Week 1: Heat Guns, Greek Serenity, and the Day the Sky Turned Red

Kalimera from Crete! My first week of the Erasmus internship in Heraklion is over. One thing I’ve learned right away: time is perceived differently here—and I mean that quite literally. But that wasn't the biggest surprise.

The Start and the Matter of Punctuality

Monday began relaxed with an introduction to the workplace and an initial tour of the city. I immediately noticed that punctuality here is treated more like a rough suggestion. While people in Germany get nervous looking at their watches, locals here remain completely calm. You quickly get used to the fact that everything happens a bit slower, but with a lot of heart.

Hardcore Repairs at the Store

On Tuesday, things got serious in the workshop. My first task involved a MacBook with massive CPU and GPU issues. Under my colleague’s guidance, we used a method you don't see every day: Reflowing. We treated the chips with a heat gun at exactly 330°C, hoping the heat would allow the solder joints to regain their connection. It’s a bit nerve-wracking to work with that much heat on expensive hardware, but it was a fascinating experience.

Wednesday: Digital Detective Work and the Red Apocalypse

Wednesday started off like a normal day at the store. We spent our time doing some digital detective work on a tower PC that kept crashing with a Blue Screen. Our first suspicion was faulty RAM, but after several tests, we could rule that out. A look at the Windows logs finally revealed it was a software error. After running Windows repair tools, the system was back up and running smoothly.

However, the real surprise came after work. We experienced a massive Saharan sandstorm that turned the entire sky an intense, unnatural red (look at the photo!). It felt absolutely apocalyptic. To make things crazier, it was also raining at the same time. This meant that if you stepped outside for even one minute, you were immediately covered in a film of wet sand. It was a surreal experience to end the workday.

A Test of Patience: Laptop Batteries and Adhesive Strips

Thursday and Friday were the most time-consuming days. A laptop was failing to recognize its SSD.

• First Attempt: Cleaning with compressed air. This worked temporarily, but the error returned after an hour.
• The Solution: Since the boot settings kept resetting as well, we suspected a dead CMOS battery. It took forever to open the chassis without causing damage, but the two-phase tester proved us right: the value was below 3.0V—the battery was dead.
• The Learning Curve: After reassembling it, the touchpad suddenly stopped working. The reason was a tiny adhesive strip that had fallen off, which was essential for the connection. So, we had to open it all up again, fix the strip, and close it back up. Now it works perfectly.

Leisure & Nightlife

The Greek host organization makes sure we stay active. On Tuesday, we went bowling with a group of nearly 40 people. On Friday night, we visited a local bar/club. While I headed home around 12:30 AM, some others in the group kept going until 4:30 AM.

My Summary

• Culture Shock: Not really. The best thing here is definitely the understanding of punctuality—being five minutes late is still considered being on time. I can definitely live with that. And the weather can be insane.
• The Group: We’re getting along well. Naturally, when you’re living in close quarters, there are minor frictions here and there, but nothing worth mentioning.
• Atmosphere: Overall very relaxed. Saturday was a classic rest day with football and NBA on TV to recharge for the coming week.