Georgia Savvidi
“One must have an open mind”
“I adore dance,” said Kalliopi Kopanitsa as she sat behind the desk of her study in Lycabetus. “In fact, I was once recommended for the Royal Ballet School.” Kopanitsa, a costume and set designer, has been hooked on the arts since she was a little girl. “When I was six, I was taken to see Sleeping Beauty,” she said, “and I just fell in love with ballets.”
Born and raised in London, Kopanitsa spent all her summer holidays in Greece. “Both my parents are Greek,” she said.
Kopanitsa’s family has a propensity for the arts. “My mother was an opera singer and my father, although he’s a lawyer, writes stories,” she said. “I also have a younger sister who… Continue reading
Athens in the 20th century; an exhibit
Athens , 1940: A little girl admires her new, shiny, black shoes while gripping her old, tattered ones by the shoe laces. Men go to work, barefoot. An omnipresent army reminds Athenians of war-wrought decade.
The exhibition, Athens in the 20 th century, The Big Changes, assembled by ERT and the Mayor of Athens, brings Athenians closer to the events of the past 100 years. The exhibit is on display in Technopolis, in Gazi, and will run through January 2006.
“To see Athens without skyscrapers and condensed apartment buildings is truly refreshing,” said Eirini Orfanidou, a visitor. Orfanidou, who attended the exhibit with her husband, said that some of the pictures feel familiar.
“My grandparents were very poor during… Continue reading
Three countries, three advantages to study
Students interested in applying to graduate schools abroad learned what to expect at the annual “Overview of American, British, and Canadian Universities” event hosted by the Deree College Office of Career Services.
Nicholas Tourides of the Fulbright Foundation, Kathy Angelopoulou of the Canadian Embassy and Katerina Fegarou from the British Council provided information and advice. They discussed everything from academics to living expenses while studying abroad.
“Canadian universities have the lowest tuition fees in the English speaking world,” said Angelopoulou. She continued, one of the best things about going to Canada to study is that “you see people literally from all over the world, on campus, in students, and in faculty.”
The Canadian Embassy’s education adviser, Angelopoulou, added that there… Continue reading
Mousaka that melts in your mouth
It’s an odd thing, this obsession with eating home-cooked meals once you are away from home. For many students and businessmen, taverna Papayiannis is the best substitute for those days when mom’s cooking is sorely missed.
Papayiannis is not an ordinary taverna. After just your first visit you feel right at home. They’ll call you by your first name, greet you with a smile and nod every time you enter. This is, after all, a family business.
Papayiannis, located in llisia, has been around since 1974. Owner Vassilios Papayiannis left his village in Nafpakto to find a job in Athens. He soon discovered that he could offer a great deal to Athenians who missed food from the village.
“When I… Continue reading
Greek-American war veteran visits Deree
He sits back and adjusts himself on the bench. Colonel Nick G. Pappas, wearing his Special Forces cap, appears eager to begin. Two hours into the interview with Deree students, Pappas is teary-eyed. “I can’t believe I can remember all of it,” he said.
He came to Deree College to share his World War II stories with student volunteers of the Veterans History Project. These students, in turn, do their part to ensure Pappas’ stories, and those of other veterans, will not be forgotten.
The Veterans History Project is supervised by Ron Curry, a 63-year-old retired lieutenant who lives with his wife in Athens. Curry is president of the U.S. Retiree Association in Greece. Also a World War II veteran,… Continue reading
The koulouri has never left Greek homes
Anyone can make them. “You just need flour, salt, sugar, sesame and water,” said Manolis Kolovos, owner of the Ionia bakery. Koulouria, or bread rings, originated with the Greeks of Smyrni, on the coast of what is today modern Turkey.
“When Greeks were deported from Asia Minor they brought the recipe for the koulouri with them to Greece,” said Kolovos, “First to Thessaloniki, and then to Athens.”
The family-run Ionia, located in the Athens suburb of Nea Ionia, has been turning out koulouria since 1942. “We used to open at 3 a.m.,” said Kolovos. “Our first customers would come before 5 a.m., and no one would leave without at least one koulouri.”
The koulouri is the breakfast… Continue reading
Fear of bird flu wreaks havoc on local butcher shops
“It’s not like it used to be,” said Panayiotis Koutakos, owner of the Koutakos Brothers Butcher shop. His sales have plummeted as fewer and fewer customers order chicken and other poultry products from his small business in central Athens. “In just a few months our sales have dropped 70 percent,” he said.
In October, authorities in Greece mistakenly confirmed the country’s first case of bird flu on a turkey farm on the Aegean island of Oinouses. In Romania and Turkey, however, cases of bird flu were confirmed by the European Union.
European Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said in an interview with CNN, “The presence of bird flu in southeastern Europe does not increase the risk of a pandemic.” Nevertheless, the… Continue reading