March 6th, 2025 11:00pm - MYSTERY - Almaty, Kazakhstan

When: March 6th, 2025 11:00pm (March 7th 10:00am in Kazakhstan)

Where: MYSTERY - Almaty, Kazakhstan

Who: Virginia Treasure

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Hey guys! It's us and we have a MYSTERY COUNTRY! So far, we think she’s from the U.S., Poland, or Germany, etc. So far, we know she's on the Asian continent. SOOO we just found out she is from Kazakhstan! A common food in this country is horse. They say they are the first people to domesticate horses. They also have a connection with Native Americans in the U.S. A landmark near this city is the Tenshen Mountains. Kazakhstan used to be part of the Soviet Union, therefore they speak Russian in this country. Many people come to this country to profit off of the oil and gas sources. The city she lives in is Almaty, Kazakhstan. She describes Almaty as a beautiful place full of mountains and scenic places. Yurts are used as housing in Kazakhstan. They are portable houses made of wool. Kazakhstan is a Muslim country. The locals don’t send their kids to school until kids ask about their education, which is usually when they are 7-8 years old. Kazakhstan is 11 hours ahead. Their government is very intense, and it got to a point where they couldn’t come out of their house, and if they did, they would get shot. Phones get monitored. It is not a democracy. They have no right to protest, and if they did, they would go to jail. Kazakhstan believes that consuming anything cold like cold water or ice cream will make them sick and give them a sore throat. They also believe that if you sit on bare floors instead of sitting on the carpet it’ll make them unable to make babies.

March 6th, 2025 4:45pm - MYSTERY - Colombia

 When: March 6th, 2025 4:45pm

Where: MYSTERY - Colombia (via Texas)

Who: Martha Sandoval

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In Colombia, their flag colors are “red blue and yellow”. There are over 9 million people in some places, one of their major cities is Bogota, Bogota is known for having an international airport, a national red river, and the only country that has a lot of Emeralds. The population of Colombia is between 53.4 and 53.7 million. Colombia is also best known for having excellent coffee and its amount of emeralds.  A few popular sports in Colombia are Baseball, Skating, Paragliding, Football/Soccer, Cycling, and athletics. Columbia is known for not eating spicy food in their country. 

Colombia is also known for having a very tropical climate. They even have their own Independence Day just like America. It happens on July 20th but the very first one happened in 1810.  Their Independence Day marked the war of independence from Spain. The people in Colombia are also very friendly and they help out other people. The tallest building in Colombia is called “The Windsor House by: GEH Suites”. One of the most famous people in Colombia is “Shakira.” Shakira is a very famous singer, she’s known for her very upbeat and catchy songs that everyone knows.

We also had a special visitor during this call! Dr. Rapp, our Superintendent dropped by to see us. Se stayed to watch the call with us and talk to us about what we were learning.

 

5:00AM - MYSTERY CALL - Thailand

When: March 8th @ 5:00AM (6:00PM in Thailand)

Where: Thailand

Who: Bret McHale

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Guesses=

He is not in the United States

Very hot, but not much sun 

Northern hemisphere

Known for elephant sanctuaries 

Answer = Thailand

It is 6:00 pm in Thailand

Weirdest food he has ever eaten was a scorpion

Really pretty beaches and really high cliffs

Going to the temples, you have to be very respectful.

You see a bunch of motorcycles, not a lot of cars.

He decided to move to Thailand because he is in the Marine Corp.

Pork with rice is a very popular dish.

He's been to 13 different countries since living in Thailand.

Thailand has a king, and you are not allowed to talk bad about the Thai king.

They listen to typical pop music.

1:15 PM - MYSTERY CALL - Monrovia, Liberia

 When: March 7th @ 1:15 PM (7:15 PM in Liberia)

Where: Monrovia, Liberia

Who: Anora David

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Basketball is growing

Kickball for girls, Soccer for boys

Different churches

9th grade is junior high

Most animals killed or left in civil war

Mini hippo

African Elephant

Monrovia, Liberia! 

Not northern part of continent 

Around africa

Size of Ohio or Tennessee 

Monroevia is the Capital

Above equator 

Hot weather dry season middle of november to april

Rain season 

English official language, 15 different dialects  

Some mountains

Rice 

Kasaba 

7:22 in liberia. 1:22 here

Thanksgiving on the first thursday on every November

They go to church on thanksgiving 

They go clean the grave of family members

Monrovia named after James Monroe

People listen to American and African music

Fried rice with meat and sausage 

Cassava leaves

Rice every day

Three branches of government

Schools that run from Kindy to 12th

Founded by freed slaves of america

Pledge allegiance very similar 

Very similar to US government

Civil War Dec 1989- 2005 

First african female president in Africa

Good Beaches

Soccer is big

Snakes

Clothing similar to america

Lappa is the traditional clothing

Importing goods is a lot of money

Bird of paradise

Coconut and palm trees

Bordered by the atlantic ocean

Used to have the largest Rubber plantation

People go to surf

Milk is not liquid

5:00 AM - MYSTERY CALL - Johannesburg, South Africa

When: March 10th @ 5:00 AM (1:00 PM in South Africa)

Where: MYSTERY CALL - Johannesburg, South Africa

Who: Matt Dalton

Our last mystery call. It is quickly determined that they are in the southern hemisphere. A little trickery came into play as the interviewers asked for the time. From his answer we were able to confirm the time zone he was in. After that it was only a simple matter of asking for the weather. From his answer we were able to tell that they are located in South Africa. After listing off a few cities, Johannesburg was the correct answer.

After figuring out his location, he began to explain his situation. During the entirety of the call, he was in Low Shade. Low shade is where the government attempts to save power and try to use light as much as possible due to their poor electricity generation. He also explains that they are experiencing political strife and some violence.

Then he talks about some of the foods they eat in South Africa. He said most of the people there eat chicken, steak, currys, and pap. One of the places that he said is a good place to visit is The Kruger National Park. He said the park is a great place to go when touring South Africa. Some of the traditional clothing that people wear is bright colored patterned clothes. The city he is in is more modern than other places in South Africa.

In Johannesburg, the weather is pretty warm. Right now, the weather is in the high 80’s. The weather is mostly sunny. In South Africa, they are enjoying summer right now. Some of the animals found in South Africa are bats and owls, but foxes, genets, meerkats, and other animals are found in the suburbs. Gas in Johannesburg is about 22.27 South Africa Rand. The average cost for a house in Johannesburg is about R1.65 million.

12:30 AM - MYSTERY CALL - Kahalulu, Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

When: March 10th @ 12:30 AM (March 9th @ 8:30 PM in Hawai'i)

Where: MYSTERY CALL - Kahalulu, Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Who: Kimberly Jones

Northern hemisphere, Kahalulu, is where the location is. It is hot and sunny. They usually have dry weather. It has a lot of bugs and is a more outdoorsy place. Hawai'i would be a good place to move to if you like fishing, swimming, canoeing, and doing many other active activities. There is a sovereignty movement that they have going on there. Hawaiian has its own language. There is a lot of connection to culture. Everything is very expensive like housing and shopping. Lichi is a very popular food in Kahalulu. Hawaii also has American food, Asian inspired food, and Polyenesian food. The traffic is horrible and you would be stuck in traffic forever. The Chinamans Hat Mokoli’i is a small basalt island located in Kaneohe Bay near Kualoa Ranch. The graduations are huge. The houses in Hawaii tend to be old. They tend to have modern technology, but the house designs tend to be older. Not everyone is welcome into Kahalulu. Many people don’t see people from other countries as welcome.

A misconception is that it is a paradise to live there. There are hurricanes and bad weather. You have to have a job because you have to pay for how expensive it is. It is very difficult to care for a full family and pay for a job. If you are going to spend money there it would be better to buy from local groceries.

There is a lot of multigenerational housing. Landmarks in Hawaii include Na Pali Coast State Wilderness, Waimea Canyon State Park, and Lihue. Kahalulu is very local and most people know each other. There are a lot of chickens, feral cats, and geckos. During whale season there are a lot of whales. There are also dolphins in the oceans. There are a lot of restaurants. There also are some restaurants from America like Chick-fil-a, Wendys, and Sonic. Sports in Hawaii include surfing and stand-up paddleboarding.The Albizia tree is a tree farmers are trying to get rid of because it has turned into an invasive species.

It was currently 9:09 PM over there in Kahalulu.

Hawai'i is a great place to live, except for a lot of financial problems and weather problems.

4:15 PM - MYSTERY CALL - Misawa, Japan

When: March 9th @ 4:15 PM (March 10th @ 7:15 AM)

Where: Misawa, Japan

Who: Amy Phillips

We had a very pleasant surprise for us. One of Mrs. Gore’s friends have joined us at the start of this call. As this is a mystery call, we have to pinpoint her location using questions. The interviewer starts off the interrogation by asking if she is in the Northern hemisphere. She gives us a yes, and we’ve confirmed she’s in the Northern Hemisphere. With a lucky guess, we find out that she is in Asia, and in a string of fortunate events we find out she’s located in Japan.

Finally, we have pinpointed it to Japan, but that only helps us slightly. We still need to determine the exact city that she’s in. We quickly throw out guesses on the most popular places. However, none of those are where she is located. Seeing us struggle we are given a few hints. She informs us that she is in the snowiest inhabited place in the world. Along with that, we were told that she is in a very small and rural area. After that it was only a matter of process of elimination. After a while of throwing out questions and getting wrong answers, we finally stumbled across the right location. With an eruption of cheers we found out she was in Misawa, Japan.

Misawa is a military Air Force base located near the coast of Japan. Her job there is to teach people that are in the military. Mostly the children of the people who have come to serve. They are a completely American school located in Northern Japan. Since there is just so much snow they don’t really let it bother them. They play in the snow no matter what. Sometimes the snow piles up as high as an 18 wheeler!