Today, I am going to talk about my home city, Popayán. I will show you our culture,typical food and our main traditions.
Popayán is a small city in the south of Colombia. It is one of the oldest cities in Latin America as well with almost 500 years since it was founded. We have a religious and traditional culture inherited from Spain, but also a mix of them between black and native people. This city has been my home my whole life and I am so glad for that.
SEMANA SANTA
CARNIVALS
The Pubenza Carnival began as a celebration of the multiculturalism of my city. It starts in the first week of January. We have parades, cultural shows, singers,dj’s and some parks to play with Carioca,talcos,and colors. At night we have clubs, shows and many places to drink.
TYPICAL FOOD
CARANTANTA: It Is a corn tortilla. EMPANADAS DE PIPIAN:It Is empanada that you can find just in Popayán.NOCHE BUENA :It is a combination of fried in syrup with puff pastry. This dish is only made in December.
My name is Nico and today I want to write about my top 4 songs and why they are worthy to be on your playlist.
My favorite one of them all is “Rewrite The Stars” by Zac Efron and Zendaya. With it’s catchy track and emotions, it is a perfect song for a lonely night when you’re thinking about your crush or boyfriend/girlfriend. It is perfect for duets and you can put your full mood into it.
My second choice is “All I want” by Lauren Spencer-Smith. Lauren put all her emotions into this song and you can really hear it. Just a perfect song if you are in the: I hate my ex, but I miss him/her mood, as well as for an emotional solo performance in your room or even at the talent show of your school.
Mt third place is “Pancakes for Dinner” by Lizzy McAlpine. I love the acoustics in the background and the words that she used to write the song. Here as well, written and sung with emotion. The voice just fits the song perfectly. Perfect to sing in a sad phase of the day/week. I can identify myself with this song, because I flew to the United States and who knows, maybe I will sing this song to somebody after my journey.
My fourth place is “What Christmas Means” by Paige Gold. This is my absolutely favorite Christmas song. With it’s almost normal track, you could listen to it the whole season. It’s a song that won’t get out of your head as you listen to it even once.
Since I started to travel with my family and even alone visiting different countries, I had never felt that freedom to do whatever I wanted to without asking my parents or my guardian at that moment. Then I found EF last year ( 2019), and I planned my trip to go to Malta with them to study English. I chose Malta because it was the cheapest course they offered me at that moment. Even though I didn’t know anything about Malta ( like the location, culture, weather, even the main language where they also speak English), I decided to travel there.
When I arrived in Malta, I was so nervous because my English at that moment wasn’t good. The first person I met there was my host mom when I showed up at her house ,which was 20 minutes walking towards the school, then my roommate that night. The class schedule for each week , EF had prepared a welcome party on Mondays, a midweek party on Wednesdays and another on Fridays. Thanks to them I met lovely new people easily and make new friends.
Malta is an archipelago located in the central Mediterranean below Italy. It’s famous for its diving, architectural sites, and festivals. Malta is also a popular film location. Some films like Gladiator, Troy, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Game of Thrones have scenes filmed on their landscapes. I could visit some of the most famous places.
Valleta is the capital of Malta
Popeye village
Malta has been the most awesome experience in my life for the moment. I got to know new different cultures, meet lovely people who are still my friends, and I created unforgettable memories that will last forever.
I think everyone wants to travel in the universe because the Universe includes many secrets. Humans have always wonder about it. Many people study the universe. They and I believe the Science will prove it. We have always wanted space travel and Intellectuals are trying to find a second earth. Many things are only in our imagination.
We have always relied only on government agencies, but now it is different. Recently Space X successfully launched a manned spacecraft. It’s a sensation because it is the first time that an enterprise has succeeded. That’s a remarkable development.
Switzerland is a small country in the middle of Europe. I was born there and, actually, when I’m not in the USA, I live there. So I will tell you something about this beautiful country.
In Switzerland, you can do a lot of activities. We don’t have an ocean, but in summer you can swim in our rivers or lakes. Most of the time in the summer we have sun and more than 25 degrees (77 Fahrenheit). If you don’t like to swim, you can go hike in the mountains or rent a bike to visit a city.
Photo by Simon Gygli
In the winter, most of the time the weather is very cold, but the good thing is we have snow. So you can go skiing in the mountains. It’s very fun! If you cannot ski, you can rent a sled and go down the hill.
If you like sports, you can go to see a match of ice hockey or soccer. These are two of the most popular sports in Switzerland. When you go to the stadium, there is usually a full house and it is a great atmosphere.
Photo by Simon Gygli
The specialty food in Switzerland is fondue. For a “fondue” you take a big pan, full it with cheese and cook it. When the cheese is hot, you put the pan on the table. Now everybody can put a piece of bread on his fork and put it in the pan. You can also eat fondue with potatoes.
I’m going to recommend Japanese food and drink. There are many kinds of Japanese food. I chose the three dishes. You should try to eat and drink it, when you come to Japan.
First, Ramen.
Ramen is very popular in Japan. When you eat ramen in winter, it will make your body warm. Most Japanese people like ramen.
In Japan, there are so many ramen restaurants so that it shouldn’t be very hard to find a ramen you like. In other words, you can try so many types of ramen.
But I think it’s very hard to find a ramen which suits your taste, so I’m going to give you special information. I really recommend “miso-ramen.” “Miso-ramen” is the most popular of many kinds of ramen in Japan. Of course, “Miso-ramen” is my favorite ramen. If you can’t decide which kinds of ramen to eat, you should try to eat “miso- ramen.”
Second, Sushi.
I know you’ve already known “sushi”. “Sushi” is also very popular food in Japan. I can say that Sushi is traditional Japanese food. Sushi has a history of over 1,300 years.
There are many sushi restaurants in all of the world so that you can try to eat sushi easily. I think many people have eaten sushi ever. But original Japanese sushi is different from sushi you’ve eaten it outside of Japan. I can’t explain how different its taste is. But If you try to eat sushi in Japan, you can recognize the difference between original Japanese sushi and sushi you’ve eaten ever.
I’m going to give you special information. I recommend drinking Japanese-sake with sushi. The combination between Japanese-sake and sushi is very good. If you are more than 20 years old, you should try it. But Japanese-sake is very strong alcohol, so be careful not to drink too much.
If you have a chance to come to Japan, you should try to eat sushi and enjoy original Japanese sushi.
Third, Japanese tea.
Japanese tea is a very healthy drink. It helps for your health. Japanese tea is called “ocha” by Japanese people. I want you to remember “ocha” and want to you use “ocha” when you visit Japan.
Japanese tea is loved by most of Japanese people. Japanese tea goes well with many Japanese food. I recommend drinking Japanese tea with sushi. The combination between Japanese sushi and Japanese tea is very good.
There are two types of Japanese tea. One is cold Japanese tea, another is hot Japanese tea. Both of them is very good teste. You should drink cold Japanese tea in hot season. It makes your body cooler. Also, you should drink hot Japanese tea in cold season. It makes your body warm.
You can get a Japanese tea easily at supermarket, convenience store or vending machine in Japan. You should get a Japanese tea when you visit Japan. Enjoy drinking Japanese tea.
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