1. Notes for CultureGrams & World Conflicts Today Users
2. Did You Know?
3. Holiday Focus/Upcoming World Holidays
4. Teaching Idea
5. Quiz
6. Recipes
7. In the News
8. Email Service Information & Newsletter Forwarding

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• In Angola, the most popular urban recreational activity is watching novelas, television soap operas mostly made in Brazil.
  
  
• The nation of Ivory Coast was named for the elephant ivory found there, but the elephants were hunted so much that very few remain today.
  
  
• In Comoros, women sometimes apply a face mask of ground sandalwood to their skin; it is considered a cosmetic and a skin lightener.
  
  
• Twice as many Caboverdians live abroad as live in Cape Verde.
  
  
• In Namibia, bad luck is expected to come to a family who is not sufficiently visited after the birth of a new baby or after a move to a new home.

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Some Upcoming World Holidays

Costa Rica – Anniversary: Battle of Rivas – April 11
Commemorates this famous battle in which the Costa Rican army defeated the forces of a U.S. adventurer and in which the national hero, a drummer boy named Juan Santa María, lost his life.

American Samoa – Flag Day – April 17
Marks the first raising of the U.S. flag in American Samoa in 1900.

Brazil – Tiradentes Day – April 21
Commemorates the death of Joaquim José da Silva Xavier (known as Tiradentes), a nationalist who died in the struggle for independence.

Tuvalu – Bomb Day – April 23
Observed on Funafuti Island, Bomb Day commemorates the day in 1943 when a Japanese bomb fell through a church roof and destroyed the interior. A U.S. Corporal had directed 680 villagers out of the building just moments before.

Japan – Greenery Day – April 29
A day to celebrate nature's beauty, Greenery Day (Midori No hi) is part of Golden Week (April 29–
May 5), which also includes Constitution Day
(May 3), and Children's Day (May 5).

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National Standards for Health Education (developed by the Joint Committee for National School Health Education Standards)--

Standard 1: Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention.

McRel Geography Standards--

Standard 2: Knows the location of places, geographic features, and patterns of the environment

Level IV [Grade 9-12] Benchmark 2:
Knows the spatial dynamics of various contemporary and historical events (e.g., the spread of radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear accident, how physical features have deterred migrations and invasions, trade and transportation in the contemporary world, the diffusion of contagious diseases such as the bubonic plague in 14th-century Europe or AIDS in the present-day world)

• CultureGrams World Edition
• Africa map
• Extremes Tables: Health Section
• Comparison Table
• Website:
  Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria

1. Give an overview of HIV/AIDS. Describe the impact of the disease globally and its pervasiveness in Africa in particular. To illustrate the severity of the African AIDS pandemic, distribute or have students access the “Most adults with HIV/AIDS” table in the Health section of the Extremes tables.
   
   
2. Distribute a gray-scale PDF map of Africa to each student. Using the HIV/AIDS table, students should identify and shade with color the countries with the world’s highest adult HIV/AIDS rates.
   
   
3. Explain the concept of life expectancy to the students. You may want to use the definition in the Concepts & Terminology section.
   
   
4. Then ask the students to access the CultureGrams Comparison Table. For the nations, have the students click “Add All.” For the categories, have the students select “Life Expectancy (Female)” and “Life Expectancy (Male).” Then have them create the table and sort it by either “Life Expectancy” heading so the countries with the lowest life expectancy appear at the top.
   
   
5. Ask the students to identify the ten countries with the highest HIV/AIDS rates. How do these countries compare to other countries in terms of life expectancy?
   
   
6. Conclude the activity with a discussion on students’ findings. Discuss some of the social impacts of having nearly 40 percent of a country’s adult population infected with HIV/AIDS. (Young population, large number of orphans, grandparents or older children forced into role of family head, decreased economic activity, etc.)
   
   Extension Activity:
   
   
7. Have the students access the website for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria to research some of the measures taken to fight AIDS. Students should use the “See the listing of all our funded AIDS programs” link to access the programs for specific African countries.
   
   
8. Ask the students to create a list of some the implemented programs. As a class, discuss some of the actions being taken to combat the African AIDS pandemic.

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1. What country has a small Atlantic coast but is otherwise completely surrounded by Senegal?
   
   
2. The discovery of oil in what tiny African nation in 1998 has given it one of the world’s fastest-growing economies?
   
   
3. What country is the world’s fourth-largest island?
   
   
4. What are the three largest of Africa’s “Great Lakes”?
   
   
5. What nation became independent in 1990, becoming the most recent nation to achieve independence in Africa?

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Main Dish from Madagascar
Vary Amin Anana
Rice and Vegetables

Ingredients:

1/2 pound boneless chuck, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons oil
1 tomato, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 bunch scallions, cut in 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound mustard greens, chopped
1/2 pound spinach, chopped
1 bunch watercress, chopped
2 cups water
1 cup rice
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. In a 4-quart saucepan, sauté the boneless chuck in oil until the meat is brown on all sides.

2. Add the tomato and cook with the beef for 10 minutes.

3. Add scallions, mustard greens, spinach, and watercress. Sauté with the cover on, stirring occasionally until vegetables soften.

4. Add rice. Add 2 cups water, or enough to cover the vegetables and the rice. Add salt and pepper.

5. Cover tightly and simmer slowly until rice is thoroughly cooked and all the liquid is absorbed.

6. Season to taste.

Side Dish from Ivory Coast
Alloco
Fried plantains

Note: This dish is often sold by streetside vendors and eaten alone or with grilled fish. Unspiced fried plantains are sometimes prepared at home for dessert.

Ingredients:

4 or more plantains
1 cup palm oil
1 onion, chopped
Salt to taste
1 or 2 chili peppers, chopped and without seeds

Directions:

1. Cut the plantains lengthwise, then into little pieces.

2. Pour most of oil into saucepan and heat until boiling.

3. Fry plantains until golden or reddish-brown.

4. Remove them from oil and set aside on paper to absorb oil.

5. In small amount of remaining oil, fry peppers and onion for a few minutes.

6. Add plantains to the mix. Add a little water, cover and simmer for a few minutes.

7. Salt to taste and serve (with grilled fish).

Hint: For a milder taste, the pepper can be left whole and removed before serving.

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