November already!

I was waiting eagerly for this turn of month…  Many times, these last 31 days, I was tempted to look at the list of flags I had already gathered when October started, to see if this or that country was visiting for the first time, as I thought. But I resisted! Woot woot!!

For those of you new to the Cove, I have this blogging goal of getting at least one “read” from every country on the globe. Childish? Yeah, a little bit, but it always makes me happy to see a new flag in my stats, especially since, with time, there are fewer and fewer countries to wish for!

So, in alphabetical order, not to create any jealousy, here are my October’s new flags!

Benin, Costa Rica, Georgia, Maldives, Seychelles, Thailand and…. Venezuela!

And just like a month ago, here are fun facts about each country;

 

 

Benin

I read that about 4.5% of Benin’s population uses The Internets. I don’t know how recent this piece of information is, but if only about one out of twenty people surf online, I feel REALLY lucky to have that flag in my bag!!

 

Costa Rica

Ticos (Costa Rica’s inhabitants) often refer to their loved one as their “media naranja”… Meaning “the other half of their orange”! How cute is that? 🙂

 

Georgia

“Spoken Georgian is like no other language you are likely to hear. It belongs to its own ancient linguistic group unlike any other language spoken outside the region. It includes rare sounds that many visitors may never have heard before. Some consonants, for example, are pronounced from the back of the throat with a sudden guttural puff of air. Georgian has its own 33-letter alphabet thought to be based on the sort of Aramaic spoken in the time of Jesus. To the untutored eye, the letters look very much alike. A squiggle too far and your “k” can easily turn into a “v” or a “p”. But even without understanding it, Georgian writing is beautiful, a myriad of theatrical swirls and flourishes. Very fitting to a country of dramatic personalities.” (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-23072361)

That caught my attention… I thought learning Danish was a singular choice for a third language, but maybe I should have chosen Georgian instead? Na! Danish is too dear to me… I’ll stick to it, but I do have to listen to some Georgian stuff on YouTube to know how special it is!

 

Maldives Islands

The first actual kingdom was said to have been established by the son of the king of Kalinga in India. The king was greatly displeased with his son, so he was sent away to the Maldives—what was then known as Dheeva Maari. This prince, named Sri Soorudasaruna Adeettiya, was responsible for the establishment of the Maldives’ Adeetta Dynasty. Also known as the Solar Dynasty, this era ended with the marriage of a Solar Dynasty queen to a prince of Kalinga’s Lunar Dynasty. (http://listverse.com/2014/01/24/10-interesting-facts-about-the-maldives/)

Might be a legend… But I don’t want to know! An exiled Prince… I buy it!!

 

Seychelles

The Seychelles was once a pirate hideout, in particular Anse Forbans (Pirate’s Cove) on Mahé and Côte d’Or on Praslin. It is believed that famous pirate Olivier Levasseur hid a treasure worth more than $160,000 that remains unfound.(https://www.tcsworldtravel.com/blog/8-fascinating-facts-about-the-seychelles)

Two words here… Pirate. Hideout. How cool is that??  Who wants to join me on a trip to go look for the 160,000$? As we say in French “qui m’aime, me suive!” (also applies to blogging… lol)

 

Thailand

The full spelling of its capital, Bangkok, was clearly finalised before the days of Twitter. It is known to Thais as Krung Thep Maha Nakho, but its full ceremonial name is Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit (a Tweet-busting 169 characters).  (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/thailand/articles/Thailand-20-fascinating-facts/)

I hate Twitter. Well… Hate might be a bit strong, but I don’t like it. At all. What I do like, is that insanely long name. I might try to learn it by heart… That’s the kind of things I like to challenge myself into. Wanna race me? I’ll take any offer… First one who can say it all wins… Wins what, you say? Hmmm…  Challenge me, we’ll see!

 

Venezuela

This one’s for you gentlemen…  Venezuela is the record holder when it comes to Miss World and Miss Universe titles! They won 6 so far. So, if you’re into world peace, Venezuela is for you, obviously.

Little extra, Venezuela is a country name I always have to think twice before saying. And that’s because of an ooooold family running gag. We started saying Vezenuela a long time ago (I completely forgot why) and now, I’m doomed. I have to stop to think where that “z” belongs…

 

I hope you learned something today… I know I did 🙂

Happy November!!