Corona Vs Erasmus

​Any outbreak of a virus is scary as you struggle to come to terms with the new way of life in your city, especially if the virus results in mandatory lockdowns. However, at least you still have the familiarity of your home town and are not stuck out in a foreign country waiting to see what precautions will be put into place. Well … if you have taken up the Erasmus scheme this year this is what you are having to come to terms with.

As the outbreak of Corona virus was being documented many of us didn’t see the extent to which, in just a couple of months, it would change the lives we were currently living. Athens, Greece has moved from a buzzing capital city into what may resemble something of an apocalypse with only a handful of people heading outside for a coffee and a little walk in the sunshine. However, compared to the English government we feel that we must praise the Geek government in stopping the unnecessary interactions and large groups of people such as university, with restaurants only providing take away or delivery, and the closure of bars and clubs. They have even gone as far as to make it illegal to open up these places without the word of the government. With this put into place it provides the police the ability to arrest anyone who is not following the protocol. With all of this in place it allows the Greek government to holt the unnecessary spread of this disease and will hopefully allow for the death rate to remain at the low rate it is currently at (and for many sites to open up by the end of the month). This is of course hopeful thinking and we understand that the government must do whatever they can to keep the population safe.

​Although, this is all well and good while we are here in Greece, the thought of going home is one of the more confusing aspects of it all. With some people fleeing, while others stand their ground it can be a stressful time to decide what you should do. I think this has been the most difficult aspect for us as we don’t want to be stuck in any position, whether that be in Athens having to wait months to see our family and friends in England or in England without any of our belongings, and possibly without the cats. With the flights from England to Greece coming to an end on the 20th March till the 1st May there was a must to make the decision of where we wanted to spend our time. After a talk with our Erasmus coordinator and our families, we decided. Dejan heading back to England on the last flight out of the country and me and Alex staying here. These were tough decisions but what was best for us.
Only time will tell what the better option was, if there is one at all. All we can hope for is to remain safe and hopefully pick up our studies within the coming weeks. Although, it is upsetting not to be spending this time with our friends and families we believed this to be a choice that would carry on benefiting our whole experience here.

​Our next step will be to contact the British embassy here in Greece to ensure they are aware of our presence within this country however, apart from that step we’ve just got to ride this out like everyone else.

​Stay safe & continue to put into place the hygiene measures set out by the government!
Hopefully we won’t be disconnected from the UK for too long.

Written & edited by: Elly Babe (@elly_babexxx) 
Photography by: Alex Hood (@Alexjohnhood)