Culture!

Scotland

Scotland is a European country and it's a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the northern part of Great Britain. It shares borders with England to the south and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, The North Sea to the east and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. Scotland has more than 790 islands. Its population is more than 5 million people according to the latest statistics from 2010.

If you love exploring new places with many historical sides, then Scotland is a good choice.  So, if you want to visit Scotland there is a bunch of things that you should know and think about. First of all you should consider at what time of the year you should visit Scotland depending on what  you want to do there. If you  are after tourism then July and August, during the school holiday, is the right time to go. Edinburgh, for example, becomes extremely crowded  during the festival period in August so you should book ahead very early.


Scotland is generally seen as a clean, unspoilt  destination with beautiful scenery, with more than thousands of historic sites and attractions, that includes various bronze age iron and stone age remains. Scotland might be expensive for non-European tourists because of the value of the pound. Food, accommodation  and transport are pretty expensive, especially in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, except for galleries and museums which you can enter it for free.

South Africa

By Kibuyu (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) on Flickr

South Africa has one of the most unequal landscapes of the entire African continent. It’s filled with different sorts of habitats, such as verdant forests, from stony deserts and high mountains, to heavenly grassland and typical African savannahs. Africa is a home to penguins and flamingos; the great white shark and huge African elephants, and yet there are still more animals to see. They have 19 national parks and 200 private ones.

South Africa has over 800 bird species, and one of the world’s largest birds, the ostrich. You don’t want to mess with those birds; they are pretty dangerous, dangerous enough to kill you. Another bird (Kori bustard) is one of the heaviest flying birds in South Africa and the world.

South Africa has more than 20.000 kinds of plants spread out all over Africa’s soil. The flora contains about 10% of the worlds flowers, and South Africa makes up only 1% of the earth’s land surface. South Africa is a country with one of the world’s six floral kingdoms between the borders.

Crime is a big problem in South Africa. The most dangerous place for tourists is in Johannesburg. The most common crime is committed (for an example) in the city metro station. The city train system have problem with violent crime. If you are smart, try to remain alert and use your common sense.

Native Americans

Image by Karl Bodmer, 

from Wikimedia Commons

Native Americans are the original inhabitants in North America, but today most of the Indians, as they are also called, live in different reservations and are very poor. In the 1960s, the reservations became more independent with their own schools, newspaper, museums and so on. Therefore, the reservations aren’t so poor any longer.

About 12.000 years ago the first Indians came to America over the land bridge at Bering’s Sea that bound todays Siberia and Alaska together. From the start it was only one nation, Paleoamericans that spread out all over America and divided into many different tribes.

Many tribes lived as hunter-gatherer societies and were nomads, they lived in tents made by skin so it would be easy to move. They moved when it got to cold or the food ran out. Mostly they hunted bison, deer and mountain sheep. The Indians mostly used bow and arrow or spears to hunt with, or as weapons. Both had an arrow made by worked stone.

Since the late fifteenth century Europeans have migrated to America and imported slaves from Africa. This has resulted in years of conflict. When the Europeans first came to America they tried to enslave the Indians but this didn’t work because the Indians could escape quite easily and when they escaped they often killed the slave trader. So the Europeans realized quite fast that it was ineffective and expensive to try enslaving Indians, and, so, they tried their luck on the other side of the sea, in Africa.

Canada

By Ian Bc North (CC BY-NC 2.0) on Flickr

Canada is a North American country which is located on the northern part of the continent. It extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east and northward to the Arctic Ocean. It has a total of 9.9 million square kilometers, which makes it the world’s second-largest country by land area. Other than that, Canada also has the world’s longest border with its geographical neighbor the United States.

At the beginning of the 15th century, French and British expeditions were exploring along the Atlantic coast and later settled in the new world. But France lost most of their colonies in the “Seven Years War”. Later in 1867, Canada was formed as a federal dominion with four provinces.

Canada, which is a large county, is divided into ten provinces and three territories. The major difference between a Canadian province and a territory is that a province is a seaprate jurisdiction that receive their power and authority directly from the Constitution Act, while a territory derives their mandates and powers from the federal government.

Canada’s capital is Ottawa but the largest city is Toronto. The official languages are English and French due to the colonization from France and Britain. There are recognized tribe languages that are spoken in different parts of the country. But there are also other languages that are quite well known in the country due to immigration. Some examples are China, Ukraine, Holland and Poland.

Canada’s landscape is covered with lakes and peaks. It has more lakes than any other country, containing much of the worlds water supplies. Canada also has eight endless distinct forests and the prairie wheat fields. Last but not least, there is Canada’s Rockies and the coast mountains which cover a lot of the Canadian landscape.

Florida (USA)

By doortoriver (CC BY 2.0) on Flickr

Florida is located in southern United States, according to Wikipedia. Florida's population is about 18 million. The capital in Florida is Tallahassee. Florida is a beautiful country. They speak mainly English and Spanish there (Wikipedia)

Florida has a wet and a dry season. Winter in Florida is the dry season,  and it lasts from November to April. The temperature is lower and it's rainy and humid. It is never snowy, and temperatures go as low as 70°F.

One city in Florida is Jacksonville. Jacksonville is a huge city by area, 840 square miles. It is one of America's largest cities. Three rivers run through Jacksonville and the Nile is one example. It flows from south to north, which is very unusual. "Jax Beach" is a nickname for Jacksonville Beach, which is a place to go for action of all kinds.

A little about Miami too. This city is located in the south of Florida. It is a very humid place and hurricanes are very famous there. Between December and May, the temperature is between 60 and 85, and this is the best time to visit. Thunderstorms are most common during summer nights and it is very hot during the day. This is also the time to watch out for hurricanes.

Thousands of years ago, Florida was inhabited by Native Indians. The first European to visit Florida was Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon who was looking for the Fountain of Youth!

Australia

Despite Australia´s many lethal spiders and snakes, there are lots of visitors every year. What attracts the tourists is the long coastlines with sand as white as snow and, the beautiful nature as well as all the amazing animals that you can only find in Australia.

Uluru is a statement object for Australia. Uluru is a huge rock that the aboriginal people worships. However, they prefer being called Anangu people. The Anangu people own the rock and the national park that surrounds the rock. Uluru as well as the park around it, is a very visited place. The whole area has a significant cultural value to the Anagus.

Before you visit Australia you should make sure to see a doctor to see if there are any vaccination you have to take. You should also ask for your “yellow booklet” because you might need it to enter some countries, to prove that you have gotten the vaccination for yellow fever, as well as just being on the safe side if anything happens. You should also check your insurance so it covers accidents and diseases

When I think of Australia´s weather, I only think of warm and sunny days but it´s not quite like that. Because Australia is so big the weather and the climate changes depending on where in Australia you are. In the south part they have cold (not freezing) winters from June to August, so it´s the opposite from what we have. Then they have warm to hot summers from December to February. Autumn and spring is almost the same as here in Sweden. In the north the climate changes drastically. There you have two types of weather, warm/hot and dry and warm/hot and wet. The dry period lasts from April to December and the wet period lasts from October to Mars. 

USA

By hdc (CC BY-NC-ND-SA 2.0) on Flickr

USA is a shortening of United States of America. In USA, there are 50 states that make up the United states of America and it has a big collection of natural and cultural wonders such as big mountains, deserts, long coasts, big forests and over four millions miles of highways that go through only the Red-Rock deserts. There is a population of around 307 million people. In a US home the people have 118 TV channels on the TV. 

The animal wildlife has been getting smaller since the 19th century and there are still over 1280 endangered plants and animals listed in the US. Given all the stresses nature is enduring, mostly from us people, it is remarkable how wild it can still seem. Florida´s Pelican Island is the nation´s first bird sanctuary and was created by National Wildfire Refuge System (NWRS) and are included 95 million acres. It´s the world´s larges system of protection of wildlife and natural habitats. 

The weather in the US is very varied. In some parts of the country it is warm the whole year around, but in other parts it can be really cold, especially in the wintertime. If you want to visit the US you can go whenever you want and still get the weather that you are wishing for.

When USA was founded by the Europeans they called it the `New World´. England, France, Portugal and the Spanish people were the ones who found it. During the 17th century, slaves made up a large proportion of the American colonies. At the end of the 17th century one out of five persons were slaves. 

Sydney, Australia

By xiquinholiva (CC BY 2.0) on Flickr

Sydney is a very large city in Australia. There are about 4.5 million people and it is Australia's oldest city. It is also the star of Australia that attracts the most tourists. Most tourists travel to Sydney to sunbathe, swim and surf, but many also go there with hopes of seeing a real kangaroo or a koala bear. And for those who are traveling to Sydney, you may want to know that they speak Australian English and that they use Australian dollars.

Sydney has lots to offer, especially surfing, swimming and sunbathing. Sydney also has many famous landmarks, not least the Sydney Aquarium, which has more than 11.000 species collected from the sea, and tunnels under the water so visitors can look at the species that live at the bottom. There are also buildings to check out, for example, the Sydney Harbour Bridge is134 meters high, 502 feet long and weighs nearly 53.000 tons, and the Sydney Opera House, which opened in 1973, is a place for all tourists who are interested in music.

Sydney has activities and attractions for all tastes, and if you don't like the opera, or the aquarium, there's also a huge shopping center, Queen Victoria Building, with 200 stores for big and small people.

If you want to go out and eat a good meal there are plenty of restaurants and there are foods that fit exactly every tastebud. There's food from all corners of the world, from pizza to Wok. 

The British Empire

Owned by Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the BPL
(CC BY 2.0) on Flickr

The foundation of the British Empire started when Scotland and England were separate Kingdoms. The British Empire comprised of territories like dominions, colonies, protectorates and mandates that was ruled by the United Kingdom.

In 1922 the British Empire consisted of over 458 million people, about one quarter of the world population at that time. It covered almost a quarter of Earth’s land area. The British Empire was so big that the sun always was shining somewhere in the British Empire's territories. It was often said “The sun never sets on the British Empire.

In the 16th century, England, Netherlands and France built colonies of their own in Asia and America. War in the 17th to 18th centuries between Netherlands and France forced England to make a pact with Scotland, the 1707 Act of Union. The Kingdom of England and The Kingdom of Scotland were still separate legislatures but with the same monarch and the name Great Britain was first used. In 1783, after the War of Independence, Britain lost 13 of their oldest and most populous colonies.

The British attention soon turned to Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and in 1805 to the war against Napoleonic France. Finally, in 1815, a group of European armies defeated France at the Battle of Waterloo.

A Major Cause of the First World War was the growth of Germany, who started to have a big army and economic tensions also arose between Britain and Germany. After the war, Britain got even bigger than before but it was no longer a peerless industrial or military power.

Channel Islands

By PhillipC (CC BY 2.0) on Flickr

The Channel Islands are only about 8 miles from France and are made up of five islands, which are; Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jersey and Guernsey; both Jersey and Guernsey are independent and managed locally. Several of the islands are “almost” vehicle free zones. The only engines are attached to tractors. Horses and carts are a popular means of travel for visitors, the rest walk or cycle their way around. “Life is lived at a slower pace, tides and fog affect schedules”, “And there’s a sense of uniqueness; partly the French English cultural blend, but also something genuinely distinct. It shows itself in a host of individual surprises, from number car plates to car bans”.

Even though the islands are small, don’t let that discourage you, for there are a bounty of things to do, packed with mild adventures and small discoveries. You could go on your own adventure, discover things whilst tackling a 30 mile hike, kayas tranquil coves or even just sitting back and appreciating the scenery. With exquisite spas and restaurants specialized in seafood, dazzling coastlines, eye pleasing harbors and untouched forgotten land, it’s quite hard to resist.

“Be warned- once tasted, these islands can become gently addictive”.

Cricket

The game cricket is a bat and ball game. There are 22 players, 11 on each team. A player is called either batsman or bowler depending on his skill. The game field is often oval, but in the middle is a grass free spot called “the pitch”. On each side of the pitch there are three sticks pointing up from the ground, and on them, there are two other sticks. All of these stick together are called a "wicket". Each team has a batsman and it is his job is to defend the wicket and try to strike the ball out on the field. To score a point, the batsman is going to run from one side of the pitch and switch with another batsman,  and the other batsman is going to run back over the pitch. And if they make it, he will become the hitting batsman. The team that is not striking is going to dismiss the other entire teams batsman. And then the “inning” is over. An inning is the time that a team is striking.

There are 42 laws of Cricket and they are developed by Marylebone Cricket club together with the main cricket nations.

The basic cricket form can be tracked back to the 13th Century. At the beginning, the ball was supposed to roll towards the wicket and the batsman was going to hit the ball with a sort of bandy club. But it became the nation game of England at the end of the 18th Century. England´s rule in this game has come to an end and other countries from Asia are able to compare with them.

In other countries the rules are often modified and they play for example kwik cricket, a faster game, club cricket or backyard cricket.

Australia's Wildlife

By Jo@net (CC BY 2.0) on Flickr

Australia's location has kept the wildlife stable. As the continent has been isolated from other countries the wildlife has not been affected by others countries' wildlife. But the Europeans have affected the wildlife in a negative way, for example with hunting and bringing non-native species into Australia. The Europeans behavior have lead to many species' extinction, for example the pig-footed bandicoot and the paradise parrot.


In Australia, there are many toxic species. For example spiders, scorpions, octopuses and snakes. A special thing about the wildlife in Australia is that there are more toxic than non-toxic species of snakes.


Australia has many species of marsupial animals. Marsupial animals carry their babies in a pouch while they are young. The kangaroo is one example of the marsupial species. The kangaroo is a very well known animal from Australia. The red kangaroo is the largest in Australia and the male can weigh up to 85 kg. Another famous animal form Australia is the koala bear. The koala bear eats leaves from the eucalyptus trees. The leaves contain a lot of water and, therefore, the koala bear don´t drink a lot.


In the Australian waters there are a number of sharks. There are 166 different types of sharks around Australia. But even if there are many sharks in the waters, the number of people being attacked by sharks is very low. The human is only threatened by three types of sharks, tiger shark, great white shark and the bull shark.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. He was baptised on 26 april 1564, but the date of his birthday is unknown. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, and they had three children. Shakespeare moved to London and his career as a writer, actor and poet begun. Shakespeare wrote his most popular works between 1589 and 1613. He wrote Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and many other plays and poems. His work has been translated into every major language.

Romeo and Juliet is about a young couple in love from two noble families of Verona, Montague and Capulet. They weren’t allowed to meet and an open marriage is a total impossibility when the two families are at war. The couple enters a secret marriage, which they hope will lead to the two families uniting. But Romeo gets into a fight where he kills a member of Juliet's family, and he has to leave Juliet. But then they decide to escape together. Juliet meets a monk who marries her and Romeo. The monk gives Juliet a potion that makes her seem dead for two days (so she can escape), but when Romeo comes to see Juliet, he believes that Juliet is dead, and then takes his own life by her side. Julia then wakes up, but when she finds her Romeo dead beside her, she also takes her own life. The play ends with the words: "For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo".

Wiliam Shakespeare died at 52, in Statford-upon-Avon in 1616.

Wales

By Katclay (CC BY 2.0) on Flickr

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and it has 2.9 million residents and the main language in Wales is English

Wales is often associated with bad weather, and this is certainly true. The rain can come at any time
In summer time, it is not the warmest country. The average temperature is around 20 degrees, with a mild and healthy weather. The climate around the coast is often dry and on the mountains it is wet. If you don't like the rain, you should not go Wales between October and January because that is when it rains the most. If you do go then, don´t forget to bring your umbrella, because the weather can change in just a few hours. You better like rain, if you go there at that time of year.

Brecon Beacons is a beautiful national park, which has four mountain ranges and is a wonderful nature experience. The park is located in the middle of Wales and the park is divided into three regions. This is a major tourist attraction for people who are interested in nature and also for people who like outdoor activities and challenges. The park offers many adventures like rock climbing, hill walking, caving, mountain biking and much more. If you want to be in water, they have two big rivers named Moumouthshire and Brecon Canal, where you can take a canoe and travel down the river.

Ireland

By 1la (CC BY 2.0) on Flickr

Ireland consists of two parts. The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The population of Ireland as a  whole, is 5,9 million. The population in the Republic of Ireland is 4,2 million and in Northern Ireland 1,7 million. 12,6 percent of all the population are unemployed. 7,3 million tourists visit Ireland every year.

One difference between the Republic Ireland and Northern Ireland is the accent. The accent is distinctly different. The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast. Belfast is also the biggest city in Northern Ireland. There is not much to say about Belfast’s history. In 2012 it was a 100 years since the RMS Titanic was built in Belfast. The capital of the Republic Ireland is Dublin. A little fun fact about Dublin is that around 9800 pints of beer are drunk each hour by Dubliners from Friday night to Monday morning. 

Ireland has an average temperature of around 10 degrees Celsius. ‘’The temperature drops below freezing intermittently during winter, and snow is scarce - perhaps one or two brief flurries a year’’. On a normal summer day the temperature is about 15 to 20 degrees Celsius. On a hot summer day the temperature is about 22 to 24 degrees. It can even sometimes reach 30 degrees Celsius. During the warmest months July and August, the average is about 16 degrees Celsius. Ireland receives a lot of rain. In some areas, it can rain for up to 270 days in one year. The worst affected place is County Kerry. The driest place is the southeast.