I had been to Greece before, so I already knew I loved the country, so
when I discovered I had been chosen to intern at the Canadian Institute
in Greece, I was ecstatic. With this wave of excitement however, I also
received a wave of fear. I spent the next four months terrified for my
internship abroad. Nevertheless, January 6
th 2017, the date
of my arrival in Athens crept up fast, and I was finally forced to face
my fear, and what a rewarding experience it has been. Looking back on my
three-month journey, I am proud of how much I have grown, and I am so
grateful to have been given this opportunity to work, learn, and live in
Greece.
I had three major tasks as an Intern at the Canadian Institute in
Greece. The first was to reorganize the books in the CIG library in
order to fill an empty book case. This job took two weeks and required
mostly organizational skills (and a little bit of strength). It allowed
me to become familiar with how the books were categorized, labelled, and
also what types of books the CIG had in their collection. I shortly
started my second task, which was to sort, organize and digitize the
papers relating to the Institute’s last six colloquiums. This was the
most complicated job I had while here; it required a lot of patience,
problem solving and attention to detail, as there were many steps to
take in order to keep things unified and organized. With the help of the
Institute’s Director, David, the Institute’s Assistant Director,
Jonathan, the fellow, Keven, and Google Translate, I was able to
accomplish the majority of these colloquium papers. And finally, I ended
my internship by updating the Institute’s membership lists and sending
out membership renewal e-mails. Aside from these three major tasks, I
was responsible for many others, such as doing the weekly laundry for
the hostel upstairs, scanning documents and picking up books or papers
for Jonathan, and my favorite, preparing and serving food and drink with
Keven for bi-weekly lectures held at the Canadian Institute.
My work week was Monday to Friday, so I had the weekends off for travel,
exploration and fun. I spent my first weekend visiting family in the
UK, whom I do not get to see very often. This definitely helped ease
some homesickness as well as got me into the habit of travelling on my
own. I quickly became friends with a group of students from the
University of Victoria who were participating in a semester abroad and
went on many adventures together both in Athens and off to the islands
of Hydra and Rhodes. I also made time to travel to Cape Sounion,
Elefsina, Thessaloniki, and Delphi and Santorini with my Mom who was
happy to visit.
Since I had only been to Athens once before for a very short period of
time, there was much I wanted to see and explore. By the end of my time
in Athens I had visited the Acropolis three times, the Athenian Agora,
the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Cycladic Museum, Acropolis Museum, the
National Archaeological Museum, Hill of the Muses, Lykavittos Hill,
Flisvos Marina, Anafiotika, the Royal Gardens and more. I was also lucky
enough to have made a great group of Greek friends who showed me Athens
from a local’s perspective. I ate at many amazing tavernas, listened to
live Greek music, learned how to play ρακέτες at the beach, watched
four theatre productions in Greek, experienced the Greek night-life, and
how to properly use a κομπολόι,. I am thankful for their patience with
my awful Greek accent and showing me a side of Athens I could have never
experienced on my own.
I really enjoyed my time at the Canadian Institute, and the work I was
required to do seemed a very small price to pay for the positive
experiences I had here in Greece. Working here gave me the opportunity
to meet people from all over the world, make great friends, travel to
new and old places, and experience Greek culture in a way I never had
before. After my three-month stay in Athens, living at and working for
the Canadian Institute, I have fallen in love with Athens, a unique city
full of variety, fun, and culture, and would hope to even live here one
day.
Holly Patrick
University of Waterloo intern, winter-spring 2017
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