Άρθρα

Ο κρόκος (το σαφράν), είναι ένα ιδιαίτερο, νόστιμο μπαχαρικό που προέρχεται από το φυτό «κρόκο», που μεγαλώνει στην Ελλάδα και είναι γνωστό από τα αρχαία χρόνια! Χρησιμοποιείται με πολλούς διαφορετικούς τρόπους: για την γεύση του στην κουζίνα, για το χρώμα του σε καλλυντικά και σε βαφές, για τις θεραπευτικές του ιδιότητες στο τομέα της φαρμακευτικής. Η Κλεοπάτρα είδε την αξία του για την παρασκευή καλλυντικών. Στην Παλαιά Διαθήκη αναφέρεται εξαιτίας του αποστάγματός του και ο Αισχύλος το περιέγραψε ως είδος βαφής υφασμάτων.
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I knew I wanted to take some Greek lessons in Athens, since I was planning my walking trip in Greece. Only,  I wasn’t sure where. Someone I knew suggested The Atens Center, and I looked closely at this school on the web. It was appealing in certain ways, but I decided to keep looking. My Google search took me to Omilo.

So I studied at Omilo, in Athens, for two weeks before heading for the hills. I took private lessons the first week, and a group class the second.

Although Omilo says—quite correctly—that they do not provide a homestay option, my experience was in fact very close to a homestay. The school arranged for me to stay with a very welcoming older woman in her large apartment, less than a ten-minute walk to the school. Kyria Ioanna made me breakfast every morning, and we chatted a little in my rudimentary Greek as I ate—and she was usually home in the evenings, so I would exchange a few words with her again then.

Another thing I loved about this arrangement was the proximity to Syngrou—the very large park in Marousi. This was a 10-minute walk from the Omilo school.  What I usually did was walk there for an hour before class in the morning, and an hour after class (just before sunset) in the evening. (I love to walk!) When I needed to buy a special something, I walked through Syngrou to Kifissia, one of the wealthiest suburbs of Athens, where there are plenty of boutiques and high-end cafes. The walk to Kifissia from where I lived, through Syngrou, took about 45 minutes. Or sometimes I took the metro—just one stop.

My Greek lessons in Athens came to an end, and I said goodbye to my classmates and thanked the Omilo-team.
(take a look at the video of the last day, with Thomas and his classmates)

My walking holiday now started.
One evening in the mountains, we were at a café in a small village. Everyone there was very simply dressed, but suddenly a man in expensive outdoor gear came in. He immediately came to our table and asked us, in fluent English, if he could help us in any way. We chatted for a bit, and—as we were chatting—I ordered something to eat. He then excused himself, and said, “You don’t need me! Manolis called because he thought you needed a translator—but your Greek is fine.”

I felt I had graduated! Thank you, everyone at Omilo—I’ll be back!

Peter Thomas, USA

 

Υπάρχουν ζώα με παράξενες συνήθειες που επιβιώνουν στον πλανήτη μας για αμέτρητα χρόνια. Ένα από αυτά είναι οι θαλάσσιες χελώνες. Οι θαλάσσιες χελώνες ζουν στην γη πάνω από 100 εκατομμύρια χρόνια. Περνούν την ζωή τους στην θάλασσα και βγαίνουν στην στεριά μόνο για να γεννήσουν την κατάλληλη εποχή. Υπάρχουν επτά είδη θαλάσσιας χελώνας: η καρέτα-καρέτα, η πράσινη χελώνα, η δερματοχελώνα και άλλα. Η Ελλάδα φιλοξενεί αυτά τα παράξενα ζώα.
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Greek is not the most difficult language to learn, but also not the easiest one! The Greek language has a lot of grammar, long words, an accent on every word with more than 1 syllable, a very rich vocabulary, expressions and difficult spelling.
However, do not worry! Greeks usually understand a lot, even when you make a lot of mistakes in one sentence! So let’s look at it from the positive side, since there are also some easy things you can quickly learn and use on a daily basis.
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Wouldn’t it be nice if you could say a “wish” to a Greek speaking friend or acquaintance? Being able to say a typical wish would make you feel part of Greek society.

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Πού μπορείτε να ακούσετε να μιλάνε ελληνικά εκτός από την Ελλάδα και την Κύπρο; Μα στην Κάτω Ιταλία, βέβαια!
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Κατά τη διάρκεια του Δεκεμβρίου οι Έλληνες ανυπομονούν να αγοράσουν, να ψήσουν, να φάνε ή να κεράσουν τα παραδοσιακά χριστουγεννιάτικα γλυκά. Ένα από τα πιο χαρακτηριστικά χριστουγεννιάτικα γλυκά που μπορείτε να βρείτε σε κάθε φούρνο, ζαχαροπλαστείο ή σπίτι είναι τα μελομακάρονα. 

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