PTE students, hi again.
Earlier this semester, the university put out a call for applications for the EXEGYPT Intercontinental Summer School. It was described as an once-in-a-lifetime experience for students to experience Egypt. Students would benefit from whichever scientific program they sign up, which includes lectures, group discussions, and hands-on practical experience.
In addition to this, there would be an exciting social program, where participants can travel and discover up to 9 different Egyptian cities, including Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Port Said, Ismailia, Ain Sokhna, Fayoum, Dahab, and Sharm El Sheikh.
Sounds exciting, right? I thought so too. So I did some Internet scouring, I reached out to a few medical students who had an experience with EXEGYPT and one of them was gracious enough to answer some questions for us, so we get a first-hand idea of what to expect. That being said, I spoke with Tina, a 4th year medical student from Croatia and got a lot of details.
Q: Thank you so much for agreeing to be a part of this interview. Let’s start off with an introduction. What’s your name, where are you from?
T: Yes of course. My name is Tina. I’m from Croatia and I am a 4th year medical student at the University of Rijeka.
Q: When and how did you first learn about the EXEGYPT Intercontinental School?
T: We learnt about ExEgypt on EMSA Spring Assembly that took place in Turkey in 2022. I’d like to emphasise that we were not attending the Summer school in particular, but more so a Twinning exchange that lasted ten days.
Q: What prompted you to participate in it?
T: My curiosity about Egypt in general. I was wondering about their culture, food, people, hospitals etc.
Q: How much did you pay to attend?
T: The participation fee was 180 euros per person for trips. Our personal expense were also plane tickets. (~380 euros return ticket from Milan to Cairo)
Q: How many students from your medical school attended this exchange?
T: There were 7 of us from my medical school.
Q: What was the communication like with the organisers? Did you get detailed information on time or was it difficult to find out what you needed to find out? Were they responsive?
T: Communication was no problem for us with regards to our arrival in Egypt. We communicated via Whatsapp mostly, but sometimes had to organize Google Meet sessions. When we were there everything was alright. They were very caring, organized and friendly.
Q: How did the organisers help? Did they assist with flights and accommodation or did you have to arrange that by yourself?
T: The organisers are really helpful and you can ask them anything. We arranged flights by ourselves because we wanted to, but the accommodation was organised by them.
Q: What kind of documents did you need to make the journey? Any visas, medical certificates, etc?
T: Just a valid passport and visa. You can get the visa at the Cairo airport or organise it online in advance. We bought it at the airport right after we landed. I think it was about 25 USD.
Q: Were there any special things you packed for the trip outside of summer clothes? Formal attire, swim attire, hospital scrubs, stethoscope, etc.
T: We brought swimming suits with us because we had a yacht day in Sokhna, which was beautiful. We brought white coats which we didn’t need in the end because they gave us scrubs in the hospital. (I guess you can bring your own scrubs). We also brought stethoscopes. I actually recommend that you bring sun protection cream and a baseball cap or something like that to protect yourself from the sun. We also took along some analgesics, medical carbon and probiotics, just in case. Food was okay but is very different from what we are used to and it is easy to disturb your gut. We were also advised to brush our teeth with bottled water and to drink only bottled water, of course. Although we did all that we still managed to get sick, so be aware of that.
“…we had a yacht day in Sokhna, which was beautiful.”
Q: Where exactly did you travel to to begin this whole experience?
T: We landed in Cairo first.
Q: And how was the travel there?
T: Travel was fine. It was about a 3-hour flight from Milan to Cairo. Moving from the airport to the accommodation was also great. Three of the organisers came to pick us up, along with the driver. We used a private mini van.
“It was about a 3-hour flight from Milan to Cairo.”
Q: What was the accommodation like? Did you have a hostel, hotel or apartment? Did you have to share a living space with others? And if so, how many others?
T: I have to say- accommodation was not so amazing, but you only sleep there, so it is okay. We were in the New Palace hotel in Ismailia. We had two bedrooms; two boys shared one and four girls shared one. We were always lacking toilet paper and towels so we had to tell them everyday to give us some. Also it is not very clean, but mostly tolerable.
Q: Could you describe what your first day was like?
T: We spent most of the first day traveling there. We arrived in Ismailia in the evening, and there was dinner waiting for us in the hotel. We only briefly met a few people who were there and then went to our rooms. On the second day, we met the rest of their team.
Q: Were you able to attend lectures and workshops? How were they? And how did they compare to what you are used to at your medical university?
T: Yes. We attended a few lectures and a surgical stitching workshop on chicken legs. We also went to their hospital and watched different surgeries. All of that was fine and similar to our medical university. Only difference is that (in my opinion) our medical university and hospital is much cleaner and has more space. In Egypt, there is a lot of trash everywhere, including the area around the hospital.
” We attended a few lectures and a surgical stitching workshop on chicken legs”
Q: Did you personally get any practical experience with patients? What was that like?
T: I was able to examine one woman that had breathing problems. I used my stethoscope to listen to her lungs. That is all. For everything else in the hospital, we just watched.
“We also went to their hospital and watched different surgeries”
Q: What was the social program like? Sight-seeing and other recreational activities? What were you able to partake in? What did you particularly enjoy?
T: Social program was really filled with activities. Sight-seeing and museums had local guides so that was nice. We all particularly enjoyed going to the Pyramids and riding camels. That was an adventure of a lifetime! We also went to some famous souvenir shop street and to a shopping mall in Cairo. In Alexandria, we even went to a night club and in Cairo, we went to a party boat on the river Nile. Egyptians love to dance. A lot! They even danced in the bus and made us learn some Egyptian moves. That was fun!
“We all particularly enjoyed going to the Pyramids and riding camels. That was an adventure of a lifetime!“
Q: How were you able to get around? Did you have a guide at all times? Were the organisers responsible for this or did you have to organise it by yourself?
T: In Egypt we went on trips by bus and one day in Ismailia we were driving with the organisers in their personal cars. The longest ride was trip from Ismailia to Alexandria (~7 hours). But these were all provate rides, so it was like tourist bus. Traffic in Egypt is insane so don’t be surprised. All you hear on streets is continuous honking. And there are none, or very few crosswalks and traffic lights, so crossing a street there is an experience of its own.
The organisers were very responsible and were always with us. They never left us alone. Even when we were in smaller groups, at least one or two of them would go with us. We felt really safe, although a lot of people gave us looks or wanted to take a photo of us/with us because we were obviously foreigners. That is also a unique experience because we sometimes felt like celebrities. *laughs*
Q: Were you fed by the organisers or did you have to arrange your meals by yourself?
T: The organisers arranged it.
Q: Did you experience any language barriers or culture shocks? Anything that surprised you?
T: Culture shock, yes definitely. Things are a bit more unconventional compared to Europe. While some may find it wild, the locals seem to embrace it. I guess it is a matter of a habit. I personally got really sad seeing a lot of stray dogs and cats literally everywhere. There were also a lot of homeless people and small kids just sleeping on the streets. Traffic is crazy, as I already mentioned. The buildings are different- many look unfinished, unpainted with just bricks and wires coming out of them. There are not many green areas or parks, everywhere is sand and dust. You can also expect to see various cars and vans transporting much more people than it can fit. And yeah, since you are a tourist and they can see that, people on streets will constantly try to sell you something so it can become annoying.
Q: Did you have any unsavoury/unpleasant experiences? If so, what happened?
T: Personally no. My friend got sick in the last two days. She had a bad cough and fever. Two other friends and myself got sick when we got back home (gut problems). Others were fine.
Q: What cities did you get to visit?
T: Ismailia, Cairo, Alexandria, Sokhna, Port Said.
Q: Did you get to meet medical students also participating in the Summer school from different countries? What other countries?
T: We met students from Portugal that were there at the same time as us. They had 9 girls, if I remember correctly.
“We met students from Portugal that were there at the same time as us.”
Q: Did you get a certificate of participation or something to certify your participation at the end?
T: Yes.
Q: And how was the journey back?
T: Fine but we were all really exhausted so couldn’t wait to go back home to have some rest, more sleep and familiar food.
Q: How did the overall experience meet up to your expectations? Would you do it again? Is there anything you would do differently knowing what you know about the experience now?
T: Overall, the experience was definitely positive and something I would do again. We had an adventure that we are going to remember for the rest of our lives. We made friends, we tried a lot of traditional food, got to see their culture, had so much fun and made a lot of memories. So yeah, for sure something I would recommend.
Q: What advice would you give to those who are interested in order to make the most of their experience?
T: Just enjoy every moment, be carefree and don’t limit yourself. Do everything you can while you’re there, as long as it is safe.
“Just enjoy every moment, be carefree and don’t limit yourself.”
Q: Can any interested students reach out to you? If so, on what platform?
T: Yeah sure, they can send a dm on Instagram.
And that’s it from Tina. So just to clarify again, this was Twinning exchange programme with EXEGYPT but as they are the organisers of the Summer School, I think it’s safe to say, we can expect something similar.
The early registration has ended but if you would like to make it in the last batch of participants, you have till the 1st of April to register. You can register in the link here, which also contains the details of the programme.
Also you can reach the the organisers here at summerschool[at]exegypt[dot]org or on their Facebook or Instagram. I personally reached out and they were quick to respond and informative. Tina has also given her permission to be reached out to, should you have any questions to ask. You can do so here.
Take a chance on something new this year, especially this summer. This definitely sounds like a once-in-a lifetime experience for anyone who has expressed even a little bit of curiosity about Egypt.
Author’s note: My most sincere thank-you to Tina who was so kind and gracious to reply a complete stranger on social media and provide details from her experience to help other interested persons.