About Spain

About Spain


Spain(Spanish is Espana), officially the Kingdom of Spain a country located in Southern Europe, with two small exclaves in North Africa. The mainland of Spain is bounded on the south and east by Mediterranean Sea, on the north by the Bay of Biscay and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The king is Juan CarlosⅠ. Madrid is the capital city and the most populous metropolitan in Spain.
Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities Ceuta and Melilla. These autonomous communities are subdivided into 50 provinces. Some autonomous communities have local holidays. There have interesting characteristic every area.
Spanish (called both espanol and castellano in the language itself) is the official language, but other regional languages are also spoken. And those are the primary languages in some of their respective geographies. The following languages are co-official with Spanish according to the appropriate Autonomy Statutes. Catalan, Galician and Basque are one of the regional languages. These come from Latin other than Basque.
Roman Catholicism is the main religion in Spain. More than 90% people are religion. Islam and Judaism are the minority.
The most popular sport in Spain is soccer. Real Madrid Club de Futbol (Real Madrid FC) and Futbol Club Barcelona (FC Barcelona) are very famous teams. They have a lot of supporters in the world. And recently motor sports are the most popular sports next to soccer. And Spanish bullfighting has the old history and it is the national sports of Spain. It is very famous in the world. A bullfighter called the matador plays an active part. But it is very difficult to become matador. Flamenco is beautiful and powerful dance in Spain. Flamenco embodies a complex musical and cultural tradition. Flamenco sprang from the lower levels of Andalusian society, and thus lacked the prestige of art forms among the middle and higher classes.
Spanish cuisine consists of a great variety of dishes which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate. It is heavily influenced by seafood available from the waters that surround the country, and reflects the country's deep Mediterranean roots. The essential ingredient for real Spanish cooking is olive oil, as Spain produces 44% of the world's olives. People get a lot of fresh vegetables, sea foods and fruits by near market everyday.

Paper 1

My paper’s topic is “Garden” because I like English Roses, Old Roses and many colorful flowers. I think English garden is very interesting and beautiful.


Japanese garden
Flowers
・ Spring: 桜(cherry),牡丹(peony),藤(wisteria),ツツジ(azalea),水仙(narcissus)
・ Summer: アジサイ(hydrangea),ハナショウブ(iris),百合(lily),朝顔(morning glory),睡蓮(water lily)
・ Autumn: キキョウ(Japanese bellflower),リンドウ(gentian),ナデシコ(pink),菊(chrysanthemum),紅葉(maple tree)
・ Winter: 椿(camellia),梅(Japanese apricot)

The four seasons are clearly defined in Japan. Season’s flowers and trees are very important in Japanese garden. Japanese cherish the four seasons from old time.

雪(snow),月(moon),花(flower),水(water),色(color), 年中行事(annual event),時間(time) are main theme in Japanese garden. It is we can enjoy all the year around.

枯山水is a Japanese garden with rocks and sand. It expresses nature and flow of water only in rocks and sand. It is very unique garden in Japan.

Japanese garden have a small or big pond, some woods and some flowers and trees. There are looks like a beautiful natural. But it is an artificial garden. I think that it is the splendid garden where there are various viewpoints.