Just a little note about using the articles a and the with country.

When a writer uses a with country, the writer is using the meaning of nation.

He comes from a country in South America.

However, when a writer uses the with country, the meaning of country is a rural area.

My cousin, Sarah, lives in the country.

This can change when a writer uses more specificity about the country. In other words, the writer adds information to help the reader know that the nation meaning of country is being used instead of the rural area meaning.

My cousin just came from the country that is near Colombia.