 | Feelings towards this community |
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I was going to post this in another context but I really didn't want to cancel its purpose by posting off-topic so here it goes. I really ache to resume learning. I haven't done any lesson since August because I'm having some tough time at college. I'm pleased that even though some vocabulary from lessons 40 to 60 has faded away a bit.. reading again through the lessons (with loud voice) seems very natural and easy... to be honest, there were times I never thought I could reach this state. Because I really don't have connections with Greece other than my two short holidays there, nor my studies have anything to do with it (I'm a student in IT & economics). In the end, passion is the keyword here: not only mine, but the passion of all the people who use this site, the historical (who of Nikos, Ellie and Andreas would've thought about how their recordings were going to end up - and I find it very relaxing imagining the Cyprus of the 70's.) and practical value of the lessons and most important is the passionate nature of the experienced contributors to these discussion forums, one of them being Greg Brush. I'm taking this opportunity to congratulate you for all your work here. I have to say that your help is immensely appreciated and that the quality of your explanations is infallible. If only teachers at my college were as good as you at teaching and explaining. I also want to congratulate all the other contributers. Without their help, this site may very well not be the way it is today - a very valuable resource to learn Greek language and also a nice way to communicate with various people from the whole world connected by their interest in Greek. Thank you and κῦδος to all. 
[originally posted Tuesday, 1 February 2011, 01:21 PM] |
| Re: Feelings towards this community |
| I have to agree with you, totally, Dan. Before these lessons I was trying to learn Greek from a phrasebook. I still have a long way to go, but the help from Greg and others has been so very, very valuable. I'm glad of this opportunity to express my gratitude for the time that these people spend helping us. |
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Amen! I can never agree more. This is a great learning website and a great community. Thanks to all contributors. You're right "passion is the keyword". In anything you do, if you want to do it right then you should put yourself into it σάρκα και ψυχή... You've been at least to Greece twice. I have set foot in Larnaka twice and Athens once only for a few hours transit... So much for contacting the language and culture. However, recently when I asked my new head of office (who is BTW half-Greek) to do me a favor and review a new CV I had prepared where I had written among the languages I know "Greek: Basic knowledge" I got a remark that I should write GOOD! I know it is an exaggeration but it's a compliment I appreciate... I've been learning Greek for only 14 months and have just flipped the page over lesson 45 only... and such a compliment. Yes, the key is σάρκα και ψυχή... I have listened to each of the lessons over a hundred times probably, both with text and without. Then retyped the lessons and did myself dictation sessions... AND have translated and learnt tens of songs... Soon I will try the school books parallel to these lessons and I am sure that within a couple of years I will attain a fair level of practical Greek. Thanks to all of you again. |
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It's been more than 4 years since I wrote that message and here I am, back again. A short while after I posted that, I got hired. Meanwhile, I finished college and now I'm on my third workplace. Unfortunately, I haven't visited Greece since then, but I still live with very fine memories from my two times there. In time, learning Greek did not seem that practical to me, especially when I hit some lessons in Greek 203 with some words getting hard to remember. Being entirely sincere, it's still not practical for me. But you know that sometimes you don't do what's practical, you just do what it feels good. Recently, I started asking myself what activities, what ambitions, and what dreams were driving me some years ago when I was still in college. Learning Greek on this site was one of those things that kept me passionate. These days, while browsing this site, I was very happy to see it still "going strong". I'm still amazed at the dedication of some community members in helping others. And I feel that bits from that passion are coming back to me now. Internet communities are these days very "colourful", and not in a good way. I frequently feel overwhelmed by them. Therefore, it's so refreshing to see a focused community like this one, on LGO, made from very diverse people, driven and united by the passion to learn Greek. Many times it was the community here which made me continue to learn Greek. Recently I reestablished a contact with a great-aunt who moved to Crete many years ago and there is a good chance I will go there to visit her this year. Now that's a good excuse to resume Greek lessons. Hopefully, my quest of 7 years (by now, I think) will reach the final lesson some time in the future. Happy learning, everyone! PS. Thanks to Greg for keeping his promise on something |
