Today is the 11th! Only one more 11th I will be spending in the United States until next year! I thought that since I am traveling to 11 countries many of you (and myself) might not know much about, it would be helpful to share some interesting facts about each country! So here are some facts I found about what I think are pretty cool!
1) Kenya: My first destination! It is about the size of Texas and the income gap is very large, people are either very rich or very poor and not much in between. I have wanted to go to Kenya for many years now so I am of course very excited!
2) Rwanda: It is also known as the Land of a Thousand Hills. Rwanda is about the size of Maryland with a population of 10 million people making it the most densely populated African country. It is also known for the Rwandan Genocide between the Hutu and Tutsu people.
3) Uganda: Around 50% of Uganda’s population lives on less than a dollar per day and the main mode of transportation here is the bicycle. I can definitely attest to that; when I was there I saw people carrying anything they could on a bike, even a mattress!
4) Nepal: This is a landlocked country about the size of Arkansas, where Mount Everest is located! In Nepal, you could see the Bengal tiger and the one horned Rhinoceros. I’ve heard that Nepal is one of the prettiest places to travel!
5) India: There are three great rivers in India: the Ganges, the Indus, and the Brahmaputra. The main language spoken there is Hindi and the religions are Hindu (80.5%), Muslim (13.4%), Christian (2.3%) and other (1.8%). Cows are considered sacred in India and found wondering freely in cities.
6) Thailand: This is the only Southeast Asian country never colonized by a European nation and is the home to the world’s largest Buddha and the world’s tallest hotel.
7) Cambodia: Half of its population is younger than fifteen years old and it’s biggest source of income has been the textile industry. 90% of its population is ethnic Khmer or Theravada Buddhists.
8) The Philippines: Gained its independence in 1946, making it the first Southeast Asian country to gain independence after WWII. It is considered the “texting capital of the world,” with more texts than the U.S. and Europe combined.
9) The Dominican Republic: Founded in 1946 and the oldest European settlement in the Western Hemisphere. I have been here before on a mission trip with my church and decided to sponsor a 13-year-old boy named Carlos so he can attend school. One way you could help me on the World Race is to take over the monthly payments of $40 when I am gone so he can continue going to school. If you are interested in doing this please let me know so we can figure out the details! This would be a huge blessing to both Carlos and me!
10) Haiti: It shares an island with the Dominican Republic and is the world’s first independent black Republic. Creole and French are the official languages and as many of you know, faced a magnitude 7 earthquake in 2010 that they are still recovering from.
11) Puerto Rico: It is about the size of Connecticut and a free associated territory of the United States. Its unofficial mascot is a tiny tree frog found only on the island called the Coqui. I have heard the beaches here are beautiful!
There you have it, my 11 travel destinations! I am getting ready to leave for training camp this Saturday. Here I will be meeting the wonderful people I will be going on this journey with and getting a feel for what my trip will be like. As I get ready to leave, please be praying for my travels and look forward to another blog about camp and the ways God shows up there! Thank you all again for your support and encouragement as I get ready for these next 11 months, I am seriously blown away by the generosity people have shown me!
