Bobby

14th of August

Random Facts about Spain and Valencia

1.

Paella

Valencia is home to one the most famous dish, the paella. Rice is at the heart of the local Valencian cuisine, and there are a host of magnificent, succulent and honey sweet to the brothy and dry, oven cooked.

2

Silk

In 1609, sidelined from all trade with America , the city suffered an economic collapse in agriculture following the expulsion of the Moors that had converted to Christianity. Following this, in 1707, the position Valencia adopted in the War of the Spanish Succession, and its defeat in the battle of Almansa , meant the kingdom losing its old charters and privileges. It was the silk, in the 18 th century, that brought about its economic and cultural rebirth.

3

Ceramics

The Ibero -American Exposition of 1929 was a world's fair held in Seville , Spain . Many of the pavilions from the exposition remain, notably the famous Plaza de Espana , which chronicles each of the regions of Spain in ceramics, as well as some of the national pavilions which have now been converted to Consulate-Generals.

Ceramics were first made in this part of Andalucia during Neolithic times. The Romans, Moors, and Renaissance era Spaniards introduced many innovations, in fact, their influence can still be seen in the unique pottery of Ubeda . By http://iweb.tntech.edu/cventura/ceramic.htm

In Spain ceramic tiles are used for every thing. From tiling the floors for a house the walls of a house to the side walks out side. The are not usually plain the usually have some kind of painting, design on them.

4

America's Cup

The America's Cup is the most famous and most prestigious regatta in the sport of sailing, and the oldest active trophy in international sport, predating the FA Cup by two decades and the Modern Olympics by 45 years. The sport attracts top sailors and yacht designers because of its long history and prestige as the 'Holy Grail' of yachting. Although the most salient aspect of the regatta is its yacht races, it is also a test of boat design, sail design, fundraising, and managing people. The cup is named after the first yacht to win the trophy, the schooner America . The trophy remained in the hands of the New York Yacht Club of the United States from 1852 or 1857 (when the syndicate that won the Cup donated the trophy to the the club) until 1983 when the Cup was won by the challenger, Australia II of Australia, ending the longest winning streak in the history of sport.

The America 's Cup regatta is a challenge-driven yacht series that currently involves a best of 9 series of match racing (a duel between two boats). Since the 1992 match, the regatta has been sailed with the International America's Cup Class (ACC) sloop, a monohull boat that has an average length of about 75-feet (23 m). Any challenger who meets the requirements specified in the Deed of Gift, which governs the regatta, has the right to challenge the yacht club that holds the Cup. Since 1983, Louis Vuitton sponsored the Louis Vuitton Cup as a prize for the winner of the challenger selection series (which was inaugurated for the 1970 match). The America's Cup is a race between the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup and the current holder. If the challenging team wins the cup, the cup's ownership is transferred from the defender's yacht club to the winning team's yacht club.

Provided by Wikipedia

Spain ( Valencia ) will be hosting the 32 nd World Cup in 2007.

5

Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits are the highest value fruit crop in terms of international trade. There are two main markets for citrus fruit citrus.

Citrus production in most of Europe continues to decline, although the clementines produced by Spain are increasing in popularity among consumers.

Valencian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine from the Land of Valencia , in Spain . It is worldwide famous for its rice's, such as paella, and its citrus fruits.

6

San Jose

The Falles (in Valencian ) or Fallas (in Spanish) are a Valencian tradition which celebratesSaint Joseph's Day Saint Joseph's Day (19 March) in Valencia , Spain . Each neighbourhood of the city has an organized group of people, the Casal faller , that works all year long holding fundraising parties and dinners, usually featuring the famous speciality paella, and of course much music and laughter.

Each casal faller produces a construction known as a falla which is eventually burnt.

Las Fallas is Valencia 's most international festival. In the week of 19 March, the city fills with gigantic cardboard monuments, called ninots , for a competition that is marked by art, ingenuity and good taste. The origin of the celebration goes back to the carpenter's parot : these were wooden lamps used to light their workshops in winter, which they would burn out in the street on the night before the feast of San José . At first they would make them look like human forms by decorating them with old clothes and fabric. In the mid-19th century, however, they began to increase in size and height and to improve their forms, becoming huge decorative statues.

Although the most important acts are held during the week of the 19th, Valencia is busy preparing the festive atmosphere from 1 March with the mascletás , noisy firework displays that take place every day at 2pm in Town Hall Square . When the night of the 15th March finally arrives, it is time for the traditional plantà of the fallas . People work all night to erect more than 700 statues in the city's streets and squares. Some even start setting up days before - these huge statues can reach up to 20 metres in height. On the morning of 16th, Valencia dawns with its streets inhabited by caricatures and satirical representations that criticise politicians, celebrities and the most relevant events in the news, with a great sense of humour .

You can enjoy these impressive scenes for the following days until the cremà , on the night of 19/20, when they are set alight amidst a fascinating spectacle of light, music and fireworks. All are burnt except one ninot which, elected by a popular vote, is saved from the flames to form part of the collection at the Fallero Museum . Another of the most exciting moments of the Fallas is the floral offering to the Virgin Mary. When the Fallas organisations parade on 17 and 18 March in honour of the Virgin, they create a mountain of flowers 14 metres high. Open-air celebrations, parades, bullfights, competitions and other activities complete the festive programme .

Brought to you by: http://www.spain.info/TourSpain/Eventos/Fiestas/K/TW/0/Fallas%20de%20San%20Jose.htm?Language=en

7

Fireworks

The only thing I can come up with about the fireworks is that they just love them.   They have them at every thing day or night. We have been here three weeks know and one to go and they have had to massive fireworks show at the beach for no reason that I know of and come to find out they had multiple show each night all over the city at different times. Every time the have a parade of a fiesta they have a fireworks shoe to go with it along with a beer or four.

Photos by Bobby Burk

8

Water

Water here is important because something like 80% or the country of   Spain is surrounded by water. It is a major way for Spain to export its goods and to import things too by ship. It is also very good for recreational use as well.

Nabia was the Iberian Goddess of Rivers and Water in Lusitanian mythology.   The root origin of the name is Portuguese. The present-day river Navia in Galicia , Spain was named in honor of the deity. Likewise, the river Neiva , near Braga , Portugal is also named after her.

9

Valencian

Valencian ( valencià ) is the historical, traditional, and official name used in the Land of Valencia (Spain)) to refer to the language also known as Catalan ( català ) in the Spanish Autonomous Communities of Catalonia, Aragon and the Balearic Islands; in the country of Andorra; in the southern French region of the Roussillon; and in the Italian city of Alghero on the island of Sardinia. Valencian is also the name used by linguists to identify one of the most important dialectal varieties within the Catalan language spoken in central and southern Valencia .

According to the   “Law of Use and Education of Valencian ” approved in 1982, Valencian is the Land of Valencia's own language, and its citizens have the right to know it and to use it, both orally and in written form, in private or public instances. According to the last survey made by the Generalitat Valenciana in June 2005, approximately 94% of the Valencian population could understand it, 78% could speak and read it, and around 50% could write it.

Provided by Wikipedia

7th of July, 2006
Hey everyone,
This is Bobby Burk. We have only been here for four days so we haven’t done much or so you would think. Everyday has been packed full of stuff.
On the first day we went to school and took a test. Image that I came all the way to Spain to take another test, but really it was to place me in the correct level for my month of studies I will be doing here. The school that we are attending is new, actually we are some of the first students to attend here. Life is in Spain is definitely different than in the US because everything shuts down from 2 till 4 and it drives me crazy because I can’t get any thing done. We have been visiting a lot of places and on the first day we went to one of the oldest church in Valencia Cathedral-Campanario del Miguelete and I have attached some pictures of the cathedral and a group picture of the students in the college. Bull fighting is really big here and I have attached a picture of the massive bull ring here to which I hope to attended a real bull fight while I am here. The Pope is coming to Valencia this weekend and I am going to try and go see him.