The other day I learned an effective way of learning Geography. However, it is not yet tested. Whether it is effective or not, I am not sure yet 
Just draw some blank maps and after that imagine you are on a tour to that country.
Just start from one of the town in the country, write down the name of the town on your map, what are the special things about the town – what is it famous for, what are the products from the town, describe its climate or relate some interesting fact about its history or people and so on.
After that, moving from that town, you are traveling to another city in this country. Continue to key in the relevant points on the map about the city.
Continue this traveling until you visited all towns / states in the country. By then you should be able to understand better about the country and hopefully you will be able to have more interest in the country. By doing these exercises, you will develop a visual feel for the areas you are studying.
By the way, you may download maps of the areas with which you are interested. There are a number of online maps that can be downloaded free.
Let me know if you find this method effective or not.