My Year in Greece

Thessaloniki is such an underrated city. It's located a short 30 minutes away from Mount Olympus on side, a short 30 minutes to the famous beaches of Halkidiki on the other. There is ALWAYS something to do. The American College of Thessaloniki offers excursions almost every weekend. Such excursions included canyoning the waterfalls of Mount Olympus to sailing around the Aegean for a weekend.

The campus is a small one, which made my experience that much better. The teachers are genuinely interested in making sure their students succeed in their studies. My best grades come from my semester in Greece and that's no coincidence. (Thanks, ACT!).

A typical day for me in Thessaloniki would include going to class for a few hours. Between classes I would hangout in the campus cafe with some friends and socialize with the multitude of international students that study there. After class I would head down to the city center and lounge at a cafe on the boardwalk and enjoy a frappe with friends for a few hours. After we exhaust ourselves with coffee, we would grab some souvlakia in the taverna square and listen to the live bands at dinner. I can not stress enough how good the Greek food is. The free dessert is a plus, too.

The Greeks, especially in Thessaloniki, have this relaxed lifestyle. The word for it is "χαλαρα" (ha-la-ra). I learned a lot in my studies at ACT but one of my favorite things I brought back with myself is how to enjoy life.

One of the best decisions I made was going to Greece through GlobaLinks. I would not have made it there if not for them! Before I left they kept me in a straight line to make sure I was getting everything I needed to in time and helped me get through all my visa applications and procedures. And when I got there there was someone to greet me at the airport and for the next couple of days they helped us get acquainted with the city. I am so thankful for this!