Geography Lesson

My fantastic job of teaching English online has connected me to students in (so far):

• China
• Argentina
• Italy
• Germany
• Brazil
• Mexico
• Spain

It have come to realize that I don't know shit about a lot of stuff in these countries. Like these countries' states or provinces. Often, my students - all adults - know the U.S. states.

An Ethiopian friend told me that when he was a child, all the kids learned about the U.S. states. In fact, there was a common phrase for when something got lost, "Where it'd go, Arkansas?" ... (if it was believed something was stolen, the question was, "it must have gone to Baghdad.") 

So I'm undertaking a project to learn the provinces of my students' countries.

China

Here's China in a reader-friendly visual:

Credit: SACU

Once I found a provincial map of China, my mind turned to land mass as compared to the U.S. Below is a nice graphic - note that it shows the comparison and also minds the latitudinal information. Note also that neither Hawaii nor Alaska appear.

Credit: Flora of China

One of my students told me that the area around Chengdu is particularly beautiful. Home of the pandas, too. And the five-color lakes.  It's in Sichuan province. Famous for its cuisine.


Argentina

Argentina has several states known for their regional wines.

Credit: La Vida Es Hermosa

If I compare China's size to the U.S., I guess I should do the same for Argentina.

Credit: Rand McNally

Mexico

Since I'll relocating to Mexico next year, I definitely need to get a handle on its states. Do you see the state of Michoacán? Yeah, that's where I was thinking of going, but maybe I've got to rethink that.

And the comparison between Mexico and U.S. land area:

Credit: Rand McNally

Below is a graph of expats who live in Mexico. I'm surprised the Canadian number is so low. Where do they go?
 

Place	Country	2010	2000	1990
1	United States	738,103	343,591	194,619
2	Guatemala	35,322	23,597	46,005
3	Spain	18,873	21,024	24,783
4	Colombia	13,922	6,465	4,635
5	Argentina	13,696	6,215	4,964
6	Cuba	12,108	5,537	5,217
7	Honduras	10,991	3,722	1,997
8	Venezuela	10,063	2,823	1,533
9	El Salvador	8,088	6,647	2,979
10	Canada	7,943	5,768	3,011
11	France	7,163	5,723	4,195
12	China	6,655	2,100	1,161
13	Germany	6,214	5,595	4,499
14	Peru	5,886	3,749	1,633
15	Chile	5,267	3,848	2,501
16	Italy	4,964	3,904	2,397
17	Brazil	4,532	2,320	1,293
18	South Korea	3,960	2,079	1,161
19	Nicaragua	3,572	2,522	1,521
	Other countries	43,799	37,126	32,487
TOTAL		961,121	492,617	340,246
Source: INEGI (2000),[20] CONAPO (1990)[21][22] and INEGI (2010)[23]

Italy

Back in the day, the first words that would come to my mind about Italy would be beautiful scenery, wine, good eating, rich history, and a people with a joie-de-vivre world view. Based on reports from recent travelers, the images that stick out most for me about Italy are crowds, heat, and high prices.

If you agree, then may I recommend a fine country for you to visit - Caucasus Georgia.

I'm kind of bored with the size comparison thing, so I'm going to stop on that.


Germany

One of my former (Caucausus) Georgian students is visiting Germany right now with a friend - they look to be having a fantastic time!

German provinces. Credit: Maps of Germany.

Do you see that pointy area in France below Saarland and to the left of Baden-Wirttemberg? That's Alsace-Lorraine.

Alsace-Lorraine. Credit: Travels in Europe With a VW Camper

My matrilineal and patrilineal ancestors passed through this area in centuries past, the maternal line being French Catholic, and the other Swiss Mennonite, aka Anabaptist (German-speaking), before their descendants, in different immigrant streams, in different centuries, ended up in North America. 

My maternal grandfather saw battle in Alsace-Lorraine during World War I.

Gee, what a detour I made.

So back to Germany. Because of my economic stratum, I tend not to think much about Western Europe as a travel destination - I can't afford to go, so it's just not on my radar.




Spain

Spain. Credit: Property net.

Jeez louise, the time it took to find a decent provincial map that also showed the almost-adjoining countries of Morocco and Algeria to the south of Spain (in English). Oh, you see they aren't there. Right. So anyway, see that land with the little airplane on it, south of Cadiz, practically touching? That's Morocco. If you look to the right along Morocco's coastline til you see the other little airplane? And then the yellow squiggly line? To the right of the squiggly line is Algeria.

The economic crisis in Spain right now is crushing. Recently, a British man bought an entire Spanish village (abandoned) for 60k euros. (There are villages like this in Caucasus Georgia, too.)


Brazil

Brazil provinces. Credit: emaps world

I always think of Brazil as being very big. Let's compare it with the U.S.

Brazil - US size comparison. Credit: Rand McNally

 Woo, yeah, it's big.
 
Although Brazil can boast tremendous advances in many areas economically, technologically, etc. it's also  suffering now in many areas. People don't feel safe. The government is perceived to be corrupt and ineffectual. There are some who believe the public school system is in awful shape, as there is no investment in bringing along new teachers for the public system, i.e. low pay and miserable working conditions. (Sounds like Caucasus Georgia, although there is ongoing reform.)

According to the World Atlas, Brazil's Sao Paolo is the ninth most populous city in the world at 20 million (just under NYC's 21.4 million and just over Mexico City's 19.4 million).


 

China: White Wine

Sound of car coming to a screeching halt. China????

Yes, this is way off my blog topic - at least for now - considering I've never been to China and am not contemplating a trip to China in the near future.

Credit: Vinn Distillery

But with my online EFL job, I have some Chinese students. Awhile back, one of them mentioned enjoying some white wine. I asked which white wine he favors, and he noted it was Chinese wine. I was unfamiliar with Chinese wine, and made a mental note to study up on it later. Then another student mentioned white wine, and while we chatted, I did some simultaneous online research and discovered a fun fact.

Chinese "white wine" - also known as the "white devil" - isn't wine at all. It's baijiu, a very, very, very strong distilled liquor made from sorghum, rice, or another grain. Contains between 40-60% alcohol.

Many Chinese consider baijiu to be the national drink.


Prompts fond memories of Georgian chacha.

Red Paint Powwow, New Mexico, Part 2: The Chinese Hopi

Miao girls, China. Source: The source is no longer a safe URL; removed from this post.

The Red Paint Powwow is an annual event in Silver City, New Mexico, hosted by the Chiricahua Apache. I attended the powwow on Saturday, January 19, 2013.

I saw many styles of attire at the Red Paint Powwow. But one woman's regalia drew my attention because she was dressed like no one else. I picked through my mental file cabinet. Result:

 "No file found." 

I was eager for this mystery to be solved as the day unfolded.

In the afternoon, the emcee, Otis Half Moon, called up various powwow dignitaries for recognition in front of the dais. Among them were the "royalty."

Two young women came forward. One was a teen from Tularosa, Miss Mescalero Apache, I believe. She gave a sweet talk about what she wants to accomplish during her reign. 

The other young woman was the person whose attire I didn't recognize. She explained that she was a member of a minority tribe in China, and that when she came to the U.S., she was homesick. Her husband somehow connected her to a Hopi community and she felt an immediate kinship: "I saw my brothers and sisters!" And she felt she'd found a home with the Hopi.

Obviously, her American Hopi brothers and sisters feel the same, as she was an honored guest at the powwow. 

It was very moving.

Miao woman, China. Credit: Bowers Museum.

 

By the way, the Hopi apparently have their own version of Revelations in which Elder Brother (as represented by China, India, Africa, and Islamic nations) will rejoin with Younger Brother (the Hopi) after the United States (except for Hopi lands) is destroyed by atomic bombs and radioactivity.