It cannot always be sunny, also in Greece there are “rainy days”! And of course, there is a Greek song that goes along with a wet day!
Listen to the beautiful rebetiko song, composed by Vassilis Tsitsanis “Raindrops are falling” «Πέφτουν της βροχής οι στάλες».
A rainy day is excellent to study Greek as well, so here we go!
Lees meer
Berichten
How we spent the last 4 months and managed to charge our batteries for the winter?
Some recent Omilo history from July till November 2020.
Spring 2020 was very different from other years! Not only in Greece but all over the world, due to the covid-19 pandemic.
But fortunately, the summer was a pleasant one, even in difficult circumstances. Below an update on how the Omilo was operating during the summer of 2020. Lees meer
Are you learning Greek, and struggling with Greek spelling? Don’t worry! We all know Greek spelling is not easy, even for those already at an Advanced Level!
In order to get over this difficulty and learn Greek while having fun, we prepared for you a small, but challenging exercise.
Here below a small text full of Greek spelling mistakes! You can use it to practice and find the mistakes. At the same time, you will learn about Aesop’s Fables! Lees meer
For any Greek language learner, memorizing verbs and learning to conjugate them correctly, is one of the first things you need, in order to make a correct Greek sentence.
Two Greek verbs that many Beginners and even Intermediate students find quite confusing are ‘ρωτάω’ and ‘ζητάω’. The main obvious cause of this confusion is that both verbs mean “to ask” in English. However, in Greek, there is a difference in “asking”!
Here we explain how to use both verbs, and help you understand when to use which one and how to conjugate them.
Both verbs mean ‘to ask’.
However, there is a difference:
Do you also love Greece? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could say a “Greek wish” to a Greek-speaking friend or acquaintance? Being able to say a typical wish would make you feel part of Greek society.
What does it mean to have a Greek mother or a Greek mother-in-law? In the video below you might get an idea 😊
Listen to which Greek expressions she uses, and learn the everyday Greek language!
(on the cup you see on the photo above, it writes:
When you say to your mother “I am going out”, she understands/hears: “I am going to an orgy, with drinks, drugs and without a jacket!)
Music definitely plays a very important role in the life of Greeks. In joy and sorrow, Greeks sing. And the truth is that they have the opportunity to choose among several categories of songs, in order to express every time their feelings: there are plenty of folk songs, rebetika, laika, entexna (the Greek word ‘τέχνη’ means ‘art’, so ‘entexna’ is a category of songs with more sophisticated music and lyrics) as well as rock and pop listenings.
January 2013 : A new ‘‘baby‘‘ was born within the Omilo team: ‘Φύγαμε για ελληνικά!’ Off we go to learn Greek, a Greek Language book for the intermediate level, + CD
April 2019 : The book was re-published, 2nd edition, + CD or MP3 Audio link
The proud parents are the Omilo teachers and authors Marina Braila, Konstantinos Oikonomou and Dora Stoimenidou (*).
My Greek Language Journey, still ongoing ! When I decided to move to Greece with my Greek partner, now more than 25 years ago, I was looking forward to putting all my knowledge of Greek words and grammar into practice! My desire to speak Greek fluently and to be able to communicate with Greeks would finally become reality!
Lees meer
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
