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Wanna stay productive?
Learn the language you fell in love with and keep it alive through summer by listening!
This way you'll feel as if your Greek-yogurt-covered, freshly sunburnt face is still gazing at the Santorini sunset. And you won't care that you are aching all over. You won't care that you have a ferry and two plane flights to catch the very next morning. You'll just hold the breeze, the sunlight and the Greek "meraki" in one breath until next summer.
But even if you are not practicing Greek...same applies to all languages. Stay active and alert. Listen to podcasts, songs or simply ask a friend to converse in the language you wish to practice if that's possible.
Because, one of the first things I always tell my students, regardless of their level or age, is Listening, Listening, Listening! My version of "Location, Location, Location"! Come to think of it, it's actually a perfect match. You are learning about a new location, Greece for example, so you need to know about everything that's happening there. Smells, food, drinks, singing, traffic, love, you name it. The first things a person notices in a new, unexplored place are, of course, its sights, smells and sounds. So let's begin with sound. For now. Until your first actual trip to Greece where you will get to taste and see all architectural and gourmet wonders up close. In time, I will walk you through those as well.
Wanna stay cool?
I don't wish to name the obvious...drink gallons of water....stay under the shade....limited exercise....electrolytes...wear a cap...plaster yourself with sunscreen...the "mum" list can go on forever!
Instead...I'm going to draw another picture for you..
Imagine you have just climbed the sacred rock of the Acropolis, wondered up close why the Caryatids are so shockingly beautiful and yet still painfully separated. Later, you hungrily tasted "tzatziki". Sunbathed for hours under the scorching but sooo sexy Greek sun, and now that you are so hurriedly and reluctantly back home...you feel something is missing. Right?
What we need now is...to connect that exact nostalgic feeling with a taste. And the truest taste of modern Greece is..let's face it...Freddo Espresso! That divine combination of a bold espresso and rock-solid ice cubes that gives you the exact adrenaline rush you need to go by a hot summer day. It is exactly what you need to marry your language practice with something cool...something you can only find and enjoy in Greece. Greece's most famous coffee. This shall keep your "kantilaki" burning -that tiny flame that never goes out- until your next Greek Summer.
Leave a comment...and I'll happily share the authentic recipe! ??
Zenia
2026-07-27
hahah, I figured it was by mistake! i tried to use them too and ended up with awkard question marks!! Enjoy your week Emiko! Would love to know how your first lesson turned out!
All my best from Greece!
Zenia
Zenia
2026-07-27
hahah, I figured it was by mistake! i tried to use them too and ended up with awkard question marks!! Enjoy your week Emiko! Would love to know how your first lesson turned out!
All my best from Greece!
Zenia
Emiko S
2026-07-27
I used emoji and turned into ? lol. I meant :)
Emiko S
2026-07-27
?
Zenia
2026-07-26
Of course we have influenced each other! We have tons of things in common because of our neighbouring countries and Mediterranean culture.
In fact, Italy is one of the first countries I wish to visit soon!
I'm really happy about you and I wish you all the best on your first lesson!!!
Emiko S
2026-07-26
Thanks. I see. That's interesting to know. Maybe did Greek and Italian influenced each other? I'll have first students tomorrow. How about you?
Zenia
2026-07-25
Hello dear Emiko! Thank you so much for your kind words!
How are your classes going?
Yes, "Freddo" means frozen/chilled but the word is actually Italian and us Greeks have incorporated it into our cafe culture inventing something totally new.."Freddo Espresso"!
Emiko S
2026-07-25
I love reading your articles. It sounds so cool!! Does the “Freddo” mean similar to frozen or iced in Greece?