Lake Retba

Lake Retba, also known as the Pink lake. The strange but yet unique water is located in Senegal Cap Vert peninsula. The pink color is caused by what is called Dunallella Salina algae in the water, a red substance that absorb light to create energy. The lake is known for its large amount of salt, which allows workers to retrieve salt as a source of income. Some area of the lake contains up to 40% salt, workers rub themselves with shea butter in order to stay in the water long enough.  

The Basilica

The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro, the biggest catholic cathedral in Africa located in the second capitol of the Ivory Coast Yamoussoukro. The vast worship center begun construction in 1985 and was complete in 1989 costing approximately $300 million. The design is similar to those of   the Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City. It’s the largest church in the world according to the Guinness World records. Pope John Paul II dedicated the church in 1990; it is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Ivory Coast.

The Maasai People!

The Maasai people are a very unique, and most recognized tribes in Africa. They’re located in Kenya a country east part of Africa. The Maasai people are mostly known for the distinguish height and strength. Very athletic people, they can jump up to 6 feet in the air while remaining in the same spot. The men are known for drinking cow blood mixed with milk for strength, and also a very rich nutrition. Cricket is one of the most popular sports played by the Maasai tribe, commonly known as the Maasai Warriors. The training consist of many different techniques, and not that alone, they perform  in their Maasai uniforms, which makes them more attractive.

Relationship between in-laws in the Congo!

I just find out about this very weird relationship between in-laws and their kids in the Congo. There is a tribe in the Congo called luba where in-laws have limitation of when to visit their kids. For example: When a couple gets married both pair of parents have limitation to visit their kids especially the girl's parents. The girls parents can go visit the couple but they cannot spend the night in the same house as the couple (their kids), they cannot shower in the same shower as their daughter's husband. Pretty much they can only visit without spending the night even if they came from out of town. In the event that the girl's parents spend the night over, then the married couple cannot have any type of intimacy that night, sometimes they can't even spend the night in the same bedroom. I just find this to be very weird so i made a couple of phone calls to have someone from this tribe explain a little more about this but it still didn't make sense to me.

Pregnancy delivery and beyond in the Congo!

I have seen here in the US and some other countries around the world when a woman is pregnant, she makes a public announcement to the world letting everyone know she is expecting. Well that is not the case in some part of the country in Congo. When a woman is pregnant she pretty much keeps it a secret until when she starts to show the reason for this is she doesn't want bad spirits or people that practice witch craft  to wish bad luck on her baby or to even terminate the pregnancy. The world pretty much finds out when the woman is big enough to show she is pregnant. Upon on delivering the baby, before she even leaves the hospital her family plans a huge party for her and the baby. The day she gets out of the hospital is the day the party will take place. These parties are huge and i have actually been to a couple of them, they are really fun. After the baby turns three or four months, the family plans an another party for the baby which is called BABY NAMING and dedication. These parties are also really big, a lot of people are invited and they bring gifts for the baby. The family pretty much announces the baby's name to the world and also the baby gets dedicated back to God.

Congolese traditional wedding!

Traditional wedding is highly celebrated in congo especially in the Luba tribe. Here is the step by step process of the Luba traditional wedding.
When the couple decide they want to get marry, the girl has to inform her family/parents first. The guy's family has to send a written letter to the girl's family informing them, the interest of making their daughter a wife. Next the girl's family invites the guy's family to their house to formally meet them and provide them with a list of materials needed in order to marry their daughter, these materials are called "bride price". In the list they are things such as some clothes for both the girl's parents, certain food and other materials for the girl's family and off course a sum of money. The guy's family will have to purchase the requested items and when they are ready, they go back to the girl's family with these items and the money, and have a party and invite people. At this point the girl is now traditionally married to the guy and they can have the green light from the parents to start planing the basic wedding which is also known as white dress wedding.

Ghana-style snack: toasted corn and peanuts!

In Ghana, people snack on nuts (as in tiger nuts, groundnuts [peanuts], cashews, etc… often combined with something else, such as fresh coconut or corn. While corn is sometimes popped and eaten alone or with peanuts, it is also toasted. (Think African corn nuts.)

1)   Soaking the corn for 24 hours and then draining it, stirring in a couple of tablespoons of canola oil for a couple of cups of corn and roasting it in a hot (400 degree F) oven on a greased cookie sheet, planning to stir every 5 minutes. Whoops! After 5 minutes I stirred it and before 5 more minutes were up, the corn started jumping off of the cookie sheet into the oven. It wasn't popping exactly, more the way sesame seeds pop when you put them into a pan to heat them. I had to turn off the oven and remove the cookie sheets after the oven cooled. I then drained the corn on paper towels and salted it.

2) While the corn was cooking in the oven, I also used a heavy frying pan on the stove top with a little oil (a tablespoon or so) to toast a cup of the soaked corn on a medium heat, stirring regularly. After about 7 minutes I had to put a lid on the pan, too, to keep the corn from jumping out.

3)   The traditional way they do in Ghana: toasting the corn dry over a low heat (on my stovetop), then pouring the toasted corn into a pan of cold salt water to soak for an hour, then drying the corn in the same heavy cast iron frying pan I used to toast it originally.

         ENJOY!!

African industrialization and trade!

Industrialization has become the buzzword for Africa of late, but that must be set against the reality of the present situation. As is usually the case, The Economist succinctly sums up the African trading position with “Africa is a continent rich in minerals and oil. China has an economy that requires them in abundance. Since the mid-1990s the economy of sub-Saharan Africa has grown by an average of 5% a year. At the start of this period Africa’s trade with China was negligible. It is now worth around $200 billion a year. Most of Africa’s exports are raw materials. China sends manufactured goods back in return.