The student life in Athens. I have been in Greece for almost 7 weeks and I still haven't gotten any confirmation about my registration being processed. Due to this, I have no student or Erasmus ID, so I have to pay full prices of everything because they don't accept the international student ID card I already have. Other than that, everything is fine on my part. The communication with my facilitators and professors works very well and they are flexible with the training programme which is nice.
The school campus looks good from the outside, but when you get in, it's filled with cigarette smoke and graffiti. They have a lounge area with no smoking signs all over the place, but this seems to have no meaning because without the signs I would have guessed that it was literally a smoking room. And by the way, they have smoking rooms in the hospital as well, right beside the medicine room.
Before our Greek friends left to Estonia, we went to visit them in their dorm. It was their dear home, but for us it was like an old, abandoned mental hospital from a horror movie. I'm not lying when I tell you that taking the elevator at this place was the scariest moment in Athens after, of course, the tear gas experience. The bathroom was shared with other students. It had no toilet paper, shower curtains nor any doors to lock. But I mean, what can you do? The students here don't get any money from the government but instead they get to stay in a dorm like that for free. And after a while I'm sure you get used to it and start seeing it as your home.
The health center, the home care and the hospital. What surprised me at the health center was the fact that as a student you weren't allowed to do much. The same applies to the home care. It was interesting but sometimes it got boring when the only job was to take basic measurements or to watch from the side. I'm currently at the hospital where the situation is quite the opposite. I have been able to do a lot in only a week.
What these three placements have in common is the lack of asepticts. Here it seems like the rule is to wash your hands instead of disinfecting your hands, when in Finland they teach the opposite. Even at the hospital it's sometimes difficult to find disinfectant. They only use it randomly while in Finland we almost use it as often as possible. I have gotten some weird looks for carrying around my own disinfectant. Nail polish, fake nails, lash extensions, rings, bracelets and open, long hair are not really something they pay attention to here.
Pressure ulcers are very common and I think the main reason for this is the fact that there is no proper prevention being done. I spent a week in the home care unit and I didn't see any position treatment. Of course the nurse might have given some instructions in Greek that I didn't understand but nevertheless I think that as a nurse it's important to actually show the care takers how it should be done. Another essential problem is that they don't remove the yellow/white cover of the ulcers. They believe that it is a good sign and that it shouldn't be removed. But what actually shocked me the most, is that I met a patient that wasn't even aware of the cancer he was suffering from. He goes to treatments, but his family and doctors aren't telling him the real reasons.
Housing and living. Nothing that I didn't expect but some of you might not be aware of these habits and differences. The traffic is mad. There are cars everywhere and they are driving and parking wherever they want to. In the middle of an intersection? Yeah, sure if you have the blinkers on. Driving in the wrong direction on a one-way road? Yep, if there is space for it. It doesn't matter if you have a green light while walking over the crosswalk - it will still be your faulth if a car hits you. It is always your fault. Not that this has happened to me...
I knew that there was the possibility of strikes and demonstrations but I did not expect stepping right into a tear gas cloud after having a lovely time in a restaurant or to enjoy a Greek meal while 20 police men are running by with riot shields. The school being closed for three weeks and the public transportation being shut down every now and then, have been the only strikes that have affected me.
About my apartment that I was so happy about in the beginning. Everything was working fine until in the matter of one week, when suddenly the water stopped working, the electricity started going off whenever the oven was used, the washing machine broke and the bathroom was ripped open because of some sewage system emergency downstairs.
As it comes to throwing the toilet paper in the bin instead of flushing it down, there was no surprise for me. But finding dirty toilet paper on the floor just because people are too lazy to empty the trash is not something I was expecting. Finding dirty underwear on the bathroom floor and egg shells etc. on the kitchen floor was also a not so pleasant surprise. I really miss living in my own apartment with only my own mess.
I'll catch up with you on Thursday with more positive thoughts! :-)
Love reading your posts, can't wait for Thursday <3 Mum :)
VastaaPoista