LICEUL TEHNOLOGIC DE SERVICII „SFANTUL APOSTOL ANDREI” PLOIESTI

GRUNDTVIG LEARNING PARTNERSHIP„PROMOTING ENGLISH AS MEANS OF

COMMUNICATION IN EUROPEAN ADULT EDUCATION” (GRU - 13 - P - LP - 253 - PH – ES)

MATERIAL CREATED FOR THE ENGLISH LESSONS ORGANIZED WITH THE SPANISH ADULT STUDENTS BY

PROF. ANDREI SORINA MONICANOVEMBER 2013

MEET ROMANIA, THE LAND OF FAIRY TALES

Romania on the map of Europe

Since 2007 Romania is part of the European Union

The 9 regions of Romania

Flags of Romania and Spain

Romanian climate The highest

temperatures: +44.5°C (in the South)

The lowest temperatures:

-32.5°C (2 years ago)

The highest peak: Moldoveanu – 2544 m

Ploiesti is situated at half distance between Bucharest and the Carpathians

Romania has 4 seasons

Winter

Summer

Autumn

spring

Natural beauties – amazing landscapes

The Carpathians - 11 National Parks and 7 Natural Parks

Wild animals protected by the law

6 Salt Mines from which salt was extracted for 1000 years

Constant temperature +12°C

Popular tourist attractions

Recommended by doctors for lungs diseases and weak immune system

Constant humidity

A great number of famous caves in Romania

Glacial lakes, thermal lakes,volcanic lakes, mineral water springs

Famous resorts

Muddy volcanoes and mud good for health

The Biosphere Reservation of Danube Delta

Tourists from all over the world visit it every year

Difficult to live there in winter

Famous and beautiful places built by people

The merry cemetery from Sapanta

It became an open-air museum and a national tourist attraction

It is famous for its colorful tombstones with naïve paintings describing in a poetic and original manner the people who are buried there and scenes from their lives

The monasteries from the Northern part of Romania

The 7 villages with fortified churches from Transylvania

Enlisted as UNESCO world heritage sites

Built in the 13th century as defensive works within which people could take shelter from the invaders (the Ottoman Empire)

Prince Charles has properties here and his foundation is involved in the restoration of many historical monuments

Medieval cities from Transylvania

Famous Castles

The Bran Castle (Dracula’s Castle)

Savarsin Castle (the residence of the Romanian king, Michael I)

The Huniad Castle

Peles Castle (build by the first king of Romania who was of German origin) is 150 years old

Citadels

Bucharest The Houses of

Parliament is the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon from the USA

It has 1100 rooms

The churches with wooden tower from Maramures and Bucovina – enlisted on

UNESCO world heritage list

Popular traditions and customs

Traditional clothes, dances and songs

Calusarii

Calusarii ritual is inscribed on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

The dancers called Calusari are invested with supernatural powers and while dancing they protect people from the female demons

They also bring luck, health and happiness to people watching them dancing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTlmPgaXdoM#t=81

Christmas caroling and sacrificing the pig

Sacrificing the pig is a strong pagan tradition which remained till nowadays in traditional country life

Pigs were sacrificed to feed the sun with their blood in order to help him become stronger, fight against winter and bring spring

This custom resisted along with the Christian one in collective memory

Painting eggs on Easter

Painting eggs on Easter is an ancient tradition It is performed with wax and different natural

colours It’s a tradition preserved at the countryside On Easter Day, people knock eggs and say

“Jesus has risen!” and “He has risen indeed!”

Spring traditions

First March Amulets

It is an ancient tradition celebrated at the beginning of spring

Women and girls wear March Amulets to let people know spring is coming and to be happy and lucky

The red string symbolizes the blood and life and the white one – the purity

Traditional food

Common things to Romanians and Spaniards/ Catalans

Romanians love football as much as Spaniards and Catalans do

Both Romanian, Spanish and Catalan have a common ancient language at the basis: the Latin language

Both Romanians, Spanish and Catalans are friendly, warm and kind

They all like fiestas, holidays and dancing

Material created by

prof. ANDREI SORINA MONICAproject coordinator and teacher of

English