Cerca Abroad

Hi, my name is Greta and I am from Minnesota, USA. I am currently applying to a PA school position in the U.S. and I decided to come here so that I can get some experience shadowing doctors and other medical professionals to kind of engage with what interests me the most. I’ve had a really great experience not only at the hospital but in Athens too. I really loved Athens and being able to travel to the islands has been also great. Overall, in my experience I found Greece supportive not only by the program but by the medical professionals here. I have learned so much and definitely I have a better understanding of the cultural differences as well as of myself and what I want to do in the future.

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Hello, my name is Jeremy, I am from Wisconsin, America, I went to the University of Wisconsin- Parkside and it is my hope that one day- hopefully- I will become a physician. I chose this program because, one, I wanted to get experience in the healthcare field in a different or foreign country and, second of all, Greece has always been one of my dream destinations to visit. So, the answer is simple, I came to Greece. Athens has been wonderful so far, actually when I first came here I was very surprised as it was different from what I thought it would be, but it was absolutely wonderful. I also had some chances to visit some of the islands, which are absolutely gorgeous. I loved my time sightseeing here, having fun. I absolutely enjoyed all the surgeries and clinics I was able to follow and watch. It has been so insightful. I sometimes go home and write some summaries for myself about the day, my feelings and experience and I think that I genuinely learned a lot. When I first got here Cerca Abroad was so helpful and very informative and I was very welcomed. I appreciate everything that I have been going through. Like I said, I absolutely loved it.

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Hello, I am Faidra, I am a medical student, I am in the first year of my studies. I study in Malta but I am half Greek- half Latin American. I decided to come to this program to see how hospitals here in Greece work, how surgeries are performed, because I am interested in plastic surgery. I also saw a lot of surgeries. Plastic surgeries like laparoscopic ones with robotic machines. I saw spine surgeries, reconstructive ones, a lot of things, and also clinical experience. We saw how doctors go and see patients, how they talk to them and how they make them feel here. I am very grateful to have been here; it was a very good experience. Athens is also beautiful. Coming here, home again, was a great idea. All the team behind the program are very good people and they can answer all your questions. Thank you.

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Hello there, my name is Ashley, I am from Ontario, Canada. I recently graduated from my Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at McMaster University. I decided to join this program with Cerca for dental shadowing to get more familiarized with the procedures and what is done in the dental profession here in Athens. I recently got a broad knowledge in Canada for dental shadowing but I wanted to get more familiarized and get more hands-on here in Europe. So, what I’ve been doing here in the last couple of weeks is shadowing Dr Costas and watched a diverse run of procedures, from tooth extractions to crumpled crown treatments as well as dental fittings, to name a few. Overall, it’s been a really great experience. From the team here with Cerca Abroad as well as the Athens area this is a very good opportunity to gain experience both in the medical field as well as get outside and learn about the cultural history that Athens has to offer. So, everything went smoothly transitioning our travels from Canada to here and I would really recommend this program to anyone who wishes to gain experience in a medical setting.

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Hello, my name is Allison. I am from Scottsdale, Arizona, I am twenty years old, and I am in my third year of undergraduate studies in California. I chose a medical internship because I am interested in pursuing a career in medicine in the future. I really wanted to get a taste of medicine and be involved in that environment. I was offered this opportunity through my school, and it seemed like a great way to go abroad and see a part of the world I had never seen before. Some of the most exciting things I’ve seen specifically in the hospital include patient interaction, which was super cool, as well as some incredible surgeries. My favorite experience was seeing an open-heart surgery, which was one of the craziest things I’ve ever witnessed. The doctors were amazing—they really explained everything. Coordination was smooth. I think, as much as it is well-coordinated, you also have to take initiative to see what you want to see. Athens is beautiful. The people are super nice and helpful if you need anything. The food was amazing—I had so much gyros! I also got to visit some of the islands and learn about the history of the region, which was very enriching.

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Hi, my name is Harika, I am twenty years old and I go to the University of Middlesex in London. So, the reason I chose this internship is because I am looking to become a cardiologist and I just wanted to get some insight and some internal experience of how it would be like to get a taste of the future. The coordination with Intern Abroad/Cerca Abroad was ten out of ten. Everything has worked perfectly for me from my apartment, communication, and assistance, I couldn’t have had any other way.

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Hi, my name is Chloe and I am from California. I go to San Diego State University. I chose this program because I eventually want to become a doctor or a surgeon. My experience with Cerca Abroad was very good. I got to experience lots of surgeries I had never seen before, which is something we can’t really see in America—so it was definitely a good experience. Athens was very fun. We also got to visit some of the islands. Overall, it was a great experience and I gained a lot of clinical experience as well.

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Hi, my name is Katie. I am from Columbus, Ohio, USA and I will be a junior this year at Harvard. I chose to do this internship because I wanted to explore the research industry and I am a bioengineer, so I thought that this was the best opportunity to do that. Some interesting things that I saw during my internship were that I was able to work with PCR tests, DNA extraction, which was super cool. I am very happy with the internship’s coordination by Cerca, the team was very attentive to any needs. I enjoyed my stay in Greece, the people are very welcoming and I love the Mediterranean diet, so the food was also great.

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Hi, I am Jenny, I am from California, I go to San Diego State University. I chose this internship because I really wanted to immerse myself in another culture and get that new experience especially in the healthcare and medical field. It was very interesting to get a new perspective on how other countries work with patients and their techniques in medicine. I chose Greece specifically because I love the culture and the food. My first job was at a Greek restaurant and they’ve always made me feel like family and I really liked that. So I think coming here I wanted to experience more of that. Everyone here is so friendly. And the food, of course. And Cerca has been very helpful. They’ve been very good at communicating. If I’ve had a problem they would answer very quickly, so they’re responsive. I think everything was planned out very well. I didn’t have any issues with getting to work or anything like that. Everything was super smooth, especially picking me up from the airport was very helpful too. I think everything was really good.

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My name is Katerina and I am a student from Ontario, Canada. I chose the medical internship simply because I wanted to learn more about all the different parts and workings of the hospital as well as different positions in healthcare. I’ve really loved my time at the hospital, especially shadowing a surgery. I got to see a lot of very interesting procedures and I got to learn a lot. The doctors were excellent teachers. So, it’s very interesting and informative. Coordination-wise it was very clear, communicated amazingly. They were awesome at accommodating me and my needs, which was also very nice. Athens overall was awesome. It’s such a cool city. The people are so sweet and so nice. They love to see people from abroad. It was a great time.

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Hi, my name is Luke, I am from New York, USA. I currently attend New York Institute of Technology. I chose to intern abroad in Athens because I wanted to spend some time away from home, see what it’s like to intern abroad, and because I don’t have the roommate experience back at college. I assumed it would be nice to live with people who are around my age who have the same interests as me and also to get to travel, which I haven’t done much in my life. So, my overall experience throughout my internship was very positive. I got to spend two weeks in surgery, which was very cool. I got to see tons of orthopedic surgeries, which is where my interests lie, and I am currently finishing my rotations which has been very cool. I got to see tons of things. I saw the blood lab yesterday, I saw dialysis today. Athens is very cool. Tons of food I got to try. So much history to be learned. Many places I got to see, like the Acropolis. I’ve seen Santorini—that was a cool island. I got to see the Olympic Stadium, that was very cool. I still have yet to visit the Acropolis Museum, which I plan to visit tomorrow. My favorite food to try here was the gyros. It was very good. The souvlaki was also very good. The coordination with Cerca Abroad was also very well put together. Everyone was on top of everything. Whenever I have had any concerns, they addressed them; they were right on top of them and made sure to take care of them. Nothing bad to say about it.

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Hi, I am Olivia, I am from Georgia in the United States and I study at the University of Georgia. I chose the medical internship because I am pre-nursing and I wanted to get an idea of the specialty and what I am going to get into. This internship has done an amazing job in exposing me to all the different kinds of medicine. I feel that the team has done a really good job at giving me all the information that I needed to know about getting around Athens, getting to work, and how to enjoy the city, which is really amazing. I enjoyed my time here. The culture and the people are very welcoming.

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Hi, my name is Tyler, I am from London and I go to the University of Bristol. I study English and Philosophy for my BA and I chose to do this program because I really enjoy arts and cultural heritage. Being in Athens is very fun for me because I am very interested in ancient philosophy. So, seeing all the different sites has been really fun for me.

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Hi, my name is Scott, I am from Zanesville, Ohio, in the U.S. I am currently twenty years old and in my second year at Ohio University studying Mechanical Engineering. I chose Cerca because through my university I am required to gain some international experience during my time in college, so I went online and found it, and the engineering program through Cerca seemed very appealing to me. It seemed relevant and practical to me and it just seemed—honestly—kind of scary to live somewhere new compared to where I am familiar, which was exactly why I wanted to do it. Through Cerca I was put in the Automotive Lane at the International Hellenic University here in Sindos in Thessaloniki, Greece. I’ve been mostly working with an aerial drone here; I’ve done three different projects. Firstly, we tried to make the drone fly in an exact pathway; we attached a temperature sensor to it to measure the temperatures in its path. After that we used a proximity sensor to make the drone navigate through obstacles using built-in WIFI, which we struggled with unfortunately, and we haven’t been able to complete yet. As a final project we tried measuring the sound of the drone using noise-cancelling technology to try and set up a future intern with the resources to develop some technology to make the drone quieter as it operates. Here in Thessaloniki you will never run out of things to do. I really like it because everyone is friendly here. It seems unfamiliar at first, but it won’t stay that way for long. Even the coffee shop that I got to know better—there’s something for everyone. Like I’ve said, I mean there are beaches, museums, it’s a great place to go running, there are nightclubs—anything you want is here. We even went bowling. The food is fantastic. It’s almost never super processed so it always tastes very good compared to American food in a lot of cases. Not to mention it’s really cheap. The people are great. I am getting to know even people at the university. Some of the workers in the dining hall are always very friendly. They play music and there’s always a smile on their face. Even in our department we’ve had a couple of events like a barbeque; we got together, it was a lot of fun and we got a lot closer than some groups in America do. So, it’s really friendly here. It’s a great place to be.

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Hi, my name is Monica and I am from Florida. I currently go to school at Florida Larkin University and hope to be a veterinarian one day. I chose this program because I love travelling and I hadn’t been to Greece before, so I wanted to experience Greece and all that it had to offer. I also love animals, so this program has taught me lots of skills and the experience of communicating with people even though I don’t speak Greek. The doctors here are very nice and always translate things for me and help me understand what’s going on and why they are treating those animals in certain ways. I also want to say how amazing the Cerca Abroad company is for helping me through all these experiences and finding different things to do while in Athens and exploring the culture and sightseeing and everything.

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Hi, my name is Paula, I am from Chile and I study in the US. I study Neuroscience. I chose the medical internship because I wanted to go to medical school and become a surgeon, so it was very interesting to see orthopedic surgeons at work and get a hands-on experience too. Some of the interesting things that I saw were a knee replacement and an Achilles tendon surgery. Coordination was really good, everyone was really nice and life in Athens is amazing, the food is great, and the people are really nice.

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Hello, my name is Laura, I am from Virginia and attend the Virginia Military Institute. I wanted to come to this program because I am interested in being a surgeon and here at this hospital, I am allowed to explore all the different specialties I would want to go into. Being in Greece I got to see the beautiful city of Athens and travel around. I got to see some of the islands. So, an overall great experience, just getting to see surgeries and travel. I would like to thank Cerca for having such a wonderful program.

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Hi, my name is Megan, I am from Kentucky and attend Morehead State University. I chose this program because I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field and I thought Greece is an amazing place that I’ve always wanted to see, so why not see some of it here. I’ve loved my experience at the hospital, especially in general surgery, and getting to see different surgeries that I never would have seen—especially when I shadowed a neurologist. Everyone here is so helpful and explains everything really well and works with me through the language barrier. Athens itself is a beautiful city. I enjoyed getting to see the Parthenon at the Acropolis, the museums, and all the ancient ruins. The coordinators are so helpful and they are there for you no matter what you need. It was an amazing experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything else. I definitely recommend it to others.

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Hi, my name is Michael and I am a Canadian student coming from the University of British Columbia. I chose to do this internship because my goal is to become a doctor. When I first came I wanted to be a cardiologist, but after spending some time here I realized I am more interested in Neurosurgery. Athens is a beautiful place and I have had a lot of travelling and experiences and I got to do and see so many things. The food here is like none other. I got to see a lot of Greek islands and it has been absolutely beautiful. I would recommend this program to anyone. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for sure. The people from Cerca were awesome; they would take care of everything including the housing and transport. They were very easy to work with and made me feel safe and comfortable the whole time. I will be forever grateful.

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Hi, my name is Rylee, I am from North Carolina and I came here as a rising junior. I chose to study in Athens, Greece, because it’s beautiful and I love immersing myself in new cultures. Greece has a wonderful culture and I love learning about new dental fields and the different paths around the world. During my internship here—a three-week one—I got to watch a lot of extractions, crowns, and placing crowns—I just loved it. The doctors have been very informative and I’ve learned a lot of new anatomy terms, as well as learning about the instruments. I’ve had some hands-on experience on stone teeth. I got to prep them for a root canal; I really loved watching root canals as well. It has been a really cool experience. Cerca Abroad has been really informative. Throughout the whole process we’ve had 24/7 contact with them. When we really needed them, we could text and it’s been really great. Thank you.

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