HELP!!!

It's May already and I still don't know where I can go on my summer vacation. I want to go abroad and, if possible, speak English. But it can also be somewhere in Spain (it's a cheaper option, right?). What do you recommend?

Alex

These are two pictures from last summer. Can you guess the place?

The Mona's Day. By Montse Farré

The Mona’s day
By Montse Farré


Hi everybody there, my name is Montse Farré, I’m second year English student. I’m from Catalonia, I was born in Lerida, but I live in Navalmoral since four years ago.

Last Easter I went back to my homeland, Lerida and I would like to talk to you about the traditional use we have there on Easter mondays, which consists of eating a sponge cake known as the Easter “Mona” . I got all of this information on the Internet and I have just made some changes to it, but the photograps shown here, were taken by myself and some of them were taken by my sister. I must tell they were specifically made for this article.

The Easter Mona

‘The Easter Mona’ is a typical confectionery of the Aragonese, Valencian and Catalonian regions and of certain areas of Murcia either. It is a sort of Easter cake the people here eat and taste to symbolize that the Lent and abstinence times are over.

Origin

Its name comes from the word “munna”, it is an arabic term, which literally means “mouth provisioning “. It was just a present the ancient moorish made to their lords and military chiefs.

The Making

The Mona’s ingredients are flour, sugar ,eggs and salt. Its a sort of mass which takes a lot of hand work to do the rolling. It is required that this mass be left alone to ferment by itself for about an hour before its baking in the oven. In Catalonia, the Mona’s base is made of sponge cake and later it is filled with yellow cream and chocolate or fruit marmalade instead, then it is covered with Catalan cream,.whose surface has been previously brown-toasted. The baker or confectioner carefully pours the cream over theMona and add almonds sticking them to the sides around. The picture shown here was made by courtesy of Teres confectionery.


As the time goes by, the Monas are being more and more embellished with colored feathers, or with little chicken figures made of chocolate and/ or covered with chocolate pills similar to the M&M’s candies.

Little by little, the original hen eggs that formerly were adorning the Monas, have been gradually substituted by chocolate eggs. Some time later, the chocolate ornaments have taken more and more importance. Thus, presently, some Monas made by confectioners and pastries masters are sculptures made of pure chocolate, or white one, or even artificially coloured chocolate. The sculptures which are a reference to well known cartoons like; Hello Kity, Micky mouse and many other famous cartoon animations watched by children all over the world, fairly attract the attention of kids and adults who spent hours enjoying their viewing. As you can see in the following photographs.

In other cases, these figures are related to famous characters, amongst them, football players like Pujol. Look at the Pujol’s figure in the picture below.

In some cases the prices of some of these figures necessarily surpass the price of the very cake containing them.

Traditional Uses

Traditionally the Mona is a present made by the godfather to his godson on Easter sundays after the Catholic mass. On Easter mondays it has become a tradition that two o three families be reunited to have a celebration meal. Sometimes it’s just a group of friends who gather to eat the Mona at some place of the countryside in the nearby.
It’s an authentic banket or dinner-party where lamb steaks, roasted rabbit, the paella and specially the wine are never missing.

In many towns the confectioner’s compete to show in their shop windows the most spectacular chocolate sculptures, which may be a scaled model of a building or some popular characters, or perhaps a set of cakes embellished with chocolate or “guirlache” figures. (Guirlache is made of nuts, almonds, hazels stuck altogether with caramel. It can be shown as a mass or as a hard block).

In Lérida, for instance, the Prats’ confectioner, one of the best in the area, has made this year a real size chocolate sculpture with different colors, presenting the famous soccer player Leo Messi. Look again the evidence in the next photograph.


They also gave me the chance to show you the wide variety of Monas, that undoubtedly are being sold today, the Mona’s day in Catalonia. A line of all of these Easter Monas inside the confectionery’s counter is shown here.

This cake was born typically to celebrate the Easter’s monday, and so it came along the custom of families going out to the countryside to enjoy it, while sharing the day together, turning the day into a good ocassion for everyone. Therefore, it has all ended up giving the cake’s name to the day, known today by many of us as the Mona’s day.

Eyjafjallajökull's Ash Cloud

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REYKJAVIK, April 15: "This is an explosive eruption. That means there's lots of volcanic ash," volcanologist Armann Hoeskuldsson of the University of Iceland.

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Was he right?

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Reading about the violent volcanic eruption in Iceland last month, I came across some disturbing news about the possible long-term effects of the ash cloud in Europe. Although we are treating this event as a temporary inconvenience, it could be in the sky for some time. Did you know the last time this volcano erupted in 1821 the eruptions lasted for months?

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Well, imagine European airspace being closed until September.

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Some bad news:

• Many airlines now on the edge of failure including BA may not be able to survive. The capacity will be lost and when the skies open in the autumn there will be nothing to replace it
• London (LHR) is the hub of the global air traffic - some other place will take its place and LHR will never get all of its pre-eminence back - the need for a more diverse system will be made obvious
• Tourism in Europe will hit a blow like no other. Countries like Spain and Greece that are already weak - that also depend on Tourism will take another hit and another step to the edge or maybe over the edge
• Business travel will take a huge hit - seeing your client in person will be very hard
• Air freight will take a big knock as will the just in time aspects of air
• The banks will be put under a lot of pressure again
  

But there´s good news too:

• If I was Skype, I would be thinking abut how I can make conferencing even easier - video online will be huge
• If I was a cruise line, I would be thinking about what we could do - a 4 day weekend crossing would be a great alternative - if we could test this and see what the experience could be - could mean a return to a lot of ship travel - after all travel by air is hell now anyway
• A huge boost for rail - a lot of pressure on Eurostar and the Chunnel
• More reason to think local for many things - we can see how vulnerable we are now - air today Peak oil tomorrow?

Assume a long break, what do you think would be the bad and good news?

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I forgot .... try pronouncing this: AY-yah-fyah-lah-YOH-kuul

UK elections (for 2NI and higher)

Hi!

I'm sure you've all heard about the last general elections in Britain, held last Thursday.

It still shocks me that the news is getting so much coverage in Spain. Everybody talks about the hung Parliament or the system reform. People mention Nick Clegg in the supermarket, much as they would refer to the chap next door.

Well, if you:

- feel a bit lost in all the fuzz,

- still don't know how 20% of the votes can result in 8% of the seats in Parliament,

- just want to bullshit about English things over some beers, and show your friends what this language school is doing for you,

here's a video in slow, very clear English, that might help. Enjoy!

Do you think the British system is fair? Is the Spanish system fairer, or even more unfair?

"United in Diversity"

Why are we celebrating Europe Day today?

You may have come across a reference in a diary or elsewhere to the fact that 9 May is "Europe Day" and perhaps asked about its significance.

Probably very few people in Europe know that on 9 May 1950 the first move was made towards the creation of what is now known as the European Union.

In Paris that day, against the background of the threat of a Third World War engulfing the whole of Europe, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman read to the international press a declaration calling France, Germany and other European countries to pool together their coal and steel production as "the first concrete foundation of a European federation".

What he proposed was the creation of a supranational European Institution, charged with the management of the coal and steel industry, the very sector which was, at that time, the basis of all military power. The countries which he called upon had almost destroyed each other in a dreadful conflict which had left after it a sense of material and moral desolation.

Everything, therefore, began that day. That is why during the Milan Summit of EU leaders in 1985 it was decided to celebrate 9 May as "Europe Day".

Every country which democratically chooses to accede to the European Union endorses its fundamental values of peace and solidarity.

These values find expression through economic and social development embracing environmental and regional dimensions which are the guarantees of a decent standard of living for all citizens.

While Europe as such has existed for centuries, the elements which united it, in the absence of rules and institutions, have in the past been insufficient to prevent the most appalling tragedies.

The integration of Europe will not come about in one day or even in a few decades. Deficiencies are still numerous and there are evident imperfections. The project which was begun just after the Second World War is still very new. In the past, efforts at European union were based on domination of one group over another. These attempts could not last, because those who had been conquered had only one aspiration: to regain their freedom.

Today's ambition is completely different: to build a Europe which respects freedom and the identity of all of the people which compose it. Only by uniting its peoples can Europe control the mastery of its destiny and develop a positive role in the world.

The European Union is at the service of its citizens. While keeping their own specific values, customs and language, European citizens should feel at ease in the "European home".

For the 60th anniversary of the declaration, the EU institutions are in celebration mode, organising concerts, dance shows, a giant quiz, information stands and all sorts of other activities.

You can get more information on these events and watch the Schuman Declaration Video at:

http://www.europeanmovement.eu/index.php?id=10141#c35550

Are you celebrating Europe Day?

And the winners are...

1st prize

Humm, ¡qué rico! (Peking, China)

Juan Luis Saavedra Moreno
2NB Portuguese

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2nd prize

Disfrutando de las playas caribeñas (Cancún, México)

Sergio Martín González

2NI English

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3rd prize

"O peso da arte". Surpreendentes esculturas nas ruas, e ao ar livre para nós deleitarmos com elas. Admirável! (Cueva del Soplao, Cantabria)

Inés María Pérez García
2ºNA Portuguese

CONGRATULATIONS!!

THE D-DAY

Thanks everyone for voting in our photo contest! It has been a thrilling race till the last minute. It was so exciting to have voters from all over the world. I guess the Brits were warming up for today's big day...

We'd like to let you know that we appreciate your constructive comments. Future editions of the contest will incorporate as many of your suggestions as possible.

If you're in the neighborhood, don't miss out on TODAY'S SHOW (Casa de la Cultura, 5:30 sharp), which will include theater plays, a presentation of the pictures and, of course, our own version of a prize “ceremony”!

See you there

Seventy years "without food or water"

A team of scientists and doctors are studying the bizarre case of a man in India who says he has survived without food or water for the last 70 years.

Prahlad Jani, 82, also known as Mataji, is being examined in a hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He claims that special powers from Hindu goddess Amba have allowed him to shun food and water since the age of eight.

A spokesperson for the Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences says that Mataji may help with working out strategies to combat water and food shortages during natural disasters.
He added that soldiers may also benefit from the study if they face situations, "when they are left in the deserts or in forest or in high altitude areas."

Mataji has not taken on any liquid or food since entering the hospital. But Sudhir Shah, a Neurophysician from Sterling University says this is unremarkable: "A person can live without food and water for three, four, seven to twelve days."

There are unusual aspects to Mataji's case. Since being placed under observation he has not passed urine, which Mr. Shah describes as a "unique phenomena." Investigations into Mataji will last for a total of 20 days.

Can you imagine your life without food or water?