WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TO LIVE IN A...-by Mario Campos

What would it be like to live in a…

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to live in a tepee, or in an igloo or maybe even a cave or boat?                                                                                                         

1.               Tepee:

A tipi or tepee, is a conical shaped tent with coverings usually made by animal fur which is supported by big wooden poles. This structure was often used by aboriginals in the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies of North America. Tepees are still in use by these people, though now only for ceremonial purposes. The tepee is long-lasting, and it is able to provide warmth in winter, it is cool for the heat in summer, and it is dry during heavy rains. Tipis can be packed away quickly when people need to relocate and can be fastly reconstructed, this was important to Plain Indians with their nomadic lifestyle.

2.   Igloo:

An igloo is also known as a snow house or snow hut. It is a type of shelter built of snow, typically built when the snow can be easily compacted. Igloos were associated with people of Canada's Central Arctic and Greenland's Thule area. Snow is used because the air pockets trapped in it make it an insulator. On the outside, temperatures may be as low as −45 °C, but on the inside the temperature may range from −7 °C to 16 °C when warmed by body heat alone. The igloos have many purposes, such as helping in the hunting season so animals would not be able to see the humans which gave us an advantage; and to hide from large animals such as polar bears.

3.               Spanish cave houses:

Spain’s cave country is in Granada in a mountainous region of northern Andalucía, near Sierra Nevada. Close to Baza and Huéscar, there are entire districts of caves; in some of the surrounding villages, they are the only kind of houses. They owe their existence to the region’s peculiar geology in a prehistoric time. The Moors were the first to live in them, but most of the caves were built in the 19th century by farmworkers. And thanks to the nature of underground life in a hot, dry climate, it’s a tradition that has always been there. There are thousands of cave houses. The temperature inside is fantastic in the summertime and they are also warm in the winter.

CHINESE NEW YEAR-by Cristina Barreto

Chinese New Year

Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as “Spring Festival”, is China's most important holiday, and falls on the first New Moon between January 21st and February 20th. This is because the Chinese traditional lunar calendar is different from the Western solar calendar. In the Chinese year months are lunar cycles, meaning that the first day is the new moon and day 15th day is the full moon. The celebration lasts fifteen days. The first day is called the New Year and the fifteenth day is called the Lantern Festival. In China there is a cycle of twelve years represented by twelve animals: Rat, Bull, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig

Before New Year it is important to clean the house, in order to sweep away all the bad luck of the previous year, and to accommodate the New Year's good luck. Once the house is clean, the next step is to decorate it. The typical New Year ornaments include Chinese calligraphies with the words “fortune” (福), “spring” (春), “happy new year” (新年快乐), or “best wishes and prosperity” (恭喜发财) written in red paper. In the Chinese culture, red color symbolizes happiness and joy. That’s why Chinese people like to decorate their homes in red to celebrate the New Year. It’s also typical to wear new clothes, preferably red.

New Year's Eve dinner is one of the most important parts of the Chinese New Year. The whole family gathers together, to eat and celebrate the holiday. Traditional dishes include fish, chicken, typical rice cakes called “niangao” (年糕), Chinese dumplings called “jiaozi” (饺子), and noodles. Fish is an important dish in every New Year dinner, because “fish” (鱼) sounds like “surplus” (余). There is a saying in Chinese “nian nian you yu”, meaning “every year we have fish” or “every year we have surplus”. Also noodles and dumplings are important, because in Chinese culture noodles represent longevity, and dumplings have the shape of ancient gold ingots, so they represent fortune and wealth.

Chinese people use these days to visit relatives and friends, and wish them a happy and prosperous new year. Chinese kids receive money which is given in red envelopes called “hongbao” (红包) just as Western kids receive gifts for Christmas. This money is called “yasui qian” (压岁钱), which means “money to push back from aging”. 

It is also an ancient tradition to burst firecrackers during these days, to scare away the year beast called “Nian Shou” (年兽). The louder and noisier the firecrackers are, the happier and more prosperous the year will be.

The last day is the Lantern Festival. People walk on the streets carrying a wide variety of lanterns, with the shape of various animals. On this day it is also very typical to eat sticky rice balls called “tang yuan” (汤圆).

JENNIFER LAWRENCE-by María Moratinos

This month my writing is  about my favorite actress which is Jennifer Lawrence:

Jennifer Shrader Lawrence was born in Louisville, Kentucky on August 15, 1990 .

She is an American film and television actress. Her career began in television with odd jobs until she got one of the leading roles in the series The Bill Engvall Show. However, it was his work in the indie films, among which The Burning Plain and Winter's Bone that made her succesful.

With twenty years, she was the third youngest actress to be nominated for the Academy Award for best actress, which she would get two years later for her role as Tiffany Maxwell  in "Silver Linings Playbook" in the 85th edition of the awards, becoming the second youngest actress to receive it. For this performance also won a Golden Globe.

In June 2011 he played the role of Mystique in the movie X-Men: First generation, although it was not until 2012 when she achieved international recognition for her portrayal of the heroine Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games

In 2010 she was nominated for best actress for Winter's film bone, in 2012 was awarded the Oscar for best actress for the movie Silver Linings, in 2013 she was nominated for best actress for the film American Hustle and in 2015 was nominated by the movie Joy. Jennifer Lawrence is my favorite actress because she is so brilliant in her work and all his films are very interesting and even though her roles are quite complicated and varied I think she does a spectacular job.

MOUNTAIN BIKE-by Alvaro Zunzunegui

Mountain bike is a sport where you have to ride your own bike in the mountain.

This bikes is not like other bikes; they have dampers, gears, and very big wheels with studs. They are sturded bikes.

The target in mountain bike is to climb, jump, descend the path without dismounting the bike.

It´s a very difficult sport because you have to do lot of exercise, especially with your legs, so you need to be in very good shape.

If you want to practice this sport, you have to be equipped with the suitable material.

I recommend you to practice this sport because it´s very funny and healthy, and the most important thing. It’s in direct contact with nature.

EMAIL-by Gonzalo de la Peña

EMAIL:

Hi Jack.

I´m leaving on Saturday morning. I´m looking forward to see you. I´m going to lie on the beach all they long.

I´m finishing the trip at 9:00 a.m. Then I´m going to catch a bus to London. After that I´m going to take a taxi because it's faster.

I hope I won´t get seasick and I won´t feel homesick.

Shall we go to restaurant on Sunday?

I think I´ll take my Ipod and my mobile phone with me because I can´t live without them. I´m worried about being away from home. I think I will miss my dog.

The ship is going to be very fast so I´m going to get there very soon.

Bye, Gonzalo.

DAVID BOWIE-by Matilde Triana

    David Bowie

David Roberts Jones was born on January 8th of 1947 in London and he died on January 10th, 2016 just three days after publishing his new album Blackstar, that for my opinion is an amazing album. He was a great singer and also a great painter and actor.

"Space Oddity" became his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart.

He has 26 albums in all his career and his best songs for me are Space Oddity, Ziggy stardust, Life on mars, Fame, Heroes, Ashes to Ashes.

He married twice, The first time with Angie Barnett and the other time with Iman who was a Somali model, He was two children, one of them Duncan Jones.

His genre of music was art rock is a form of music which wanted to extend the limits of rock & roll.

For my opinion he was a great singer and an innovator for the music in his time and I like so much his type of music. 

FITUR MADRID 2016-by Marina Pérez

FITUR MADRID 2016

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In 2015, 9.419 companies from 165 countries, 125.084 participants and 97.467 people from general public, met during Fitur.

Almost, there was the presence of 7.398 journalists from 60 countries.

This year, Ifema booked for Fitur ten buildings and each one represented a different continent. There you can find a lot of stalls from many countries.

In Madrid, Fitur has been celebrated from the 20 th of January until the 24 th. But the first two days were only for professional visitors. Then the 23 th and 24 th of January were for public in general.

This fair, is a good opportunity to find your favorite holiday destination with a good price!

Below you can see pictures of my experience in Fitur: