For my first blog post I’m going to write on a subject about which I am completely ignorant; football. But since I am here in Spain to learn the language, I may as well pick up some of the culture too.

Coming from an Arsenal crazy household, I thought I could get away with the same eye-rolling indifference that I do when football invades the TV set at home. Oh how wrong I was. On my first social outing here in Spain, I’d expected a few friendly get-to-know-you drinks with polite chit chat. What I got was a full frontal assult on my eardrums as the entire bar spent 90 minutes screaming at the TV, as Real Madrid took on Villa Real.

But hey, I learnt a lot of good vocabulary! Here are some football words you may need to join in the Spanish national obsession;

• un árbitro = a referee/ umpire
• un portero = goalkeeper
• una parada = a save
• fuera de juego = offside
• un tiro libre = a freekick
• empatar = to equalize
• un empate = a tie/ a draw
• descanso = half time
• marcar = to score
• una entrada = a tackle
• descuento = injury time

And what a time to be a football fan. This Tuesday, Lionel Messi broke Barcelona’s goal scoring record. The Argentinian’s hatrick in the 5-3 victory against rivals Granada bought his total of goals for the Catalonian club to 234! The record had been set 60 years previously, by Cesar Rodriguez who played in the 40s and 50s. At only 24 years old, Messi is not only the top scorer in the Spanish League so far this season, but also holds the impressive title of ‘World Player of the Year’!

My Dad always says that football unites the world – and el Mundo Hispano is no exception. Did you know that Uraguay was the first World Cup Winner? What with Spain being the current world champions, and the rivalry game between Barcelona and Real Madrid (which Spaniards know as el Clásico) coming up, my excuses are running out to stay clueless about fútbol!

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Spring has come and there is a bunch of things you can enjoy in this wonderful weather. One of the things you can do in Spain, is to check out "Las Fallas" in Valencia.

Las Fallas or Falles, is a festival with a strong tradition in the city and province of Valencia, that is held from 14 to 19 March with huge attendance and wonderful shows.

The origin of "Falles" goes back to 18th century.The word "Fallas" comes from the Latin word fax which means torch. Valencian carpenters used a board of wood called 'parots' to hang their candles during the winter, With the coming of the spring,since they were no longer in use they were burned. Within the passing time burning of these parots has become integrated with the celebration of the festival. Puppets strung across the street from window to window and youth and artisans gathered materials like piles of lumber and ninots (dolls) that represent ironical public figures to lighten up the evening. The ninots were piled on the facades of buildings and they brought into one place and burned them at night. It is a commemoration Saint Joseph, the Patron of the Guild of Master Carpenters.

More or less the same tradition still continues, each group prepare their ninots with flamable materials and take them to "Grand Parade" which can be seen until the last day of the festival known as La Cremá (the burning). On 19th of March around midnight, these ninots are destined to be burned and the bonfire of the city lights up the evening.

Another tradition during the festival is “casal faller”, wearing historical and regional costumes and the sound of tabalet (traditional drum) in the streets. If it is your first time, be prepared to wake up early with “La Despertà”, the brass bands march through every street playing lively music so it is an energic way to start the day. And don’t be afraid, as there are fallers throwing firecrackers and noisemakers on the street. Every day the huge fireworks show which is called mascletá is held at 2 p.m in the Plaza Ayuntamiento.

The festival mood never drops down and during these 5 days, Valencia offers full entertainment, art and Spanish history. Recently “Las Fallas” Festival has been nominated to be one of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of the UNESCO. This dedication and great effort to keep Spanish culture alive, deserves to be seen.

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New York welcomes the eleventh edition of the Flamenco Festival, that after a year of delay the sound of “tacones” come back with all its glamour.

Since its creation in 2001, Flamenco Festival USA has become the most important showcase for Spanish culture outside Spain and a vital point of encounter between the American public and Spanish artists.

Flamenco Festival will be presented at many important venues of USA. Some of them are: NY City Center, Manhattan Center, Cervantes Institute in New York; Adrienne Arsh Center in Miami, The Lisner Auditorium in Washington DC and Emerson Majestic Theatre in Boston.

Throughout these ten years, the festival, has continued to grow in terms of number of artists, size of audiences, and public recognition, and it has become a yearly event. The Flamenco Festival USA has presented almost all the most important figures of the current flamenco panorama, and has highlighted the work of both traditional and contemporary artists. Apart from USA the show expands to several locations such as London, Moscow, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Santiago.

About one hundred and seventy artists take the stage every day. Amongst them several stars of flamenco world like Carmen Cortés, Rafaela Carrasco and Olga Pericet put their shows on stage. Until the end of the festival which is on 11th of March, it is advisable to take a look one of these shows:

Canteca de Macao, the performance of the band led, tinged with Latin, flamenco, reggae and jazz, will be the last day on which the hearing will Flamenco Festival in New York (March 11).

Sexy, sinuous and beautiful, La Shica sings a distinctive flamenco, colored by hip-hop, reggae and bossa nova that seeks to connect with a younger audience.

Jazz and flamenco can be considered to be different music genres but deep down under, both share a common root born out of the traditional music of West Africa. In this outstanding combination, jazz guitarist Doug Wamble and flamenco guitar virtuoso Niño Josele lead their respective ensembles through this rich interconnected musical territory.

Antonio Pitingo, Huelva born artist is one of the most popular young singers on today´s flamenco scene, famed for combining traditional forms of Cuban folk songs with flamenco.

In the center, a number of parallel cultural activities are also carried out to bring flamenco to the New York community with various conferences, free classes and meetings with artists such as guitarist José María Gallardo del Rey, who will present "Classical and flamenco."

If you happen to go one of these venues, don’t hesitate to enter as you will be enchanted with the power of flamenco music and Spanish culture.

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Many people travel to Spanish speaking countries depending on several reasons such as study, work or live. If you have no idea about the language before coming, it is pretty sure that you will have problems for a while. If you think you can communicate with your native language or in English as a common langauge, let’s make something clear you are wrong. So it is a necessity to know the basic words at least.

To make it easier and have a smooth transition to speak Spanish, here are a few tips to improve language skills.

• Take Spanish courses. Without proper grammar education, it is almost impossible to understand the language. In the classroom, you can ask anything that comes to to your mind and with the help of textbooks you can get used to vocabulary and idioms.
• Share a flat with Spanish speakers. It is necessary if you want a fast and effective result. In Spain most students especially who come for a short term, want to live with their friends from their own country. So they speak their native language which doesn’t help at all to their Spanish. If you speak with Spanish people they can correct your mistakes and since you are exposed to the language at a greater extent you don’t even understand how you start talking with a rapid pace.
• Listen to radio. Radio is an important aspect in Spain. Everyone loves it, starts and ends the day with radio. You can even hear it playing in the banks. In a country where radio is beloved, there are a lot of good programs thatyou can learn the vocabulary about politics, popular culture or sports even you can’t understand the very first time you will catch the sounds and realize the meanings afterwards.
• Listen to Spanish music only. This might be hard to anyone who is loyal to his favourite music genre but Spanish music offers vast examples from rock to flamenco, so pick a genre you like and go for it.
• Watch TV and films. You can never imagine how TV and films can help you understand the sentences and enables to distinguish the accents from each other. Watching a TV series you are familiar with, makes this process faster. As you know the storyline and remember the dialogues, you can easily match with the Spanish words.
• Read magazines and newspapers. A tabloid magazine also helps you to learn vocabulary. You can understand the situation and put the right word in your own collocation. It is a good company during waiting in the queue in the bank
• Keep a journal or write notes about your daily activities. It will inspire you to form sentences and memorize the words.

Apart from all of these helpful tips the most important thing about learning a language, is desire and ambition. Once you start to get used to everything about Spanish, the rest will come and you don't feel a foreigner anymore.

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Football can be accepted as one of the most favourite sports in Europe and in Spain it is almost impossible not to be addicted. Young or old everyone is interested in watching games and it is very rare that anyone who misses watching “El Clasico”. Because of this huge interest football clubs offer summer camps. Football camps are specifically for children and adolescents from 6 to 18 years and there is no need to be an expert to participate in the camp, just be willing to learn more technical and tactical about the game.

Barcelona Football Club offers summer camps during July and August. The students are resided in Sarria University Hall of Residence, located in a safe area with a beautiful scenery. Training practices will be at the Ciutat Esportiva (Sport City), the premier training facility used by the FC Barcelona first team.
The Real Madrid Camp is located at the Universidad Europea de Madrid on the Villaviciosa de Odón Campus. The students accomodate and train in that area. Both clubs have entertaining activities like visiting the stadiums and museums. It is possible to meet famous players like Messi and Ronaldo or even play with them.

If you want to be a player even recruited by a major club like these two, it is important to attend a camp, show and improve your talents. This is simply for students to get in contact with children of their own age and learn as much as possible from the experts. Most of the young people attending the camp, have the desire to become a professional in the future and be seen and spotted by the best teams in the world. In addition, there are specific programs for goalkeepers, where they teach all the techniques, how to develop reflexes, how to analyze a game from that area , what to say to team mates, how to catch a penalty, and so on. Lectures are also included, so they can have a comprehensive understanding of football or sport in particular and general, with videos and articles on healthy eating, competitive drills, etc..

A football camp is a great idea for the upcoming holidays and is during your stay Spanish is the main language for communication with your trainers, team mates and local people. Before you start your training you can improve your Spanish in summer camps designed for kids and teenagers selecting one of the many locations in Spain. So you can be 1-0 ahead in the game. Here is a list of Spanish football vocabulary before kicking off a football career in Spain.

Campamentos de fútbol = Football Camps
Adolescentes = Teenagers
Jugador fichado = A player that will likely to become pro.
Planear = To plan
Porteros = Goalkeepers
Atajar un penal = Catch a penalty
Fuera de juego = Offside
Tiro libre = Freekick
Anotarse = Sign up
Habilidades = Skills
Sancionado = Suspended, fined
Burlarse = Make fun of
Ambiente = Atmosphere
Alimentación = Food/Health care

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You can sense it’s time again for roses, chocolates, candies, hearts in pink or red colors and love is in the air to warm everyone in these freezing days. Valentine’s Day or Día de San Valentin in Spanish, is one of the most special day widely celebrated all throughout the world. It is an ideal time to show your interest and love either in traditional ways or in your own original way.

If you are one of those who haven’t decided what to do on this day, we can give you some helpful advice. Nobody can’t say no to a bouquet of red roses, candle light dinner, romantic love songs and slow dance. Before you can send a basket of balloons, teddy bears and chocolate boxes might be a good surprise in the morning. This year if you want to have something original and make this year unforgettable, here is a list of activities you can do in Spain:

- Drive the latest Ferrari F430 V8 F1, be the fastest driver in Spain! There are circuits available in Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia for this amazing experience.
- You can declare an official relaxation day and give a gift of SPA day. You can send away all the stress and feel yourself refreshed.
- If you love sea, you can think about ocean sailing. That will be an amazing journey through the high seas, exploring natural areas in secluded bays. The destinations are El Masnou, Getxo, Murcia, Cambrils, Vigo y Baiona.

- Quad Biking. A trip full of fun, skill and enjoy! This is an ideal gift for anyone, male or female, wanting to have a good time enjoying nature in these all-terrain vehicles, which are among the motorcycle and car. You can make a surprise in Segovia (Aldea Real - Navas de San Antonio - Marugan), Salamanca (Huerta, and Escurial de la Sierra), Cuenca (Villalba de la Sierra-Poyatos-Cuenca-Utrill). Ávila (Zona del Tiemblo)

- How about taking a tour on Segway, the vehicle which you can drive on your feet. You can pick a tour with the best views of Barcelona, Sagrada Familia, Agbar Tower and Camp Nou or if you prefer coastal town, there is a tour along the Paseo Marítimo in Sitges.
- Flotarium is a zero gravity tank which contains in its interior 600 liters of water and 300 kilos of salts. Within one hour session you'll lose the notion of body weight. It eliminates the gravity, light, sound and touch. Sounds good for a Valentine's Day gift.

- A tour with microlight. You can feel the air like a bird in a modern ultralight flexible wings, For those who have dreamed of flying, this is an unforgettable experience.You can watch Sevilla, Malaga or Barcelona over the clouds.
- Do you like cooking? Taking a course of exotic cuisine like Japanese, Thai or Mexican sounds fun and romantic.
- How about taking Spanish course in Spain or Latin America, you can pick one of the most suitable city for you and share wonderful moments.
- You can show your love publishing a video on Youtube or the easiest way is to send a digital card.

So what are you planning or wishing for this year? Something original or traditional? A serenade, a romantic picnic or revealing your secret love. Why don’t you send an e-card and show your love right now?

Happy Valentine’s Day! ¡Feliz Dia De Los Enamorados!

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It’s February and everyone is looking forward to enjoy the festivals in Spain. There are three famous, vibrant and entertaining carnivals you should check during these days. These carnivals are must-see events to live Spanish culture and entertainment style.

Carnival of Badajoz (17 - 21 February 2012): Badajoz is located in the Extremadura region at the Portugal border. It is a small city with almost 150.000 habitants and It is a 4-hour distance from Salamanca by bus. It is considered one of the best carnivals in Spain and has been active for 31 years. Several months before February, people design costumes generally in an artisan way, prepare their disguises original they will wear in the Contest.
In Lopez de Ayala Theatre there will be concerts and special shows which you can hear satiric lyrics

Carnival of Cadiz (16 - 26 February 2012): Cadiz is a small and lively Andalusian city that offers all the beauties of south in this carnival. Carnival of Cadiz is said to be the third largest Carnival celebration in the world (after Rio de Janeiro and Trinidad). African and Creole rhythms, sambas, rangeuras and rustic Colombian tunes all mix in the streets with traditional flamenco music. Local people work hard throughout the year to develop their acts and perfect their performances. Most of them compete at the city's Gran Teatro Falla.

Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (15 - 26 February 2012): Tenerife is the capital of the Canary Islands and it is considered to be the second-most popular and internationally-known carnival, after Rio de Janeiro. The carnival takes place in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the areas near the port where people dance to the sound of the best Salsa groups. After the Queen of the Carnival is selected, the celebrations begin with the Parade.Nearly all the inhabitants of Tenerife prepare incredible fancy dress outfits and then show them off during the whole festival.

The most important characteristics of these carnivals are;

Parades: Except from the local people you can see Murgas. The Murga is a group of between 10 and 15 components, their role is to make songs mostly satirical, comic or complaint for the costumes, centered on current events locally or nationally.

Bands: the troupe is a group of at least 30 members, that encourage the people through parades to the beat of drums percussion, lefties, simple boxes and rumba, campanillos, gourds, tambourines etc. and the execution extolling its colorful choreography and spectacular costumes created, designed and confecionados by members of the troupe with its outstanding artistic and evocative hats.

Groups: These groups are often formed gang of friends or relatives who prepare their costume together, which are all the same so as to create usually a satirical or funny scene.

Disguise: It is very important for all of these carnivals. Not only local people but also visitors from outside prepare costumes.

Street: It all begins and ends here. Everyone enjoys the music, food, entertainment on the streets and it never stops till the end of the carnival.

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The first Iztapalapa Tamal Fair 2012 lauched yesterday, which will be from 2nd to 5th of February, between 9:00 am and 8:00 pm and it is expected more than 25 thousand visitors. The city, one of the federal districts of Mexico City, will host 40 exhibitors to serve the best tamales in the area.

A tamale or tamal in Spanish, is a traditional Latin American dish made of masa (a starchy dough, usually corn-based), which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The leaf is left out only the filling is eaten. It can be filled with meat, cheese, fruits, vegetables or any other thing depending on the taste. Putting some pink colored sugar to the corn mix and fill it with raisins or dried fruits will make a sweet tamale (tamal de dulce).
Tamales have been traced back to the Ancient Mayans, who prepared them for feasts as early as the Preclassic period (1200-250 BC).
Currently you can find tamales from Patagonia, Argentina, to Alaska. In Mexico there are 500 varieties of tamales and 4 000 ways to prepare them. Tamale is a favorite food in Mexico, preffered at both breakfast and dinner, and often goes along with a hot Atole or Champurrado, corn-based beverages. Street vendors also sell tamale from huge, steaming, covered pots (tamaleras). It is accepted as a symbol of native roots and mestizaje in Mexico.

This year in fair area the visitors will taste lots of tamales such as the ancestral Mixtlapique, made or charales fishes; the tlapiques and tlapates, chicken tamale casings, purslane with beef tongue and beans, among other varieties, as well as of slices with sausage, blackberry style philadelphia cheese, pepperoni and cheese, and so on.

In a statement, from the head delegational of Iztapalapa, explained that the first Tamal Fair 2012, is intended to contribute to the assertion of corn as a key element in the basic food of Mexico, to help the struggle to maintain as a safeguard grain and keep it free of GMOs.

Besides, city delegations kindled the fire in the pyramid of the Cerro de la Estrella, which began the celebration of the new year Náhualt 2012-13. In this regard, this date is symbolic because it is the mixture of two cultures, the celebration of Candlemas Day and the celebration of New Year Náhuatl, both with tamales and atole.

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World Snow Day (Día Mundial de la Nieve) is an annual show which takes place as a part of the international FIS (Fédération Internationale de Ski - The International Ski Federation) campaign 'Bring Children to the Snow’ introduced in 2007. World Snow Day will be comprised of various activities, taking place simultaneously on a single weekend around the world.

This year Candanchú skiing resort, which is situated in the Aragonese Pyrenees (in the province of Huesca, Spain), has prepared activities focusing on World Snow Day, both recreational and full of competition. The resort is on the Spanish-French border in the centre of the Pyrenees, 385 kilometres north west of Barcelona.

The program as follows:

- University Day in the Snow (January 20): This is a traditional Candanchú activity, fully penetrates into the concept of the World Snow Day, since it brings snow to all students at the University of Navarra, that gives them a full day of energy, good atmosphere and lots of snow

- Rector University of Navarra In Alpine Skiing and Snowboar Trophy (January 20): an almost festive competition to find out who is the best skier and snowboarder at the University, puts a lot of pressure and guarentees maximum competitiveness.

- Exhibition of photographs, clothing and other material relating to skiing in the 50's: at the Hotel Edelweiss from day 16 to 22. Impressive changes in the material and the mountain itself over the past 50 years is a must see.

- "Vintage Week" is held in the same hotel under the same setting on Saturday 21, you can enjoy the night with 50's music and atmosphere in the cafe. The good work of the staff of Hotel Edelweiss will make you to go back in time.

- Spain Championship Winter Triathlon (Walking Race on the streets of Jaca, biking from Jaca to Candanchú and cross country skiing in the station, 21st of January): Candanchú retrieve this triathlon, which is done in the more traditional form which is so-called "all snow" for many years. More than 200 registered participants struggle to be the best winter triathlete of Spain. As usual, cross-country skiing will determine the final classification. The first runner reaches Candanchú around 12.30 h.

- Pirena 2012 (Sled Dog Racing): With the lack of snow at the Circuit de Tramacastilla, Candanchú host two stages of this competition, opening on Sunday 22 and the stage of Candanchú on Monday 23rd. This record-breaking edition of Pirena participation and monitoring, consolidates itself as the most important test of its own kind in Europe and one of the leading worldwide. Departure: 10 hours, downhill circuit of Candanchú.

- Inter Gymkhana Club "World Snow Day": The club that works with Candanchú, offers the opportunity to have fun and to measure the ability of skiing in a small plot of obstacles and traps to be installed in the track "Slalom". Nearly 500 young people is expected to participate in this entertaining test.

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There is some controversy about whether or not this story is true and a quick Internet search reveals all kinds of arguments, but, we think it is interesting and worth a mention.

According to a group of archaeologists, 1,100 year old Mayan ruins have been discovered at Track Rock Gap, near Georgia´s tallest mountain. Investigators believe that 154 stone masonry walls are visible, used for creating agricultural terraces, as well as other stone structures. The Mayans are known for having implemented advanced irrigation systems, adapting to difficult terrains. Some believe that the site could, in fact, be the lost city of Yupaha, which Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto failed to find on an expedition in 1540.

Some theorize that the Mayans made the move north around 800 AD, when the once flourishing population began to collapse due to volcanic eruptions, wars and extreme drought. In fact, strong similarities in architectural forms of towns along southern Mexico and southeastern USA have documented and some agronomists believe that corn, beans and tobacco was introduced to the Native Americans from those who migrated north from Mexico.

Despite all these theories, no ruins have ever been found in the US that have been attributed to people who originated in what today is Mexico. Although, many point out that Native American tribes such as the Creeks, Alabamas, Natchez, Chitmachas and Choctaws may be descendants of southern indigenous groups and particularly point out the use of Mesoamerican words in the Creek Indian language, for example.

The mystery remains: Where did the Mayans go? Archaeologists know that the Mayan civilization suffered a rapid collapse and for 170 years they have debated what exactly happened to the vast number of people that once thrived in the area. Mass immigration has been hard to prove and many archeologists have concluded that the Mayans simply died in masse.

However, in the Georgian Mountains there has always been “evidence”. Ruins found around the state were usually attributed to the Cherokee Indians, who denied having created the circular structures and wall terraces on the mountaintops and mountainsides. In the mid-20^th Century, modernization in Georgia led to little conservation of these “Indian” mounds and stone structures, most being swept away to give way to highways and other construction projects. It wasn’t until the late 20^th century that the state took at active role in trying to conserve this part of its history, the most famous site being the ruins of Fort Mountain State Park.

In 1999, an archaeologist named Mark Williams from the University of Georgia led a group to study the southeastern side of Brasstown Bald. The ruins survived reveal a massive 5 sided pyramidal mound, possibly dating back to 900 AD, partially sculpted out of an existing hill with clay. Of all the indigenous tribes of the Americas, only the Itza Mayas and the Creek Indian ancestors have been known to build 5-sided earth pyramids as their principal mounds, and dozens of similar structures can be found in Central America.

Other reasons to suspect a Mayan presence in the area can be found on early maps of the area. The name “Itsate” can be found. “Itsate” is the name that the Itza Mayans used to call themselves.

An archaeological survey by Loubser’s firm surveyed the area and is said to have done soil dating which estimated that some of the shards were made around 760 AD – 850 AD, around the time that the Mayan population plummeted. The study offered no firm conclusions, but did state that examples of similar sites only exist in the Maya Highlands of South America.

Is Track Rock Gap the “missing link” that archaeologists and architects had been seeking since 1841? Did the Mayas make their way North and establish new cities? There are many debates… If the site does prove specific links between the Southeastern Native Americas and the ancient Mayans, then, according to Thornton, this could be the “most important archeological discovery in recent times.”

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