Christmas Present

My grandmother gave this to me for Christmas--it was fun to put it together!

Iceland

Iceland is a country of extremes. it's amazing how people have come to live here. For instance, the was formed only because it lies on the boundary between two rifting tectonic plates. As a result, a large island in the middle of Atlantic Ocean with plenty of volcanic activity. But the people of Iceland learn to use this to their advantage. In fact, a factory in Iceland was awarded for being the cleanest in the world. That's because Iceland uses geothermal energy as opposed to coal or gas. But this can pose a problem. Iceland is covered in glaciers, the largest of these being Vatnajokull. It literally covers one twelfth of Iceland. In an Icelandic saga, it was said to be 'the mother of all glaciers.' And so, with this strange blend of fire and water, Iceland is a country of extremes.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas (in a few different languages).

圣诞快乐 (Chinese-simp.)
聖誕快樂 (Chinese-trad.)
Vrolijke Kerstmis (Dutch)
Joyeux Noël (French)
Frohe Weihnachten (German)
Καλά Χριστούγεννα (Greek)
Natale allegro (Italian)
メリークリスマス (Japanese)
즐거운 성탄 (Korean)
Christmas Alegre (Portuguese)
Веселое Рождество (Russian)
Feliz Navidad (Spanish)
عيد ميلاد سعيد (Arabic)

Africa Challenge - Madagascar

Madagascar is an island located between the Mozambique Channel and the Indian Ocean. It's capital is Antananarivo.

By the Way we just bought vanilla beans that were grown in Madagascar.

Africa Challenge - Mozambique

The next country to the south of Tanzania is Mozambique. Mozambique is across the Mozambique Channel from Madagascar and also borders the Indian Ocean, Swaziland, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.

Russia

As we all know, Russia is the largest country in the world. However, it doesn't have that much history to tell. The first inhabitants of Russia were nomads and hordes of bandits and raiders. As you can think, they didn't bother to write down what they did. But as the population increased, these people developed a sort of wimpy form of government. The leader was a czar, and ever since those people have started, there hasn't been a nice one. The only one who actually did something instead of killing his own people was Peter the Great, who made the Russia we know today.

Physically Russia makes up half of the coast of the Arctic Ocean, borders the Pacific Ocean, Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas. Politically, Russia 13 countries altogether but only 9 in Europe. It shouldn't be that hard to find on an atlas.

Africa Challenge - Tanzania

The next country to the south of Kenya is Tanzania which is right next to the Indian Ocean. Tanzania also borders Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. The Capital of Tanzania is Dar es Salaam.

Mount Kilimanjaro is also located in Tanzania.

Geography Challenge - Kenya

Just south of Ethiopia is Kenya which also borders Somalia, the Indian Ocean, Tanzania, Uganda and Sudan. Kenya's Capital is Nairobi.

Once upon a time our family figured out that you could have a Chocolate Cake Farm in southern Kenya.

Germany

Germany is a country of great importance in Europe. Along with its famous food, beer and car industry, Germany is also a country with lots of world history. The cathedral at Cologne and the ruins of the Berlin Wall are both monuments of important times in history. Germany is a great country.

Africa Challenge - Somalia

Somalia touches the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. The Capital of Somalia is Mogadishu (which is also really fun to say).

By the way Geospy is also a good way to practice the locations of countries in Africa. To get to the Africa challenge on Geospy you click "Countries Game" then click "Africa".

Africa Challenge - Ethiopia

Ethiopia is located between Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and Sudan. The capital of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa is one of the first African capitals I learned because it's so much fun to say.

When I looked closer at the map of Ethiopia I was Surprised to find that it doesn't touch the Red Sea.

Africa Challenge - Eritrea

Eritrea is tucked between Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti and also borders the Red Sea. It's capital is Asmara

Africa Challenge - Sudan

Sudan is the big country just south of Egypt. It is also bordered by the Red Sea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Chad and Libya.

In Sudan the Blue Nile and the White Nile join together to form the Nile which flows northward into Egypt.

Important cities in Sudan:

Khartoum which is next to the Nile.

Port Sudan which is next to the Red Sea.

My mom says that the large region of Darfur in western Sudan is suffering from terrible violence and bloodshed. Please pray for them.

Neat Geography Game

Here is a really interesting Geography Game where you try to locate cities and famous places from around the world. This is one of the reasons I started the Africa challenge.

OK, fine...I'll do Europe.

Well, since he is going to do Africa, i thought I'd do Europe. To start off, I'll do England, the heart and soul of Europe. To narrow it down, Great Britain can go from mountainous to rolling hills, from one of the largest, and most ancient cities on Earth, to places where not one living thing is in sight.

London, the capital, is a city more than 7 and a half million people, and it's one of the largest trading centers of the world. Not only in business, but also in clothing fashions and music and lots of other things.

My oldest brother spent this past semester in London so I will be posting a few more things about it.

Africa Challenge - Egypt

I challenge all my readers to learn the locations of different countries in Africa. Today we'll start with Egypt.

Egypt is located between the Red Sea, Israel (East), the Mediterranean Sea, Libya (West), and Sudan (South). The Nile (which runs from south to north) is a very noticable geographical feature. Near the mouth you'll find the major cities of Alexandria and Cairo as well as the Great Pyramids.

Let's take a quick tour of the Nile. Going from south to north there's ...

Abu Simbel (Abu Sunbul)

Aswan, site of a Famous Dam

Luxor (modern name of the ancient city of Thebes)

Giza (located just outside of Cairo)

Cairo

Alexandria - the city was founded by Alexander the Great and it is the site of the Lighthouse of Pharos (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World).

The Holy Land (Israel)

During Advent it's interesting to study the Holy Land because Jesus and the prophets lived there. Advent is when we remember how long the Israelites waited for Jesus to come.


We will start with the whole country of Israel. Here are some basic facts.

Area: 8,019 sq. mi.


Population: 6,135,000


Capital: Jerusalem



Religions: Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze

Languages: Hebrew, Arabic, English

Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God With all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on the gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4 - 9