Giacomo Corsi (2021-2022)
My term as an Erasmus student at the University of the Aegean was an incredible opportunity to experience university life in a setting very different from what I was used to. The University is divided in numerous departments located on several Greek Islands in the Aegean Sea. For instance the Erasmus office of the university is in Lesvos but my Department was Mediterranean Studies and I stayed in Rhodes, near the coast of Anatolia. This did not impact on communication with the office as the university staff is well-used to dealing with students living remotely.
Staying in Rhodes was really good for me as my research deals with the history of the island. Although the department itself is fairly small, it offers all the kinds of facilities (in particular library, canteen, and regular cultural events like plays, movie showings, lectures...) I needed to enjoy university life. My not being able to speak much Greek was never an issue in daily life as virtually everyone in Rhodes can speak some English or even another foreign language.
Rhodes is a a big island with an international atmosphere and it is visited from the early spring to the autumn by tourists from all over Europe and the Middle East. There is also a tiny Turkish community and a local Jewish museum. The food is of course mainly what you can expect from Greek cuisine, which I love a lot, but it is not difficult at all to find other ethnic restaurants or cafes which offer a more varied menu. There are also cinemas with a good programming, theatres, museums, archeological sites. Rhodes is well connected to other Greek islands and to Turkey. For instance, it is very easy to go from there to Fethiye and then Antalya, or instead stay in Greece and fly to Athens or go by ship to Symi and Kos.
I spent there the spring term. Already by mid-April the weather was warm and fair and I highly recommend trying to come during the low season when Rhodes is still not visited by too many tourists and costs (for instance when it comes to renting a flat) are quite convenient.
As I was there as part of my doctoral research, I did not attend any courses, but the partnership between the department and the other istitutions on the island, in particular the local archives, is well-established. I was helped a lot by my department, administration and faculty, and by the staff of the archives who facilitated my work by putting me in contact with a local network of scholars and by lending me a hand on culture and language issues.
I recommend this experience to anyone who has either already an interest with Greece or who wants to try living and studying in an island while maintaining all the comforts of urban life.
