Studying abroad is an exciting opportunity for students to gain new experiences, broaden their horizons, and learn about different cultures. In this report, I will share my experiences of living in Greece for one semester while studying media arts. I will also discuss the challenges that I faced during my stay.

Living in Greece was a unique experience that allowed me to immerse myself in a new culture and learn about its history and traditions. The country’s rich cultural heritage was evident in its architecture, art, music, and food. The people were friendly and welcoming, which made it easy for me to adapt to my new surroundings.

Studying media arts in Greece was an enriching experience as well. The program was challenging but rewarding as it provided me with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the industry. The curriculum included courses on film production, screenwriting, cinematography, sound design, and post-production.

One of the highlights of my experience was working on different projects with my classmates. We had to work together to develop a concept, write a script, shoot the film, and edit it. It was a collaborative effort that allowed us to apply what we learned in class while also learning from each other’s strengths.

While living in Greece was an incredible experience overall, there were some challenges that I faced during my stay. One of the biggest challenges was language barriers. Although many Greeks spoke English fluently, there were still instances where communication was difficult due to language differences.
Finally living in Greece for one semester while studying media arts was a life-changing experience that allowed me to gain new perspectives, learn new skills, and make lifelong connections. Despite the challenges that I faced, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Studying abroad is an opportunity that every student should consider as it provides a unique opportunity for personal and academic growth.

In the beginning, I was confused and hesitant to apply to this scholarship, I was worried to be graduated late when I come back, and I have heard many negative opinions before applying but I have insisted to go through this experience. In fact, it was a useful experience from many aspects. I have taken in this semester three courses:

• Building Service Technologies and Systems

• Sustainable Buildings – Concept, Design, Construction and Operation

• Road- and Railway Track Engineering

Those courses made me think in different way of my major specially in the sustainable development and environmental friendly buildings, which is not a major topic in Egypt. In this experience, I have observed many differences in the way of education and learning and they are summarized in:

1. The most important thing and the target is the understanding and the analysis of scientific meaning and not the recognizing of equations and rules. This is logic because they can be retrieved from books, but the understanding and analysis should be acquired at the university

2. The learning is your own responsibility, and you must search and learn by yourself

3. The students are free to use any source and references to help them studying and use the internet as they want to answer the questions, the professors search and work on the creativity, analysis, innovation and thinking outside of the box.

The students there are very friendly and also the professors and this enhanced the education process and helped us gain the maximum benefit. Prof. Dr. Albania Nissan was responsible for us in this scholarship, and she was very supportive, helping us if we faced any problem. She was the most important factor that made me continue and succeed in this experiment In the practical life, they are many things that have an impact on my personality, and I felt that remarkably. I have dealt with many nationalities with different cultures, and this changed my mind and the way of thinking. The European habits made me more active and productive, and I have learned to be more organized, and to manage my time effectively and to specify a time for myself during studying. Also, my self-independence has been increased, taking responsibility of my studies and my living. I have really benefited from this experience with all its dimensions, and I have never felt remorse of taking this decision and I hope that I can find another opportunity like this.

This was my first time to travel abroad and also to travel by myself. I knew it won’t be an easy experience, however, I knew that this is a once in a life time chance. Taking the risk to study abroad is not an easy decision and studying in Spain from my experience was very difficult. Their teaching and studying system mainly focuses on self learning, this means you have to work on getting information by yourself and try to make your own curriculum for each subject. It might sound difficult, but by time you will get used to the system and you will definitely learn a lot.

Aside from my studies, living in a foreign country is an experience. Living alone in a new country is hard sometimes, but this will help you grow stronger, be aware of your potentials and it will help you understand yourself a way better. I would highly recommend making friends as soon as you arrive. Your mindset will change, you will meet new people, different cultures and enjoy different food. Trust me all this will make great difference in your personality.

To summarise all this, getting a scholarship could be the best thing to happen in your life, however you need to be aware that it’s not easy. You will face hard times and that is normal but just learn from those hard times and enjoy your time as much as you can, travel, try new food, make friends, study hard and just do your best. As for me it was definitely a once in a life time experience that changed me so much and I will forever be grateful for this amazing experience.

Let me tell you a little bit about my unforgettable experience in Finland. After staying in Finland 4 months, I can say that it’s one of the safest countries around the world, not to mention the exotic natural landscapes, the thousands of lakes. Finland is surrounded by beautiful forest-covered hills and valleys, as well as the spectacular aurora or northern lights! For me it felt like the most relaxing period of my life because of the beauty of this country!

Usually when you move abroad you may feel separated from your support system, but in Finland people there are super friendly that made me feel home. Everyone was trying to help me even if they barely knew me.

Moving forward to studying there I went to JAMK University of Applied Sciences. This experience changed a lot in my personality, it was such an honour studying there. The professors were very helpful and supportive they were trying to help me and make sure to put me on the right track, we even became friends by the end of the semester which is a huge honour for me to know such beautiful people.

To sum it up this experience was a major life changing for me and it added a lot to my personality, it’s an experience that will never be forgotten.

I have chosen to go abroad because I wanted to get to know other cultures. It’s exciting to be exposed to a completely new situation and to leave familiar surroundings, by that I could rediscover my self. My greatest motivation was to live somewhere else and to get to know another country, especially that its in Europe and that’s a continent that I have never been before. In addition to this, I have heard a lot of positive things about the exchange program prior to applying.

Surroundings were super relaxed, because KTH is located in Stockholm. Everything was also really well organized, as THS (student union) had a lot of events arranged so that we as international students could adapt smoothly to the new environment. I got to know everyone very quickly as I lived in the dormitory. So my first impression was really good.

Unfortunately, the weather got colder day by day, but on the bright side I got to experience a white snowy day. But I quickly learned how to deal with it. It always got dark very early to an extent where I had 4 hours of daylight on some days. But what was very nice was the long twilight. The sunsets lasted for about 3 hours, which I found fascinating, but also because it is totally different from what I had experienced in Egypt.

KTH’s academic plan is very easing, as each semester was divided into 2 periods and in each period, we get choose 2 courses. So having 4 courses per semester was something I found suitable as lecturers could dig deep in each course, so that students could acknowledge the courses thoroughly.

International, diverse and exciting!

My experience in Finland was truly unforgettable and I really fell in love with it and its people. It is such a charming country where you’re always surrounded by the beautiful forests, lakes, rabbits, squirrels and even reindeers! Not to mention the super clean air and streets everywhere. For me, it felt like an instant unplug of all the stress and hardships in life the minute I arrived at the airport.

I went there for my scholarship at JAMK university of applied science, I lived in Jyvaskyla for four months, and this city is so special.

People there are super kind, friendly and helpful in way that made me feel home, and the amount of safety there is unbelievable! They are also so passionate and cultivated in a way that inspired me and gave me motivation to follow my dreams and ambitions no matter what difficulties I go through on my way.

Something I was really happy to feel during my interaction with Finnish was that it never matters what is my gender, religion, race, or even skin tone; everyone is welcomed, respected and loved.

Moving on to my experience at JAMK, it was such an honor for me to study there. The professors were all super helpful and bought out the best in me, they helped me to decide what I want to do when I graduate, and they even helped me with some of my personal struggles in life. I am genuinely thankful for each and every one of them.

Finally, living alone was a big challenge for me, as I lived my whole life with my family.

I was surprised by the fact that I was totally alone; I had to cook, grocery shop, clean the apartment, wash my clothes, take care of myself when sick, study, all by myself. Honestly, I was terrified at first, but when I got used to it I felt so strong, independent, and proud of myself.

To sum it up, living in Finland was a major life changing experience to me with so much memories that I will always cherish and never forget.

I studied at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki Greece, Faculty of Fine Arts, Film School, during the spring semester. I learned to be creative, and independent, and get out of my comfort zone. I was exposed to different approaches to Directing and Camera movement. I learned more about scriptwriting and the job of an assistant director, the creation of sets and distribution of my characters within a set, studied films and analysed their sets and editing techniques, and of course, composed music and for the first time got to play different instruments.

Thessaloniki is quite a beautiful city very similar to Alexandria and they actually love Egyptians especially ones from Alexandria. It is quite a friendly, safe, and beautiful environment. Studying at Aristotle was challenging yet motivating. Every day I had the motivation to give and learn more regardless of some bumps at the beginning of my journey, I had the determination to not give up and keep going no matter what. For the first time, I went to a film festival that wasn’t in Egypt. I attended Thessaloniki’s documentary film festival, in which I also took part in an editing workshop which was very enlightening. I was immersed in the Greek culture which was honestly a very interesting experience to find how similar we are. I even visited their museums which have many art pieces that were part of my studies during my previous semester. It felt different seeing these pieces in real life than just a picture from the internet. I met different people from different countries and even some from Egypt. We spent Ramadan together and made great memories. Finally, ending my semester with a report card that is all A except for a single B+. My time there was done, and I had to head back home.

I’d love to end with this. I am very grateful and happy for this opportunity. I am honoured to have represented Egypt, Pharos University, and the Muslim community well. I wish for each and every student to experience it at least once in their lifetime. And I hope that each student receives such an opportunity, it is an amazing journey.

Thank you!

Kindest Regards,

Rahaf Shawky.