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Friday 31 January 2014

Chinese New Year & Tree Day

Chinese new year of the Horse composition vector file.

In 2014, Chinese New Year is on 31st January. 
The exact date is calculated according to lunar and solar calendars, so it changes every year. 
This year will be the end of the Chinese year of the snake and the beginning of the year of the horse.


Year of the horse

A week long celebration will commence this Friday to welcome in the year of the horse
Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian 

What is Chinese New Year?
New Year is one of China's oldest festivals. It marks the beginning of a new year and a new agricultural season, and is considered a time for loved ones to reunite and take part in traditions designed to bring good fortune for the next 12 months.

When is it?
Chinese New Year is held each year between 21 January and 20 February. The main celebration will be held this year on 31 January, although the festival will begin a day earlier. The Chinese calendar's origins can be traced back as far as the 14th century BC. This year's celebrations will mark the beginning of the year 4712 on the Chinese calendar.
Where is it celebrated?   
The largest celebrations take place in China, naturally, although countries with a large Chinese population also mark the day. The biggest celebrations outside of mainland China are in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The largest celebration outside Asia takes place in London. The festival begins on 30 January and the main event will be a huge parade through Chinatown and the West End on Sunday 2 February. There are similar celebrations in Chinatowns in cities around the world.
How is it celebrated?
In China, New Year traditions vary depending on the region, although there are a number of customs that remain at the heart of all Chinese New Year celebrations. 
Out with the old and in with the new. In the run up to New Year, houses are cleaned top to bottom.
Doorways, windows and various other parts of houses are decorated with red ribbons and banners to ward off evil.
Chinese New Year is a time for families to reunite and the New Year's Eve meal is the most important of the year.
It wouldn't be Chinese New Year without fireworks and fire-crackers. 


The Chinese New Year: The origins

Long ago in China, there lived twelve animals. There was a rat, an ox, a tiger,
a rabbit, a dragon, a snake, a horse, a ram, a monkey, a roster, a dog and a
pig.




When the old year was coming to an end, all the animals began to quarrel
noisily. Each one wanted the New Year to be named after it.

The animals made such a noise that even the king heard the quarrel from far
away.

The king had a clever daughter. She asked the animals why they were
quarrelling.

“I want to have the New Year named after me”, said the tiger.

“Me too”, said the rat.

“Me too”, said the ox.

“Me too”, said the rabbit.

“Me too”, said the dragon.

“Me too”, said the snake.

“Me too”, said the horse.

“Me too”, said the ram.

“Me too”, said the monkey.

“Me too”, said the rooster.

“Me too”, said the dog.

‘Me too”, said the pig.

The princess said, “We shall have a swimming race across this river. The
winner will be named after the New Year. The animals agreed. They lined up
on the bank of the river. “One, two three, go!” shouted the princess.

All the animals jumped into the river and began to swim to the opposite bank.

Very soon the ox was in the lead. But he didn’t see the crafty rat who climbed
up his tail and onto his back.

When the ox was near the bank, the rat ran along the ox’s head and jumped
onto the grass.

“I am the winner!” said the rat.

“Well done”, said the king. “The New Year will be name the Year of the Rat”.

The princess felt sorry for the other animals as, one by one, they finished the
race.

“The next eleven years can be named after the other animals”, she said. And
so the order is, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey,
Rooster, Dog and Pig.

British Council



 Red packets o envelopes ‘angpow’ 



Confucio says: Quotes to celebrate Chinese New Year

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.

















Chineasy.org - The easiest way to learn Chinese by ShaoLan Hsueh









Rise and shine! Start your day with a morning in Burma photographed by Hamni Juni.




World Tree Day



















Bicycles have a magical effect on their riders. There are moments of reflection that only the pedals can give to us–bicycles point out a different way of looking at the world, a cheap technology, non-polluting, that humanizes and harmonizes the city and its inhabitants. - from " Cabelo" , Brazilian artist.







Thursday 30 January 2014

PAU - PAZ - PEACE - PACE


Poemem la pau



30 de Gener - Dia Escolar de la No-Violència i la Pau 



Las canciones de la paz - Orientación Andújar

las canciones de la PAZ






Me gusta tu nombre PAZ - Poema de Luisa Mª Serrano

Solo tres letras - Poema de Gloria Fuertes







José Alfonso Peralta Pérez nos envía este vídeo para celebrar el Día Escolar de la Paz, en el que han realizado una especie de karaoke en inglés y español  dentro del área de Inglés y con dibujos elaborados por los alumnos/as de 6º A, B y C del C.E.I.P. “El Juncal” de El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz). Se eligió como tema musical la canción “What a wonderful world” en la versión original del grupo  ”Playing for change".




I,ve Got Peace in My Fingers

Peace Song


The Rainbow Song - Peace and Love



 Teaching Peace



I've Got Peace Like A River - Song




Open cities - Hope for the future

There's a school in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, where more than twenty languages are spoken. 
That's a truly multicultural school! 


Hand to hand











Tuesday 28 January 2014

Forever young - Pete Seeger


Pete Seeger


Folk legend

In addition to being America’s best-loved folksinger and an untiring environmentalist, Pete Seeger is a national treasure. He has been at the forefront of the labor movement, the struggle for Civil Rights, the peace and anti-war movements, and the fight for a clean world. He has been a beacon for hope for millions of people all over the world. 

Pete Seager Appreciation Page




Forever Young - lyrics                            Letra

"You're never to old to change the world"

If I Had A Hammer



 








We Shall Overcome



Guantanamera - Pete and his grandson Tao lead everyone to sing along to this great song!
August 8, 1993. 



This Land is Your Land - Lyrics



This was performed at the "We Are One" Presidential Inaugural Concert, January 19, 2009.


Pete was pretty good at the whole Hope thing. We’ll close with this snippet from his interview with Amy Goodman:
AMY GOODMAN: And for someone who isn’t so hopeful, who is listening to this right now, trying to find their way, what would you say?
PETE SEEGER: Realize that little things lead to bigger things. That’s what Seeds is all about. And this wonderful parable in the New Testament: the sower scatters seeds. Some seeds fall in the pathway and get stamped on, and they don’t grow. Some fall on the rocks, and they don’t grow. But some seeds fall on fallow ground, and they grow and multiply a thousand fold. Who knows where some good little thing that you’ve done may bring results years later that you never dreamed of.  Interview, Democracy Now, May 4, 2009 



Monday 27 January 2014

Weather - Town - Alphabet - Grammar Quiz




Entrevista a Sila

"...lo que está claro es que si uno realmente quiere aprender inglés es capaz de hacerlo de la manera que mejor le convenga. Si uno no aprende inglés es por pereza, la excusa de “no se me dan bien las lenguas”… ya no se la cree nadie. :D "

"Lo importante es que aprender inglés se convierta en un placer, en un entretenimiento, en un hobby y no en una obligación. Tenemos que quitarnos de la cabeza esa idea de que aprender inglés es aburrido…no!! "

"...el proceso de aprendizaje es personal, único e intransferible y es ahí donde el alumno debe poner todo de su parte. Un profesor (ya sea bueno o malo) es sólo un guía, tú debes recorrer el camino y hacerlo lo más transitable posible. ¡Dejemos ya de esperar que nos lo den todo hecho!


"Para hablar bien inglés sólo necesitamos un puñado de motivación, dos ramilletes de tesón, una pizca de paciencia y el fuego lento de la constancia."


What's the weather like where you are?



Hot - Warm - Cold 



Sunny - Cloudy  - Overcast - Rain - Snow - Hailstone - Thunder




Frost - Freeze - Dew - Fog - Wind



If you're happy...



Rain, Rain, Go Away!



What's in your town?




What do you do do in town?  Two more videos: 

Phrases 1

Phrases 2















Answer Key




How to get Straight "A"s


Friday 24 January 2014

Viaje invernal

Es lo que os propongo a través de esta selección de videos que hablan por sí solos.

 

From the makers of Planet Earth, Frozen Planet is the ultimate portrait of our earth's polar regions, where the scale and beauty of the scenery and sheer power of the natural elements are unlike anywhere else on the planet. A co-production of Discovery Channel and the BBC



Practice common expressions-using authentic English pronunciation-for talking about cold weather! Brrr! It's Freezing!
Fluency is all about the 3Rs: Relax, Repeat, Remember!


Una madre rusa comparte imágenes mágicas de sus hijos en plena naturaleza



Ternura, belleza y mucha magia. Eso es lo que transmiten las hermosas fotografías tomadas por la artista rusa Elena Shumilova en plena naturaleza. 

Los protagonistas de las asombrosas imágenes son sus dos hijos y algunos de los animales que viven en su granja, como perros, gatos, conejos o patos. Para tomar estas instantáneas Elena aprovecha los colores del entorno en el que se encuentra y los fenómenos naturales. 

"Confío sobre todo en mi intuición cuando compongo fotos. Me inspira principalmente mi deseo de expresar algo que siento, aunque por lo general no puedo decir exactamente lo que es", afirma la autora de estas bellas imágenes. 


Algo que recordar: para acompañar en su vuelta al mundo a Ruben y Lucy, entusiastas viajeros y bloggeros que nos hacen partícipes de su aventura.



  • "We made this short movie one yer ago in a short travel of one month through Vietnam and Cambodia. This is one of the strong reasons to take “the decision”. We left our jobs and our flat, sold our stuff and began a trip around the world for a year. We are in the middle of our adventure and is a pleasure for us to share this short movie with all of you. Hope you like it! "

Y seguimos viajando en el espacio y en el tiempo para poner el toque musical que nos llega desde Grecia de la mano de la Orquesta de Cámara de Siero (Asturias) que agradece de este modo la hospitalidad de sus anfitriones.



Is here! The flashmob everyone expected, the Chamber Orchestra Siero in Athens.





Thursday 16 January 2014

De cumpleaños nos vamos a UK - GB


1IMG_1724
My Cake School

Mira por donde hoy la Caraba cumple su primer año.
¡Cuántos hallazgos!, ¡cuántas experiencias compartidas!, ¡cuántos buenos momentos nos ha propiciado!




Os invito a tomar un té con pastas para festejarlo.

 

La tetera mágica Mónica Carretero




Selección de canciones de María Elena Walsh





Who took the cookie from the cookie jar?


Y ahora emprendamos un viaje, despegando con un par de canciones y al son de la música nos iremos dejando llevar hasta nuestro destino...









United Kingdom - UK , Great Britain - GB


 

What is Great Britain?








Sila también nos explica claramente la 
diferencia entre Gran Bretaña, Reino Unido e Inglaterra.



















Es el nombre de un pueblo situado en la isla de Anglesey en Wales, el más largo del Reino Unido.

En galés significa: "la iglesia de Santa María en el hueco del avellano blanco, cerca de un torbellino rápido y la iglesia de San Tisilo, cerca de la gruta roja".



Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Platform Ticket













Northern Ireland














Y para acabar por si os han quedado ganas de seguir viajando, os dejo con esta lista de países que nos propone Sila, en inglés y en español.