Omilo English Newsletter April 2014

- The OMILO Newsletter Greek Language and Culture Courses www.omilo.com April 2014

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Dear OMILO friends and students, The clock moved one hour forward and the days are lighter and brighter again. Spring is there and

summer getting closer. For the OMILO-team this means that we start

the busy season with many intensive courses in various locations. We

cant wait!

In this Newsletter we write about:

1. Some Greek grammar and useful expressions

2. Easter in Nafplion

3. Greeklish

4. Ouzo or Tsipouro

5. News from the Greek community in Soudan!

6. The famous Rio-Antirro bridge

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1. Some grammar and expressions: Kalos ton- Kalos tin

In a few days we will experience the megali evdomada (holy week) and welcome the participants

at the Easter course in Nafplion. The end of May we will move to the island of Lefkada and again

welcome the OMILO students to this wonderful island. In both courses there are many known

faces to OMILO, as well as many students that became friends during an OMILO course and will

meet each other again in Nafplion or Lefkada. We are very happy that so many students keep

contact and become an international parea with a common hobby, Greece and Greek!

So what do you say in Greek when you meet your friends or teachers again?

Picture this: after a cold or rainy winter in your country, you finally make it to Greece again! You

are enjoying the sun at a lovely coffee-shop by the sea waiting for a friend/ friends of yours! And

there they are! Instead of just saying jasou, kalimeraor kalispera, give them the impression

you had been studying Greek all winter long, and use something different!


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So, you only need to use the word

and the Accusative Case

of the name of the person you are

talking to. For example, you are

expecting or . The

moment they show up, you say:

! or !

(In case you forgot the concept of the Accusative Case, generally speaking, when talking to a

man, simply use and his name without the final s, and when talking to a woman, simply

use and her name!)

Most of you probably know already the expression /! (= Welcome!), so its

easy to figure out that when you say !, you mean something like Welcome,

Peter! or actually Good to see you, Peter!. So practically you use this structure in order to

say how happy you are to see a friend (or friends)!

Some examples of how this expression works:

You are meeting up with Kostas

!

or

just

!

You are meeting up with Eleni

!

or

just

()!

You are meeting up with male

friends

!

or

just

!

You are meeting up with male and

female friends

!

or

just

!

u are meeting up with female

friends

!

or

just

!

You are greeting your friends

children

!

or

just

!


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In case you are very fond of the person you are meeting up with, you can also use the expression

! ( = the eye). Its like you are saying to this person that they

are as precious to you as your eyes are!

Always keep in mind that this structure is only used when the person(s) you are expecting

show(s) up! You should never use it when you arrive at a place and you see your friend(s)

waiting for you! This means, be on time!

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2. Easter in Nafplion

This year the Easter

holidays in Greece

start on Saturday

12/4 and end on

Sunday 27/4. For the

11th time, OMILO

organizes the Easter

Course in the

beautiful town of Nafplion.

Easter is a special time in Greece and has many celebrations

and traditions. For more information, have a look at the BLOG

article http://www.omilo.com/greek-orthodox-easter-food-and-traditions/

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3.Greeklish or the Greek Alphabet?

The Greek alphabet is unique and special. It has survived

thousands of years without significant changes. From the times

of Omiros and Platonas, in Byzantine and Kavafis, it ended up

in our times with barely any changes to it. Will it survive our

times though? Now it has to respond to changes that are not

particularly favored. In the environment of computers where

everything happens quickly and obligatorily in the simplest way

possible, it seems that the Greek alphabet has started losing

ground.

For sure youve heard of the term Greeklish: writing Greek with Latin characters! This trend

started with cellphones. It was easier to write with Latin characters: 1) Less letters are used and

hence more writing space, 2) there are no grammar rules so the writing of the messages becomes

a faster procedure. Of course this trend started from the younger generations, but today Greeklish

is also used by the older generations.

There has been a huge debate about whether or not the Greek

language is in danger due to Greeklish. On the one hand, many

support that the danger is high for the particular nature of the

language is getting lost. The spelling they say signifies a lot about

the roots and the meaning of each word. On the other hand, there

are the advocates of Greeklish who claim that a language must

serve the needs of the people who use it. The internet requires quick

actions and an easy way of writing. Besides, the language is an alive

organism which keeps on evolving and we have to observe it without

being stuck to the past.

There are no grammar rules for Greeklsih. In general terms it has to

do with the pronunciation of the language, for example: Ti kaneis/kanis? Ola kala? Moreover in

Greeklish abbreviations are very common: :filakia flk :ta leme tlm. Ofcourse

the English terms and abbreviationsm are also used often: asap, btw

Below are a few rules for the translation of the words:

: th or 8 ex. : thalassa/8alassa


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: ks,x, 3 ex. : ksenos, xenos, 3enos

: ps, y ex. : psema, yema

: o, w ex. : tora, twra

: d, 6 ex. : den, 6en

: i, h ex. : ilios, hlios.

The difficult part though is not really in writing the Greeklish but rather in reading it! Try for

example to read the below conversation. Can you do it?

-kalhmera! ti kns?

-kl. esi? Pws paei shmera?

-Pl douleia sto grafeio. 8a se dw to vra6i?

- eda3ei. T wra?

-9-9misi.

-ok. tlm.

If you are interested, you can also use the new tool in the internet, to find out how your Greeklish is actually written in the real Greek and vice versa! Have a look! http://www.ellinikoarxeio.com/2010/05/greeklish-to-greek.html

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4. Ouzo or Tsipouro : or ;

Which Greek drink do you prefer? Ouzo and tsipouro (raki) are two highly favored drinks for the

Greeks that match perfectly with their appetizers. For sure youve visited an ouzeri or a

tsipouradiko in Greece and have gotten a bit dizzy by drinking ouzo or tsipouro under the sun,

accompanied by fish appetizers or appetizers of another variation.

If not, next time have it on your list!

Do you know how exactly those drinks are made?


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Ouzo is a mix of alcohol, water and various aromatic herbs, the main one being anise. The

distillation is done in special boilers which are made of copper. In the first stage the mixing of the

ingredients happens and in the second, the boiling of the mixture multiple times. The final product

usually is comprised of 40-50 ABV.

The history of ouzo is unknown. Maybe a similar drink was produced in ancient times. For sure it

was known in the time period of the Byzantine Empire. During the Ottoman Period ouzo was

known in the location of todays Turkey as well as in

many other places in the Middle East as well.

Tsipouro is produced by the distillation of the grapes

left after the pressing which is a process in which

the juice of the grapes is extracted for wine

production. During distillation sometimes various

flavourings are added such as anise, fennel, etc.

Tsipouro is often distilled a second time as this

improves its quality.

Tsipouro production dates back a long time ago but

it is said that it started in the 14th century in Mount Athos by the monks. Throughout the years it

expanded to different places of Greece, like Macedonia, Epirus and Crete where it is known as

raki or tsikoudia. Moreover with raki the famous rakomelo is made: Raki is heated together with

honey and baked raki which is raki boiled with cinnamon and other flavorings.

In older times, tsipouro (or raki) was produced at houses. Today though there are many organized

production lines for tsipouro which follow specific rules during the production based on the

legislation. Beside, legislation only allows for the distillation of tsipouro to take place at specific

times of the year (end October to beginning December).

In all of Greece there are distillation centers that one can visit and watch the procedure as well as

try these drinks straight from their source. OMILO usually visits the local distillation center of

Nafplio during our intensive courses during Easter. Cheers!

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5. News from the Greek Community in Soudan, by Kostas Papadakis

A mid-February Night

This one night in mid-February I was given a chance. A chance to work for a few months in the

Greek school located in Xartoum, Sudan. It was

as if a train was passing by me heading in

another direction than mine. I could either reach

my hand out and get on it or I could let it pass by.

Finally I reached my hand out and since then I

travel on that train.

That is how in a time span of a few days I ended

up from Greece, the country of light as its name

signifies, in Sudan, the country of the black by

definition in the Arabic language. One could say that the contrast between these two countries

was evident on all aspects of life, even the names.

Starting from the life in Xartoum (I havent had the chance to visit other places in Sudan as

besides the time you also need special permission to leave the city) I would characterize it as

completely different from the life in Greece. For a European citizen to adapt flexibility and an

open-mind is highly needed. The every-day costs, the quality of life, the means of transportation

and the interaction with other people all start from a different base. For my transportation the first

few days I chose the buss. The buss had a certain

destination as busses usually do and hence I stayed seated

for a while. I didnt know though that in Soudan, when the

busses do not have enough passengers, the driver chooses

to change route so as to pass from places with more people,

therefore changing the destination! Not knowing Arabic I

didnt understand much from all this and hence I ended up

somewhere completely different than I expected. Things like

these make every-day life here an adventure as nothing can be taken for given!

As far as the cost of life here is concerned I categorize it in the positive contrasts. For example,

the price of gasoline in Greece at the moment is approximately 1.60 euro. Here the equivalent

price in euros would be approximately 40 cents and take note that the price has gone up a lot the


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past years due to the secession of North Sudan (in which 75% of the countrys gasoline production

was situated). Generally the people live and are happy with very few things. Even that way though

they are always willing to share a piece of bread with the

person next to them and Id say this is another contrast

with the western word. Here, the families and the

neighborhoods mutually support each other substantially

and authentically.

The Greek community is constituted from something like

an oasis in the centre of the city but you cant help but

follow the way of life of the locals in some things. At

some point I had a problem with mosquitos. Xartoum is situated exactly where the two Niles meet

each other, the white, which emanates in Uganda and the Blue Nile that comes from the highlands

of Ethiopia. Hence mosquito problems sometimes become quite evident. Trying to face the

problem I tried several mosquito sprays and even mosquito nets but without any significant results.

I then went on to ask a neighbour thats Greek to see how he deals with it and he gave me the

solution. He himself didnt use any industrial means. In his house he has a slow worm, a small

lizard that comes out at night and walks on the walls! In Greece we have something similar, only

that here the slow worms are bigger since the mosquitos are bigger. That way any mosquito that

made its presence would be killed.

Society is one of the most conservative in Africa. In recent year the Muslim law of Saria (the path

that leads to Allah) holds with all the stringent provisions with the result that Sudan gradually gets

isolated from the rest of the Arab world. There are no movie theatres, entertainment centers and

many more which we consider given in our daily life. This

fosters the introversion of a regime that in recent years

has become more and more conservative.

In Sudans market Turkish, Chinese and Indian firms have

moreover entered strongly which reveals the aversion of

society from anything western. Sudan is a country with

rich subsoil and fertile soil. I have to say that before I

came here I did not know the real taste of mangos,

bananas, grapefruits and many other products which reach Greece unripe and processed.


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On the 25th of March, on the national day of

Greece, we organized our schools feast and the

memorial in memory of the heroes and I can say

that it was one of the most moving moments in my

life, especially when I delivered the solemn speech

for the heroes of the revolution in the Orthodox

Church. It was strange for even though I was

kilometres away from the motherland I felt closer to

her than ever. As if Hellenism from the diaspora holds within it another Greece, a Greece which

has not been alienated from the conditions of an international crisis, as if keeping a character that

has not been hurt by impositions and requisitions. I came to this country to teach at the Greek

school, but my stay so far allows me to say that Sudan is itself a school for me.

I wish all the teachers and students of OMILO good luck, happy holidays and to discuss even

more from up close!

Alaikum Salaam, Kostas

(Kostas was teaching for OMILO in 2013. We expect he will join the OMILO-team again from June 2014 onward ,

unless he decides to stay longer in Soudan.we are looking forward to his next update of this great adventure!)

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6. The RioAntirrio Bridge

The 1- or 2-week intensive Greek course on the island of Lekdada will take place from 25/5 till

6/6/2014. Lefkada is an ionian island, south of Corfu and

connected with a bridge to the mainland. More information on

Lefkada you can find at: http://www.omilo.com/lefkada/.

Although Lefkada is an island, it is possible to travel by car or

bus, since the island is connected to the mainland by a

bridge. Students traveling by bus or car from Athens or from

Patras, first also cross another bridge : the beautifuful Rio-Antirrio Bridge ! It is a real joy to cross

the bridge by car (10 euro), by public bus or on foot.

For those traveling by plane to or from Athens towards North/West Europe, half hour before


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arriving or leaving Athens you many times can see the bridge from your plane window! (look

carefully at the photo taken from the sky in March 2014!)

Read here some more details about the masterpiece, and have a

look at the great video!

http://www.omilo.com/the-famous-rio-antirrio-bridge/

Just for your info: if you would

like to enjoy the bridge even more, you can also take the

ferry from Rio to Antirrio, which gives you the opportunity to

sail for 40 minutes along the bridge , relax, have your coffee

and take beautiful pictures! (6 euro to take the car on the

ferry and 1 euro/person). This is what the OMILO staff many

times prefers to do!

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Hope you had the time and finances to arrange your holidays in Greece.

Looking forward to hear from you or see you in one of our courses.

Many greetings from Athens,

The OMILO-team

OMILO Greek Language and Culture in Greece

Pan. Tsaldari 13, 15122 Maroussi, Athens (GREECE)

Tel. (00 30) 210-6122896 Fax. (00 30) 210-6122706

Email: [email protected] - URL: www.omilo.com

FB: www.facebook.com/omilohellas - Twitter: www.twitter.com/omilohellas

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Omilo English Newsletter April 2014