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Greek Carnival

Greece’s Carnival season, known as “Apokries,” is a period which traditionally begins ten weeks before Greek Orthodox Easter and culminates on the weekend before “Clean Monday,” (Ash Monday) the first day of Lent, which is on March 7 this year. This weekend (5-6 March for this year) carnival celebrations in Greece reach their climax, a feast of fun celebrated all over the country with masquerades and parties. “Tsiknopemti” (which is tomorrow this year) is part of the traditional celebrations of Apókries. The celebration, normally translated as “Smelly Thursday”, “Charred Thursday”, or “Smoky Thursday”, centers on the consumption of large amounts of grilled and roasted meats. The Greek name Apokries means abstention from meat, because after that, the period of Easter Lent begins. The characteristic of Carnival is disguising and wearing costumes and masks that offer anonymity and freedom of expression. This festival dates back to Dionysos, the ancient Greek god of wine, fun and fertility. Even today, in certain local carnivals, like that of Tyrnavos, fertility and the phallus are celebrated, and related songs are sung. One of the biggest carnival that is organized in Greece is that of Patras. Other popular carnivals are that of Xanthi, Rethymno, Naoussa and […]

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Preparations for the opening have begun!

During this undoubtedly strange school year, we shared stories, experiences, sorrows, disappointments, funny and happy moments, and we managed to do that, despite the fact that we had to do it through a laptop screen. From Melbourne of Australia to Reno of Nevada and from Canada to Japan and Philippines. From Belfast, Zurich, Munich, Leeds, Madrid, Edinburgh, Zestafoni of Georgia, Athens and Thessaloniki we met wonderful people and became even more attached to those we already knew. Thank you very much for your interest and all your messages, but also for your understanding and willingness to adapt to an online learning environment for those who prefer live teaching. Preparations for the opening of our school have begun and we can’t wait to see you all again, following, of course, all the necessary protection measures. We are waiting for you with our fresh ideas to discover together the secrets of our language and culture! Book your summer courses now!!

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Markets, flavors and history of Thessaloniki…

Thessaloniki was always a multicultural, multiethnic and multilingual city with a lot of customs, religions, and recipes. For centuries, mainly Jews, Christians, Muslims, but also people from the Balkan peninsula and Europeans from nearly every corner of the continent used to live one next to the other sharing traditions and a lot of flavours. Many of these multicultural flavours and products still survive today. What can we discover with a walk in the city center? What is hidden in the old markets? What flavours can we try? What do these flavours tell us about the history of the city? We are walking through the old traditional markets of Thessaloniki, among the narrow alleys of its center, where even today people do their shopping and we discover incredible stories that reflect its multicultural past. We are communicating with locals, listening to their personal stories that are lost in the depths of the centuries and discussing with them about the eating habits of the old inhabitants of Thessaloniki, the special products of their recipes and their importance for each culture. We are tasting a lot of flavours, pieces of the history that is revealed alive in front of our eyes. We are […]

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Welcoming the autumn with an educational tour of the “Eksohes” district…

Which was the “Eksohes District”? Which is the history of the old city’s tram? What does “Depot” mean? Who were the Allattinis? What can a brick tell us about the history of Thessaloniki? What are all these impressive buildings in the east side of the city and what secrets do they hide? As early as the 1880s, the area outside the SE walls of the city was known as “Towers” or“Countryside [Eksohes]” and showed limited construction, mainly of a holiday nature. However, significant changes in the traditional core of Thessaloniki, such as the demolition of the walls and the fire of 1890, favored a more mass movement and permanent settlement in the area. This first expansion of the city outside the walls will be organized based on a specific plan and will be a district in which mainly the upper social and economic strata will be settled. The district gradually expands east and north. Equipped with new infrastructure, important public buildings, recreation areas, parks and luxury homes, it acquires a European character and develops into a cosmopolitan suburb. Today the few impressive buildings that have survived in this area, stand proudly (although some are totally abandoned) and they tell us […]

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Registrations are open!

As September has arrived, we are getting ready for a new, creative year with many surprises, taking of course all the necessary measures for the protection and safety of all of us. We can’t wait to share with you all of our new ideas, as language teaching is for us something more than just memorising rules and words. We are inviting you to a tour in the language and culture of our country. We enjoy teaching Greek, walking the streets of our country, learning its history, cooking and chatting with locals, as we come into contact with the Greek nature, art and entertainment. We discover together the language that is hidden in our songs, movies, tales and recipes. We come, therefore, out of the limits of the standard class and we learn Greek while traveling, hiking or while making historic walks. We use innovative language teaching methods that turn our lessons into an enjoyable activity and knowledge into a game. We use modern educational strategies and adapt our courses to the needs and interests of each student. We are addressing students of the Greek language, Greeks living abroad, interested in learning or reinforcing the Greek language, lovers of alternative tourism, […]

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We play, laugh and learn Greek!

We play, laugh and learn Greek in the most incredible and fun ways! We learn Greek through innovative language teaching methods while getting ready for our holidays in Greece. We use imaginative methods that turn our lessons into an enjoyable activity and knowledge into a game. We use modern educational strategies and adapt our courses to the needs and interests of each student. We practice in every day dialogs, facilitating the daily communication and making your life in Greece easier. We learn how to book a hotel, how to buy tickets and use the means of transport. We learn how to order in a restaurant, ask for help or go for shopping. We discuss about the weather conditions, chat with the locals and come into contact with different sides of the Greek culture. We discover new customs, scents and flavours, while we are preparing together the perfect schedule for your holidays in Greece.

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We are back again!

After two and a half months of physical absence, our school is ready to open again for its teachers and students, while taking of course all the necessary measures for the protection and safety of all of us. Hopefully, we will also be able to start our rich cultural activities soon. Thank you very much for your interest and all your messages, but also for your understanding and willingness to adapt to an online learning environment. We know that this might not be very convenient to everyone. We are back to our classes to do what we know better than anything else, teaching Greek in the most imaginative and innovative ways. We can’t wait to share with you all we know about our history, art and culture. We are ready to explore with you the language that is hidden inside our recipes, songs, films and tales, discussing every part of our tradition, while also getting to know parts of your own culture. As we love to say, language teaching is for us something more than just memorising rules and words. It is a journey in place and time that we choose to do with you. We are waiting for you […]

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Until we meet again, take care!

As probably most of you already know, our school remains closed, just like the majority of the companies in Greece, due to the emergency measures taken against the coronavirus. Our cultural activities have stopped as well, due to the same reason. Thank you very much for your interest and all your messages. We are fine and healthy and we continue the work we love doing, but only via Skype. We miss a lot of moments from our work! The joy of teaching, the interaction with all of you, the possibility to discover new worlds, our walks through the streets of our city, the guided tours, the cooking classes, our language games, the chance to discuss with you all the topics we love, the joy of finding common interests with people from the other side of the ocean. Perhaps the thing we miss the most is just a simple mutlilingual “tsipouraki” after a demanding day! Despite the difficult conditions, we do not lose interest in our work and the appetite to explore new things with all of you. We still use our innovative methods that turn our lessons into an enjoyable activity and knowledge into a game. We use our modern […]

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The Byzantine past of Thessaloniki…

What do you know about the Byzantine Empire? Did you know that Thessaloniki was part of the Byzantine Empire for 1.100 years and became its second most important city? Can you imagine how many secrets are hidden in these 1.100 years? Who were the Byzantines? How was their life? What did their houses look like? What were their jobs? What did they eat? What were they wearing? Have you ever played educational games inside a museum while learning history and a different part of art? The “Byzantine Empire”, also referred to as the “Eastern Roman Empire”, or “Byzantium”, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. Thessaloniki was, for much of the existence of the Byzantine Empire, its second largest city. Evidence of this history can still be seen in the 15 […]

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Merry Christmas with a traditional Greek meal!

Is there a better way to say goodbye 2019? What are the Greek Christmas customs? What do Greeks eat at Christmas and why? What are your Christmas customs? We explore the gastronomic wealth of Greece through an interactive cooking class along with a distinguished chef. We discuss about the Greek Christmas customs, the traditions and the recipes from all over the world! We chat with the locals and get to know their personal Christmas stories. We come into contact with Christmas, recipes, songs and tales from every part of Greece while improving our daily communication skills We learn how to use the necessary vocabulary, practice in every day dialogs as we come into contact with grammar and syntax issues. We cook a stuffed turkey and have a delicious lunch all together! That’s our Greek language and culture school! That’s the way we learn Greek! Find us in Thessaloniki! Be part of our school! Thanks a lot to our lovely colleagues Ammon Express and Le Palace Art Hotel! Merry Christmas and a happy new year! Χρόνια πολλά και καλή χρονιά!

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