Athens
Τι κάνειςΕλπίζουμε να είσαι καλά.
We hope you are fine, healthy and safe, and keeping up with all the corona changes in your country, legal measures, vaccines, etc…
Since our dear students are coming from all over the world and we regularly hear updates and stories, it keeps amazing us how differently every country is dealing with this health crisis.
We hope you, or any of your friends/family, did not experience something very traumatic during the last months…
for all of you and us, things are difficult, but let’s try to stay positive, and keep up. The summer is nearly there, …and Greece will be always there 🙂

When the 2nd lockdown started in November, we were optimistic that we would start our 2021 courses again from Easter onward. Unfortunately, last week we had to cancel our popular Easter course for the 2nd year in a row. Τι να κάνουμε!
However, the Omilo-team is well and safe, teaching mostly online, keeping up with the lockdown regulations in Greece and the digital inventions of those times.

We hope we can welcome students in Greece again in 2 months, and start with the 
1- and 2-week course on the island of Lefkada, from May 30th.


We also added more course dates to our Syros season, between June and September.
Click here for more info about the Syros course dates.

 

At this moment, we are in the period of the “sarrakosti”, the 40 days between carnival and Easter.
Many of you probably celebrate Easter next week, so we wish you already a “Happy Easter” – Καλό Πάσχα!
Greek Easter is late this year and will be celebrated on Sunday, May 2nd. We do not know yet, what will be possible and how we will celebrate it, but for sure there will be a way to “celebrate” and eat that Easter lamb, or other delicious traditional Easter dishes and products. And who knows, maybe we can even go to the beach and celebrate Greek Easter with a lot of fresh air and a sea-breeze. If you are not aware of how Greek Easter is celebrated in normal times, then click here and read the article.

Also, this week, on March 25th, to be precise, Greece celebrated the special anniversary of its 200 Υears Οf Ιndependence! Not witch parades this time, but with music and a video clip 😉

Click here, and learn all about it! 
(Video Clip | Savvopoulos’ Song | Audio | English translations …)

savvopoulos

 

 

 

 

 

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Online Greek Cultural Event

Before we start welcoming students in Greece again, we would love to see you and we are happy to announce that we start again with the online Greek Cultural Event + Omilo cafe!, which will be organized three times during the month of April.

With this Live Event, each time for 3 evenings, the Omilo-team intends to motivate you to continue learning Greek, learn more about Greece, and get to know more enthusiastic Greek learners, from all over the world.

Omilo believes Language and Culture are going “hand in hand” (not allowed anymore, but you know what we mean…the one does not exist without the other ) And the Greek Culture is something we would like to share with you.

DATES OF THE ONLINE EVENT
April 12 till April 15 : IN GREEK & ENGLISH
April 19 till April 22 : ONLY IN GREEK
April 26 till April 29 : IN GREEK & ENGLISH
(the presentations  are slightly different per event – you can check each program with the button below)

By clicking on the yellow button below, you will find the details and the tickets you can buy for the dates of your choice.

Each event will be for 3 evenings (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 21.00 – 22.15 pm GREEK TIME)|

Note: this is not a Greek Language lesson since this is something you can register for with our one-to-one online Skype or Zoom lessons.
However, you will be able to improve your Greek listening skills, learn new things about Greece,  and, if you would like to, socialize with other friends of Greece.

For more info, click below.

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 Convenient Accommodation To Experience Life As A “Digital Nomad” In Greece 😉

In the last months, we hear more and more that Athens became the favorite city in Europe for “digital nomads”. The same “phenomenon” we experienced during last summer and autumn, on the island of Syros.

Note, for those not familiar with the term Digital Nomad;
Digital nomads are people who use telecommunications technologies (internet) to earn a living and conduct their life in a “nomadic manner”. Such workers often work remotely from foreign countries, coffee shops, co-working spaces, etc. Because of “corona”, it seems 50% of the population is now working from home and experiencing the Digital Nomad life! Thanks to the sunny weather, easy access to mountains and sea, and cheap rents, many people now seem to like the idea to rent a living space in Greece and work from their new “home” for a while, while exploring another country at the same time.

Needless to say, that being or living in another environment for a certain period might make your “corona period” a bit less boring and far more interesting.

So why not giving it a try yourself?

Probably corona has taught all of us that your house and location are very important, in order to deal with this crisis more effectively. If you have enough space, or a small and cozy space, outdoor space or balcony, convenient location close to a park or close to shops, etc… you feel better and you might not mind spending some more months at home. Of course, everybody is different and needs other things to feel well, but in general, a convenient house and location already help a lot.
For the Omilo-team, we are all satisfied to live in North-Athens, in areas where walking is easy and close to big parks.  During the summer months, we know we work on the island of Syros, next to the Aegean sea.  We might have less income or government aid than in other European countries, but from the other side, we can not complain about residing in Athens or Syros, usually with many hours of sun!

If you are in the mood to live for a period in North-Athens, and experience life in the same environment as the Omilo-team members do while working online, relaxing, or studying Greek, then we would like to inform you about those this conveniently located accommodation :

apartment in North Athens (Maroussi), which can be booked on a weekly basis.

https://masaresi.com/accommodation-in-north-athens-maroussi/

While waiting for the summer months to swim in the sea (all swimming pools are closed for a year) , biking and walking became the national sports in Greece at the moment!

Here a small video of the Ymyttos mountain, next to center Athens.

 

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If you’d like to turn off the news from time to time and do something more creative for some hours/day…
Here Are Some NEW eBooks To Keep You Motivated And
Continue Your “Greek Language Journey”,
From Any Place, Any time

New Omilo publications, for various language levels,  were made over the last 12 months.
We will continue adding more online materials during the following months, which can be purchased through the e-Shop masaresi.com.

Good news for every “Language Level in Greek”  :

Enjoy listening to Greek Songs, of all kinds of genres, while improving your Greek 

NEW! We completed four eBooks related to Greek Songs, of three different musical genres;
Rembetika, Laika Songs and Entechna Songs – 50% sale!

You like Greek Songs, but only those of a certain genre? Then go to the Greek Music Page, and learn more about your favorite songs.
https://masaresi.com/product-category/ebooks-about-greece-and-greek-culture/greek-art-music/

Learn More About Greek Culture, Through The Eyes of Greek Children!

NEW : Small Talk About Greece !
The eBook includes a video link to comedian Lambros Fisfis, who interviews Greek children. You will find the transcript of the Greek video, as well as the translation into English. We have added several notes, based on what the children say, in order to understand more about Greek culture, food, and history.
Apart from learning about Greek culture, In the meantime, you will learn daily vocabulary and typical Greek expressions.

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You are not in the right mood at the moment to learn Greek, but maybe it is a nice idea for your partner or friend to be challenged with something new during this period? Feel free to share this information, and share your passion for Greece 🙂

We wish you a safe spring season, from Greece with love.

Dimitris and Maya Andreadis and the Omilo team

 

 

PS. While waiting till the taverns, restaurants, cafes, beach bars open again, you can practice on your balcony how to order in Greek. Teachers Eva and Terpsi show you how 🙂
(PS. this is the balcony of the apartment mentioned above, in Maroussi)

Καλή σας όρεξη! Enjoy you meal

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