Ciencia Activa students have recorded a podcast about Tambov, a Russian city which is the destination of postcard 14.
25/11/2015
Postcard contest awards
The finalists of the contest "Design an Ourense-themed postcard" have just received their prizes.
The winners are Lucía Conde (1º Bac) and Paula Gómez (6º Primaria).
Here you have a video showing the finalists receiving their prizes. Congratulations!
20/11/2015
We've received a postcard from Goa (India)!
A postcard from Goa, in southern India, has just arrived! Yippee!!
Thank you, Kbdessai, for this amazing postcard featuring the Ganges or Ganga, the great river in the plains of the northern Indian subcontinent. For centuries it has been the holy river of Hinduism.
If you want to know more about this fascinating country, visit our section EXPLORING PLACES.
Exploring Places XX: Goa, India
We have received a postcard from GOA!
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| Goa Vagator Beach view |
WHERE IS GOA?
Goa is a state located in the western region of India. India is a large country in South Asia. It is the seventh largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people.
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| Location of India |
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| Location of Goa in India |
The postcard received features the River Ganges or Ganga, the trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The 2525 km river rises in the Western Himalayas and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal.
Vanarasi is a holy city located on the banks of Ganga. There are nearly 100 bathing ghats (flight of steps) on Ganga at Varanasi. Varanasi is at its brilliant best by the ghats, the long stretch of steps leading down to the water on the western bank of the Ganges. Most are used for bathing but there are also several ‘burning ghats’ where bodies are cremated in public. The main one is Manikarnika where you’ll often see funeral processions threading their way through the backstreets to this ghat.
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| The Ganges |
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| Manikarnika cremation |
India is famous for being one of the most ancient civilization centers of the world, for its many gods and their rich history and influence on life, even in modern times.
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| Hindu Gods |
In addition to the many temples, gods and scenic landscapes, India is famous for its spices, the Kashmir region, grand weddings, festivals, dances, Indian cuisine and Bollywood.
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| Spices in an Indian Market |
India is also famous for being the birthplace of Gandhi.
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| Gandhi |
PLACES TO VISIT
India offers a wide variety of places to visit. Some of them are the following:
The Taj Mahal
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| Taj Mahal |
The Taj was built by Shah Jahan as a memorial for his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631. The death of Mumtaz left the emperor so heartbroken that his hair is said to have turned grey virtually overnight. Construction of the Taj began the following year and, although the main building is thought to have been built in eight years, the whole complex was not completed until 1653.
Agra Fort
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| Agra Fort |
With the Taj Mahal overshadowing it, one can easily forget that Agra has one of the finest Mughal forts in India. Construction of the massive red-sandstone fort, on the bank of the Yamuna River, was begun by Emperor Akbar in 1565.
Vishwanath Temple
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| Vishwanath Temple |
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There are temples at almost every turn in Varanasi, but this is the most famous of the lot. It is dedicated to Vishveswara – Shiva as lord of the universe. The current temple was built in 1776 by Ahalya Bai of Indore; the 800kg of gold plating on the tower and dome was supplied by Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Lahore 50 years later.
LIFESTYLE
India offers astounding variety in virtually every aspect of social life. Diversities of ethnic, linguistic, regional, economic, religious, class, and caste groups crosscut Indian society, which is also permeated with immense urban-rural differences and gender distinctions. Differences between north India and south India are particularly significant, especially in systems of kinship and marriage.
If you want to discover more about this multicultural country, watch the video below.
Sources
18/11/2015
Discover Ourense XIII: Pulpo á Feira (Galician Style Octopus)
Silvia Iglesias, a 2nd grade student, has written a postcard that shows one of the best-known dishes in Galicia, "pulpo á feira". Would you like to know how to prepare it?
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| Ingedientes pulpo á galega |
Ingredients (four portions):
1 octopus (approx. 2 kilos)
500 grams of potatoes
Paprika
Spicy paprika
Salt
Olive oil
Preparation:
1) Soften the
octopus. There are two ways to this: you can either beat it with a wooden
rolling pin until its texture softens or freeze it for two days and defrost it
the day before cooking it in the fridge.
2) Peel and cut
the onion into small pieces and add it to a pan with water. When it begins to
boil is time to add the octopus.
3) Grab the
octopus’s head and dip it in the pan three times. After the third time you put
it in and take it out add to the pan permanently. Cook for 50 minutes.
4) Once cooked
remove the pan from the fire and let it cool for 15 minutes.
5) Using the same
water in which the octopus was cooked, cook the potatoes (previously peeled and
diced). While they boil cut the octopus in medium sized slices.
6) When the
potatoes are cooked remove from water and add to a platter. We add the octopus
slices on top.
7) The final touch
is adding the olive oil parrika and salt.
Bon appétit!
Exploring Places XXI: Beijing, China
Postcard 13 is on its way to BEIJING!
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| Beijing skyline |
WHERE IS BEIJING
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| Location of China |
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| Location of Beijing within China |
Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of
China and it’s located in the northeast of the country on a plain. Rivers Yongding, Chaobai, Juma and
Wenyu flow through the municipality. It has humid continental climate
characterised by hot, humid summers and cold, windy, dry winters. Its air
quality is often poor.
..being China's
political, cultural, and educational center. It is home to the headquarters of
most of China's largest state-owned companies, and is a major hub for the
national highway, expressway, railway, and high-speed rail networks. The
Beijing Capital International Airport is the second busiest in the world by
passenger traffic.
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| Tiananmen Square in 1989 |
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| Beijing airport |
The city's history
dates back three millennia. As the last of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of
China, Beijing has been the political center of the country for much of the
past eight centuries. The city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples,
parks and gardens, tombs, walls and gates, and its art treasures and
universities have made it a center of culture and art in China.
LANDMARKS
The Forbidden City
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| The Forbidden City |
The Forbidden City
was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing
dynasty—the years 1420 to 1912. It is located in the centre of Beijing, China,
and now houses the Palace Museum.
Temple of Heaven
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| Temple of Heaven |
The Temple of Heaven is a medieval complex of religious buildings which
was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual
ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good Harvest.
Summer Palace
The Summer Palace is a recreational park with lakes, gardens and
palaces. Its origins date back to the Jin dinasty in 1153.
Ming Tombs
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| Ming Tombs |
The Ming tombs are
a collection of mausoleums built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty from 1420.
Zhoukoudian
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| Zhoukoudian entrance |
Zhoukoudian is a
cave system in Beijing. Here was one of the first specimens of Homo erectus,
dubbed Peking Man, and the bones of the gigantic hyena.
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| Great Wall of China |
The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone,
brick, earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west
line across the historical northern borders of China to protect the Chinese
states and empires against the raids and invasions of the various nomadic
groups of the Eurasian Steppe. Several walls were being built as early as the
7th century BC but the majority of the existing wall is from the Ming Dynasty.
The Grand Canal
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| Grand Canal |
The Grand Canal is
the longest canal or artificial river in the World. Starting at Beijing, it
passes through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and
Zhejiang to the city of Hangzhou, linking the Yellow River and Yangtze River.
The oldest parts of the canal date back to the 5th century BC, although the
various sections were finally combined during the Sui dynasty (581–618 AD)
LIFESTYLE
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| Qianmen shopping street |
80% of the
population are working age people. The population increases slightly every year
due to migration.
There are about
200,000 foreigners living in Beijing on
any given day including students, business travelers and tourists.
People speak the
Beijing dialect, which belongs to the Mandarin subdivision of spoken Chinese.
Watch this two-minute video to know more about Beijing:
Sources:
Postcard 13 has been sent to Beijing (China)
Postcard 13 is travelling to Beijing, the capital of China, 9286 kilometres away!
Silvia Iglesias, a 2nd grade primary student, has written this postcard featuring one of the most popular dishes in Galicia: "pulpo á feira"
In DISCOVER OUR HOMETOWN, Silvia explains how to prepare Galician-style octopus. Thanks, Silvia! Visit EXPLORING PLACES if you want to know more about Beijing.
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