Ourselves Carla Name: Carla Casalengua Birthday: 20th of May Age:12 Country: Spain My favourites colours are: green and purple. After-school activities: On Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to an English academy and on Fridays I go to horse riding classes. Hobbies: I like listening to music, running, going with my friends to the shopping centre, to the cinema… I have never go camping with my family or with my friends, but I want to, it is my dream since I am a child. I enjoy a lot singing Karaoke with my friends or my family. Travelling around the world, learning the different cultures… Predictions for the future: I want to go camping with my family and friends, travel around the world and learning a lot more languages. But first finish my studies and going to a great University out of Spain, for example Oxford. I want to live out of Spain, in Canada, UK, Australia or something like that. Family: I am an only child, but I have a very big family. I am the youngest of it, but I like that. Free time: In my free time I go to the shopping centre, to the cinema or somewhere with my friends. I also read my books, because I have a lot. Listening to music is amazing for my, because I start singing, dancing and I laugh a lot. Going with my family to the theatre, to a museum, to an amusement park…simply spending time with my family is great. Concha Name: Concha Lorente Montesinos Birthday: 27th of January Age: 13 Country: Spain Favorite color: Black and Blue Afterschool activities: Gym Hobbies: Listen music, go out with my friends, play in my iPad 2. Family: I don’t have brothers or sisters and I just have one grandparent. Free time: I chat with my friends, I listen music and watch videos. In winter I go ice skating. I like to go shopping with my friends and have great times with them. Predictions for the future: I will like to go to an University in the USA and live there.t Ema Name: Emanuela Grosu Birthday: 6th of April Age: 13 Country: I was born in Romania, but now I live in Spain. Afterschool activities: Volleyball and English. Hobbies: I like playing the piano ( I don‘t know very well, but I’m learning) and ice skating. I also like camping. Family: my parents aren’t divorced and I have a brother younger than me, his name is Alberto and he is 6 years old. Free time: I chat with my friends on the internet, I spend time with my family, I listen to music and sometimes I go to the park wit my brother. I also go to a club of scouts. Prediction for the future: I want to study university in Spain, then, go to live some years in Canada and then, come again to live in Spain. Patricia My name is Patricia Orza and I’m 12 years old. My birthday is the 31st of October. I like a lot staying on the Internet. My favorite colors are black and red. The most of the time I chat with my friends in a Social Network called ´´Tuenti``. I love music and every time that I turn on the Internet I open YouTube. I also like a lot going out with my friends, I go out many Thursdays, Fridays and almost every weekend. On Thursdays I go out after coming out of volleyball classes at high school. I go every Tuesday and Thursday from 16:00 to 17:00. I like a lot playing volleyball, but it isn´t my favorite sport, it´s basketball. When I grow up, I’d like to be a photographer, because I like a lot to do photos, although I don’t have a good camera. When I want to make a photo I always use my iPhone. I’d also like to live in New York. The majority of my family is Romanian, but I'm not, I'm Spanish. The part of my family that is Romanian is from Transylvania, a place from the center of the country. I don’t have any brothers or sisters, but I have many cousins, which I see them very often, so it´s as if they were a strange kind of brothers and sisters. Andrea Name: Andrea Quero Hernández Birthday: 13th of February Age: 13 Country: Madrid, Spain Favorite color: Black and purple Afterschool activities: Swimming pool Hobbies: Reading, writing stories of vampires and werewolves swimming Family: I have a brother smaller than me called Jesús he has 9 years old. My mother Mª del Carmen or Mamen and my father Jesús. Free time: Reading and going out with friends. Predictions for the future: I don’t know what am I going to be yet, but these summer I am going to go to the beach with my grandmother. Our High school: Luís García Berlanga Name These high school started working in 1993/94. During the first year it was called Coslada 1 and during the second year, the educational community decided to name it with the name of the famous film director, Luís García Berlanga. Luís García Berlanga News During 1995/1996 and for new students in the first cycle of ESO can enjoy our institute, we construct a classroom building near the main building and begin the next class to be taught all levels of secondary education and Bachillerato. Changes The number of students has increased a lot in recent years, growing from just 180 students in 1993 to about 700 in the current course. This has meant an increased in all kind of resources. Our high school has an average of 63 teacher of 15 different subjects, although there are so much as before. Location It is located in Coslada, near the most characteristic road we have: La Glorieta de la Rosa de los Vientos. Our high school is in front of some buildings called Los Barrales, where some of our friends live. It is next to a sport center. Distribution There are three buildings. In the first one, which is the entrance and the principal building, are all the laboratories and the classes of second, third and fourth course of secondary school and first and second of Baccalaureate. There are also departments for the different subjects, the secretary, some computer rooms, a music class. The second building is smaller than the first. Here are the classes of first and third grade, although when we have to go to another class, we changes to the others buildings. We are changing to another class almost always. Here is also one computer room, a room for arts and crafts and another of technology, which is divided into two parts the one in which we have class and the other for practices. Between these two buildings is another, smaller. It is the gymnasium, where we practice physical education indoors and here are also played some afterschool activities. Modern Madrid: Our place of birth The Capital Madrid is Spain’s capital, and it´s the city in which we live. It’s the highest capital in Western Europe. The British magazine MONOCLE says that it’s the number 10 city with better quality of life. the ‘’Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas’’ is the biggest bull fighting arena of Spain and the third in the world. There are many famous museums in Madrid, like de Prado Museum, which is visited by many people from all around the world. There also is the Zoo Aquarium and many famous sculptures and monuments. Culture The most important cultural buildings are: Real Academia de Artes de San Fernando Teatro Real Teatro Fernán Gómez Biblioteca nacional: it is a ministry of education, culture and sports. It has a page which you can see in the library and anywhere else with Internet. Museums: Museum Reina Sofía, National museum of Natural Science, Thyssen Museum… and also, one of the most important: Prado museum: It opened in 1819, 192 years ago. More than 2.000.000 people visits these museum every year. It has a lot of important paintings, from very famous artists as Francisco de Goya, Doménikos also known as El Greco… Transport We have the underground, the bus and some more public transport, but there is a very popular station here: Atocha station:Passengers: 44.2 million / year (2010) - Services, elevators, parking, information points and cafes - It is the first railway station in Spain in domestic voyages, and the second international route. - Includes: metro, long-distance train, train middle-distance, short distance trains (trains) and bus. In your free time… Zoo aquarium: It opened in 1972 and it has more than 500 different species, depending on the time, you can see some shows of different types of animals. You also can eat, but you have to bring your own food. Some restaurants as: La Guindalera Los Gabrieles Here you can celebrate a wedding, a party or something special, because it is a bit expensive: El Palacio del Negralejo Hard Rock: There are 300 of restaurants in 36 countries. The first one was built by Isac Tigreto and Peter Morten in London (1971) It is decorated with cloths and guitars of famous singers or guitarists and is set in the music of the 60s. It has American food. Population Madrid has a population of 2.905.100 people. Madrid is the 52nd province more populated. Here we officially speak Spanish. Muslims, Catholics, Jews and people of different religions live all together in Madrid. Typical food Si visitas Madrid tienes que comer las comidas más típicas y exquisitas: Cocido Madrileño Cochinillo asado Bocadillo de Calamares, los puedes comer en cualquier época del año. Huevos rotos: es una mezcla de huevos, patatas fritas y a veces también incluyen jamón. Lo puedes comer en cualquier época del año. Tapas: hay en casi todos los bares o restaurantes. Aquí su común para ir a cenar en un bar de tapeo. Important buildings Torres Kio: they are inclined and the form La Puerta de Europa Torres Business Area Torres de Colón Vicente Calderon Stadium: - Owner: Club Atletico de Madrid - Full name: Estadio Vicente Calderon (since 1971) - Previous names: Estadio Manzanares (1966-1971) - Dimensions: 105 x 70 m - Capacity: 54,851 spectators - Open: October 2, 1966 - The Estadio Vicente Calderon stadium is unique because of its architectural form. Broadly we can divide into four major areas. The Cibeles Fountain and the Neptune Fountain are very famous fountains in Madrid. More Important buildings Edificio de España: is located in the Plaza of Spain. With its 25 floors and 117 meters high, is the eighth tallest building in Madrid. The building designed as multifunctional housed until 2006 the Crowne Plaza, a shopping center, apartments, flats and offices. Currently empty and being reformed, which built luxury homes. Just keep intact the facade and lobby, as the other structural elements have been modified. Located in the Plaza of Spain, at the end of Gran Via, forms together with the neighboring skyscraper Torre Madrid, one of the most important architectural complexes of the city. The Crystal Palace: is a metal and glass structure located in the Jardines del Retiro in Madrid. It was built in 1887 on the occasion of the Exhibition of Plants of the Philippine Islands, a Spanish colony at that time, exhibiting the exotic in a setting of technological progress, creating an image of fantasy and unreality in the viewer. Its structure is metal, and is fully covered with glass plates, hence its name. Traditions Bullfighting: The first bullfight took place in celebration for the crowning of King Alfonso VIII. It is very popular in Spain with several thousand Spaniards flocking to their local bull-ring each week. It is said that the total number of people watching bullfights in Spain reaches one million every year. Bullfighting was originally a sport for the aristocracy and took place on horseback. So what happens during a bullfight?: Firstly the bull is let into the ring. Then, the top bullfighter called the Matador, watches his chief assistant wave a bright yellow and magenta cape in front of the bull to make it charge. He watches this in order to determine the bull's qualities and mood, before taking over himself. Then a trumpet is sounded and several fighters called Picadores weaken the bull by placing spears into it. This takes around 10 minutes. The faena consists of a running at the Matador carrying a muleta. This is a piece of thick crimson cloth draped over a short stick, which can be held in either the left hand or draped over the sword, the killing sword, which is always held in the right hand. Our famous artists Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was born the 29th of September of 1547 and died the 22nd of April of 1616, both in Spain. He was a soldier, a novelist and a poet. He wrote the most famous novel in the Spanish history: ‘’Don Quixote de la Mancha’’. There aren’t exact portraits of Cervantes, only things that are made following the things that he described in his writings. Francisco de Quevedo was born the 14th of September of 1580 and died the 8th of September of 1645, both of them in Madrid. He was an artist in the époque of the golden century. He’s one of the most famous artists in the Spanish history. He wrote narrative, poetic and dramatic novels. His poetic novels are the most famous of them. Quevedo worked for the Spanish court many time of his life. Important events The Fashion Week catwalk parade the collections of the most prestigious designers who have presented their latest creations, setting the trends for next autumn - winter, with various proposals and their different styles. The ¨La Feria Del Libro¨ is a cultural event that is celebrated once a year, during late May and early June in Madrid (Spain), in the park of Madrid's Retiro Gardens. The first time the fair was held 23 to 29 April 1933 and was held at the Paseo de Recoletos. Was organized by booksellers in Madrid. It was not until the fourth edition in 1936, the Fair made official. The fair brings together more than three hundred houses along the themed car ride Retiro in Madrid. Attendance to the exhibition is free. As a general rule for several years are normal for many famous writers who are to sign their latest works. By: Carla Casalengua García Emanuela Grosu Concha Lorente Montesinos Patricia Mihaela Orza Andrea Quero Hernández