Leonie shares with us her reflections and favourite parts of her Erasmus+ experience in Athens after completing her Erasmus+ Internship with us last month. It was lovely to have her in our office and we extend our heartfelt wishes for her success and happiness ahead!
Hi everyone, I am Leonie, I am 22 years old and I come from Germany. My Erasmus+ internship took place in Athens in October 2023. Back in my hometown I am doing an apprenticeship as an administrative assistant in the townhall. I decided to do this project to make memories and to try new things that are out of my comfort zone.
For me it was the first time that I was away from home for a longer period of time. I was a bit intimidated by the project because you have to live with people that you might not really know yet. In the end it was interesting to have flatmates!
During this time, I learned to be more independent from other people and to do some things just on my own. I had the chance to improve my English for my private life and also for my work life. I was surprised that I could understand a lot more than I thought I would before!
My internship was directly with HostEd. I had mainly administrative and marketing tasks, I filmed some videos and worked on Canva to create content. It was very interesting to use this because I did not know about it before, there are a lot of functions that are really helpful.
After work my friends and I did a lot of things. If you ever stay in Athens you have to go to the Acropolis. I think it’s a good idea to go there during the week, because on weekend it can be very busy. You also have to visit the beaches and the Lycabettus hill, from there you have a nice overview of Athens. It’s also beautiful just to go to the city after work and maybe have a drink or a meal.
Athenians are very friendly and you can ask anyone if you have questions about the city or if you are searching something. Most Greeks speak very good English so communication is very easy.
When I’m back in Germany I will miss the warm weather and also the trips after work. For example, we often went to beautiful beaches in the evening, which were just 30 minutes away from our apartment. Generally it is really easy to do a lot of things after work because of the convenient transport system. In my hometown we don't have this possibility.
In the end I’m very happy that I had the chance to do an Erasmus+ internship abroad. With this project you can make so many memories, learn more about yourself and you can make new friends. Besides you get to know a new culture and how people are living there. If you ever have the option to do an Erasmus+ internship abroad, take the chance!