A review and photos from Kirsten
This September I started learning Greek on Ikaria. Picked up by car in Evdilos by Mihalis, the head of the Ikaria language center, the route continues through mountain villages on a dusty road to the center. Before we turn in there is a beautiful view of the sea and Karavostamo, 400m below us.
The sea is calm and merges with the sky on the horizon. I imagine that in the next few days after studying we could spend our breaks sunbathing and swimming here…
A colorful mix of international languages awaits me on campus. Greek, of course, plus French, English, Spanish, and Japanese too. Aha, and to my delight I am spoken to in Swiss German, which I understand quite well and there are also two Germans there.
There are 15 participants and the age range is from 20 to 82 years (!), so adults of all ages are represented here. There are beginners even at my age. Our teachers are Mihalis and Tonia, Marija from Athens takes over the car shuttle and accompanies us in our free time. Nothing can actually go wrong…
The beginner group is comfortable with 8 participants and we learn the Greek letters in no time, then practice writing and reading and – hey presto – everything is written in Greek on the board. The gaze still searches in vain for the saving word. The mood is happy and we try to ask each other questions in Greek without any inhibitions and find appropriate answers. Getting to know each other – “να γνωρίσουν” is the motto. This continues in the evening with dinner together in the sea tavern down in Karavostamo. We have become a little “family”, determined to learn Greek and explore the culture of Ikaria.
The warm-up on the second day begins with small pieces of paper with sentences on them that encourage us to talk to each other and ask questions. The formation of the accusative case and prepositions keeps us busy and gives us the opportunity to quickly form small sentences. In between, practice reading, little picture stories. The lessons are concentrated and very varied.
It’s just fun to discover the language and there’s the first homework. But there will be time for that later, now we go to the beautiful beach of Karavostamo to swim.
The advanced players are divided into two groups of 3 participants each and play in a different league. An animated flow of speech and exciting discussions can be heard from the next room. In the meantime, we are trying to form the plural and translate a text. Divided into groups, we then present the content to each other.
In the evening the whole group gets together, we cook together, Mihali shows pictures of the island and a trip is planned. He takes us by bus to Christos and a hike through olive groves down to the sea. A visit to a winery rounds off this beautiful day. It is very helpful to always be surrounded by Greek-speaking people and the “assimilative” learning of the language begins to bear fruit.
Studying and doing homework every day becomes a given and demands a lot from us. But the calmness and excellent preparation of our teachers always creates a relaxed atmosphere and always produces new methods through which everyone can join in and dare to speak.
Unfortunately, after a week I’m going back home. I learned a lot during this time and the teaching style was just right for me, plus there were lots of activities and nice conversations outside of class, which were a lot of fun. I will definitely continue learning.
Here you can find more information about the Ikaria Language Center and many beautiful photos of lesser-known places on the island. There are great special courses for Greek Easter, in combination with a photography workshop or for the olive harvest. And what’s also very practical: follow-up care at home via Skype :-)
