Thursday, September 27, 2012

North America, Latin America, and Oceania

North America 


The continent of North America includes 3 countries: the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Together they cover over 9,450,000 square miles of land. North America is made up of two cultural regions: Canada and the United States. Culturally speaking, Mexico is part of Latin America which will be discussed below.







Here are the flags for the United States and Canada.

The United States of America
  
Canada



Each cultural area of North America has many different ethnic groups.

The United States is a melting pot of culture groups. Our family represents some of those groups. Mom is of Italian and British heritage mixed with a little Swedish and Norwegian; Dad's family roots are French Canadian. My sister, two brothers and I are of Hispanic heritage. My new brother in law is of Taiwanese descent.

Historically there have been three main cultures in Canada.  The Inuit people are sometimes called Canada's "First Nation" because they lived in Canada long before settlers came from Europe.  Most Canadians are of British and French descent, arriving as immigrants in the last 400 years.  






Latin America




Latin American is made up of four sub-regions, The Caribbean, South America, Mexico and Central America. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² (7,880,000 sq mi). As of 2010, its population was estimated at more than 590 million. Latin America is divided into 33 independent nations. Here are some of the flags for the countries of Latin America
Mexico






Puerto Rico








Argentina












Latin Americans include people of American Indian, European, and African ancestry. Those of mixed Indian and white descent are called mestizos. Those of mixed black and white descent are called mulattoes.
Ecuadorian 

Bolivian Baby
   Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Latin America.



Our church family supports Layo and Luchy Leiva as missionaries to Latin America and the Caribbean. The focus of their mission is to reach the leaders of Latin America, helping them to spread the gospel and impact their society




Layo and Luchy Leiva


Oceania 
Oceania is another cultural region, centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean Approximately 25,000 islands make up the pacific islands (Oceania). These islands include places like Australia, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji. Here is a picture of an island in Oceania

Early settlers from southeast Asia came and settled themselves in the Pacific Islands.  Later, settlers came from Great Britain which used Australia as a prison colony.  Now people all over the world come and settle in Australia and the surrounding islands, making the area culturally diverse.  Australia is the least densely populated continent with only eight people per square mile. Many of the Pacific islands are more densely populated since large numbers of people live together on relatively small pieces of land.

In some parts of the Pacific Islands the culture is based on tribal traditions.  These people depend on subsistence farming and fishing to provide for their community.  Other parts of Oceania are more modern and industrial.  People in these areas manufacture and export many products including diamonds, copper, and automobiles.  Fruit farming and sheep farming are also sources of income in the region. 


 Viti Levu is the fifth largest island in Oceania     
                                                                                 
Australian Miners 

Aboriginal People


Rugby is a popular sport throughout Oceania, and is the national sport of Papua New Guinea. It is also very popular in Australia and attracts the attention of crowds across New Zealand and the Pacific Islands

Pacific Islanders Rugby Team  

Friday, September 14, 2012

Africa, Asia, Eurasia & Europe.


Hey Everybody,
I’m going to tell you a little bit about four cultural regions of the world. The First cultural region I’m going to talk about is Africa. Africa is near and dear to my heart.

Africa 
Africa is the largest and most populated continent in the world.

















There are approx, 1,032,532,974 people in Africa. There are 57 countries in Africa some of my favorites are, Liberia, Zambia, and Uganda. I have been teaching a little boy who’s from Liberia. He is absolutely precious and my heart goes out to his country and him. I hope that someday I will visit Liberia and love those children.

Children in Liberia.
















Liberia













Zambia will always have a special place in my heart. I went to Zambia in 2011 for a month. I left many pieces of my heart in Zambia with 20+ orphans. I went to work with some missionaries we know in Kazembe a small rural village. (check out their website here, www.missionaryfamily.com). Zambia as an entire country really tugs at my heart. I’m planning on returning back to Zambia in 2013 to work at the same orphanage.
Zambian People














Zambian Hut















 Uganda interests me quite a bit. I recently read a book called, “Kisses from Katie”. The book was about a girl, Katie Davis who moved to Uganda just out of highschool. She’s adopted 14 girls and is “mommy” to many Ugandan children. I’d love to visit Uganda and see the ministry she’s doing there. Check out her blog here, http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/.

























 According to the world book encyclopedia Islam is the largest religion in Africa. Next is Christianity making up 45% and 40% are Muslims. 15% believe in traditional African religions such as voodoo etc.


















Africa is the hottest continent on the earth, dry lands and deserts cover 60% of the entire land surface. When I was in Zambia it wasn’t that bad. We were there in the winter though, so it was sunny and 75 degrees every day. Some parts of Africa can get unbearably hot and water is scarce is many parts. There are approx 2,000 languages spoken in Africa. Many of them are, French, Spanish, English and hundreds of African dialects.



















Europe 
Europe  is the world’s second smallest continent. I’ve always liked Europe’s beautiful landscape. Whenever I think of international vacation, Europe comes to my mind. There are 739,165,030 people in Europe. There are 50 countries in Europe some of my favorites are, Belgium, Italy and The United Kingdom. Belgium interests me because I have a friend who lives there.
Belgium















Belgium Chocolate
















I know for a fact that the BEST chocolate in the world comes from Belgium,I wouldn't mind visiting Belgium and seeing the beauty of it and of course eating some chocolate.














Italy is the home country of my Aunt Stefania. A few years ago I some of her extended family. They were so sweet and invited me to visit Italy someday. I think I might do that. Italian is very similar to Spanish which I've been learning. Knowing Spanish will make my time in Italy easier.

Italian Canoeing





















Italian Pasta


 










The United Kingdom has always interested me. On the way back from Africa in 2011 we stopped in London for a few hours. While in London I saw the outside of Buckingham Palace (yes, I saw the changing of the guards), The London eye, and West Minster Abbey. I really enjoyed the few hours I spent in London.

Buckingham Palace
















Religion in Europe has a major influence on European art, culture, philosophy and law. The largest religion in Europe is Christianity, 76.2%. The rest of Europeans consider themselves Islamic or non religious














There are many different languages spoken in Europe, they’re divided up into several different categories Most of the languages of Europe belong to the Indo-European language family. This family is divided into a number of branches, including Romance, Germanic, Baltic, Slavic, Albanian and Greek. The Uralic languages, which include Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian, are also spoken in Europe.

Asia
Asia is the world’s largest and most populous continent. There are 3,879,000,000 people in Asia. Asia makes up 60% of the world’s human population that’s more than half. During the 20th century Asia’s population nearly quadrupled. There are 48 countries in Asia, my favorites are, Nepal and China.

Nepal














 I like Nepal because my sister and her family live there as missionaries. In December my mom and I are going to Nepal to help my sister with my new nephew! I’m so excited to visit Nepal and see another part of the world! I also can’t wait to meet my new nephew and see my two nieces again. I'm also hoping to visit an orphanage in Nepal because I have a heart for orphans all around the world.
Nepali children
















I have always wanted to visit China and see the great wall. I remember when I was younger and I learned about the Great Wall of China and ever since then I’ve always wanted to visit China and see it.

The Great Wall of China
















Chinese Children
















Most Asian countries have more than one language that is spoken. China has many different dialects and languages are spoken in different provinces.
here are many religions in Asia. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated in India and South Asia. In East Asia, mainly in China and Japan, Confucianism, Taoism and Zen Buddhism were formed.


Central Eurasia 
 Central Eurasia is made up of the five Central Asian Republics as well as the lower Volga Region in Russia, southern Siberia, Iran, Afghanistan, parts of China and Northern Pakistan, Kashmir and sometimes Mongolia and Tibet. Eurasia is made up of Europe and Asia. It covers 36.2% of the Earth’s total land area and 72.5% of the human population (4.6millioin people). There are 4,620,000,000 people in Central Eurasia. This part of the world is best known for its art, literature and empires. Some of the countries in Eurasia are, Bangladesh, Austria, Nepal, France and Germany. Some of the countries in Eurasia are more European like, for example – Austria, France, and Germany are all more European in a cultural sense. Whereas Bangladesh, and Nepal are more Asian culturally speaking.
Eurasia













Eurasian Cultural Dancing



















Eurasian Food

























I've been blessed to visit 2 almost 3 out of these four cultural regions! I hope that you enjoyed reading this post!

~Tina