Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea is a small country in the inner curve of the west side of the African continent.  It is comprised of the mainland bordered by Cameroon on the north and Gabon on the east and south (Río Muni) and five islands: Bioko, Annobón, Carisco, Elobey Grande, and Elobey Chico.

Here are some great articles and resources we used to learn more about this country:

• Enclyclopaedia Britannica - good general overview
• US CIA World Factbook - lots of statistics, if you are interested in that
• Wikipedia  - lots of info, but too dense to really read with younger kids
• Flagpedia  - the flag of Equatorial Guinea

Videos on Equatorial Guinea:

• Official video of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (very informative, but definitely designed to encourage foreign investment - about 10 and a half minutes)
• Geography Now - super engaging video, with just one joke that is questionable for younger audiences
• 7 Facts about Equatorial Guinea - somewhat interesting, but with typos

Recipes to try at home:

• Equatorial Guinea Peanut Sauce - used over lots of things.  We tried it over chicken and rice.  Also traditionally served with mashed avocado on top.
• Akwadu (banana/plantain coconut bake) - can be a breakfast or a dessert

Learning about the Countries of the World

I have always wanted to learn about the different countries of the world: their cultures, customs, languages, life.  Hence my degrees in Linguistics and International Relations.  But I have found that my entire family enjoys that too.  And the more we have learned, the more I can see it broaden the horizons of my children's imaginations and open their perspectives to the life experiences of others.  It is something that I wanted to encourage and do in a more systematic way.

So I sat down and found a list of all of the countries in the world and their territories and printed it out.  (I can't find the exact link now, as I am writing this in April of 2020, but I think it was the list on Wikipedia of sovereign states, found here.)  I put all of the slips of paper in a big tin and we are going draw one country at a time out to learn about.  I am really excited for this adventure!