Living in South Africa

When we were shopping recently I found a book called Living in South Africa. I thought it would be a great way to learn about the country.

Dumela! That means hi in Northern Sotho. South Africa is a country in Africa. Over 50 million people live there. South Africa is on the very end of Africa. South Africa is border to 6 countries. Much of South Africa is plateaus. Animals like Zebras, Rhinos and Elephants live here. Above the plateaus the land dips down to Kalahari Basin. Some of the Basin is just sandy desert, and other parts and grassy green. The coast is the great Escarpment where the plateaus drop off. Drakenberg is a very large and tall mountain in the eastern part of the great escarpment. In Africans language Drakenberg translates to Mountain of dragons. 

A famous South African Archbishop, Desmond Tutu, named South Africa the Rainbow Nation, because of all the different cultures and nationalities that live there. Many people come from African tribes like Xhosa and Zulu. Some people even come all the way from India! Many of their ancestors came to South Africa as slaves or for labor  almost a century ago. Other peoples come from Holland, France and England. Whatever their heritages, today they are South African. 

Here is a little bit of history... There was a segment in time called Apartheid. That is when the government was against people of color. It all started in 1948 when a group of people called the National Party won the election. The National Party believed that white people were the best and other races should not be treated as well. The National Party made other races carry papers if they were going to travel outside their homes. Anyone who forgot to bring their papers with them when they were traveling was arrested. More than 3 million people were forced to give their homes to the government, which the government resold to white people. People who were not white were forced to live in Homelands with all the other people who got kicked out of there homes. People of color (not white people) had separate things such as drinking fountains, theater seats that were not as good and schools. But people who were not white could not vote, so if there was a President that they didn't like there was nothing they could do about it. A lawyer named Nelson Mandela organized protests and told people to fight against the government. He was arrested for what he believed and so many other people believed was right. Nelson Mandela was released from prison (finally) in 1990. Other non-whites beside Mr. Mandela started protests to bring apartheid down. And 4r they succeeded, they were able to vote! Nelson Mandela won and became the first black president elected in South Africa. 

Many people in Africa speak different languages like English, Northern Sotho. But there are 11 more official languages. The most popular sport in South Africa is Rugby which is very similar to football. During the Apartheid period rugby was played by white South African's. While the black people played soccer. But in 1995, after apartheid, black South African's won the rugby cup. For dinner some people have samp also known as crushed corn, beans and sheep tripe (tripe is the stomach). 

Population of South Africa: 53 million. Capital: there are actually 3 capitals. Bloemfontein is the capital for the courts, Cape town is the capital for law making and Pretoria is the administrative capital kinda like Washington DC because that is where the President lives. Total Area: 470,693 square miles. Currency: Rand.