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