Ola, Hair & Beauty placement, Crete

The motivation

It was a fantastic opportunity to learn new skills and meet new people. I needed to complete 2 weeks’ worth of work experience for my college course, and did not think twice before accepting it.

I wanted to experience the beautiful environment, the unique culture and learn about the history of Rethymno.

I was extremely nervous before the trip as I was going with a group of strangers, but I ended up meeting the most amazing people. 

The placement

I worked in a hair salon. It was interesting to see the way they worked; they did some things differently to how we do them in the UK. For example, they blow dried hair differently. My everyday tasks were to get clients ready for services, wash their hair, style their hair, and maintain the salon’s cleanliness.

My biggest learning achievement was gaining communication skills, not only with my colleagues and clients but also the people I lived with.

Living away from home was challenging because I was living independently. I was also in charge of the others in my room as I was a student leader.

The location

It was easy to get around in Rethymno. I memorised the whole area in about 2 days. All the food there was incredible, and I looked forward to every single meal.

One of my favourite things about the trip was the people I met along the way; I made some lifelong friends. The people of Greece are very pleasant to be around, and I enjoyed my time getting to know people.