Amanda



__**EGYPT**__ 

Day 1: I have just arrived in Giza Egypt for day one of my 15 day African journey. It’s a funny story how I got here. I was just walking down the street one day when I saw in man running by. He dropped a magazine he had been carrying in his back pocket so I picked it up for him. I was going to give it back to him but he kept on running. Soon I started to run after him calling “sir, sir you dropped your magazine” but he wouldn’t slow down. So finally I gave up and continued my walk back home. Well I was walking I started to flip through the magazine and a page that said “YOU WIN” in big letters caught my eye. I looked closer and saw that underneath the big “YOU WIN” it said “CONGRATULATIONS you are one of 50 that win a 15 day all expense paid trip to Africa. Go to your nearest airport with this magazine page and they will have the ticket for you”. First I thought I was a scam but sense I don’t live that far from the airport I decided to go see what the catch was. The next day I went to the airport and they really had the ticket …and there was no catch. So a week later here I am in Giza Egypt ready to start my first adventure.

I’m just arriving at the place I will be taking three day pyramid tour. I am so exited! I can already tell that it is going to be very dry. Every where I look there is sand. Sand dunes sand in the air…cool they have camels for us to ride. Here we go! (Later) Wow! That was an exiting day. As our camels slowly walked our guide told us a little bit about the city of Giza. He said it was a manufacturing and agricultural trade center. Something very interesting that I learned were that the people there use to and some still make sacrifices to gods asking for rain if there is a drought, for a good crop that year, and even just repenting for sins. Soon we got to a group of really large Pyramids. Our guide told us that these pyramids were called Pyramids of Gize, which make sense. He told us that the Pyramids of Giza were the greatest achievements of pyramid builders were thought to have been built 4500 years ago on a plateau close to the Nile. Well it’s getting late so I’ll write more about the adventures I have tomorrow. Day 2: Today we didn’t go to any place special we just traveled the open desert and saw random pyramids well our guide talked about what the really were. He said that pharaohs were though of as gods and pyramids were used as special tombs to protect there bodies. The three largest and best preserved pyramids in Egypt are the Pyramids of Giza that we saw yesterday. The very largest of them was called The Great Pyramid of Khufu, this pyramid was meant to exalt Khufu because he was such a great pharaoh. The guide also told us that the actual word pyramid originates from the Greek word “ pyramis” meaning wheat cakes. The pyramids reminded the Greeks of spiky topped wheat cakes. In Egyptian the word used for pyramid was “Mer”. I am learning so much here can’t wait for tomorrow but for know I’m going to bed.

Day 3: Today was nice and relaxed. Our tour didn’t start until 1:00 P.M. so I got some time to sleep because there is an 8 hour time zone change. But when the tour did start we got write on our camels again and started heading toward the same area. Finally we got to a statue. Our guide told us it was called The Great Sphinx. I learned that it is one of the world’s largest and oldest statues. We were able to get off our camels and see it up close, but when we were getting off one of the camels got irritated and spit on that person right on their back. It was so nasty I’m glad my camel didn’t get mad. When I was looking at the statue I noticed the parts of it were broken off or had been weathered away...that made it look even more ancient. Egypt was fun but know I’m headed to Kampala Uganda for a monkey safari! But right now it’s late so I’m going to bed.

**__ Uganda __** Day 1: Well to day I set off to Uganda at 7:00 in the morning which is 11:00 at night in Michigan. It took a long time to get here but I made it. I traveled by plane all the way from Egypt to Kampala, my final destination. It was 6 and a half hour plane ride but I slept the whole way so it didn’t seem that long to me. When I finally arrived there was jungle everywhere. I had an arranged ride take me to where I was staying and on are way there I asked him to tell me a little about Uganda. He told me first that Kampala is the capitol and also one of the largest cities in Uganda. “Uganda has a Republic government” he said. The second thing he told me was that 99% of the people here are African and 1% is Arab, Asian, or European. The final thing he said was that Kampala was established on seven hills, each hill having important buildings of the city on it. Uganda sounded like an interesting country to me. I was glad that the man driving me spoke English. Although it is Uganda’s official language many people here speak Luganda and Swahili. By the time I got to the place I’m will be staying it was 4:30. Luckily my monkey safari doesn’t start until tomorrow which means I can catch on some sleep! I’m still trying to get use to the time changes, every where I go it’s different. I’m going to bed because now it’s 5:00. I’ll write more tomorrow.

Day 2: It is 9:00 in the morning and I’m eating breakfast at a peaceful table outside. Today’s tour starts at 11:00 so I’m going to get going since it is an hour ride to get there. (Later) That was amazing...and I learned so much to. I didn’t know that in the 1830s Arab traders found many African kingdoms that were well developed, and following them came British explorers. That was just one of many things I learned. As soon as I got to my tour we headed straight into the jungle. We saw a Vervet monkey and than a Red tail monkey. The Vervet monkey looked a little like a lemur but the Red tail monkey was very strange looking. It had orange hair on the top of its head and the side of its arms...and it tail was red. Our guide told us that this was probably an older monkey because it looked fully developed. I was having so much fun that tour ended in a flash. But I happened to here some cool geography information just before it ended. Our guide said that Kampala, Uganda is located by Lake Victoria, the biggest lake in Africa and is **almost** exactly on the equator. I really like today but I better get some rest because tomorrow I’ve got more monkeys to see.

Day 3: Today I woke up at 9:00 again for the second half of my monkey safari, at 11:00 just like yesterday. After yesterday I wasn’t sure if my visit to Uganda could get any better. We revisited the place that we went yesterday and there were a lot more monkeys which made things even cooler. Today I saw and new kind of monkey called a Colobus Monkey, it looked a little like a skunk .But the best part of all was at the end of the tour I got to hold a baby Vervet monkey! It was so little...being in Uganda was so fun! Next I’m off to South Africa to go Great White Shark cage diving. AAAAAAAH! But for now...I'm going to bed.

__South Africa__

Day 1: I just got off the airport in Mosselbaai South Africa. It is kind of weird thinking about how you are at the tip Africa…and that the Atlantic Ocean is at your west and the Indian Ocean is at your east. (a little later)The craziest thing just happened…I was just walking through the hotel lobby when I saw my cousin Kendall! It turns out that he got a 15 day trip to Africa out of a magazine just like I did…and he’s going GREAT WHITE SHARK CAGE DIVING JUST LIKE ME. Crazy isn’t it? Were both so exited I can’t contain my self. Just when I thought the trip couldn’t get better it did. After that we were just hanging out at the hotel and walking around the gift shop. Kendall talked to the store owner and found out that South Africa in called “The Rainbow Country” because its culture is so rich and diverse. I ended up buying a really cool shirt that said “The Rainbow Country”. It’s 10:00 so I’ going to bed. Day 2: Today was so awesome! We got up at 7:00 and drove through Mosselbaai to get to the Indian Ocean. We were both so excited but when we got there Kendall was so freaked out. He won’t admit it but he was practically shaking. I thought that he was going to have a heart attack…his heart was RACING. When we got in the water everything was so quiet and beautiful. We saw so many huge sharks. There was one baby shark that we even got to touch…it was at that point that Kendall calmed down. The sharks didn’t show any signs of a threat so we got to stay for the full value of our tour. Then Kendall got his camera stolen! But it’s 10:30 so I got to go to bed.  Day 3: Today we had to get up at 7:00 again because Kendall was going to Cameroon and I was going to Mali. We were packing-up and I almost lost that shirt I bought in the gift shop. I finally found it underneath the bed. There was also a magazine under there so I pulled it out and started to look at it. I leaned some cool fact as I flipped through the pages like...in 1961 South Africa declared itself republic, there were many slave raids in this region, the economy here (based on foreign trade) is very good, and South Africa has many competitive products in world trade. So after I read the magazine I went to the hotel lobby where Kendall was waiting for me. He asked me what took so long and I said I couldn’t find the shirt I bought but I found it under the bed. Kendall started laughing so hard I thought he was going to wet his pants...I still don’t get what was so funny. Were at the airport now so I’ll write more tomorrow.

__Mali__

Day 1: I am at my hotel in Mali and getting ready to go to bed. Today on the plane ride over here I was talking to my flight attendant and he told me that Mali has a rich heritage and that Mali was ruled by the Malinke Empire in the 12th-16th centuries. Than when we were landing our pilot gave us some geography facts. He said that Mali is only fertile by the Niger and Senegal rivers. He also said that Mali is four fifths the size of Alaska. It’s time for me to go to bed though because tomorrow I’m going on a tour of the Niger River. Day 2: Today was very exiting! I got on a boat at about 2:00 P.M. and we headed down stream. Our guide started to talk about Mali’s culture. He said 50% of the people’s race or ethnicity is Mande, 17% is Peul, 12% is Voltaic, 10% Tuareg and Moor, 6% is Songhai, and 5% is other. He also told us that 90% of the people are Islamic and although French is the official language 80% of the people speak Bambara. Than a few minutes later he pointed out a hippopotamus. There were three of them...one was an adult and the other two were younger and not as big. I was able to take lots of picture...I can’t wait to show Kendall. It’s 10:00 so I’m going to bed now. Day 3: It’s 3:00 and I’m on an air plane to my final destination...Congo. I like the monkey safari in Uganda so much that I am going to go on a gorilla safari at the Virunga National Park in Congo. This morning before I left Mali I had a chance to see some of the city. I could tell just from walking around that Mali has a very poor economy. I had read in a United States magazine that that Mali’s literacy rate was 46% which gives you some idea of how poor they are but you don’t really know until you see it up close. I also past by a lot of cotton fields on my way to the airport...my driver said that was because cotton is one of Mali’s major exports...he said two of their major imports are machinery and petroleum. I have to stop writing know because were going to be landing in Congo but I’ll write more tomorrow.



__Congo__

Day 1: I arrived in Democratic Republic of the Congo late last night. At 9:00 this morning I headed to Virunga National Park for my gorilla safari. The safari started at 10:00 and I got to the park at 9:15. I walked around and got talking to someone of the people who was working there. He told me a lot about Congo, he said it was 875,520 square miles  and about one quarter the size of the United States. He also told me that the population here is 64,606,759 and that 50% of the people are Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant, 10% Kimbanguist, 10% Islam; are 10% are bother syncretic and indigenous. Congo’s literacy rate is 66% and French is the official language. These are all things I learned but I found it most interesting that In past Congo history around 10 million people died from slave labor and that Congo was formerly inhabitant by the Nyrit people. Then the tour started...we saw so many wonderful gorillas that it was hard to believe people kill them. But it’s late now...I’m going to bed.  Day 2: Today was fun and sad. The fun part was that I got to hold a baby gorilla. It was a man that was 2 months old. He was so little and cute that I just wanted to take him home with me. The sad part was that we saw gorillas that had been killed. Our guide had to stop the tour to call other workers/rangers to talk to them about the circumstances. But now I have to pack because tomorrow I’m going back to the United States.  Day 3: My plane just took off from Africa and I’m sad that my trip is all over. I learned so much here and I even managed to pick up one last piece of information before I left. I was looking at magazines in the gift shop and I learn that some of Congo’s major imports are foodstuff, mining, fuel, and machinery and some of their major exports are diamonds, copper, coffee, natural resources, copper, gold, silver, coal, and iron ore. I’m so glad I had the chance to do all of this. I’ll never look at Africa the same way again I can say that. I’m pretty tired after all that so I’m going to go to sleep for the rest of the plane ride.