LET'S LEARN ABOUT AFRICA!

OK so I feel like there are some people (cough cough my family) who may need a little bit of education about South Africa.  This post is going to just be dedicated to hopefully teaching ya'll a little bit about WHERE I am and WHAT South Africa is like.

This is a map of the world:

There are 7 continents.
The top yellow is where America is.
The blue is Africa.

Here is Africa close up:

At the bottom you can see South Africa.  That is the COUNTRY I am in.  Africa is the continent, South Africa is the country.

Here is a map of South Africa:

It is broken into 9 provinces.  This would be like the states in America.  I am in Western Cape.  In Western Cape I live in Cape Town, which is a city.  Inside the city of Cape Town I am staying in Observatory, which is a suburb.

Ok let me break this down into a nice chart:

WORLD->AFRICA->SOUTH AFRICA->WESTERN CAPE->CAPE TOWN->OBSERVATORY.

Got it? Good.  Here's a little bit about South Africa, or at least some of the things I think you should know:

• South Africa has 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu
• The census breaks South Africans into 4 main racial groups: Black, White, Coloured, and Indian/Asian.  Coloured is a term almost exclusively used as a race in South Africa.  To say "mixed race" would be too simplistic, but for the purposes of this basic blog I will leave it at that.
• The poverty rate is SAID to be around 25%.  However, it is definitely higher.  One statistic says that 70% of Black South Africans are unemployed. (US unemployment rate is about 7%)
• The currency is known as the Rand.  Typically, the conversion was about $1 in US dollars was equal to 10 Rands.  However, the Rand's value is declining and right now it is about $1 USD to 11 Rands.
• Only about 12.1% of the country has had some form of education past high school, and only about 26% have completed high school. (An average of 71% of Americans have graduated from high school)
• South Africans during a political election vote for the PARTY they want to rule.  The party then chooses the President.  Right now, the party in control is the African National Congress, the party that Nelson Mandela stood behind and chose him to be president from 1994-1999.  The current president is Jacob Zuma.  He currently has 6 wives.

Let's leave it at that for now.  HOWEVER, I challenge everyone that has actually read this post to this point to comment with a question they have and I will do my best to answer them all in my best blog!!

OK, now let's talk about Apartheid.

To put it very simply for those that may not know, Apartheid was a system of racial segregation throughout South Africa by the government from around 1948-1994.  This was during the National Party's government reign (that was the political party).  I cannot really explain in words how terrible this was.  People were forcibly removed from where they were living and relocated.  All the while, there was violence and uproar throughout the entire country.  Thousands of people were killed in shootings, beatings, etc.  It basically tore this country to shreds.  While Apartheid is technically over, its remnants are still visible throughout the country.  In fact, there are some areas where people are still living in groups with people of their own race because they never moved after Apartheid ended.  

I was not alive for the Civil War...I wasn't alive for the Civil Rights Movement...but what is CRAZY is that I WAS alive during Apartheid.  The "technical" date of the end of Apartheid is debatable, but may say it was on the day of the 1994 elections where ALL RACES were allowed to vote for the first time.  What was that date?  April 27, 1994.  The day of my 1st birthday.  Anyone born after April 27, 1994 is known as "The Born Free Generation" because they were not born during Apartheid.  I am living in a house with people and going to school with people that are part of this Born Free Generation, but I am not.  I lived during this time.  I may not remember it, but it is CRAZY to think how recent such a terrible event happened.  

OK, I think I've probably exhausted your brains for now.  I hope you learned a little bit.  Please post a question about something you want to know in the comments, or if you would like me to clarify anything further.  THANKS FOR READING!  I have a lot of exciting things coming up (including a video), so stay ready!