Djibouti has a strategic location, an excellent deep water port on the Red Sea, and a relatively poor population. Much of the nation’s land is salt flats. When I last took a look at Djibouti, it was in the form of a mystery adventure set at the port. This time, the story is different. Beau… [Read More]
Blog
Category: Africa
Algeria: Cousin K
Albert Camus is the best-known author from Algeria, but he is not the only one. Yasmina Khadra is another. It’s the feminine pen name used by the masculine Mohammed Moulessehoul, who served in the Algerian Army and wanted to avoid censorship. This particular novella is part of the French Voices series of translations at the… [Read More]
Foreign Language Final Exam
(Note: as I struggle with learning a foreign language, I wrote this little piece. It’s supposed to be humorous – or is it?) This semester we have learned how to ask for directions to the library, analyzed passages by the greatest of the foreign language’s authors,and parsed details about the proper uses of the subjunctive… [Read More]
South Africa: Ivory from Paradise
I’m finally at the end of the African book project. It took a lot longer than I thought it would. The last country on the list is also the wealthiest in Africa, the Republic of South Africa. I read Ivory From Paradise, by David Schmahmann. It’s the story of a white family that scatters from… [Read More]
Swaziland: Without the King
Swaziland is the only absolute monarchy left in the world, and that status does not seem to be serving its subjects well. Mswati III has been king since 1986. GDP per capita is $9,800, and Swaziland has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the world. There are allegations that the nation’s wealth, which is also… [Read More]
