Thursday, June 13, 2013

Zambian Fun Facts

Zambian women are called by their oldest sons name.

To show your wealth you usually have a cow, bike, radio, or television.

Laos Fun Facts

Laos is the worlds most bombed country.

A groom typically gives a gift to his bride’s parents to thank them for raising her properly.

After giving birth women lay in a bed that is on top of hot coals for a month. 

Work Cited

"Brazil Culture." Brazil Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2013.
 
"Central Intelligence Agency." CIA. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2013.

"History of Brazil." History of Brazil. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2013.

"Subscriber Area Only." CultureGrams Online Database:. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2013.

Zambia's Global Relationships

Zambia is members of 44 international organizations, some of the most popular are the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and the African Union. Denmark and Zambia have a good relationship because they both have embassy's in each country. Zambia is allies with the United States, Tanzania, South Africa, Russia, Ireland, Finland, and Denmark. Also, the United States has an embassy in Zambia.

Zambia's People and Their Environment

There are many problems in Zambia, one of which is air pollution.
Air pollution is a problem because it can cause disease and eventually shorten peoples life spans. Another problem is chemical runoff into drinking water. This is a huge problem because if the drinking water is contaminated then it can be very harmful. Poaching is another problem because it kills off many species like elephants, rhinos, antelope, and large cats. Possibly one of the worst problems is deforestation, this is a concern because it destroys animal habitats and can destroy peoples homes. Zambia really needs to solve all these problems if they want people to have a healthy life.



Zambia's Economy

Copper is the backbone of the Zambian economy, if it wasn’t for Copper then there would be no economy. Copper accounts for 90 percent of their exports, and ever since the price of copper increased there has been more mining going on. Even though Copper is the main industry in Zambia, agriculture employs way more then mining. Corruption of government officials has always been a problem in Zambia.

Roads are what connect the country together, most of which are unpaved. A normal person in Zambia usually gets places by walking and or hitchhiking. Although there is buses, cars, and trucks you have to pay a good amount of money to the driver. It’s not normal in Zambia to own a car, most people ride a bus or walk. There is a rail road that connects the south to the Copperbelt providence. Way more people have cell phones then home phones, and people also find out information from radio stations.

Zambia's History and Government

In the 1500s the first kingdoms were put up in Zambia by the Luanga culture. Then in 1851 the first European settled in Zambia going by then name of David Livingstone. In 1889 Cecil Rhodes creates the South African Company which was created to hopefully economic power across South Africa. Later on in 1898 the British took over all of Zambia and they created a legislative counsel. In 1936, a copper mine is found which eventually led to Zambia becoming the worlds main source of Copper. In 1964, Zambia became independent by the act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In 1974 a railway was created that went from to Zambia to Tanzania, this way important because it made trade and traveling easier.

The president of Zambia is Michael Sata, he is also the head of state. The voting age everywhere in Zambia is 18 years old.

President Micheal Sata

Zambia's Population and Culture

Zambia has a population of 13 million people, growing 3 % annually(Culture Grams). More then half of the people live in rural areas, and also half their population is under the age of 15! There is a very small amount of white people that live in Zambia, 99.5 % of the population is African. There is over 70 ethnic groups that live in Zambia, of those 70 the largest are the Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga, and the Lozi.

English is the official language of Zambia, it’s spoken in government and schools. Although english is the official language there is many more considering there is 70 different ethnic groups. The most common religion is a mix of indigenous beliefs and Christianity. Statistics estimate that between 50 and 70 % of Zambian people belief in Christianity. Muslim and Hindu are the second religions practiced by those who don’t believe in Christianity.

Primary school starts at age seven and lasts seven years. Most kids who start school end up completing it. After primary school there is secondary school, this school lasts for five years. Although lots of families would like to send their kids to school, many can’t because of the expense. After you finish secondary school there is many universities that you can go to, but again it’s pricey. Health care in Zambia is not the best, like a lot of African countries. Now healthcare is free in rural areas because people that could not afford it before would die from treatable diseases.

Traditional music is very popular in rural areas. There are many dances that go along with these songs, including the ngoma which is a dance performed by the Ngoni people. Instruments played in Zambia include xylophones, drums, and the kalimba which is like a guitar. Families in Zambia usually have around eight people in a house. Like many other African countries a lot of families live with or very close to their extended family. The father in the family is the breadwinner, while the mothers usually clean, cook, and take care of the kids. Many kids love to play soccer when they have free time, they also play checkers and mankala. The average family in Zambia have one meal at dinner time and snacks throughout the day, including fruit, sugar cane, peanuts, and corn. The dinner usually consists of vegetables and rice.


Zambia's Climate and Vegetation

Zambia has three seasons, the first is the cool dry season which is from April to August, the second is the hot dry season which is from August to October. The third season is the warm rainy season which is from November to April. Zambia rarely gets below 60 degrees in any season, and the highest it gets is around 90. Also, the place that gets the most rainfall is the northeast, the region that is the coldest is central Zambia, and the hottest place is east Zambia.

A cool thing about Zambia is that a lot of the country is devoted to land for animals such as lions, zebras, elephants, hippos, and all different types of birds.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Zambia's Geography

Zambia is a country that is the size of Texas, it's alsolocated in Southern Africa. The Central African Plateau is located in the highlands of Zambia. Also in Zambia there is lowlands that turn into wetlands during the rainy season, and there is rift valleys. Zambia is also home to the Copper Belt, the Copper Belt is a 90 mile region that contains rich copper. There are many lakes in Zambia, but the most important is Lake Tanganyika which is an African Great Lake. This lake is considered to be the second longest and deepest fresh water lake in the world. Also, Zambia’s landscape consists mostly of savanna.


Savanna










The minerals that they mine in Zambia include Limestone, Sand, Phosphate, Coal, and Feldspar. Most of the energy that Zambia uses comes from hydroelectric power plants. Some parts of Zambia have fertile soil, while others don’t. Industries in Zambia include mining, construction, chemicals, and fertilizers.

Laos Global Relationships

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Laos realized that they needed to become friendlier with their bordering countries. The effort to become friendly resulted in gaining allies such as China, the United States, Vietnam, and Thailand. Laos is part of many organizations, some of them are the SouthEast Asian Nations, World Tourism Organization, and the United Nations.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Laos People and their Environment

The major concerns about the environment of Laos is that there is unexploded bombs from the Vietnam war, deforestation, soil erosion, and non drinkable water. There is a concern about unexploded bombs because if they go anywhere close to them they might get set off. Also, deforestation is a huge problem because we need trees to live, it also destroys animals habitats. Also, soil erosion is a main problem because agriculture is their main source of income and if all the soil erodes then there would be no more crops. Although all the concerns I talked about are huge, but the main concern is that there is no no drinking water. If there is no drinking water then people will die of thirst or get sick from the contaminated water that they drink. All of these concerns are challenges for the future.


Laos Economy

Laos is considered a poor country that has a socialist republic economy. The economy is growing very quickly, but it’s still considered bad. The main employment in Laos is agriculture, it employs about 80 percent of the people. The crops that are grown are rice, vegetables, tobacco, and coffee. The main industries are mining, timber, electric power, and tourism(Culture Grams).

In the rural areas most people walk, bike, or ride a motorcycle to get from place to place. However, in the city most of the people use cars. In the cities there is public transportation like buses, wagons, and pick up trucks. Also, the Mekong river is used to transport people and goods, but not many people use it anymore. People in Laos use telephones to communicate with one another.

Laos History and Governemnt

Laos was officially a country in 1897 when the French took several different territories and combined them to make it. In 1984 Japan took over Laos at the end of World War II, but then it was regained by the French. In 1949, French made Laos an independent state under the French Union. In 1953, Laos gained full independence as a constitutional monarchy with a king as a ruler. In 1955, Laos got accepted into the United Nations. During the 1960’s and 70’s the United States bombed Laos in intent to cut off supplies. In 2012, the started developing the first hydroelectric plant on the Mekong River.

Hydro electric plant

Laos Population and Culture

The population of Laos is 6.7 million. About 4,690,000 of the 7 million people live in rural areas especially the capital Vientiane. The largest ethnic group in Laos is the Lao Loum who are native to northeastern Thailand. Also, other nationalities like Chinese and Vietnamese live in Laos.

The official language of Laos is Lao, but other ethnic groups speak differently. The most commonly learned language is english, mostly only people in urban places speak it. The main religion in Laos is Buddhism because they are located in Asia. People in Laos take religion very seriously, most people practice it everyday. Even people that aren’t very religious still worship at temples and dress up for various festivals. Believers in Buddhism follow the four main virtues; metta which means loving kindness, Karunna which means compassion, mudhita which means sympathetic, and uppekkha which means equanimity(Culture Grams). Something cool about Buddhist males are that at one time in their lives they will probably serve at a temple as a monk. Other religions include animists, who believe every living thing has a right to live, Muslim, and Christian. 

Children in Laos start primary learning at the age of six, they are taught reading, writing, math, and culture. Even though school is mandatory, education is not great, the teachers get low pay, and schools are unsanitary. After primary school which lasts five years you can choose to continue on to secondary school which teaches advanced math, science, history, geography, and english. Kids who complete this schooling can go on to college but most don’t because they can’t afford it.

Healthcare in Laos is not good at all. Hospitals don’t have a lot of workers or supplies to deal with patients. Even though healthcare is poor it’s still expensive to go so that’s why poor families often die of preventable diseases.

Families in Laos on average have four or five kids. Families are usually larger in rural areas because the more kids you have the more workers on the farm. Three generations live with one another because they can’t afford anything else. Although it seems like a lot of people in one house they like it because it brings them closer together and work gets done faster. Children are taught to honer their parents and to do whatever they are told to do. The men in the household are usually the workers and the people who provide for their family, on the other hand women stay at the home and tend for their kids. Soccer is the main sport of Laos, many kids and adults play on teams to have fun.

Food in Laos consists of rice and vegetables. When they have dinner they do not sit on a stool, instead they eat on a mat. The most popular music in Laos is the Lao folk music, but they also listen to American music.
Buddhist Temple

Laos Climate and Vegetation

Laos’s climate is tropical monsoon that has temperatures that range from the 50s to the 90s. It has two seasons a dry season from October to April and a rainy season from May to September. In January temperatures are at the lowest, and in April there at the highest. The monsoons happen usually at the same time every year in each country a monsoon is a rainy season. The agriculture in Laos used to be fantastic but ever since bombs were dropped on them during the Vietnam war it hasn’t been the same. The crops that they can produce are rice, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, corn, and some fruits. 

Planting Rice
  
Monsoon

Laos Geography

Laos is located in Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, and west of Vietnam(Cia World Factbook). Laos is a very hilly Country that also has thick green forests and many mountains. One of the mountains is the Doi Phi Pan Nam, this mountain is 1.745 meters high and it’s part of the Luang Prabang Range. It represents a border between Laos and Thailand. Also, Laos has a wide variety of rivers, but one in particular is the Mekong. The Mekong river provides food, water, and transportation for more then 60 million people. It provides necessities because it’s the 12th longest river in the world at 4,350 km long. Another cool fact about this river is that it supports the second most fish in the world, the Amazon is the first. The tributaries of Laos are a huge source of hydroelectric power.

Teak and mahogany come from the tropical forests in Laos. Like I said before hydroelectric plants make up for 94% of their electricity. The minerals that are produced in Laos include barite, limestone, clay, coal, copper, gemstones, gold, gypsum, rock salt, silver, tin, and zinc (The Mineral Industry of Laos). The main problem with the soil in Laos is erosion, but the soil still supports many crops. The industries in Laos include agriculture, mining, timber, electric power, construction, and tourism(Laos Industries).

Brazil's Fun Facts

Estimates state that a piece of the rainforest the size of two football fields disappear every second. They disappear due to loggers cutting down trees to sell, farmers who cut down trees for their farms and cattle, and miners who cut down trees to mine for minerals(brazil.org)

When you are invited to dinner or a gathering never dress too casual, they would rather have you over dress.

Always bring the hostess a small gift.

Never give anyone a gift that is black or purple because they are looked at as sad colors.

Arrive early to dinner or gathering.

Brazil's Global Relationships

Brazil has some very big problems with their surrounding countries. One of them is that there is a dispute between Brazil and Uruguay over the Braziliera island as too who owns right to it. Also, another issue between Uruguay and Brazil is the smuggling of guns and drugs across there borders, Brazil has the same problem with Venezuela. Drugs are one of the main problems in Brazil, they are the second largest consumer of cocaine, and they grow and sell cannabis.

Most of the world aren’t enemies with Brazil because they have a lot of allies including, the United States, the EU, and most of Africa in particular the Portuguese speaking countries. Since Brazil has so many powerful allies many countries are afraid of being enemies of Brazil, although Argentina is a enemy. They are enemies because of the drug cartels and other political reasons. As we are speaking they are trying to resolve their problems.

Brazil's People and their Environment

Deforestation in Brazil is one of their biggest problems, it destroys habitats and kills of a lot of animal and plant species that were indigenous to the Basin. There is also a illegal wildlife trade, it poses a threat because it endangers the animals. Also, in major cities there is major air and water pollution caused by improper mining. Challenges for the future are to stop deforestation, lessen air and water pollution, and take control of the illegal wildlife trade. If the Brazilian people want their country to stay beautiful then they better start making changes. 

Brazil's Economy

Brazil has a mixed economy that consists of market based capitalism and socialist planning. Brazil’s economy is one of the wealthiest and biggest economy’s in the world, in other words it’s in very good condition. Brazil’s exports include oranges, bananas, wheat, soybeans, coffee, corn, cocoa, beef, pork, and rice. The factories of Brazil make clothing, car parts, steel, chemicals, and building materials. The minerals that are exported are gold, nickel, tin, and iron ore. The currency of Brazil is the real and one dollar is equal to 2.15 real.

Public transportation is available in all cities in Brazil. Though buses made be dangerous and crowed many people prefer to travel by an air taxi which is
a plane to major cities. Also, many people have cars but don’t like to use them because there is so much traffic.
Air taxi

Brazil's History and Government

The first settler in Brazil was a Portuguese navigator named Pedro Alvares Cabral who reached the shores of Brazil on April 22, 1500. Brazil got its name from braziliwood which was a redwood tree found along the Brazilian coastline. When more Portuguese settled in Brazil they reported that they found seven million native Indians. Brazil never fought many wars, the last one was in the 1800s against Paraguay. Brazil became independent from Portugal in 1824 following the independence war which lasted from 1822 to 1823. Also, Brazil became a Republic on November 22, 1889 following their monarchy rule.

A lot of events happened in the 1900s, I will talk about some of them. In 1931, women who could read were granted the right to vote. In 1941, soccer was declared the national pastime of Brazil. Twenty years later the capital of Brazil was moved from Rio de Janerio to Brasilia. Also, in 2003 a land reform in Brazil gave land to 400,000 poor families. Later that decade in 2007, a Brazilian oil company stated that they discovered a massive offshore oil field that could turn Brazil into a major oil producer.

Today, Brazil is a federative republic which means that all 26 states govern themselves. Every state elects their own governor but, for some things the federal government has all the power. If you are ages 19-70 then you are required to vote, it’s a law. Even though many people say religion shouldn’t play a role in politics, the Catholic Church has a large influence on them in Brazil
President of Brazil: Dimla Rouseff

Brazil's Population and Culture

The culture of Brazil is one of the worlds most diverse cultures because it’s a melting pot of nationalities. There’s a lot of European people as well as African people because they were brought over to be slaves. The European people brought over many ideas and belief systems which has now shaped Brazil as a whole.

 
Brazil has a population of around 190 million people half as which are white. The black and white mixed makes up about 40% of the population and only 10% are completely black. 80% of this population follows the Roman Catholic faith thanks to the European settlers. The official language of Brazil is Portuguese because of the settlements during the 16th, 17th, and 18th century.

Family is a huge part of Brazilian culture, families are usually large and very close with their extended family. Families with help out their relatives whenever anything is needed, they are a close knit society. When men meet one another they shake hands, as for the women they kiss them on both cheeks.

Brazilian foods are usually very nutritious and are a lot different from American food. For breakfast they usually have coffee, milk, bread, and fruit. On occasion cheese and ham. For lunch they usually go out to a nice restaurant and get served a wide variety of veggies and meat. Dinner is more relaxed in Brazil, they usually just have coffee bread, cheese, and cold cuts .

Brazil has public and private schools, the private expensive and the public are free. Elementary school is from six to 14 year old's and High school is from 15to 17 year old's. School systems in Brazil are not the best, they are unsanitary and they don’t have very good teachers. The number of students who complete high school is not a lot, and only one third of the students make it too sixth grade. Brazil has good health care that if needed is funded by the government.

The national sport of Brazil is soccer. Also, basketball and volleyball are very popular.

Brazil's Climate and Vegatation

Equatorial Zone
There are five distinct district zones in Brazil. The first one is the Equatorial Zone, this climate supports rain forests because of year round humidity and precipitation. There is no winter and no dry season, mostly just rain. The temperatures are usually around 75-80 degrees.

Tropic Zone
The Tropical Zone is found in the tropics. Mostly all the zones have the same temperature, it’s any where from 60-80 degrees. This zone brings a lot of rain fall annually, about 100 inches. In order to qualify to be in the Tropic zone you have to have a mean temperature of 64 degrees all year.

Semi-Arid Zone
The Semi-Arid Zone does not get a lot of precipitation which is unlucky because most of their rain is evaporated anyways. This zone is a halfway mark between deserts and the humid forests. The vegetation in this zone consists of hardy shrubs and grasses, not trees. There are hot zones and cold zones depending on their mean annual temperature.

The Highland Tropic Zone is also called an Oceanic Climate because it’s found along the coast of Brazil. This zone has cool summers and warm winters, the temperatures aren’t that much different though. In order to be called a Highland Tropic Zone it has to have a mean temperature of no lower then 64 degrees. 

90% of Brazil is located in the tropics region. The tropics region is the area that is located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. In the north, temperatures can get up over 100 degrees and in the south they are around 60 degrees. The reason why it is cool in the southern regions is because winds blow across it. The average rainfall in Brazil usually ranges from 40 to 60 inches a year, but in the rainforest it can get as high as 120 inches per year.

Brazil has four seasons like us but they are at the different time of year. Spring is from September to December, Summer is from the end of December to March, Autumn is from the end of March to June, and Winter is from the end of June to September. This season pattern is only used is southern Brazil. All the other parts of Brazil have a rainy season(summer) and a dry season(winter).

Brazil's Geography

Brazil is located in Eastern South America and boarders the Atlantic Ocean. Also, Brazil is home to the second largest river in the world, the Amazon river. It starts at the top of the Andes Mts. and flows 4,000 miles through Brazil and into the Atlantic Ocean. It supports a large variety of wildlife like the largest dolphin in the world, the anaconda, and piranhas.

Brazil is also home to the biggest forest in the world, the Amazon rain forest. It has more then 1.2 billion acres of land and it is located in nine different countries. 60% of the forest is located in Northern Brazil. During the rainy season the forest can get up to 120 inches of rainfall. Also, It’s home to 2.5 million insect species, and 2000 birds and mammals. The downfall of this rainforest is that it's one of the most endangered places in the world.

Brazil has minerals ranging from iron ore to diamonds and oil. Brazil is known for its energy and it is ranked 12th in the world for electricity consumption and 11th for electricity production. 75% of the energy is produced by hydroelectric plants. Brazil's soil produces 70 million tons of grain crops per year. The early Portuguese said that the soil was fertile and that they could plant anything in it. Even though people believed this, it’s not totally true. It has soil that will support some crops but not others. 

Major industries in Brazil are iron and steel production, automobile assembly, petroleum processing, chemical production, and cement making. Traditional industries are the largest in Brazil. 

Traveling


Traveling the world is a great adventure that everyone should have the chance to do. If you travel the world, you will experience a wide range of cultures and diversity. As a kid I got the extraordinary opportunity to visit different countries and learn about different cultures. Now that I'm out of college I will like to visit other countries including;Brazil, Laos, and Zambia. This travel blog will tell everyone what they need to go before leaving the country.