Argentina Openarms!

WE WANT TO EMBRACE THE WORLD FROM ARGENTINA!

WELCOME TO ARGENTINA OPENARMS!

Welcome to Iguazu Falls Openarms!

Population:      38,592,000

Denise at La Recoleta Cemetery.  It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón ( Eva Duarte). Buenos Aires Openarms!

Capital:               Buenos Aires; 13,349,000

Andrea from Argentina at the Park. Buenos Aires Openarms!

Area:                     2,780,400 square kilometers (1,073,518 square miles)

The Puente de la Mujer (Spanish for “Woman’s Bridge”) is a footbridge in Puerto Madero comercial district

Language:        Spanish ( Official) , English, Italian, German, French

Milton from Chile at Recoleta Cementery. Buenos Aires Openarms!

Religion:           Roman Catholic

Paraná Openarms!

Currency:        Argentine peso

Denise in Posadas. Argentina Openarms!

Life Expectancy: 74

Denise from Argentina & Milton from Chile  at School of Law (University of Buenos Aires). Buenos Aires Openarms! 

GDP per Capita: U.S. $10,500

Denise in Mocona Falls, Argentina Openarms!

Literacy Percent: 97

Argentina, meaning “land of silver,” is a rich and vast land—second largest (after Brazil) in South America and eighth largest in the world. Its heartland is a broad grassy plain known as the Pampas (pronounced PAHM-pahs). Here Argentina’s gaucho, like the U.S. cowboy, has galloped into the country’s folklore.

The Spanish first arrived around 1516, and Argentina gained independence in 1816. The small native population died from European diseases, and today’s population is over 95 percent European. For Spanish, Italian, German, and other immigrants in the late 19th century, Argentina held great promise. Today the literacy and urbanization rates are high, the birthrate and the infant mortality rate are low, and most Argentines consider themselves middle class.

The recent past has been tumultuous. Some 30,000 people disappeared—the Desaparecidos—in the “dirty war” during the military junta’s 1976-1983 rule. In April 1982 Argentine forces invaded the British-held Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls the Islas Malvinas. Defeat by Britain during the 1982 Falkland Islands war loosened the military dictatorship’s stranglehold on democracy.

Since then much has been won: greater freedom of the press, tolerance of opposition, and increased foreign investment. However, a deep recession caused economic collapse at the end of 2001—followed by fragile economic growth. Unemployment plagues the economy, even as the nation enjoys the continent’s highest per capita income.

The Andes mark Argentina’s western edge, forming the boundary with Chile. The highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, Aconcagua, dominates the Andes at 6,960 meters (22,834 feet). From the Andes, gently rolling plains extend eastward toward the sea. Much of the Pampas, including a rich agricultural section, occupies this region. Northeast Argentina features rain forests and Iguazú Falls. These spectacular falls, on Argentina’s border with Brazil, drop along a 2.7-kilometer (1.6-mile) front in a horseshoe shape. South of the Pampas, dry and windswept Patagonia stretches to the southernmost tip of South America with the world’s southernmost city, Ushuaia.

Industry: Food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles

Agriculture: Sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans; livestock

Exports: Edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles

Switzerland Openarms!

WE WANT TO EMBRACE THE WORLD FROM SWITZERLAND !

WELCOME TO SWITZERLAND OPENARMS!

Celene from Mexico, her mother, Lucy & Ericka (her sisters) with the overview to Lake Geneva. Laussane Openarms!

Area: 41,285 sq. km. (15,941 sq. mi.); about the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined.

Thank you to The European Snowsport Ski School. Verbier, Zermatt & St Moritz Ski School Openarms!

Languages: German 63.7%, French 20.4%, Italian 6.5%, Romansch 0.5%, other 9.4%.

Freddie Mercury Statue. Montreaux Openamrs!

Cities: Capital–Bern (population about 123,000). Other cities–Zurich (359,000), Geneva (180,000), Basel (164,000), Lausanne (119,000).

Switzerland Openamrs!

Terrain: 40% mountains, the remainder hills and plateau. Switzerland straddles the central ranges of the Alps.

Stefano from Italy. Swiss Alpes Openamrs!

Climate: Temperate, varying with altitude and season.

Gruyères Openarms!

Nationality: Noun and adjective–Swiss (singular and plural).

Essertines-sur-Rolle, Lausanne Openarms!

Population (year-end 2009): 7.8 million.

Ethnic groups: Mixed European.

Religions: Roman Catholic 42%, Protestant 33%, Muslim 4.3%, others 5.4%, no religion 11%.

Education: Years compulsory–9. Attendance–100%. Literacy–100%.

Health: Infant mortality rate–3.9/1,000. Life expectancy–men 79.4 yrs., women 84.2 yrs.

Work force (4.0 million in second quarter 2010): Agriculture and forestry–4.0%. Industry and construction–23.5%. Services sector and government–72.5%.

Type of Goverment: Federal state.

Independence: The first Swiss Confederation was founded in August 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. The Swiss Confederation established independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499.

Constitution: 1848; extensively amended in 1874; fully revised in 2000.

Branches: Executive–Federal Council, a collegium of seven members, headed by a rotating 1-year presidency. Legislative–Federal Assembly (bicameral: Council of States, 46 members; National Council, 200 members). Judicial–Federal Tribunal.

Administrative subdivisions: 26 cantons (states) with considerable autonomy.

Political parties: Swiss People’s Party (SVP), Social Democratic Party (SP), Free Democratic Party (FDP), Christian Democratic Party (CVP), and several smaller parties representing localities or views from extreme left to extreme right.

Suffrage: In federal matters, universal over 18.

GDP (2010): $475.8 billion (495.8 billion Swiss francs [CHF]).

Government expenses (in GDP%, 2008): 38.3% (federal, cantonal, and local).

Annual growth rate (2010): 2.6%.

Unemployment (March 2011): 3.4%.

Per capita income (2010 est.): $66,367.

Avg. inflation rate: 0.7% (2010); 1.1% (2011 est.).

Natural resources: Water power, timber, salt.

Agriculture (1% of GDP): Products–dairy (21%), livestock (25%), grains (4%), fruit and wine (10%), and vegetables (14%). Arable land (1999)–26%.

Industry (est. 29% of GDP): Types–machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, time pieces, precision instruments, textiles and clothing, pigment, transportation equipment.

Services (70% of GDP).

Trade: Merchandise exports (2010)–$195 billion (official exchange rate): food, beverages, and tobacco (4%; +8%); metal and chemical industries (44%; +10%); precision instruments (15%; +18%); watches (8%; +27%); machinery and electronics (22%; +12%); clothing (1.5%; -3%). Major markets–EU, United States, Canada, CIS, India, Brazil, Japan. Merchandise imports (2010)–$176 billion (official exchange rate): consumer goods (38%); equipment (19%); energy (7.1%); raw materials (28%). Major suppliers–EU, U.S., Canada, CIS, South Africa.

Exchange rate (March 2011): $1 U.S. = 0.9191 CHF or SFr.

Switzerland sits at the crossroads of several major European cultures, which have heavily influenced the country’s languages and cultural practices. Switzerland has four official languages–German, French, Italian, and Romansch (based on Latin and spoken by a small minority in the Canton Graubunden). The German spoken is predominantly a Swiss dialect, but newspapers and some media broadcasts use High German. Many Swiss speak more than one language. English is widely spoken, especially among the university educated.

More than 75% of the population lives in the central plain, which stretches between the Alps and the Jura Mountains and from Geneva in the southwest to the Rhine River and Lake Constance in the northeast.

We are waiting for your pictures. You can send them to theopenarms@ymail.com