Paige

I won an all inclusive trip to five countries. I had the choice of touring one to three cities in each country. I could have spent one day in each city if I chose to, but I thought I would like it more and learn more if I spent all of the two to three days in one city. The first country I went to was Madagascar. There I toured Antananarivo. My second touring destination was Kampala, Uganda. Then came Congo. I spent three days in Brazzaville, there. After Congo I traveled to Lagos, Nigeria. I ended in Algiers, Algeria.

Antananarivo, Madagascar in Southern Africa. Today I went on a hike over the central highlands. The trail went by an extinct volcano. This specific volcano had a lake in it. The lake was called [|Lake Itasy]. It was very cool to see a lake in a volcanic crater. On the way, the guide informed me and the rest of my hiking tour group about some of the history of Madagascar. He said that in the 7th century Arabs made trading posts along Madagascar’s northwest coast. After the age of discovery, Europeans became known to Madagascar. From the 17th century through the Scramble of Africa period, Britain and France competed for influence over Madagascar. In 1890, after a short protectorate period of time that began in 1885, France became the protectorate of the island. Madagascar then became a colony in 1896, and gained full independence from France in 1960. He also told us about the economy. He said that there present president’s name is Marc Ravalomanana. He has made improvement on the health and education of this country. But he also has faced criticism, because he has not made much progress in poverty. This pretty much raps up what I learned from the tour guide. It was a great experience to witness and __see__ a lake in a volcano, but it was even better to __learn__ about Madagascar. I'm glad I went on this hiking tour. It has taught me a lot. I went for a walk around the city today and saw some of the art of Madagascar. Malagasy, the people of Madagascar, do arts and crafts in many ways. They do great wood and stone carvings, and also paint beautiful paintings in their own awesome style. They also make textiles. Madagascar's people can be unbelievably great artists in their own special way. This is what I learned on my stay in Madagascar.
 * Day 1**
 * Day 2**

Kampala, Uganda in East Africa. My first day in Kampala I took a hiking tour. The tour guide told me that the size of Uganda is relatively small, only 91, 111 square miles. That is slightly smaller then Oregon. The climate is tropical, usually rainy with two dry seasons. The terrain is mostly plateau with a rim of the mountains. The rolling mountains are beautiful. Below is a caption of a bug on a tree. I saw this bug and this kind of tree. **Day 2** Today I went on a tour of the city. The tour guide of this trip spoke about the history and government of Kampala. I learned that the first people to live in this country were the Khoisan people. In the mid-1800s Britain established control over Uganda. Then after many long years Ugandans gained their independence in 1962. Although they became independent of Britain, their lives were not necessarily better. The next 20 years were filled with cruelty and terror imposed by multiple dictators and military regimes. [|Amin] is considered one of Uganda's worst dictators. Prior to his reign Uganda had one of the most productive economies. It was based on agriculture. Amin crashed this economy though and in 1986 the country began its recovery. Uganda's people continue to recover. Today I just walked around some of the streets and found out from a magazine I got from the hotel that Ugandans speak over 30 languages and have many cultures. They stay very close to their tribal roots. These roots include traditional dress, food, music, and dance. All of these are still popular here. Four out of five Ugandans live in rural areas. Polygamy is practiced and if a woman is unable to have children she does not have a high status in the community. Like in the United States, kids also do chores. The current leader now is trying to redevelop the school system too so these kids can get a good education. I also found out and saw some of the [|crafts] that people create here. they are amazing. This concludes my stay in Kampala, Uganda.
 * Day 1**
 * Day 3**

Brazzaville, Congo in Central Africa Today it was rainy like most days this time of year in Congo and I booked a tour of the thick forests covering most of the north portion of Congo. Fortunately I was smart and packed a raincoat for my trip, so I did go. Part of the tour included a journey down the Congo River. Our destination was the [|Congo River Basin]. The guide told me that Congo in slightly larger than New Mexico. A cool fact I found was that the equator splits Congo. I asked him about the economy and he admitted that they have some problems with it, but I assured him that I do not criticize such things, that I was just interested. Then he explained that petroleum was very important. It is their primary export and most valuable resource. I guess it is crucial for Congo. The economy’s foundation rests on forestry, petroleum, and agriculture. Other industries include cement kilning, lumbering, brewing, sugar milling, palm oil, soap, and cigarette making. Then he told me and the rest of the group a little of Congo’s past. He started in the 15th century that I can remember anyway and said that it is when Europeans became known to Congo. Then he jumped ahead into the 1880s where there was French sovereignty. Between 1882-1889 treaties were put into place with the French. In 1903 Middle Congo became France’s territory. Then in 1958 Congo gained internal self-government and on August 15, 1960 it became fully independent. Unfortunately in 1969 army officers seized power, and Congo’s rulers from 1970 to 1992 ended up to be military rulers. Then a good event took place when Pascal Lissouble became leader. He was the country’s first democratically elected leader. This was a great step for Congo! Sassou is now the leader. This is what I learned today. I think I made a good choice on taking this tour on the Congo River. The man was very nice and I was proud he knew and cared so much about his country. He informed me a lot. Today was just that stroll through the city again. Many Congolese are Christians, but follow traditional African religions, and I found out that about 10,000 Congolese are Muslims. Most of these 10,000 live in the large cities and are traders. Congolese speak more than 100 languages throughout the country. Most of Congo’s people live in the southwestern portion which I would too since there is such thick forests in the north. 45% of the people in southern and southwestern are farmers and 20% that live north of Brazzaville hunt and fish. 10% that live in the northern section are clerks and technicians. Tonight concludes my stay in Congo. I am leaving in about 15 minutes. I am sad to see Congo go, because I have just started learning and I want to learn so much more.
 * Day 1**
 * Day 2**

Lagos, Nigeria in West Africa Today I took a tour along the southern coast of Nigeria and saw swamps and mangrove forests. On the way the guide, a girl this time unlike everywhere else, said that Nigeria is 1/3 larger than Texas, about 356,669 square miles. It also is the most populous country in Africa. It borders the Gulf of Guinea. She started in the 19th century, when the Fulani Empire ruled the region that is now Nigeria. In 1886 it seized control of the rest of the region. 1914 was the year when Nigeria formally became known as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. On October 1 of 1960 Nigeria finally gained full independence from the United Kingdom. It also joined the United Nations. From 1967 – 1970 there was a civil war, and from1984 through 1999 the military took over. This did not help Nigeria at all. Then she told us about the economy. Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua became president on the 29 of May in 2007, last year. He is still president today. Jonathan Goodluck, the vice president of Nigeria, has been “good luck” apparently. The government people are democratically elected. She said that $61.81 billion of Nigeria’s exports are petroleum and petroleum products. This is what I found out about Nigeria today. I went to a museum today. Here I found out that about 50% ofNigerians are Islamic, 40% are Christian, and 10% have native beliefs. They all cherish music, languages, old stories, and dance. Arts are also a big part of Nigeria. They do ivory and wood carvings, pottery, grass weaving, cloth weaving, glass and metal works, and painting. I gt to see some painting in progress on my walk through the city on my way back to the city too. Some games that Nigerians play include soccer, cricket, wrestling, and polo. They also enjoy swimming. This is all part of Nigeria's culture. This is what I learned today. I really enjoyed the museum.
 * Day 1**
 * Day 2**

Algiers, Algeria in North Africa Today I walked over some plateaus with a very nice tour group. Our guide didn’t know a lot of English, but he knew a great amount about Algeria. This led me to try and find someone who could tell me about Algeria. I found a young lady who didn’t know much about Algeria but knew how to communicate with the guide and could translate what he said into English for me. So I found out that Algeria was mostly desert and about 2,381,741 kilometers of land. The plateaus in Algeria range from 400 to 1,300 meters in height. Algeria is very dry. In fact there are zero kilometers of water. Some of the Sahara stretches into it also. Sand dunes in this part of the Sahara range from two to five meters in height. She said that Algeria exports petroleum, natural gas, petroleum products, wine, and agriculture products-especially fruit. They import machinery, food and beverages, and consumer goods. Primary crops include wheat, barley, oats, wine grapes, olives, citrus, figs, and dates. She also told my tour group some major events in Algeria's history. She seemed very proud of them. In 1830 Algeria became a French territory and then a department attached to France in 1848. The country went through a difficult time of change and adjustment in the 1960s and 1970s. This is what I learned about today. For my last day in Algeria I walked around the city again. I talked to as many Algerians who could speak English and they said they liked to play basketball, volleyball, handball, and most of all soccer. Some instruments they play are guitar and flute and I even saw some people playing them on the street. One woman showed me something called a gaspa, which is a unique long instrument made of bamboo. It was great seeing Algeria. I'm glad I picked this country as one of the ones I would visit.
 * Day 1**
 * Day 2**

These countries were very cool to learn about. I wish I had more time to spend in them all, but I don't. I'm so glad I had a chance to go. I will be trying to learn as much as I can on the Internet, but nothing beats learning straight from the source. The whole trip was incredible! I loved it. I will cherish the memories of going to African countries forever. The sites were great, but meeting the people was even better.