Armenia

Population: 3.1 million

Capital: Yerevan

Language: Armenian

Currency: Armenian dram

Climate: The climate varies depending on where you are at in Armenia, but they tend to have hot dry summers and wet cold winters.

Religion: Armenia has freedom of religion, but 97% of Armenian's are Christian.  Armenia has its own christian church, the Armenian Apostolic Church that most people belong to.

Sports: Soccer is the most popular sport in Armenia  but they also enjoy wrestling  weightlifting, judo, chess and boxing.  Armenia participated in the Olympic games under the Soviet Union and help win many of their medals.  The first medal won by an Armenian was by Hrant Shahinyian, a gymnast in 1952, he won two gold and two silvers.  90% of Armenians that went to the Olympics came back with medals.  Since 1992 Armenia has competed independently in the Olympics.

Famous people:  Probably the most famous people that have Armenian heritage are the Kardashians. Other famous people are Andre Agassi who has Armenian heritage as does Cher.

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Facts:
* Anyone whose last name ends in "ian" is from Armenia
* Armenia and Turkey do not get along, there was an Armenian genocide caused by Turkey that has still not been formally acknowledged.
* Armenia was the first country to be converted to Christianity in 301AD
* It is traditional for the groom and his family to pay for the wedding
* Mount Ararat is the tallest mountain in Armenia and claimed to be where Noah landed his ark
* It's estimated that there are 11 million Armenians in the world but only 3 million live in Armenia

Culture:  Because of its geographical location Armenia has been subject to various wars.  This has shaped the culture and almost helped the people stick together and keep their cultural practices. Armenians are known for making carpets and lace, a tradition that has been handed down from generation to generation.  Armenian food is as old as the country.  It usually consists of fish, vegetables  fruits and spices that make a unique flavor.  There are separate household roles, women are expected to do the chores of the home even if they also work outside the home.

Activity

I did not know a lot about Armenia, in fact I don't think I had ever heard of Armenia, until I met a co-worker from there almost 5 years ago.  Her name is Karina and she taught me a lot about her culture and country.  Karina's family moved to the United States when she was a little girl, they came over as refugees because it was the only status that would allow them to leave the country.  While here her family was preparing to apply for residency when they actually won the citizenship lottery and their whole family received their US citizenship.

Some fun stories that she told me about her culture was once a year they have a day called "water day" where everyone throws water at each other.  Not just fun water balloons or a spray with the garden hose, but full on buckets of water.  Usually it is the younger teenagers and such that throw the water, but anyone is fair game, kids, parents, men, women, older people, anyone.  Karina told me she tried not to go outside on this day because it was pretty much guaranteed she'd get wet.  Even when driving in her car if the windows weren't up, she would get wet.

Karina participates every year in the peaceful protest to get the Armenian genocide acknowledged as an actual historical event.

Ethiopia

Population: 84.7 million

Capital: Addis Ababa

Language: Amharic language phrases: Hello (Tena Yistiligne) Goodbye (chow)

Currency: Ethiopian Birr

Climate:  The temperature varies depending on the region one is in.  The desert can get as hot as 140 F, but the central region gets as low as 43 F.

Religion:  Orthodox Christianity is the most popular religion practiced in Ethiopia followed by Islam.

Sports: Distance running is the most well known sport in Ethiopia.  Haile Gebreselassie has set over twenty new world records and currently holds 2 of those records.  Ethiopia has been known to sweep the medals at both world championships and Olympics.  Football (soccer) is also a popular sport.  The national team hasn't won a cup since 1962 when it won the African Cup of Nations, but it is still very supported by the people.

Famous people: Liya Kebede is a famous model from Ethiopia seen in adds for H&M, J. Crew and Estee Lauder, but also acted in Lord of War.  Zahara Jolie-Pitt, a child adopted by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt is from Ethiopia.

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Facts:
* Recognized as the oldest independent nation in Africa, one of the few to never lose its independence
* Archaeological findings stretch back some 4.4 million years
* The oldest person was found in Ethiopia, Lucy
* Visas are required for all foreign visitors to Ethiopia
* Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar which is comprised of 12 months which have 30 days each and then a 13th month which has five or six days.
*New years is celebrated September 11th and Christmas January 7th
* Known as the Horn of Africa

Culture:  Ethiopia has a diverse culture with different indigenous and modern groups.  Ethiopia is known for how they eat.  They do not use utensils  but rather scoop their food up with Injero bread.  They eat around large woven baskets where they place big platters of food that everyone eats from.  Their food mainly consists of vegetables and meat and rarely has fish or pork.  Ethiopia is also famous for Ras Tafari Haile Selassie I emperor of Ethiopia   He is believed to be the biblical Messiah of the Rastafarian Religion.  Ethiopia is known as Zion to the Rastafarian's and the true home and redemption of black people.

Activity

I was super excited to study about Ethiopia because of the Rastafarian influence.  I love Reggae music and Bob Marley, a follower of the Rastafarian religion, we even named our first born after one of his songs.  I do not believe in the religion, but have always loved dread locks, Reggae music and how happy and laid back everyone related to Rastafarian was.  I knew Ethiopia played a large part in the Rastafarian religion and was excited to learn more about it.

 For our activity we decided to try one of the many Ethiopian restaurants in Salt Lake City.  We had seen one while driving down State Street and I asked Megan to look it up and see what their hours were so we could go after work one day.  She thought she had looked up the same restaurant we had seen but it ended up being a different one just a few blocks south on State and 1400 south.

When we arrived at the restaurant we actually went in the shop side first.  There were several items for sale, the colors green, red and yellow standing out as the main theme of the items.  We soon realized we were on the wrong side, stepped out and entered the restaurant side.  One thing I noticed was the guy that greeted us, who I figured was the owner, and I was right, asked us where we wanted to sit.  It isn't very often that you go to a restaurant in the United States and you can pick where to sit.  Usually you are sat right next to the only other people in the whole place and can't move even if you ask.   We picked a table close to the kitchen, far from the only other diners in the place, and across from a traditional eating area.

the traditional eating area

this was set up for coffee

The owner was very friendly, he told us his name but I do not remember what it was.  He gave us our menus and asked what we would like to drink, I said water and Megan asked for a diet coke.  He brought us both waters and the diet coke never came.  We decided to get the sampler for two.  Neither of us have ever eaten Ethiopian food so we figured we might as well try a bit of everything.

We talked to the owner for a bit, he was really friendly in the beginning.  He explained we would need to read the instructions on how to eat Ethiopian food and also told us about the traditional eating area that we were sitting across from.  I was hoping that I could ask him some questions about his history and how he came to the United States but after he took our order he no longer seemed to have the time to talk to us.  I only got that he is from Ethiopia and the restaurant had been open just over a year.

the instructions on how to eat the food

There were some ladies in the kitchen that kept sticking their heads out to waive at our kids so I picked Kaya up and took her over to the window.  The women seemed to all of a sudden become very busy when I did that and would not come and talk to me.   We ended up taking a few pictures of the place while waiting for our food and that was it.

When the food came Megan explained that her boss had told her about this place and explained that when eating the food you don't get utensils  just injero bread.  The instructions of how to eat were also on the pamphlet on the table but I just glanced over it.  Megan read it in depth and I could tell she was trying to figure out how to get the food into the injero bread because when we started to eat we discovered it was actually quite hard to pick the food up with the bread.

The bread was very spongy and I'll be honest, after a while I got really sick of the taste of it.  I was tempted to get the spoon out of the diaper bag that Megan had brought for the babies but thought that would be rude and perhaps culturally offensive   Other than the bread I actually did like the food.  There were different portions of meat, peppers and other foods that I had no idea what they were, but they tasted good.  We gave the kids a lot of the bread and they seemed to love it.  Shia really liked the chicken and Kaya ate everything we gave her.  I noticed Megan stopped eating long before I did, she later told me that she also did not like the bread and the food was too spicy for her.  I hardly noticed the spice.

the lady from the kitchen came over to say hello

Our meal was quickly coming to an end and I still felt I had not talk enough with the owner.  Twice more I tried to approach him and I even sent Megan to pay the bill and asked her to talk with him. She came back to the table and said he had told her to go sit down and he would bring her the credit card.  I came to the assumption that perhaps he was too busy to take the time to chat, even though there was only one new family that came in the whole time we were there.  Perhaps he feels pressure to look busy and take care of his business.  I wished I could set up an appointment with him to sit and chat, but felt awkward doing that.

We ended up leaving with only a few answered questions, but a good experience.  I don't think either of us will have the desire to eat Ethiopian food again, but lots of people do like it and it is always good to try something new.  One thing that stood out was Megan mentioned she was surprised that her boss had eaten Ethiopian food.  We had never thought to seek out Ethiopian food, we didn't even know it was that different.  She mentioned that her family never went and ate exotic food growing up, Chinese, Mexican and Italian were their idea of ethnic food.  She was impressed that her boss had such a diverse pallet.  It is something we want our kids to grow up doing, eating different types of food so it becomes second nature to try new and exotic things!

Bhutan

Population: 738,362

Capital: Thimphu

Currency: Bhutanese Ngultrum and Indian Rupee

Language: Dzongkha phrases: hello (Kuzu Zangpo) goodbye (Shu lay log jay ge)

Climate: The climate varies based on where one is in the country.  It is effected by monsoons which make the majority of the country subtropical.  There is snow year round in the higher altitudes.

Religion: About two thirds of the population practice Durkpa Kagyupa or Ningmapa Buddhism which are forms of Mahayana Buddhism.  One quarter of the population are Nepalese and they practice Hinduism. Christians, Catholics and other religious groups make up less than 1% of the population.

Sports: Archery is the national sport, but soccer is the most popular sport.  Cricket has gained popularity since Indian television stations were introduced.  Bhutan and Montserrat played "the other final" on the same day the final for the World Cup was played in 2002.  Bhutan and Montserrat were the two lowest ranked teams in the world.  Bhutan won 4-0.

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Famous people: There are no famous people known from Bhutan.

Facts:
* Its about half the size of the state of Indiana
* Bhutan means "land of the thunder dragon" it got that nickname because of the storms that come from the Himalayas
* The only nation in the world where the sale of tobacco is prohibited
* One of two countries whose capitals do not have a single traffic light
* The internet and TV were banned in the country until 11 years ago
* When offered food you must refuse it, you can give in after a second or third offer

Culture: Most of the towns are accessible only by foot.  Religion plays a large part in the culture of Bhutan, temples and religious structures fill the villages.  Prayer flags are seen flapping in the wind and most homes have a Chosum which is a small room set aside for prayer.  The national government has made it a law that Bhutanese must wear traditional clothes in public.  That consists of a gho (knee length robe tied at the waste) and women wear a kira (ankle length dress worn with a jacket).

Activity

One day at work I started talking with my friend Ram and he told me his amazing story.

Ram is Nepalese but his family lived in Bhutan.  Several Nepalese families lived in Bhutan for generations and helped establish the country, but kept their Nepalese culture and language.  When Bhutan became an independent country they decided not to accept the religion, culture or language of the communities from Nepal and said they had to give up their culture or leave the country. His family was in danger of being killed because they would not give up their heritage.  One night his father escaped and told his wife to come join him.  His wife was not sure where her husband went, but with her four children she fled in the middle of the night to try and find him.  They walked over mountains, through rivers and all sorts of conditions, but made it safely to Nepal where her husband was waiting.

Upon arriving in Nepal their family soon discovered that Nepal had been inundated with these refugees and had no place for them.  His family was moved to a refugee camp where they had to stay until someone decided what to do with them.  For 20 years Ram lived there, he grew up there, went to school there and ended up teaching school there.  He said that once a year a large pile of clothes would arrive and each member of the family was able to reach in the pile and grab something out.  It didn't matter what it was, they had to except it, even if it was too small or too large.  Because Ram had a big family they all shared what they received and that was their only new clothes for the whole year.  They lived off of wheat and meat and little else.  Finally one day the United Nations came and helped to send them to the United States.  Now Ram is working to pay back the United Nations and also support his family.

It is hard to believe that in the 21st century there are still populations that live this way.  I have traveled the world, moved around and had the freedom to go anywhere I wanted, I cannot imagine living in a tiny area, not being able to leave, and not knowing if my situation would ever change.  It is experiences like these that encourage me to keep learning about these people and situations and how I can help.  By becoming educated about cultures it opens my eyes to what is happening in the world, and while it might be easier to shut it out, it will still happen.   Maybe by knowing and sharing these stories more people will become aware and help.

Lebanon

Population: 4.259 million

Capital: Beirut

Language: Arabic phrases: Hi (Salaam) Good evening ( Masaa el kheer)

Currency: Lebanese pound

Climate: Lebanon's climate is Mediterranean.  Long, hot, dry summers and short, cool, rainy winters.

Religion: Lebanon is the most religiously diverse society in the Middle East.  There are 17 recognized religious sects.  Christianity and Islam are the two most popular religions.  54% are Muslim and 41% Christian.

Sports: There are actually a lot of popular sports in Lebanon, because of the weather both winter and summer sports are popular in the country. Autosports, jogging, bodybuilding rugby are all popular, but soccer is the most popular sport.  the Federation Libanaise de Football team has never made it to a world cup or won a trophy, but the team did make it through the first round of qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup.

Famous people: Keanu Reeves was born in Lebanon, but he is not Lebanese.  Sam Kalidi and actor known for Iron Man is Lebanese.  Those were the only two names I recognized for famous people.  There were more, but they were in films I had never heard of or were names that I did not know.

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Facts:
* Lebanon has 42 universities
* 70% of students attend private schools
* Cedar is the national tree
* Byblos is the oldest continuously living city in the world
* It is the only Arab country that does not have a desert

Culture:  Lebanon is by far the most liberal country in the Arab world.  The media has more freedom to speak, there have the most practiced religions, women have equal rights and the people are not held to quite as strict a standard as most other Arab nations.  Lebanon follows both the Georgian and Julian calendars, some people celebrate Christmas on December 25th, others on January 6th depending on their religion.  Both Christian and Muslim holidays are celebrated.  Eating is a social event, no one hardly eats alone.  Pita bread, rice, red meat, beans and humus are staples of their diets.

Activity

Lebanon has always been a country of interest to me.  My great-grandfather came to Ecuador from Lebanon and brought our last name, Shauri, with him.  I have looked into the origins of my last name and found out it might be Swahili, but it definitely has Arabic routes.  It is a goal of mine to research my genealogy and find out more about my ancestors and where they come from.

Our activity for Lebanon was to go to Cedars of Lebanon which is a restaurant in down town Salt Lake.  Megan and I have been to this restaurant a couple of times before, once alone and another time with a group of friends from Megan's work.   That particular experience was really fun because we had a room all to ourselves and we danced to the music and just had a great time.

This time we took our kids, we wanted them to not only taste the food, but also experience the atmosphere. I ordered soup with my meal that the kids really loved, I am not sure what type of soup it was, some kind of creamy soup.  We also had a lamb shish kabob.  Lamb is a favorite of Megan's and I think she has gotten it every time we have gone.  It is really good and the kids even ate a couple of bites.

Italy

Population: 60.77 million

Capital: Rome

Language: Italian Phrases: Hello (Ciao) Goodbye (Arrivederci)

Currency: Italy uses the Euro

Climate: Italy can be divided into two parts when it comes to climate.  In the north of Italy the weather is harsh, cold winters and hot summers, in the south of Italy the winters are mild and the summers are warm.

Religion: Catholicism is the largest religious group in Italy, they make up 87.8% of the population.  There are different kinds of Catholics that can be found in the country, Latin, Eastern Rite, Italo-Albanians, Romanian, Ukrainian Greek and Armenian Catholics.

Sports: Italy has a long tradition with several sports but soccer is the most popular.  Italy won the World Cup in 2006 and is second (behind Brazil) most successful soccer team in World Cup history.  Basketball, volleyball and cycling are also sports that Italy does really well in.  Some other popular sports are rugby, tennis, athletics, fencing and winter sports.  Italy has a total of 628 medals from both the summer and winter Olympics   They are the 6th most successful country in the world at the Olympics and 3rd behind the USA and Soviet Union for most gold medals.

Famous people:  There have been countless famous Italians, among them Christopher Columbus, Galileo, Da Vinci, and Caesar Augustus.  But some other less known famous people who have Italian heritage are: Kaley Cuoco (half Italian) who we know best as Penny from the Big Bang Theory and Hayden Panettiere (half Italian) a popular actress known for her roles on Remember the Titans and Heroes.

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Facts:
* It is one of the most crowded nation in Europe
* Home to the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites
* The author of "Pinocchio" was Italian
* Parmeasan, gorgonzola, mozzarella, provolone and ricotta all came from Italy
* The University of Rome is one of the world's oldest universities, founded in 1303
* Over 50 million tourists a year visit Italy
* In the 1930s and 40s Mussolini tried to eliminate foreign words, so in soccer "goal" became "meta" and Donald Duck became "Paperino," Mickey Mouse became "Topolino" and goofy became "Pippo".
*It was thought that Michelangelo's paintings were somber, but after being cleaned they discovered they were actually painted with bright colors, all the years of dirt and smoke from candles had toned down the colors.
* Soccer does play a large part in the Italian culture, their fans are called tifosi, which means "carriers of typhus".  They are known for their rowdy behavior and lack of inhibition.

Rialto Bridge

Culture:  There is so much history and interesting facts that make up the culture.  When I was reading some of these facts I wanted to include them all, things like the first violin was made in Italy, Italy claims to have taught the rest of Europe how to cook, they wrote the language of music, it is the birthplace of opera, they play life-sized chess in Marcostica every other year, in the past the winner would win the hand of a beautiful girl.  So there are all these little lesser known facts that are so interesting   Obviously Italy is known for it's ancient ruins, artists, fashion,  the Vatican, and dictators, but the country is so much more than that.

Activity

Our original plan was to go through the countries alphabetically  but we were running into some issues with that idea.  The main issue was things were coming up that we were either invited to or just happen to be going on in the city, so we have decided to take advantage of those experiences and record them as they come up.  This happened with Italy since my work had a culture week that I participated in and my department decided to represent Italy.

Italy is one of the countries that we have actually visited.  We went to Rome and Venice.  We loved seeing all the ancient ruins and learning about the histories of the cities.  Probably the coolest thing that we did was just walk around the city at night.  It was like the city did not sleep, we were out all night, but we weren't alone, there were tons of people out with us. It reminded me of Ecuador.  The most impressive part for me was all the ancient ruins.  We went on a walking tour and it was then that I realized just how much history Rome alone held.  We went to the Vatican but did not have time to go inside.  Venice was a beautiful city.  We made it a priority to go on a gondola ride and it was magical.

Roman forums

Colosseum

masks in Venice

For our family activity we actually combined it with my work project for the culture week we had.  Each department represented a different country and because my supervisor's grandparents were from Italy we decided to represent Italy.  I was in charge and with help from Megan created pictures, facts, quotes and even stamps for our "passports".  We went to work late one night and put all our pictures and facts up around the department and kept it there for a week so everyone could enjoy learning about Italy.

The sign we made and pictures and quotes, all the pictures are ones we took from our trip

the passport stamps Megan made

setting up at work

the kids were there, but they were tired

the final display

My supervisors grandfather, Leonardo "Leo" Italasano (1899-1998) came to Utah to pursue a better life.  He moved to the immigrant area off of California Ave and 1300 West.  Leo married a girl who was born in the US, but both parents were immigrants, he gave her father chickens and goats as a dowry and it was accepted.  He married his wife without ever officially meeting her first.  Leo worked hard to send his kids to a Catholic school, this was a priority for him.  My supervisor was just able to get her own kids into a Catholic school as well, so she is carrying on the tradition.