Lent starts here in Greece the week after next with "Clean Monday" when the Orthodox abstain from food from midnight to noon, and from meat all day. The period leading up to this, starting today, Thursday, is carnival, and lots of parties can be observed here in Thessaloniki - people in fancy dress crowding the cafes near the Rotunda, and brave souls outside in the icy northern wind roasting piglets on spits or grilling souvlaki on barbecue stands. Clean Monday is said on about.com to be considered as the first day of spring and celebrated by picnics and the consumption of octopus, squid etc. If the current weather continues, just the sea food will remain on the programme.
The language school is keeping up the carnival atmosphere by having its 10th anniversary celebrations this weekend. There will be a prize giving ceremony and speeches at the University of Macedonia, to be followed by a party at the Disco Figaro, where there will be a performance of Latin dancing and instruction in the same.
I've spent a bit of time poking round the main public library (where you can use the internet for free) and a smaller one near my home (where there's no internet at all). I love looking at the Greek Bibles and commentaries, and tomes on the history of Thessaloniki, Constantinople and Greece in general. The librarian at the local doesn't speak English but we still managed to have some sort of conversation with my vocab stretched to its outer limits. I recently found out how to type Greek characters on the PC so that's a step forward in the learning process.
Had a couple of lessons at a new language school less than 100m from my flat yesterday evening. Very clever young teenage girls who can talk about practically everything in English. Besides that a couple of new courses have started at the original school and there's more in the pipeline. One potential private student will come when I can make my modest little flat decent enough. So things seem to be taking shape.
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