Leisure time

While I'm sure we all like to go to the movies, mall, or hang out with friends, there's very much to do in Sudan as well.

With the first mall built in the Capital of Khartoum, Sudan in the city of Arkaweet, It was a great way people like to spend their time. It had many restaurants, a market, a bowling alley, a movie theater, and a small outside fair. This mall however, was burned down in May 2012. The source of the fire is still not detected. 
Another way people like to spend their time in Sudan is by going to a place they call Nile Street or in arabic, "Shari'a Al-Nil." It's a beautiful area around the blue Nile. Most people like to take blankets to have picnics along the concrete walls near the river. 
There are also many foreign restaurants people like to spend their time at. There are several called Amwaj, Laziz, Pizza corner, and my personal favorite Ozone. Many people of Sudan as well as foreigners that go there such as Americans, all enjoy the food of these places very much. These restaurants serve food such as burgers, pizza, fries, and chicken nuggets. To please their customers, they also serve desert as well. Ozone for example offers red velvet cupcakes and gelato. 
Shopping is an important pass time that keeps people occupied. Whether it's grocery shopping or just shopping for clothes, the "Souq" or store is convenient for both needs. In Sudan, the name of the "Souq" is depending on where it it located. For example, There is a city named "Omdurman" which contains a store/ market called "Souq Omdurman." Many people set up stands in the market ans sells their items. There are stands for fruits, vegetables, jewelry  clothes, and much more set up in the "Souq." 

In the United States, there are also malls, restaurants, and markets which people go to to spend their leisure time. 

Works Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afra_Mall
http://wikitravel.org/en/Khartoum

Q and A

I actually decided that it would be a good idea to dedicate this post to any questions that my readers may have. I may do this a couple of times throughout my journey of blog writing to connect with my readers. Questions I have received so far include:
1) How exactly is the Sudanese school system similar to ours? 
The point I was trying to make is that examinations are important in both school systems. Without exams, continuing any type of education is almost impossible. 
2) Did I ever take the college exam in Sudan? 
I actually did not, however I did take an exam to get into a good school while living there for a short amount of time. In the United States, there is an enrollment process to register a child in school and same with Sudan. I took multiple exams at different schools which in my opinion weren't very easy.  
3) Do I have an estimate of how high the drop out rate is in Sudan? 
I actually do not, this piece of Information was very difficult for me to find, but I do know many personally that did not continue their education after a certain time. 
4) What is on the final exam? 
The exam in order to get into a good university contains everything that the students have learned in their 11th year in high school. 
5) How are these tests in comparison to United States end of year exams? 
The end of year exams in the United States contain all the information the student has learned throughout the year, the same with Sudan. They both test the knowledge of how much you learned throughout the year, and the capabilities to move on to the next grade. 
6) What happens to the Muslims in South Sudan and the Christians in North Sudan? 
Nothing happens to them, they are free to live where ever they like but sometimes they might feel discriminated against. 

Religious views

The United States is a very diverse country. There are all types of races and religions the live together under one nation. In Sudan, the religion of Islam dominates the north. There has recently been a split between north and south Sudan mainly due to the uncertainty on, "how to demarcate the border and share oil profits." When this county split, the north became 90% of Muslims. the other 10% is made up of minorities that include Christians. The south, is mainly made up of Christians with a small percent of Muslims. When Sudan was first colonized by the British, The people of Sudan were Christian until, "the nineteenth century, when most were forced to convert to Islam."

As you can see, there isn't a wide range of religion in north or south Sudan. In America you have, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Atheists. 


Works Cited:
"Sudan News - Breaking World Sudan News - The New York Times."Times Topics - The New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2013. <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/sudan/index.html
Kushkush, Isma'il. "South Sudan to bring big changes - CNN." Featured Articles from CNN. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2013. <http://articles.cnn.com/2011-07-05/world/sudan.changes_1_peace-and-success-south-sudan-sudanese-official?_s=PM:WORLD>.
"Sudan / Religions - LookLex Encyclopaedia." LookLex [Travel guides / Encyclopaedia / Language course]. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2013. <http://looklex.com/e.o/sudan.religions.htm



   

Education system part 2

The pressure to do well in school, is very high in Sudan, Africa. There are two major exams throughout a whole high school career. One exam to get into high school, grades 9-11, and one to get into college. If these exams are not passed, the whole grade will have to be repeated. For example, not get a high score on the exam in 11th grade, you will have to repeat that grade. The dropout rate in Sudan is very high compared to The United States which, "declined from 12 percent in 1990 to 7 percent in 2010." 

Once the exam for college is taken, the score depends on what university you are able to go to. To me, I believe this system is similar to the american concept of SAT's. Instead, their scores affect what kind of career field you can go into as well as the college. For example, if you get a 155 out of 160, you are most likely able to go to a college specializing in medicine. Where as, in the United States, The SAT's play an important role in enrolling in college, but it's not the most important.  

Education System

Eduction is an important aspect to everyday life. It's important to know what kind of system is used in places you'd like to study. In Sudan, there are some similarities to the United States system of eduction. Both systems of eduction include kindergarten. In Arabic, we say "Rowdah" meaning kindergarten.    Then, they have grades 1 through 8 all in the same school. As opposed to most of the United States where we have elementary school consisting of grades 1-5 and middle school consisting of grades 6-8. In Sudan, there's is an exam after every grade to continue to the next just like the United States. 

If you are lucky enough to pass these exams, they have what we call high school which consists of grades 9-11. They do not have a 12th grade. Before you can graduate from high school, there is another exam that must be taken. This exam determines what college you can get into. Sudan has a wide range of colleges for people to choose from. Although this is true, not many people get it or even go to college. All will be explained throughout my next post. keep reading!    

Hello Beautiful bloggers part 2

In order for the reader and the writer to be on the same page, it's important to know what is going to be discussed throughout the reading. I actually wanted to dedicate a post to let my readers know where I'm headed with my blog exactly. I have two countries I want to discuss and compare. Sudan, Africa and the United States of America. 
There are so many topics to choose from I hope I can cover them all and come up with new ideas as well. A list of topics I was thinking of covering includes, eduction, culture, religion, and economics. If I happen to make a post about something other than these topics, bare with me that means I had an idea. I hope my readers can follow me through my journey in blog writing.