WHAT IS CULTURE ?

Brainstorm with your table and come up with a

collective definition and/or example. Be ready to share your ideas with the class.

MAP OF THE WORLDEach of you is receiving a map of the world.

As we go through different locations and countries, put an X by where you think it is located on the map.

Take your best guess if you do not know for sure.

Use a different color pencil/marker to show where the actual location is.

Meet Vanessa. She is a student, just like you. She describes what a

typical day is like for her.

Meet Ming. She is also a student, like you. Ming talks about her daily

routine

“ I am a kindergarten student. I go to school at 7:40 a.m. School starts at 8 a.m. I am in school until 4:30 p.m. and usually get home by 5 p.m. But sometimes I stay after school for dancing or painting lessons. Then I do not get home until 6 p.m. We have dinner when everyone gets home from work, around 7 p.m. Every night I help my dad clean my brother's milk bottles. I do not really have many responsibilities at home because my grandparents look after me. This is because my parents both work. In my free time, I like to watch TV. Saturday and Sunday are good days for me. My grandparents will take me to have morning tea with them at a restaurant near our home.”

Name: Ming

Age: 5

Location: Shenzhen, China

Meet Visho. He is about your age. Listen, as he tells about

himself

“ I have one brother and one sister. The apartment where I live is situated on the first floor of an apartment building with ten floors in the center of the city. I live with my mother, my father, my older brother, my little

sister, and my grandmother. Our apartment has three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and two bathrooms. I play and relax in my room, which is one of the bedrooms. I do my homework also in my room, which I share

with my brother. Here we have the computer and the piano. Our apartment is nice and modern and it was decorated by my mother. For the moment, it is a bit crowded but I feel good being home. We also have a

house with a big yard outside the city, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Bucharest, where we go on weekends and for the summer holiday.”

A TYPICAL DAY FOR VISHO: “ I wake up at 7 a.m.; I have breakfast, prepared by my grandmother, together with my brother and then I go to school. I come back from school at 1. I have my lunch and I do my homework. Then I play with my sister, Ana Sophia, who is 10 months old and with my brother who is 12 years old. In the evening I watch TV, have

dinner, and go to sleep. My responsibility in my family is to take care of my little sister and to clean my room. In my free time I watch TV, play with the electronic games (PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable),

read, or play piano.

HIS FAVORITE GAME/SPORT:

My favorite sport is football (soccer). I watch football every week. I watch it on TV every week and sometimes I go with my father to see the important matches played live. I like also swimming and going to amusement

parks.

HIS FAVORITE FOOD:Pizza Margherita (cheese pizza with tomatoes).

WHAT HE WANTS TO BE WHEN HE GROWS UP:I hope to become an artist: actor, musician, and painter.

Name: VishoAge: 9

Location: Bucharest, Romania

TABLE DISSCUSSION

Republic of the

Sudan

MuslimMuslim Prayer

SPAINSpain is largely a Roman Catholic nation.

94 % of the people are baptized members.

Catholic traditions (baptisms, weddings, funerals, and family ties) remain an integral part of society even though many people do not consider themselves religious.

Personal devotion often varies by generation. Freedom of religion, granted in the 1970s, opened the way for Spaniards to join other churches.

Roman Catholic Pope Speech

Buddhism

Buddhist Monks

• Although Thailand guarantees freedom of

religion, about 95 % of Thai are Theravada Buddhist.

BUDDHISMMeet Fern. She lives in Thailand and goes to a college.

She talks about Buddhist traditions she sees and participates in.

Name: Fern Age: 21

Location: Khon Kaen City, Thailand

“In November people use the pond at the front of our university to float kratongs (small rafts), which are made from banana leaves or Styrofoam. Thai Buddhists think that they can pay respect to the river spirits by doing this. There are many shops at student clubs or faculties that sell kratongs during this period.”

“Thai Buddhists always make merit [accumulated good deeds that are believed to help a person in the next life] by giving food offerings to monks every morning. Then the monks will bless them. Sometimes Buddhists pour water on their hands to pray for people who have done good deeds for each other. Or sometimes they will make merit at the temple by giving some money to help the monks maintain the temple. Thai Buddhists also believe that if they make merit with their partners, they will meet each other again in the next life.”

TABLE DISSCUSSION

South AfricaSouth Africa has eleven official languages: English, Afrikaans, and nine African languages. Some of these African languages use various tongue clicks in their words.

Xhosa

Hello, in Xhosa: Molo (maw-law)

India There are several hundred

languages are spoken in India!

Most speak at least one of India’s two official national languages: Hindi and English

Hello, in Hindi: Namaste (nah-mah-STAY)

BrazilBrazil’s national language

is Portuguese.

Hello, in Portuguese Oi (oy)

SamoaPeople in Samoa speak

Samoan.

It is the oldest Polynesian language still spoken today.

English uses 26 letters, but Samoan only uses 14 letters.

Many Samoans also speak English.

Samoan

Hello, in Samoan Talofa (tah-LOW-fah)

Russia

South Africa

Brazil Samoa

TABLE DISSCUSSION

GERMANY Germany has one of the strongest

economies in the world. Germans make cars, steel, cement, aluminum, tools, appliances, and electronics.

Many Germans also work in service industries, such as tourism and banking. Important crops include potatoes, wheat, barley, and sugar beets.

Until recently, the German currency was the Deutsche Mark. But it now has been replaced with the euro, a single currency used throughout much of Europe.

• Germany is one of the top economic powers in the world and provides leadership and generous

financial support to the EU.

• As a whole, the country has a high gross domestic product per capita; however, the east's

economy is far weaker than the west's.

• The east has made substantial progress in its shift toward a market economy; however, the region still relies heavily on subsidies (around US$80 billion a year) from the economically

powerful western states.

• Generous social benefits, rigid work rules, and high labor costs have been obstacles to reviving

the economy and reestablishing the country's global competitiveness.

•Germany fell into recession in 2008 after responding to the global financial crisis with a

US$675 billion rescue package and a guarantee on personal bank deposits.

1 US Dollar = 0.66861 Euro 1 Euro (EUR) = 1.49563 US Dollar

Republic of Mozambique

1 US Dollar = 27,670.0 Mozambique Metical

1 Mozambique Metical (MZM) = 0.00003614 US Dollar

Meet Ana. She lives in Mozambique. She talks about her career plans and how the country

effects them.

Name: Ana Age: 18

Location: Manica City, Mozambique

Mozambique

“I do not think about the economy and business types of things. I want to be a teacher, and I believe that I can one day reach that. It may be difficult because it requires money to get certain jobs, but I believe that I know enough people that I can secure a job in the school. If I do not do that, then I will stay at home and have many children. It is a good life if you have a good husband. I will

cook and take care of the home. Things were hard during the war¹ but they are better now. We are not starving, and there is

much food in Manica province.”

PERU

“I guess I worry about my family. We have a lot of problems because we are poor. It's true that we don't live in a very nice house, but that's just how things are. The most important person to me is my mom. She takes care of us and my brothers and sister when there is no one else. I must help her to do that, and sometimes it is hard for me because there are things that I would like to do besides work or doing jobs around the house, such as going out and playing or just being with my friends. But it is very important that I study and that when the time comes, I work to support my family because they need me and my mom needs me. Maybe one day, when we are all grown and we have jobs, then we will be able to move away from Alto Trujillo to a place where we don't need to be concerned each day about violence and insecurity.”

(PEN)

1 US Dollar = 2.87193 Peruvian Nuevo Sol

1 Peruvian Nuevo Sol (PEN) = 0.34820 US Dollar

Meet Carlos. He explains how economic challenges impact his family.

Name: Carlos Age: 12

Location: El Porvenir, Peru

Meet Victoria. She lives and Peru and talks about how income and money effects her daily life.

Name: Victoria Age: 45

Location: Trujillo, Peru

PERU

The economy is terrible. Everyone must scrape by because there is very little to be earned, even for those willing to work hard. But working hard is the only way; one must work from dawn to dusk to earn the little money

necessary to maintain a family and to have a few little things that are nice. Also, we want the best for our children. They need to be supported as they study, and this is an added expense for us. It is difficult to get by, and the rest of the family—my sisters, my mother—all depend on us as well when

times are hard, which is almost always. Crime is also a big problem because of the poor situation with work. It is not easy. Only if you are a government minister do things become a little better. They have excellent, well-paying

jobs, and they have to work very little.

TABLE DISSCUSSION

Russia

Russia

Canada

Canada

Ghana

Ghana, Africa

TABLE DISSCUSSION