South Africa is a large country in Southern Africa (well, duh), unfortunately perhaps best known for its apartheid policy. About 80% of the people are of black origin, showing that yes, you can discriminate against the majority. It is also infamous for some other things, like the mind-blowingly high number of rapes and the horribly [...]
Greece is not hugely popular at the moment thanks to its severe money problems. It’s a shame, considering the rich history and culture of this Mediterranean country, being the Western birthplace of many arts, sciences, ideas and traditions, including the Olympic games. Apparently the Greek healthcare system remains one of the best in the world [...]
Cape Verde is an archipelago of ten volcanic islands located near the coast of West Africa. They were uninhabited until the Portuguese colonization in the 15th century and later served as an important hub in the slave trade because of their location. Now it houses about 500,000 people, mostly of creole origin. Cape Verde is [...]
Swaziland is a small, landlocked country almost entirely cocooned by South Africa. It was formerly a colony of the United Kingdom, now ruled by king Mswati III. The people are mostly Swazis who speak the Bantu language Swazi (also known as siSwati). Even compared to other African countries, the impact of AIDS in Swaziland has [...]
Neighboured by Spain, Portugal is the westernmost country in Europe. It has had a number of colonies in its history. Most people know that Portuguese is spoken in Brazil, but also in some African and Asian countries such as Angola and East Timor. Still, unlike most former colonial powers, Portugal remains rather homogenic religion and [...]
Again sorry for not posting, blah blah blah. Not only have I been very busy with the move, I have also lost my cooking mojo. The selection of fresh veg and fruit is just so amazing and cheap here in Amsterdam compared to Finland (e.g. fresh green beans are 1/10 of the price!) that I [...]
Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I have some major life changes happening in the next weeks, so unfortunately posts will still be sparse until mid September or so, possibly even longer. Writing this blog has made me realize how little I remember of the geography lessons I had in school. Not only are [...]
