I thought I knew enough about Africa, this wonderful and strange continent with a hot tropical climate and a wealthy nature, which is populated by many different nations and tribes. I saw many movies, mostly about African nature and often read newspapers or magazines about frequent wars and economical problems. But I never made acquaintance with people who originated from Africa. Thus, it was really interesting to talk, even if a little to my classmate Kadra, who not long ago, two years, came here from the small East African country Djibouti. I was interested in how she has lived and thought and what problems have worried this young, beautiful black woman.
             In the period of two years, since I came from Ukraine and have lived in Chicago, I have known six or seven Afro-Americans. Although we worked together we had never talked about their problems. Maybe, it isn't done among the black people, all the more among the Americans. So, I really know nothing about native Africans. No wonder I always thought they are very poor, not well educated and cut away from world civilization. It was a big surprise when Kadra told me that she finished high-school in her motherland and what's more in French, which is the second, after her native Arabic, official language in Djibouti. Kadra speaks English sufficiently, clearly expresses her thoughts and doesn't stop to find the suitable words as I often do. She plans to continue going to college in order to get a degree in English, find a better job and probably go back to motherland where she can teach English to her compatriots.
             Of course, Kadra told me about her native country Djibouti, which I know nothing about. It is a beautiful country located on the East coast of Africa, on the shore of the Red Sea. The territory, divided into a low coastal plain, with mountains behind, and an interior plateau, is arid, sandy, and desolate. The climate is generally
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