Zac


 * __Trip To Africa__**

__**North Africa**__ __**Tunisia:**__ I have received an expense free trip to Africa and will be traveling around the continent with my long time pen pal named Amine. Amine’s wealthy parents are paying for this trip in full as a gift to us both. On the trip will be me, Amine, and our multilingual translator named John. I am very exited for this trip because it will be my first time in the continent of Africa. I will fly to Tunisia on March 10th.

March 10th- Today I had to get out of bed at the dreadful time of 5:30 a.m. on this quiet Saturday morning. I drove from Lansing, Michigan to Detroit and took the 8:00 a.m. plane to Tunis, Tunisia, the hometown of my friend Amine. It has been an extremely long flight and I am finally here in North Africa’s smallest country. I am very tired and plan to sleep in tomorrow.

March 11th- Today I got up at 9:30 and Amine and I hopped in his car and only had to ride 20 minutes to reach a place on the Atlas Mountains where we could hike. We paid the $30 fee for the equipment and lesson and then set off on the mountains. The high altitudes gave me a headache but luckily Amine had some Tylenol in his hiking bag and I had a bottle of water and with 15 minutes of rest I felt better. The sights were exceptionally beautiful. It was the highest place that I had ever been. After that hike I felt like I had truly experienced being a tourist of Tunisia. I had now contributed to one of the major industries of Tunisia-Tourism.

March 12th- My second day in Tunisia has been awesome. I flew to Monastir, Tunisia (on the eastern coast) from Tunis. On the way there the flight attendant noted to all the passengers that we passed Carthage (now a suburb in Tunis) which was a center of a powerful trading empire but was eventually destroyed by the Romans for control of the Mediterranean. When we arrived at Monastir we volunteered at a local subsistence farm to experience this kind of life and help out a family. The farmer and his wife taught Amine and I to prepare ground for planting and then how to plant the crops. I had a lot of help from John and Amine when trying to understand the common Arabic language that the farmers spoke. At the end of the day I knew how to prepare the ground and plant both wheat and barley crops all by myself. I also picked up on a few Arabic words.

__**Morocco:**__ March 13th- I enjoyed my time in Tunisia but today I am in Morocco after an early morning flight. Today Amine and I visited a souk or open aired marketplace in Fes, Morocco. I purchased a small hand-made rug that fits nicely into my suitcase. We also purchased an assortment of fresh vegetables to eat for lunch. When we stopped to eat our vegetables, Amine explained to me how many people here are of Arabic culture just like in Tunisia. He also shared with me that Morocco has only been an independent country since 1956. I have experienced a lot today and cannot wait for tomorrow.

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March 14th- Today I went for a camel ride in the Merzouga Desert. It was unbelievably hot but still lots of fun. Luckily I brought along plenty of water and a battery operated fan. I have never seen such a vast area of nothing but sand. The sights were amazing. I was not very fond of the uncomfortable feeling of sitting on the camel but it was worth it. John and Amine told me two more interesting facts. Amine told me that the tip of Morocco is only 8 miles from Spain. John shared that the unemployment rate here is about 8.9%. I don’t know how Amine and John remember all of these facts.



West Africa

Mali: March 15th- Sixty-five percent of Mali is desert or semi-desert, but there are still many beautiful sites. I visited the Great Mosque of Djenne, Mali. This is my first day in Mali and this is great way to start off my Mali experience. This mosque is the largest in the world made of sun-dried mud bricks. A mosque is a place of worship for the Islam religion. Although I do not agree with the teachings of the Islam religion, I must say that this mosque was absolutely beautiful. Thank goodness our translator was with us because Amine, and I do not understand French, which is the official language in Mali.

​ Today I took a canoe ride on the Niger River. The canoe was called a pirogue which is a canoe made of hollow tree trunks. The man who rowed us through the river was a farmer. The economy here is based largely on agriculture. He also has the ancestor of Monsa Masu, Mali’s most famous governing leader. I had a lot of fun on the canoe ride. The farmer let me row the canoe for a minute and we ended up stuck in some weeds and small tree branches by the shore. I suppose that I still need some practice.
 * March 16th-**



__**Nigeria:**__ Today I visited Zuma Rock in Nigeria, one of the many plateaus in Nigeria. We hired an instructor to help us hike to the top of the rock. It was a lot of hard work but still lots of fun. While we were hiking the instructing somehow found the breath to share a few facts with us. He told us that the economy is largest based on income from oil. He also told us that there are about 250 ethnic groups between Nigeria’s 133.9 million people. After 3 hours of hiking we finally reached the top. Tonight I am going to camp in my sleeping bag that I brought in my backpack with me. I will get to see all the stars in the sky.
 * March 17th-**

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I woke up this morning and the air smelled fantastic. However my back hurts because the ground is hard. The trip down the rock was a lot shorter and less tiring because gravity did a lot of the work. One of the other hikers who was with us is a history teacher and he told us that the earliest known people to live in Nigeria were the Nok people. Today was a good day and I look forward to going to the Central African Republic tomorrow.
 * March 18th-**



__** Central Africa **__

The Central African Republic: Today I visited Dzanga-Sangha National Park in the landlocked country of the Central African Republic. This country has a land area of 240,553 miles. This national park is a special reserve for animals. I saw many different animals from the gorillas to elephants. Our tour guide, who shared information with us about the many different animals, also told us that the Central African Republic was once a colony of France until its freedom in 1960. It is now a republic under the power of Prime Minister Nicholas Tiangaye. I did not stay very long at this park because I am very tired and am going to bed early. Today I visited the Boganda National Museum in the Central African Republic. This museum had many things about the culture in this country but the most interesting things that I learned about was the balafon. The balafon is a popular instrument in this country and is a lot like a xylophone. It is a part of the Central African Republic’s culture. At lunch I overheard another tourist talk about how diamonds is a major export in this country. I am learning things left and right no matter what country I go to.
 * March 19th-**
 * March 20th-**

__**The Democratic Republic of Congo:**__ **March 21st-** Today I am in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I took another ride on a pirogue because both Amine and I enjoyed it a lot while we were in Mali. Instead of riding the pirogue in the Niger River we rode in the Congo River. Our tour guide this time was a bit of a chatterbox but I learned a lot from her. She told us that the Democratic Republic of Congo exports gold, petroleum, diamonds, and copper. She also told us that there are over 200 different ethnic groups in the 56.6 million people in this country. I do not know what Amine enjoys so much about floating on the river in a pirogue but I find it very relaxing even with the tour guide talking so much.

Although the Democratic Republic of Congo is ¼ the size of the United States and only has 23 miles of coastline, it has plenty of room for beautiful attractions. Today I visited Mount Nyamuragira which is an active volcano in the Virunga Mountains. We rode in a helicopter so we were above the volcano. I thought that it was stunning from a distant ground view but it was even more amazing from in the air. After the ride the pilot told us about a civil war in this country that took place in the late 1990s and was ended with an agreement in 2002.
 * March 22nd-**



East Africa

Uganda: Today I visited Kisoro, Uganda at the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. When I arrived in Uganda by plane I received a welcome pamphlet written in English at the world travel welcome center in the airport. I found out that Uganda lies on the equator and is about the size of Oregon. It also had over 40 different ethnic groups present. The most interesting thing I read though is that 80% of the population here is employed on farms making agriculture a big part of the Ugandan economy. At the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park I was greeted with many dark faces of curious gorillas looking at me. Most of my travels so far have been to see non animal things so it was great to see the gorillas on Batwa trail. This trail is guided by the Batwa people who are a tribe that was isolated in the forest until 1991.
 * March 23rd-**



Amine has some relatives who live in Entebbe, Uganda which is very near to Lake Victoria. I spent today swimming in Lake Victoria. The water was a little bit cold but I swimming in it was so much fun. Amine’s relatives were super nice and let us stay for lunch, dinner, and the night before we took off for Kenya. __**Kenya:**__ Today I went on a safari in Kenya. It was a very hot day today so it felt great to have the air blowing in my face as we drove on the safari. The driver and guide pointed out the many animals to us including zebras, elephants, cheetahs, giraffes, lions, and hippopotamuses. He also told us the Kenya is twice the size of Nevada keeping in mind that I was from the United States. He also told us that tourism is growing in Kenya and is becoming a big part of the economy. The safari lasted a few hours and I was very tired after it was over. I am going to rest well tonight.
 * March 24th-**
 * March 25th-**

Today we visited the Shaba National Reserve for another Safari. We saw the same animals as yesterday plus gazelles, jackals, and leopards. We saw a mother leopard with her babies eating a dead deer. It was a little bit gross but very interesting. This safari was not quite as tiring as the last because it was not as long. I had a great time on both safaris. Did you know that Kenya was once a colony of Britain in 1920 until 1963? I didn’t know that until today when our guide shared this with us as well as how Kenya has 40 different ethnic groups.
 * March 26th-**

__** South Africa **__

Madagascar The island in the Indian Ocean, Madagascar, is the fourth largest island in the world. It is also the last visit on my trip to Africa. Today I ventured in the Anjajavy Forest with my friend Wesley and Jeff Corwin as our animal guide. Amine and John had to go home to their families and they left this morning. On the drive to the forest we saw a group of people playing music celebrating what looked like a birthday party. Jeff said that lots of music here revolves around the people’s Southeast Asian and African heritage. Throughout our journey in the forest, Jeff told us many interesting facts and names of animals that we found such as various types of chameleons and snakes. The last few hours of our day were spent building three shelters to sleep in. I look forward to tomorrow.
 * March 26th-**

Today when we woke up we found a vanilla bean tree near our sleeping camp. It must have been too dark to see last night. Jeff said that Madagascar produces most of the world’s vanilla beans. Jeff showed us a variety of lemurs today. They look so graceful swinging up the trees. He told us that these animals have been around for a long time but the first human settlement began in the first century A.D. After we were done exploring we drove back to the airport and each went our separate ways. My plan is about the land so I have to go. I hope you enjoyed my trip to Africa!
 * March 27th-**



__**Works Cited**__ Boehm, Richard G., David G. Armstrong, Francis P. Hunkins, Dennis Reihartz, and Merry Lobrecht. The World and Its People. New York: Glencoe/McGraw- Hill, 2005. Print.

"Plan the Perfect Trip." Reviews of Hotels, Flights and Vacation Rentals. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2013. .