(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]
Blog
Category: Africa
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]
Lesotho: Sometimes There Is A Void
The Africa blogging project is down to the southern tip of the continent and Lesotho, a country with about two million people and the second-highest HIV/AIDS rate in the world. The country is surrounded by South Africa, which is how Zakes Mda ended up there – his father was the founder and president of the… [Read More]
Botswana: Cry of the Kalahari
Botswana is a small country, with 2.2 million people who would probably be in great shape if it weren’t for the high incidence of HIV/AIDS. It has a stable government, a literacy rate approaching 90%, and a GDP per capita of over $16,000. The nation’s big business is diamonds, but tourism generates a lot of… [Read More]
