For the last week we have been out of lockdown and have been lucky enough to go to the beach and outside archaeological sites in Athens. However, as each country debates how and when to let tourist in it is clear from the reaction we get from locals that they don’t want tourists from England just yet. Pretty much every person we greet quickly learns that we are not local and are in fact English. On learning this, you see panic and confusion cross their faces. They imminently ask: “where are you from”, we confirm that we are English. You can again see them wanting to get the recommended two meters away and hand sanitise as soon as it wouldn’t be insulting. I have now learnt to say to people we meet as soon as possible that we have been here since September and are no more a threat than any other Greek. At this, they automatically ease and try and cover up their natural fear embedded by all the headlines of the thousands dying in Britain due to Covid-19. We have seen this week that Britain is not included in the first wave of countries being allowed to holiday in Greece this summer. From our experience, it is clear that many Greeks would be terrified to have anyone from Britain flying over anytime soon, and it’s understandable. At writing this, Greece has only had 168 deaths, and the UK has had 36,393. There is lots of debate to why Greece has been relatively unscathed by the virus in comparison to the UK. Still, one thing is for sure, Greece receives over 30 million tourists each year and only has a population of under 11 million. The tourists from all over the world would outnumber the Greeks 3/1 and could quickly spread the virus across Greece, overwhelming the Greek health care, especially on the islands that do not have hospitals close by. The arrival of tourists would reboot the economy, but the loss of life could be equally devastating. Greece will have to balance the damage to the economy with the strain on their health service and loss of life. If you are planning a holiday to Greece very soon, I would consider the risk to both yourself and those around you. It is essential to understand that you might be escaping the long months of lockdown you have endured, but to Greece, you will be a genuine threat. Written & Published by Alex Hood
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Things in Athens and Greece as a whole continue to normalise daily. As of Monday, 18th May the Acropolis and all outside archaeological sites are open for visitors! On Monday we ventured up the slopes to the Acropolis entrance for only the second time since we moved here in September. We were pleased to find out that entrance was free for everyone that day. Although for us being under 25 it is always free, a normal adult ticket would set you back around 20 euros, so this was a lovely touch to almost give the public a gift for all their efforts during this pandemic. And one thing that hadn’t changed through the Corona virus was the beautiful view that can be seen from the top of the most famous place in Greece. Now that the Acropolis and other sites are opened as well as being able to travel outside of your region now to places on mainland and the opening of Crete things are feeling a lot happier and lighter, there is no longer a lingering cloud of mass fear hanging over the city although, there is still obviously a need for social distancing measures at these places. With the weather also heating up the private beaches were opened early to give people more options of where to cool off and as of Monday 25th restaurants and the Islands are opening up, a week earlier than expected which gives us and extra week to enjoy all the Greek things we love and will miss when we return to England in a months time. |
The Academics:We are three Brighton University students who have been given the opportunity to study at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. This blog will be our way of sharing our experiences of living and studying in Greece, plus will include tips and advice for those also looking to study abroad or even just visit Athens. Who we are:
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