What do you think is the problem with Greek language learning in Australia and do you have a solution?
Recently, I asked this question to a University colleague from the Engineering and Biomolecular Faculty of Sydney University.
“The teaching of the language needs more structure and to be geared for our Australian born children,” says Alex Missiris.
Alex successfully taught her daughter, Christina, Greek and highly recommends a private tutor.
“As an Australian-born Greek, I was not impressed with my own language learning as a child at Greek afternoon school, when I was slapped across the face and fell to the floor because I couldn’t answer a question in Greek. This happened in the 70’s and it stopped me from learning better Greek.
“I went through eight different tutors until I found the right one for my daughter in Michelle Pikoulas If it were not for Michelle, my daughter who is half Italian, would not have acquired the fluent language skills in Greek she has today,” says Alex.
Alex gave up Greek school after her bad experience, which is a pity, because for those of us who persevered, in the 60’s and 70’s, we learnt a lot.
Of course, there will always be good and bad teaching. Today we are lucky that we have a new influx of Greek teachers from Greece migrate to live or work Australia.
Unfortunately, their teaching methods are geared to children in Greece who have already had much incidental learning before starting school.
Luckily, we have a new program offered by the Sydney Institute for Community Languages directed by Professor Ken Cruickshank, which is open to all teachers of Community languages, whether they have completed University previously or not.
The course provides is a valuable resource for teachers as not only does it teach teaching methodology but it also teaches the difference between indigenous language learners, in their own country and children born to migrants in Australia.
*Eleni Elefterias-Kostakidis is a teacher of Modern Greek and University lecturer. Read her column ‘Insight or Perspective’ in Greek, every Saturday in The Greek Herald’s print edition or get your subscription here.
It was frustrating day for fans at the iconic Belmore Sports Ground as Sydney Olympic FC failed to score against rivals Sydney United 58, losing their season opener 1-0.
Sydney Olympic came of the back of a slightly disappointing pre-season. The team is led by coach Ante Juric, however, who promised this week that the boys will play their hardest for the blue and white badge.
“Definitely want to win but the focus for me is every match putting everything you have into it. When you do that, you get your success and your rewards,” Ante Juric said during the team’s season launch.
Olympic presented a strong, flowing form of attack at the start of the match, with winger Fabio Ferreira putting in and getting under a few creative opportunities.
Sydney Olympic vs Sydney United. Photo: NPL NSW / Dan Ullman @aptitudephotography
Well worked from the defence, a long ball to Peter Kekeris saw the young Greek Australian out-muscle one defender and chop inside to beat another. Kekeris sent a curling ball towards the net that narrowly went wide.
Returning the the Sydney Olympic senior squad this season, Luke Kairies was tested by Sydney United’s Devante Clut soon after Kekeris’ opportunity. United seemed to hold a momentum advantage from this stage, with Kairies forced to save another shot five minutes later, this time from United striker Chris Payne.
The striker, who scored an impressive 27 goals from 38 games with APIA Leichhardt the past two seasons, proved to be the biggest annoyance for Olympic, hitting a few deadly strikes in the first half.
Olympic remained on the defensive until the end of the first half, where the score remained 0-0.
Sydney Olympic vs Sydney United. Photo: NPL NSW / Dan Ullman @aptitudephotography
It was onwards and upwards in terms of energy for the Sydney Olympic side. A few fruitful opportunities were shown on the left side of the pitch, yet most were easily countered by the Sydney United defence.
Olympic defender Tom Whiteside put an outstanding show of defence to keep Payne at bay in the first half. Taking a great shot from a corner delivery in the 64th minute, Whiteside was forced to sprint back to his defensive line where Payne and Clut were on a breakaway.
Standing in front of goal, Whiteside clashed into the striker with full momentum, forcing both players tumbling down and a penalty to be given to Sydney United. Whiteside also received a yellow card as Payne scored the penalty opportunity, giving United a goal lead.
Sydney Olympic vs Sydney United. Photo: NPL NSW / Dan Ullman @aptitudephotography
It wouldn’t be a derby without some on-field clashes. Four yellow cards were handed out in the match, two for each team.
Substitutions by Olympic to bring on Yu Hasegawa and Jason Madonis late in the match didn’t do much for the Belmore boys as the United defence held strong. The greatest opportunities came from the terrific partnership between Brendan Cholakian and Fabio Ferreira who, despite never managing to hit it in the back of the net, put some fear in the United defence.
The match finished 1-0 in favour of Sydney United 58. Sydney Olympic FC will face Rockdale at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre next Sunday at 3pm.
The Greek Start Up Universe is a new program, under the auspices of the General Secretariat of Public Diplomacy and Greeks Abroad of Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which looks to give tech start-up founders the opportunity to present their new ideas.
The program is centred on helping projects that are aspiring to make a global impact. The free, 8-week online program will offer people the opportunity to interact with accomplished Greeks of the global tech start-up ecosystem, and gain access to start-up tools and educational content, in order to claim funding opportunities.
The program will be running from March 1, 2021 until April 25, 2021 and it will be hosted at Founderhood platform.
Below are a few of the experts that start up founders will have the chance to hear from:
Alexis Piperides: The co-founder of PROTOIO Inc., their vision is to enable product teams to build better products through world-class software that facilitate product team communication in a design-driven approach.
Ioanna Angelidaki: CMO & Co-founder of ‘InstaShop’, the company is a “hyper-local” marketplace app that connects users to nearby outlets for fast deliveries. Over the last five years InstaShop has attracted around $10 million in outside investment from Venture Friends, Jabbar Internet Group, and Souq.com (now Amazon) through two public and two private funding rounds, and it has expanded operations into Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, and Lebanon.
Nicky Goulimis: Nicky Goulimis is an entrepreneur known as the co-founder and COO of Nova Credit, the world’s cross-border consumer reporting agency that gives access to credit reports and consumers from around the world.
Tender and juicy with the aromas and blends of cinnamon, clove and fresh tomatoes beef kapama (pronounced ka-pa-MA) is a delicious and easy recipe for Greek beef stew, perfect for a Sunday family dinner!
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil 3 1/2 pounds beef stew meat 1 large onion, thinly sliced 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 1/2 cup dry red wine 3 medium tomatoes, chopped 3 tablespoons Metaxa or other brandy 1/2 cup strong, brewed coffee 3 tablespoons honey 1 2-inch piece cinnamon stick, cut in half 3 whole cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (optional) 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper
How to Make Greek Style Beef Kapama: Add oil to a large pot and heat on medium-high. When it is hot, add as much beef as will fit in a single layer. Saute until each side of each piece is golden brown. This should take about 5 minutes.
Repeat in several batches if needed with the rest of the beef. Transfer the beef to a medium bowl once it’s cooked.
Add the onion to the pot after you’re done cooking the beef and cook over medium heat until the onions start to cook. This should take about 2 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and wine and stir the mixture well. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil.
Add the beef and the rest of the ingredients and stir them together. Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it boils, bring it down to a simmer. Cook the mixture for about 1 1/2 hours so that it can thicken.
After the mixture thickens, remove the cover and cook it for an additional 35 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat and then remove the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and cloves and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
You may add vegetables like carrots and celery to this recipe, if desired.
A group led by former NSW Labor Premier Barrie Unsworth has sealed a deal to buy a Sydney home once owned by Gough Whitlam, ABC News reports.
Mr Unsworth signed the cheque for $1,150,000, well in excess of the original price guide of $720,000 to $750,000.
Manuel Roussakis from Ray White Canterbury said the owner was “ecstatic” with the price.
“They were extremely happy with the Whitlam Heritage Home group has purchased it,” he said.
The architect-designed home was cutting-edge when it was built in the 1950s. Photo: Ray White / ABC News
Mr Roussakis said both bidders were planning to restore the property to its original condition. The plan is to set up a fund to raise money to preserve the home as a historic site which would be open to the public.
Mr Whitlam, who was prime minister from 1972 to 1975, and his family called the four-bedroom house in south-west Sydney home for 22 years, from 1956 to 1978.
Nick Whitlam, son of Gough and Margaret Whitlam, said he was 12 when his family moved into the house in 1957. His parents had hired a local architect to design and build the single-storey building.
Floor-to-ceiling windows feature in the living area. Photo: Ray White/The Greek Herald
“It was quite a modern house. All the locals commented on the fact that it had a flat roof,” Mr Whitlam said.
Nick Whitlam has been to see the house for himself, the first time he’d stepped inside for almost 50 years.
“It’s not in great condition but the important thing is inside is virtually unchanged, all the built-ins, be they cupboards and bookshelves.
“The bathroom’s completely intact, the kitchen, the laundry, even the Hills Hoist in the backyard.”
The “Marti bracelet” or “Marti” is an ancient custom for the beginning of Spring. It is believed it dates back to ancient Greece and it is known all over the Balkans.
The name is derived from the Greek word for the month of March, “Martios”!
From March 1st, it is a tradition in Greece, especially for children, to wear a bracelet made of twisted white and red thread (see photo). The white symbolizes purity, and the red color stands for life and passion.
Children wear the bracelet for the entire month and remove it the last day of March. After taking off the bracelet, they hang it in a fruit tree, so the tree will remain healthy and give many fruits.
However, the custom varies in different areas in Greece. In some regions you can remove the bracelet when you see a swallow returning for spring, so the bird can use the thread to build its nest.
The 1st of March also indicates the beginning of Spring in Greece, and the hope for warm days and a lot of sun. Therefore, especially for young children, wearing the Marti bracelet also means you are protected from the burning sun.
On the 1st of March, do not forget to wish everybody “Kalo Mina” = Enjoy the month of March.
“She was such a marvellous, wonderful woman. Everybody loved her and if you ever met her, you’d know why,” Ismini (Pitsa) Parrett OAM’s husband, Mr Colliss Parrett, tells The Greek Herald.
On Australia Day this year, Pitsa was recognised for her service to community health through exercise therapy and aquatic rehabilitation. Sadly, she was awarded an Order of Australia posthumously as Pitsa had passed away almost one year earlier in February 2020.
To honour the life of this incredible woman, The Greek Herald reached out to her husband, Colliss, and he didn’t hesitate at the chance to speak about his “marvellous wife.”
Meeting Pitsa and Living in London:
Colliss, a former migration officer, was on a posting to the Australian embassy in Egypt when he first met Pitsa and hired her as his secretary. After marrying, Colliss was asked to move to the Australian embassy in London and in November 1964, the happy couple landed in the United Kingdom.
For four years, Pitsa enjoyed living in the city and as Colliss says, she was “making new friends every day.” But eventually, they had to return to Australia by sea on the Italian ship, Galileo Galilei. It’s on this ship where Pitsa did the unexpected.
“The minute we got on the ship Pitsa goes to me, ‘Colliss, I think I’ll go ask the ship captain whether he will allow me to conduct exercise classes.’ And I said, ‘Okay, he can only say no, I suppose,” Colliss tells The Greek Herald.
Ismini with her husband, Colliss. Photo supplied.
“The captain agreed and gave her a pretty big room. On the first day, one woman turned up. The second day, two. The third day there were four. On the fourth day there were about seven and after about a week, the place was full. There were about 20 women doing Pitsa’s exercises.”
On arrival in Australia, Pitsa was able to continue her exercise classes in school and church halls across Canberra for a short time, before the couple returned to London two years later for Colliss’ job. Eventually, they returned to Australia permanently in the late 1960’s to early 1970’s, had twins (their daughter Melinda and son Marcel), and never looked back.
Making waves in the fitness industry:
After finally calling Canberra home and giving birth to her children, Colliss says Pitsa was determined to go back to work.
“Pitsa says to me, ‘I’m going to look after my kids, but I’ve got to go to work and I’m going to get someone to help look after them.’ We ended up employing an English lady who was retired and off Pitsa went,” Colliss says with love in his voice.
“Pitsa was a good woman. She looked after the kids, but she made sure she went back to work.”
Pitsa started her own full-time business as an exercise therapist and fitness instructor. The business was run from the couple’s home, which had been upgraded to ensure women were able to exercise with no interference or obstruction.
“Eventually the word spread and Pitsa was highly successful there. She used to have two to three classes a day and then we decided to extend. We put a heated swimming pool in, a sauna and a little sunspot area,” Colliss explains.
“It was so ideal and you know, she just kept getting bigger and better and more loved by her family and I.”
Pitsa’s lasting legacy:
Pitsa got so big and loved in fact, that she was later offered a job as an Instructor of Aquatic Rehabilitation, Aerobics, Aqua-Aerobics and Pilates at the Australian Institute of Sport. In this role, Pitsa came across some inspirational people, including a young man who wasn’t easy to forget.
“There was a young boy who was brought in by his mother and she goes, ‘I’ve heard how good you are Pitsa and I want you to please help my son.’ He was in a wheelchair. Pitsa said yes, of course,” Colliss says.
Ismini was ‘loved by everybody,’ her husband says. Photo supplied.
“… Pitsa got him in the water and slowly, slowly, after he’d been with her for about 14 months, he got better and he went back to work and didn’t have to come to her classes anymore.
“But one day, a few months later, Pitsa was conducting one of her classes and he walks in, goes straight to Pitsa and says, ‘I have no way of thanking you except to give you these two things.’
“He gave her a massive box of chocolates and the biggest bunch of flowers you’ve ever seen and later said, ‘I have no way to repay you, but I will love you for the rest of my life’.”
It’s clear that Pitsa had a lasting impact on all those around her and it’s for this reason that her passing last year left a gaping hole in not only the local Canberra community, but also the fitness and exercise therapy industry.
“There were 240 people at Pitsa’s celebration of life, nearly all her customers. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Colliss says.
“She was unbelievable, that woman. She wanted to do the thing she loved and always found a way to do it. I was so proud of her and honestly, everyone loved her.”
Sokratis Papastathopoulos will have the chance to see his former Arsenal teammates again, this time in less friendly circumstances as Olympiakos draws Arsenal in the Europa League last-16.
Almost one year ago today, Olympiakos pulled off a stunning last minute equaliser against Arsenal to proceed through the next stage of the Europa League. This year, the Gunners will be seeking revenge.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos spent two and a half years in England, forming close relationships with Arsenal players Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who he spent many years with at Borussia Dortmund, as well as Mesut Ozil before his departure from the club.
This will be the first time the Greek will have to defend against Aubameyang in a professional match after having played with the Gabonese player for up to seven years.
Speaking about the matchup on Olympiakos TV, Sokratis said he believes it will be a “difficult game”.
“This game is something special [for me]. I believe it will be a difficult game.”
“Arsenal is a very big team. [Since the last game] They have the same coach with two or three new players, it’s a team with very high quality but we also have points that we can hit.”
Last year, Olympiacos striker El-Arabi netted a dramatic late winner in extra-time to knock Arsenal out of the Europa League. Aubameyang missed a close opportunity in the six yard box at the 120+4′ mark, putting the shot wide and drawing their Europa League campaign to a close.
At the previous tie in Greece, Sokratis spoke about how proud he felt to play on home soil, despite playing for an opposition team.
“Twelve years later I returned to a Greek stadium. Even as an adversary, even as a “stranger” it was a special experience for me that filled me with special emotions. In my football career up until now, moments have been important to me. So I lived and yesterday at such a moment to fight against a Greek team. I only hold what was generous to me as a whole. Some small disagreements just stay out of touch with me!!!”
Now on Greek soil, Sokratis will feel even stronger to prevent his former teammates from scoring and bring Olympiakos closer to a Europa League title.
It’s been an extremely rocky 365 days for citizens of the world, but for Greece, today marks one year since the first reported case of COVID-19 in the country.
Late at night on February 26 (Australian morning of the 27th), Professor of Infectious Diseases Sotiris Tsiodras held an emergency televised briefing with the Ministry of Health.
They reported that a Greek woman who recently returned home from northern Italy had become Greece’s first coronavirus case. The Health Ministry had already closed one school in Thessaloniki, yet did not immediately introduce any travel restrictions to Italy.
“She is in good health and is being monitored by a team of exceptional colleagues in Thessaloniki,” Sotiris Tsiodras told the news briefing.
Greece was quick to shut all carnival festivities.
So early in the COVID-19 pandemic, contact tracing was a more more difficult process. Despite this, the Ministry of Health still managed to identify 10-15 people the patient had been in touch with, placing them in quarantine.
Day by day, more people were infected as the virus spread across Greece. By February 29, there were a total of seven confirmed cases.
Greece was applauded by other countries for their safe and strict control of the virus from early on. They had decided to close all carnival events, despite only recording two cases at the time, and quickly shut all educational institutions.
Sotiris Tsiodras was labelled Greece’s ‘Coronavirus hero’, helping avert the tragically high infection and death rates seen in Italy and Spain. Italy’s La Figaro newspaper has called him the “new darling of the Greeks,” while Greece’s Ekathimerini publication named him the most popular person in Greece, after a poll conducted for Alpha TV.
The pandemic is believed to have originated in a market selling wildlife in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2020. It has since infected 113 million people and killed more than 2.5 million.
Professor Vrasidas Karalis, from the University of Sydney, will present an online lecture entitled “Did the Greek Revolution of 1821 really happen? Myths, counter-myths and historical knowledge’, on Thursday 4 March 2021 (7.00pm), as a part of the 2021 Greek History and Culture Seminars series, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.
The significance of the Greek Revolution of 1821 has never been questioned and all historiographical tradition persistently explores the realities around its impact of modern Greek nationhood. Recently, a debate has erupted amongst historians about the contribution of the Revolution to the creation of the Greek state and nation.
Originally this seminar was planned for the mezzanine level of the Greek Centre however the University of Sydney has placed interstate travel restrictions on its staff. It will only be delivered online.
Certain historians claim that it was the ultimate outcome of a long process starting with the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 and others suggest that it was due to the influence of the French Enlightenment and French revolution. The debate implies the underlying political conversation about the construction of the Greek nation and its historical identity.
The paper wants to address such vexing issues and attempts to propose a solution to questions of constructivism vis-à-vis historicism in the knowledge and interpretation of the past. The Greek revolution is the ultimate example and field of knowledge that could be used as a template to explore the perception of the history both as narrative and lived reality. The paper also discusses some rather overlooked interpretations of the Revolution with special emphasis on Arnold Toynbee.
Professor Vrasidas Karalis holds the Chair of Sir Nicholas Laurantos in Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies at the University of Sydney. He works in the area of Greek Cultural Studies since the Byzantine and Modern periods. He has published extensively with special emphasis on Byzantine historiography, Modern Greek political life, Greek Cinema, Balkan culture, European Union and Greece.
His main publications in English include, A History of Greek Cinema (Continuum 2012), Realism in Greek Cinema (I.B. Tauris, 2017), Recollections of Mr Manoly Lascaris (Brandl & Sclesinger, 2007), The Demons of Athens (Brandl & Schlesinger, 2013), Reflections on Presence (re.Press, 2016) and The Glebe Point Road Blues (2020). He has also edited the collections Cornelios Castoriadis and the Project of Radical Democracy (2013), Martin Heidegger and the Aesthetics of Being (2008), Power, Justice and Judgement in Hannah Arendt (2012).
