.

Concerning the program that I was part of, I really enjoyed it, I would definitely come back if I had the time. When I have time to come back, I would come to Athens through this program and gain more experience working in this hospital.

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.