Belize

We just learned about the country of Haiti

Let's learn a little about the country of Belize!

This country is in Central America, and borders Mexico, the Caribbean Se, and Guatemala.
It is about 23,000 square miles, and about 419,000 people live there.
The people in this country mostly speak English, Creole or Spanish.
Belize is the only country in Central America that has English as one of it's official languages.


(from: wikipedia - belize)

The flag of Belize has sideways stripes of red, blue and red for the two different groups of people there that run the country.
In the middle is the Belize coat of arms, which shows the history of logging by the British in the country long ago.


(from: wikipedia - flag of belize)

To eat in this country you might have a fry jack, which is fried dough kind of like a donut.


(from: wikipedia - fry jack)

Visiting this country you might go see El Castillo, which means "the castle", a 130 foot tall castle built by the Mayans long ago.

(from: wikipedia - xunantunich)

Near the coast of Belize is a giant sinkhole called The Great Blue Hole.
It is about 400 feet deep, and 1,000 feet wide, and is a famous place for scuba diving.
The famous diver Jacque Cousteau said it was one of the top 5 best scuba diving places in the world.


(from: wikipedia - great blue hole)


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Haiti

We just learned about the country of Dominican Republic

Let's learn a little about the country of Haiti!

This country is in the Caribbean Sea in the Pacific Ocean, and shares the other half of an island with the Dominican Republic.
It is about 10,000 square miles, and about 11 million people live there.
The people in this country speak French or Haitian Creole.


(from: wikipedia - haiti)

The flag of Haiti is two sideways stripes of blue and red, with a white rectangle in the middle with the coat of arms of Haiti.
The blue and red are for the different people of the country.


(from: wikipedia - flag of haiti)

To eat in this country you might have griot, which is pork cooked with orange or lime juice, and usually eaten with beans and rice.


(from: wikipedia - griot)

Visiting this country you might go see the Citadelle Laferrièrem, which is an old castle built around the year 1820.

(from: wikipedia - citadelle laferrièrem)

There is a castle called Sans-Souci Palace built in 1813 where the King of Haiti lived for a long time until an earthquake came along and destroyed it.

(from: wikipedia - sans-souci palace)


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Dominican Republic

We just learned about the country of Costa Rica

Let's learn a little about the country of Dominican Republic!

This country is in Central America, and it is on the eastern part of an island in the Caribbean Sea, bordering Haiti.
It is about 18,000 square miles, and about 10 million people live there.
The people in this country speak Spanish


(from: wikipedia - dominican republic)

The flag of Dominican Republic is 4 squares of blue and red, with a white cross in the middle, and the coat of arms in the center.
The blue stands for liberty, the white for salvation, and the red for the blood of heroes.


(from: wikipedia - flag of the dominican republic)

To eat in this country you might have Chimichurri burger, which is ground pork or beef with bread and cabbage and salsa.


(from: wikipedia - chimichurri burger)

Visiting this country you might go see the Pomier Caves, made up of 55 caves created over 2,000 years ago.


(from: wikipedia - pomier caves)

In 1992 in Dominican Republic they built a giant tomb for Christopher Columbus called the Columbus Lighthouse.


(from: wikipedia - columbus lighthouse)


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Costa Rica

We just learned about the country of Panama

Let's learn a little about the country of Costa Rica!

This is a small country in Central America that borders Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, the Pacific Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea.
It is about 19,000 square miles, and has about 5 million people living there.
In Costa Rica they speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - costa rica)

The flag of Coast Rica is 5 sideways strips of blue, white and red, with the coat of arms in the red stripe.
Blue is for the sky and opportunities, white is for peace and happiness, red is for blood of the people who fought for freedom.


(from: wikipedia - flag of costa rica)

To eat in Costa Rica you might have casado, which is a meal served with rice, black beans, plantains, salad, a tortilla and meat.
The word casado means "married man", and some people think the name of the meal came from people who went to restaurants and wanted a meal like they would get if they were a married man eating a home cooked meal.


(from: wikipedia - casado)

Visiting Costa Rica you might go see the Poás Volcano National Park.
This park has old volcanoes that are usually not active, and you can walk into the craters and see geysers and lava.


(from: wikipedia - poas volcano national park)

In Costa Rica there was an old ancient group of people called the Diquis, and they made some stone spheres that are still around today that people visit to study the old history.


(from: wikipedia - stone spheres of costa rica)


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Panama

We just learned about the country of Guatemala

Let's learn a little about the country of Panama!

This is a small country in North America that connects North America to South America.
It borders Costa Rica, Columbia, the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

It is about 29,000 square miles, and about 4.3 million people live there.


(from: wikipedia - panama)

The flag of Panama is four rectangles.
The top left is white with a blue star, the top right is red, the bottom left is blue, and the bottom right is white with a red star.
Blue and red are for the different groups in Panama that run the government.
The white is for peace and purity.
The blue star is for purity and honesty, and the red star is for the law.


(from: wikipedia - flag of panema)

To eat in Panama you might have bollo, which is corn, potatoes, or yuca which is kind of like a potato.
The ground up corn, pototato or yuca is then all mushed up together and served like a bun.


(from: wikipedia - bollo)

The most famous thing about Panama is the Panama Canal.
Long ago if someone was in a boat on the Pacific Ocean and they wanted to go to the Atlantic Ocean, they either had to go all the way north above North America, around Alaska and Canada close to the north pole, or all the way south below South America, close to the south pole.
Both of these ways were very dangerous and took a long time to travel.
Since the country of Panama is not very wide and it is right in between North and South America, people had the idea to dig a trench in the land, so that boats could cut through like a shortcut.
The US helped dig the canal, and it took about 10 years, and cost about 12 billion dollars.


(from: wikipedia - panama canal)

There is a type of folk dance called the cumbia in Panama where people wear fancy dresses and outfits.

(from: wikipedia - cumbia (panama))


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Guatemala

We just learned about the country of Cuba

Let's learn a little about the country of Guatemala!

This is a small country in Central America, that borders Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, the Carribean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
It is about 42,000 square miles, and about 17 million people live there.
People in Guatemala speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - guatemala)

The flag of Guatemala is stripes of blue, white and blue, with the country's coat of arms in the middle.
Blue stripes are for the Pacific and Atlantic oceans on either side of the country.
White is for peace and purity.
The coat of arms shows a Quetzal bird for freedom, and then a scroll that has the date Guatemala became free from Spain.


(from: wikipedia - flag of guatemala)

To eat in Guatemala you might have fiambre, which is a salad made from sausages, chicken, sandwich meat, corn, onion, beets, pacaya flower, cheese, olives, and other vegetables.


(from: wikipedia - fiambre)

Visiting Guatemala you might go to Tikal, which is the ruins of a Mayan city that is over 2,000 years old.


(from: wikipedia - tikal)

There are volcanoes in Guatemala, like the Santa María volcano that erupts sometimes and tourists go to see the active volcano.


(from: wikipedia - santa maria (volcano))


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Cuba

We just learned about the country of Honduras

Let's learn a little about the country of Cuba!

This is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, and borders the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It is about 42,000 square miles, and about 11 million people live there. In Cuba the people speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - cuba)

The flag of Cuba has a red triangle on the red, with a white star in it, and five sideways stripes of blue and white.
The red triangle is for liberty, equality and fraternity, courage and independence.
The blue stripes are for the three different parts of Cuba, and the white is for purity.


(from: wikipedia - flag of cuba)

To eat in Cuba you might have ropa vieja, which is a type of shredded steak stewed in a tomato sauce.
The name means "old clothes" and there is an old story of a poor man who was so hungrey that he tore up his clothes and put them in a pot to cook, and then prayed over them for food and it turned into this delicious meat stew.


(from: wikipedia - ropa vieja)

Visiting Cuba you might go to the Havana Cathedral, a church built in 1796.

(from: wikipedia - havana cathedral)

In the city of Camagüey, clay pots called tinajon are used a lot to help get rain water to be used later.
There is an old legend that if you drink water from one of these clay pots, you will fall in love with a girl from Camagüey and never leave the city.


(from: wikipedia - camagüey)


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Honduras

We just learned about the country of Nicaragua

Let's learn a little about the country of Honduras!

This is a small country in Central America, bordering Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
It is about 43,000 square miles, and it has about 9.5 million people living there.
People in Honduras speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - honduras)

The flag of Honduras are three sideways stripes of blue, white and blue, with 5 stars in the middle of the white.
The blue stripes are for the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and the stars are for the 5 other countries in Central America that once were part of a bigger country, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.


(from: wikipedia - flag of honduras)

To eat in Honduras you might have casamiento which is rice with red beans, usually served with a banana.

(from: wikipedia - honduran cuisine)

Visiting Honduras you might go to the Bay Islands and go scuba diving to see the fish and coral reefs.

(from: wikipedia - bay islands)

Long ago the Mayan people lived in Honduras, and there are still some old Mayan ruins and statues in a place called Copán.


(from: wikipedia - )


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Nicaragua

We just learned about the country of Yemen


Let's learn about some more countries in North America.

One country is called Nicaragua!

This country borders Honduras, Costa Rica, and both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
It is about 50,000 square miles and about 6 million people live there.
People in Nicaragua speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - nicaragua)

The flag of Nicaragua is sideways stripes of blue, white and blue, with the a triangle in the middle of the white.
The two blue stripes are for the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
The white is for peace, and the triangle is the coat of arms for Nicaragua.


(from: wikipedia - flag of nicaragua)

To eat in Nicaragua you might have vigorón, which is a cabbage salad with pork all wrapped in a banana leaf.

(from: wikipedia - vigorón)

Visiting Nicaragua you might go see the Somoto Canyon National Monument, which is a canyon that covers about 420 acres.


(from: wikipedia - somoto canyon national monument)

In the town of Managua, there are fossilized footprints that were left in volcanic ash and mud, and scientists think they are from over 2,000 years ago.


(from: wikipedia - ancient footprints of acahualinca)


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Yemen

We just learned about the country of Vietnam

Let's learn a little about the country of Yemen!

Yemen is a country in the middle east, bordering Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the Arabian Sea.
It is about 214,000 square miles, and has about 30 million people living there.
People in Yemen speak the Arabic language.


(from: wikipedia - yemen)

The flag of Yemen is sideways stripes of red, white, and black.
Red is for the blood of the people who fought for Yemen, white is for a bright future, and black is for a dark past.


(from: wikipedia - flag of yemen)

To eat in Yemen you might have saltah, which is a meat stew made with fenugreek, chilies, tomatoes, garlic and herbs. These are mixed in with rice, potatoes, eggs, vegetables and served with bread.

(from: wikipedia - saltah)

Visiting Yemen, you might go to the island of Socotra, where there is a large tree called a dragon blood tree, or dracaena cinnabari.
It is called a dragon blood tree because of the red sap that comes off of the tree.

(from: wikipedia - dracaena cinnabari)


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Vietnam

We just learned about the country of Turkmenistan

Let's learn a little about the country of Vietnam, also called the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Vietnam is a small country in Asia, about 128,000 square miles, with about 96 million people liveing there.
It borders China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Phillippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and the South China Sea.


(from: wikipedia - vietnam)

The flag of Vietnam is a red background with a yellow star.
The red is for battle, and the yellow is for the different types of workers in Vietnam.


(from: wikipedia - flag of vietnam)

To eat in Vietnam you might have bún chả, which is pork with noodles served over rice noodles and dipping sauce.
The word bún means noodles and chả means pork.


(from: wikipedia - bun cha)

Visiting Vietnam you might go see Ban Gioc-Detian Falls, some big waterfalls in the country.

(from: wikipedia - ban gioc–detian falls)

Rice farming is a very important business in Vietnam, and rice is grown there in what are called terraces, that look like stairs.

(from: wikipedia - sa pa)


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