Comparing Cost of Living Around the World

In the last blog post we looked at how people lived in different parts of the world. Now we are going to look at more details about the Cost of Living around the world. This helps explain how far a dollar will go in different cities in the world. 

Numbeo is a website where you can look at different data from around the world. 

Create a new blog post in your Spanish Blog Portfolio, title it the same as this blog post, and complete 1 of the following tasks based on this website.

• Pick 3 different countries and create a chart comparing the 
• McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal)
• Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat
• 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
• Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
• Based on this information - explain which country you'd like to live in or visit. Explain why you chose that country. 
• Pick 5 different countries and create a chart comparing one particular data point 
• Put them in order from most expensive to least expensive
• Based on this information - explain which country you'd like to live in or visit. Explain why you chose that country. 
• Use the Cost of Living Comparison  to compare Pittsburgh to another city in the world. Take a screenshot of the comparison (similar to the one above) and write a paragraph comparing/contrasting the information on the two different cities. 
• Pick a different topic in the horizontal navigation of Numbeo (like Crime, Quality of Life or Travel) and explore that topic. Explain in a paragraph and screen shots what you learned. 

Dollar Street - Compare how people live around the world

Dollar Street is an interactive website that lets you compare how different families live around the world. 

First, take the "quick tour" so you can understand how the site works. Then, explore the site. 

Create a new blog post in your Spanish Blog Portfolio, title it the same as this blog post, and answer 1-2 of the following questions in complete sentences based on this website.

• Compare two families. What is their monthly income? Describe their home, their favorite possessions, etc. Then compare those two families to your own. 
• Similar to what you see in this blog post, take screen shots of 3 different comparable aspects (pets, water outlets, next big thing they plan to buy, etc.) then include photos/descriptions of your own for these topics.
• Explain in a paragraph what you have learned about how people live around the world.
• Pick one country/family and write a paragraph describing how they live. Where are they from? What is their income? Describe 5 different searchable aspects of their lives. 
• Pick one searchable aspect (pets, water outlets, next big thing they plan to buy, etc.) and explain 10 different photos of that particular aspect. Include the country and the income for each explanation.

We are not the majority

Create a new blog post in your Spanish Blog Portfolio, title it the same as this blog post, and answer at least 2 of the following questions in complete sentences based on the video.

• List 5 facts that you learned from this video.
• Compare how you live with how other people live in the world. What do you have that others don't?
• How has the video explain diversity in the world?
• How might you look at the world (or your life) differently now? Explain

Are you a citizen of the world?

Many countries require that people who want to become citizens of their country take an exam. (Click here to take a sample US citizenship test.) Are you smart enough to be able to live in many different countries?

Click here to take different Citizenship tests from around the world.

Create a new blog post in your Spanish Blog Portfolio, title it the same as this blog post, and answer 2-3 of the following questions in complete sentences based on the test.

• What was your score? 
• What did you learn?
• What should all citizens of a country know about the history and government?
• Do you think it's fair for countries to make potential citizens take a test?  Explain your answer.
• What do you think is a fair score to pass a citizenship test? Explain your answer.

Driving Tests Around the World

Learning to drive can be a big deal! Have you ever thought about how different countries handle driving? Check out this infographic about different driving tests around the world then complete the following activities.  

You can also find more infographics at Visualistan

Create a new blog post in your Spanish Blog Portfolio, title it the same as this blog post, and answer 2 of the following questions in complete sentences based on this infographic.

• Which country do you think has the hardest test? Explain your answer.
• Which country do you think has the easiest test? Explain your answer.
• Not considering age requirements, do you think you could pass these test? Explain.
• Do you plan on getting your drivers license? If yes, when? If no, why not?

Photos of Kids Around the World

It can be very interesting to look at photos from around the world and think about how people live in different countries. A few photographers have been taking photos of different aspects of growing up around the world. 

First we have photos of young people in their rooms.

Mexico

India

Russia

See more photos here and here.

Create a new blog post in your Spanish Blog Portfolio, title it the same as this blog post, and answer 2 of the following questions in complete sentences based on these images.

• Select 3 photos (from here and here) and describe the rooms. What country do they live in? What things do they have in their room? 
• Create a Venn Diagram comparing your room to a photo. Then take a photo of the Venn Diagram and add it to your blog
• Take a photo of your room and label 10 items in Spanish.
• Compare and contrast how other young people might live around the world to how you live. How are you similar? How are you different? Provide 3 specific examples. 

Next we have photos of young people with their toys.

Nicaragua

Costa Rica

Mexico

See more photos here.

Create a new blog post in your Spanish Blog Portfolio, title it the same as this blog post, and answer 2 of the following questions in complete sentences based on these images.

• Select 3 photos (from  here) and describe the toys. What country do they live in? What toys are their favorite? 
• Compare and contrast how other young people might live around the world to how you live. How are you similar? How are you different? Provide 3 specific examples. 
• What was your favorite toys as a kid? What about your siblings/cousins?

Greetings Around the World

In Spanish there are very many different ways people greet each other, just like there are many different ways people greet each other in English. It can depend on how you grew up as well as the region you are from. Check out these videos that talk about different ways people greet and say goodbye to one another around the world.

This video is about ways to say hello and goodbye in different Spanish speaking countries.

This video is about different ways people greet each other around the world.

Create a new blog post in your Spanish Blog Portfolio, title it the same as this blog post, and complete one of the following tasks based on these videos.

• Create a chart with two different columns of all the different ways people in the first video greeted and said goodbye
• Make a chart with the second video of with one column being the country or region the person is from, the 2nd column being the way they greet someone, and the 3rd column the English translation.
• Find another video that demonstrates how people greet each other around the world and publish it to your blog with a summary.
• Explain different ways you greet different people. For example, do you greet your grandparents different than your teachers? Do you hug some people when you greet them, shake hands with others, or do something else? Consider the following different groups:
• cousins, aunts/uncles
• parents, siblings
• peers, friends
• friends of friends who you meet at a concert or sporting event
• someone who is interviewing you for a job
• principal, boss