2021 Travel the World - Week 35

I started a 50-week series in 2019 that I called Travel the World. Each week of the series I visited a randomly-selected country, sharing bits of information about that country. I then chose one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. As I explored those 50 countries in 2019, I knew I would continue on until I've visited every one of the 195 countries in the world, so I continued the series in 2020 and here I am in 2021, the third year of traveling the world. 

This week's country is...

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa. Its five bordering countries are Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia.

Zimbabwe is larger than the state of Montand and is three times the size of England.

The country has 16 official languages. This number is more than any other country in the world.

More than half of the people in Zimbabwe are below the age of 21.

Zimbabwe used to be Rhodesia.

Zimbabwe's currency is the US dollar.

Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe but it has managed to retain a 1960s small-town America ambience. There are tree-lined boulevards covered in flowers during spring that watch over the town’s prime attractions.

One of the largest waterfalls in the world, Victoria Falls, is located in Zimbabwe on the Zambezi River. It is wider than 3,280 feet and has a height of more than 328 feet. 

It was discovered in 1855. The waterfall started attracting tourists between 1905, when a railway to Bulawayo was constructed.

The noise of Victoria Falls can be heard from a distance of 25 miles.

Zimbabwe boasts having a huge artificial lakes. Built on the Zambezi River, Lake Kariba is one of the world’s largest man-made lakes in the world.

Manufacturing, mining, and farming constitute the backbone of the Zimbabwean economy.

Zimbabwe has vast natural resources which include coal, gold chromium ore, asbestos, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, and platinum group of metals.

Cotton, tobacco, gold, ferro alloys and textiles/clothing comprise the major items that Zimbabwe exports.

The national flower of Zimbabwe is the Flame Lily.

Zimbabwe is one of the few African countries that is home to the Big 5, namely the Lion, Buffalo, Rhinoceros, Leopard, and the Elephant.

As one of the leading African countries for safari tourism, it is possible to see leopards, lions, elephants, rhinos, buffalo and antelopes here, amongst many other majestical wild creatures.

Zimbabwe is one of the few countries in the world where both white and black rhinos can be observed. Estimated at 766 in 2014, Zimbabwe’s rhino population is Africa’s fourth-largest after South Africa, Kenya, and Namibia.

The Balancing Rocks are considered a national symbol of Zimbabwe. The Balancing Rocks in Matopos National Park are extremely popular among the tourists.

Seventy-six percent of the country’s rural households live on less than $1.25 per day.

In Zimbabwe, blackouts are quite frequent and random, and when they occur, they usually last for 3 hours or more.

Many of Zimbabwe's citizens are forced to survive on only a meal per day due to food shortage and crises.

Bota is a staple food for the Zimbabweans, mostly taken as breakfast. It is a kind of porridge, with a cornmeal and water mixture. Peanut butter or just butter is added to it in order to add flavor.

Zimbabweans mostly call every kind of toothpaste “Colgate,” every soft drink “Coke,” every washing powder “Surf” and every floor polish “Cobra.”

The ‘mbira’, which is a small hand-held instrument, has been played for more than 1,000 years in Zimbabwe. This instrument is also commonly referred to as a ‘thumb piano.’

Zimbabwe has the highest literacy rate in Africa. 90% of the population in Zimbabwe is educated.

Zimbabweans see pot bellies in men as a sign of success and wealth. 

In 2012, the residents of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe were tasked with flushing their toilets at the same time in order to prevent blockages in the sewer system. The synchronized flush takes place twice a week in order to keep the sewers clear.

There is a tribe in Zimbabwe who have two toes on each foot possibly an aid in tree climbing the condition prevails because of a small genetic pool among the Vadoma and is propagated by the tribal law that forbids members to marry outside the group.

There is a football team called Chicken Inn in Zimbabwe.

The country has won eight Olympic medals, one by the hockey team and the other seven medals by swimmer Kirsty Coventry.

Zimbabwe prohibits civilian wearing/possession of camouflage clothing. 

My inspiration for this week's card is based on this fact about Zimbabwe... In Zimbabwe, there’s a strong belief that mermaids exist. In fact, they’re often blamed for unfortunate events such as kidnapping, torture and murder.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: CC Designs Merkini stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Paper: Cougar 110# White and SU Blueberry Bushel CS and DP from my scrap file

Dies: MFT Stitched Rectangle and MFT Stitched Rounded Rectangle

Embellishments: Recollections Rhinestones