•Michelle Passarelli •Rosario Gómez •Diana Medrano •Sofía Pozuelos

•Brian Donis •Marco Donis

THE BEST CULTURE,

ARE YOUR ROOTS

2

United States of America

(USA): • Commonly called the United States (US or U.S.), is a

federal constitutional republic consisting of fifty states

and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in

central North America, where its forty-eight

contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital

district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans,

bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the

south. The state of Alaska is situated in the northwest

portion of the continent, with Canada to its east and

Russia to its west across the Bering Strait. The state of

Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific.

3

1. Work: This country have a lot of works available for all kind of

people, that is why many immigrants choose to live in the

United States, for the great job opportunities.

The workforce within the United States continues to shift from

manufacturing and agriculture to professional and office

jobs. Based on data from the 2000 census, the principal

types of jobs in the USA and the number of workers are:

• sales and office 34,621,000

• professional and related 26,199,000

• production and transport. 19,968,000

• service 19,277,000

• management, financial, 17,448,000

• construction and maintenance. 12,256,000

• farming, fishing, forestry 952,000

• total employed males: 69,091,000

• total employed females: 60,630,000

• total males: 137,916,000

• total females: 143,506,000

• total population: 281,422,000

4

2. Family: n 2007, 58% of Americans age 18 and over were married, 6%

were widowed, 10% were divorced, and 25% had never

been married. Women now work mostly outside the home

and receive a majority of bachelor's degrees.

The U.S. teenage pregnancy rate, 79.8 per 1,000 women, is the

highest among OECD nations. Abortion policy was left to

the states until the Supreme Court legalized the practice in

1973. The issue remains highly controversial, with public

opinion closely divided for many years. Many states ban

public funding of the procedure and restrict late-term

abortions, require parental notification for minors, and

mandate a waiting period. While the abortion rate is falling,

the abortion ratio of 241 per 1,000 live births and abortion

rate of 15 per 1,000 women aged 15–44 remain higher than

those of most Western nations.

Same-sex marriage is a contentious issue. Some states permit

civil unions or domestic partnerships in lieu of marriage.

Since 2003, several states have legalized gay marriage as

the result of judicial or legislative action. Meanwhile, the

federal government and a majority of states define marriage

as between a man and a woman and/or explicitly prohibit

same-sex marriage. Public opinion on the issue has shifted

from general opposition in the 1990s to a statistical

deadlock, to a majority in support. 5

3. Spare time: It wouldn't be technically correct to say Americans were using

their free time to do "nothing." The two most popular

activities found in the survey, were sleeping and watching

television. Americans spent 6 minutes more per day doing

the former and 12 minutes more doing the latter compared

to 2007.

Watching TV was the one leisure activity that occupied the most

time (2.8 hours per day), which accounts for about half of

leisure time on average.

21 percent of men chose to spend their free time participating in

sports, as opposed to 16 percent of women. Men still spent

more time doing these leisurely activities than women -- 2.0

hours compared with 1.4 hours.

Sadly, 35 percent of Americans spent time working on an

average weekend day. Most of these Americans are actually

people with multiple jobs, the government data showed.

The BLS reported that multiple jobholders were almost

twice as likely to work on an average weekend day than to

those who held just one job. The average workday for

Americans clocked in at 7.5 hours.

6

4. Main Religions The United States is officially a secular nation; the First

Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion and forbids the establishment of any religious governance. In a 2002 study, 59% of Americans said that religion played a "very important role in their lives", a far higher figure than that of any other wealthy nation. According to a 2007 survey, 78.4% of adults identified themselves as Christian, down from 86.4% in 1990.

The following chart shows how is distributed the population according to the religions practiced in USA:

7

5. Politics: The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation. It is

a constitutional republic and representative democracy, "in

which majority rule is tempered by minority rights

protected by law".[114] The government is regulated by a

system of checks and balances defined by the U.S.

Constitution, which serves as the country's supreme legal

document.

The United States has operated under a two-party system for

most of its history. For elective offices at most levels, state-

administered primary elections choose the major party

nominees for subsequent general elections. Since the

general election of 1856, the major parties have been the

Democratic Party, founded in 1824, and the Republican

Party, founded in 1854. Since the Civil War, only one third-

party presidential candidate—former president Theodore

Roosevelt, running as a Progressive in 1912—has won as

much as 20% of the popular vote. The third-largest political

party is the Libertarian Party.

Barak Obama,

actual president of

USA

8

Conclusion paragraph: • United States is located in the

northern part of the American

continent between Canada and

Mexico. It is bordered by the

Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is a

country of great geographical

extent. Its territory is diverse, broad

and with innumerable natural

beauties, covering large areas of

coastline, vast lakes, rivers, snowy

mountains, valleys, savannas,

deserts, islands and beaches. More

than a third of the country is

covered by forests. It is a very

important country for global trade.

9

Cuba

• Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country

in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main

island of Cuba, as well as the Isla de la Juventud and several

archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the

country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest

city. The north of Cuba lies the United States (150 km or 90

mi away) and the Bahamas, Mexico is to the west, the

Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south, and Haiti and

the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.

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1. Work:

Nevertheless, there are still some job opportunities available for

expats who plan on working in Cuba. For instance, you can

always find employment working in Cuba-based offices of

foreign companies or agencies. However, as most of these

are joint ventures together with Cuban companies, Cuban

applicants are usually treated preferentially.

Within the tourist industry, expats interested in working in Cuba

may find employment as tour operators or representatives.

You can, however, not expat to be hired as a barman,

entertainer, or cleaning staff. These types of jobs are

reserved for Cubans. Many expats with plans on working in

Cuba also find work as freelance writers, photographers, or

journalists. However, keep in mind that you need a special

work permit for this.

All in all, it is rather difficult for expats who dream of working

in Cuba to find employment. Almost all jobs are distributed

by the state. Securing a work permit, the prerequisite for

working in Cuba, is definitely not easy as Cuban citizens

are treated preferentially. For more information on work

permits, have a look at our article on moving to Cuba.

11

2. Family:

It is within the context of the Special Period, the economic crisis

that began in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet

Union and the tightening of the economic blockade by the

United States, that we analyze work and family relations in

Cuba. Although women made significant gains in the labor

market after the Revolution, the Special Period has eroded

many of these gains. Using interviews collected in Cuba, we

document the struggles that women workers encountered in

order to continue to support their families and stay in the

labor market. The growth of jobs in the tourist sector has

led to worker redistribution and occupational downward

mobility, as workers moved from professional to less skilled

jobs in the tourism industry with little opportunities for

mobility. We also capture how the Special Period has

impacted Cuban families. Despite state attempts to legislate

gender equity within the family, patriarchy was never fully

eradicated in the home. This failure of the revolutionary

project has been exacerbated by the country’s current

economic crisis. The burden of this crisis has fallen more

heavily on women who continue to shoulder the

responsibility for household work and childcare.

12

3. Spare time:

Even though many in Cuba cannot afford much, they are very

resourceful in finding fun things to do. Cubans enjoy

dancing, especially Salsa! Cubans are fortunate to have

beaches where they can bring some food and drink and have

a great time. Baseball is the national sport and many boys

start out by playing baseball on the streets. Playing

dominoes is also a big past time for the men. For the ladies,

well they have the equivalent of the soap operas here in the

States to keep them occupied.

13

4. Religion:

Cuba's prevailing religion is Catholicism, although in some instances it is profoundly modified and influenced through syncretism. A common syncretic religion is Santería, which combined the Yoruban religion of the African slaves with Catholicism and some Native American strands; it shows similarities to Brazilian Umbanda and has been receiving a degree of official support. The Roman Catholic Church estimates that 60 percent of the population is Catholic, but only 5% of that 60% attends mass regularly, while independent sources estimate that as few 1.5% of the population does so.

Membership in Protestant churches is estimated to be 5 percent and includes Baptists, Pentecostals, Seventh-day Adventists, Presbyterians, Anglicans, Episcopalians, Methodists, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and Lutherans. Other groups include theGreek Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Baha'is, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons).

Cuba is home to a variety of syncretic religions of largely African cultural origin.

14

• According to a US State Department report, some

sources estimate that as much as 80 percent of the

population consults with practitioners of religions

with West African roots, such as Santeria or Yoruba.

Santería developed out of the traditions of the

Yoruba, one of the African peoples who were

imported to Cuba during the 16th through 19th

centuries to work on the sugar plantations. Santería

blends elements of Christianity andWest African

beliefs and as such made it possible for the slaves to

retain their traditional beliefs while appearing to

practice Catholicism. La Virgen de la Caridad del

Cobre (Our Lady Of Charity) is the Catholic

patroness of Cuba, and is greatly revered by the

Cuban people and seen as a symbol of Cuba. In

Santería, she has been syncretized with the goddess

Ochún. The important religious festival "La Virgen

de la Caridad del Cobre" is celebrated by Cubans

annually on 8 September. Other religions practised

are Palo Monte, and Abakuá, which have large parts

of their liturgy in African languages.

15

5. Politics: The Constitution of 1976, which defined Cuba as a socialist republic, was

replaced by the Constitution of 1992, which is "guided by the ideas of José Martí and the political and social ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin." The constitution describes the Communist Party of Cuba as the "leading force of society and of the state". The First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba is concurrently President of the Council of State (President of Cuba) and President of the Council of Ministers (sometimes referred to as Premier of Cuba). Members of both councils are elected by the National Assembly of People's Power. The President of Cuba, who is also elected by the Assembly, serves for five years and there is no limit to the number of terms of office.

The Supreme Court of Cuba serves as the nation's highest judicial branch of government. It is also the court of last resort for all appeals against the decisions of provincial courts.

Cuba's national legislature, the National Assembly of People's Power (Asamblea Nacional de Poder Popular), is the supreme organ of power; 609 members serve five-year terms. The assembly meets twice a year; between sessions legislative power is held by the 31 member Council of Ministers. Candidates for the Assembly are approved by public referendum. All Cuban citizens over 16 who have not been convicted of a criminal offense can vote. Article 131 of the Constitution states that voting shall be "through free, equal and secret vote". Article 136 states: "In order for deputies or delegates to be considered elected they must get more than half the number of valid votes cast in the electoral districts". Votes are cast by secret ballot and counted in public view. Nominees are chosen at local gatherings from multiple candidates before gaining approval from election committees. In the subsequent election, there is only one candidate for each seat, who must gain a majority to be elected.

No political party is permitted to nominate candidates or campaign on the island, including the Communist Party. The Communist Party of Cuba has held six party congress meetings since 1975. In 2011, the party stated that there were 800,000 members, and representatives generally constitute at least half of the Councils of state and the National Assembly. The remaining positions are filled by candidates nominally without party affiliation. Other political parties campaign and raise finances internationally, while activity within Cuba by opposition groups is minimal. 16

Conclusion paragraph

• Cuba is an island in the Caribbean Sea. About its politics, Cuba is a socialist republic that means "leading force of society and of the state". Catholicism is the religion that prevailing in this country. But its religion is influenced through syncretism, therefore in Cuba the people have a lot of beliefs. Those things do Cuba could be a country with obstacles in work and family. So, in this country the work is a big problem to survive. Because the people who want to work, find a job only in foreign companies. But there are few foreign companies with several populations. The work influences in the family for satisfy the needs of all the members. But in Cuba, the crown talk about that they have a lot of economic problems, and that is a reason why to families is difficult to survive.

17

Guatemala

Guatemala , officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a

country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the

north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest,

Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and

Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its area is

108,890 km2 (42,043 mi2) with an estimated population

of 13,276,517.

18

1. Work:

Some travelers find work in bars, restaurants and places to stay in Antigua, Panajachel or Quetzaltenango, but the wages are just survival pay. If you’re looking to crew a yacht, there’s always work being offered around the Río Dulce area, sometimes for short trips, sometimes to the States and further afield. Check notice boards (Bruno’s has the best one) for details.

Business hours

Guatemalan shops and businesses are generally open from 8am to noon and 2pm to 6pm, Monday to Saturday, but there are many variations. Banks typically open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday (again with variations), and 9am to 1pm Saturday. Government offices usually open 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. Official business is always better conducted in the morning.

Restaurant hours are typically 7am to 9pm, but can vary by up to two hours either way. Most bars open from 10am or 11am to 10pm or 11pm. The Ley Seca (dry law) stipulates that bars and discotecas must close by 1am, except on nights before public holidays. It is rigidly adhered to in large cities and universally laughed at in smaller towns and villages. If restaurants or bars have a closing day, it’s usually Sunday. Typical shopping hours are 8am to noon and 2pm to 6pm, Monday to Saturday.

19

2. Family: Much of Guatemalan life revolves around families. Guatemalans say

that parents are espejos (mirrors): through them, you learn who you are and what you can become. Children are able to depend on their parents for advice and guidance throughout their lives. Family members tend to live near each other, and Guatemalans rarely live or spend much time alone. An invitation to a party or social function, for example, would be interpreted to include all the family members, including children and grandparents. Most families consist of parents and their unmarried children, though may include a married son or daughter and their family. Families also care for elderly relatives, and godparents (padrinos) are considered an important part of the family. However, traditional family patterns are changing as Guatemalans adopt more North American values. Guatemalan women tend to marry young and have many children. In rural areas, some couples cannot afford or access a church wedding, and often live in common-law marriages. Mayan couples may also perform different commitment ceremonies other than church weddings. Women give birth at home, though in cities they may go to a hospital. Guatemala's population is unique in Central America for its strong resistance to assimilation; even today, there are as more indigenas than ladinos. A fundamental split has developed in Guatemala between indigenas, those who have continued to follow their traditional Mayan lifestyle and speak their traditional languages, and ladinos, Hispanics and people of Mayan descent who have adopted a Westernized lifestyle and use Spanish as their primary language. Guatemalan ladino culture has been characterized as urban-oriented, receptive to new (especially foreign) ideas and impatient with the slow, unchanging patterns of traditional life. Most Guatemalans have adopted some forms of Western clothing, though some men still wear the sandalsor or sash and woolen ponchito, which identifies them as Mayans. Mayan women use tzutes, a type of blanket, for cushioning baskets on their heads or swaddling infants.

20

3. Spare time: Mayalandia is an experienced tour operator in Guatemala,

offering customized tours to any destination in Guatemala.

Enjoy all the adventure the Maya world has to offer.

On this segment we want to present you the variety of activities

which offer you infinity of option that will permit you to

have a better idea how you can enjoy the most of your

vacation in Guatemala.

We group in this segment under several categories as Adventure,

Nature, Cultural and Transport, most of them we provide or

organize in concert with qualified experts in the field.

These activities are mostly customized to maximize the

experience, at certain occasions it might be collective for

reasons of logistic, for example the white water rafting, and

also to reduce the cost of the expedition.

21

4. Religion: In Guatemala 50–60% of the population is Roman Catholicism

in Guatemala, 40% Protestant, 3% Eastern Orthodox and

1% follow the indigenous Mayan faith. Catholicism was the

official religion during the colonial era. However,

Protestantism has increased markedly in recent decades.

More than one third of Guatemalans are Protestant, chiefly

Evangelicals and Pentecostals.

22

5. Politics: Politics of Guatemala takes place in a framework of a

presidential representative democratic republic, whereby

the President of Guatemala is both head of state and head

of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive

power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is

vested in both thegovernment and the Congress of the

Republic. The judiciary is independent of the executive and

the legislature.

Guatemala's 1985 Constitution provides for a separation of

powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial

branches of government. The 1993 constitutional reforms

included an increase in the number of Supreme Court

justices from 9 to 13. The terms of office for president, vice

president, and congressional deputies were reduced from

five years to four years; for Supreme Court justices from six

years to five years, and increased the terms of mayors and

city councils from 30 months to four years.

23

Conclusion paragraph:

• Guatemala is a beautiful country to grow and live. The weather and its people do Guatemala a unique place to have great days. Actually in this country its president is Otto Pérez Molina and he is the responsible of all the things that complete and supervise Guatemalan politics. The foreign people come to Guatemala to look for a job and live with fewer expenses. Some people find jobs in Antigua Guatemala, Quetzaltenango, Río Dulce and Panajachel. Those places are unique and perfect to have great businesses, because they wait every year a lot of tourist people and that is a reason for Guatemala to grow in national economics. In this country have a lot of poor populations, because it does not have a lot of works. To some families in The Altiplano is so hard to survive. They have to cultivate and eat with natural food. But in education is hard to prepare teenagers and children to the future.

24

LONDON • London is the capital city of England and the United

Kingdom, and the largest city, urban zone and

metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the

European Union by most measures. Located on the

River Thames.

• London is a leading global city, with strengths in the

arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion,

finance, healthcare, media, professional services,

research and development, tourism and transport all

contributing to its prominence. London has been

described as a world cultural capital. It is the world's

most-visited city as measured by international arrivals

and has the world's largest city airport system measured

by passenger traffic

25

1. WORK:

• London generates approximately 20 per cent of the UK's

GDP(or $446 billion in 2005); while the economy of the

London metropolitan area—the largest in Europe—

generates approximately 30 per cent of the UK's GDP

(or an estimated $669 billion in 2005). London is one of

the pre-eminent financial centres of the world and vies

with New York City as the most important location for

international finance.

• London's largest industry is finance, and its financial

exports make it a large contributor to the UK's balance

of payments. Around 325,000 people were employed in

financial services in London. London has over 480

overseas banks, more than any other city in the world.

Over 85% (3.2 million) of the employed population of

greater London works in the services industries. Due to

its prominent global role, London's economy has been

affected by the Late-2000s financial crisis. The City of

London is home to the Bank of England, London Stock

Exchange, and Lloyd's of London insurance market.

26

2. Family:

• Classes and Castes. The idea of social class is much more powerful than

that of ethnicity. People frequently characterize themselves as working

class or middle class. Although few admit to being upper class, in principle

there are three classes, with the highest one reserved for the aristocratic

inheritors of old, landed wealth. The term "social class" has complex

meanings with social, economic, and political dimensions. People who

describe themselves as working class perceive themselves to have

respectable but unprivileged origins, and typically are born into a family

supported by wages from industrial or agricultural labor paid in cash at the

end of the week. In these families neither parent has a college degree and

the housing that the family occupies is rented. There is a strong association

between the idea of being working class and supportive of the trade union

movement and the Labour Party; the identification thus is with a set of

corporate or collective economic, social, and political interests and

aspirations

• family relationships remain close. Roughly 70 percent of adults live within

an hour's journey of their parents or grown-up children, and nearly half see

their mothers, fathers, adult children, and best friends at least once a week.

While newspaper and television reports claim that the nuclear family is in

decline because of increased rates of unmarried cohabitation and divorce,

personal commitment to kinship ties has not changed much. Seventy

percent of adults think that people should keep in touch with close family

members; 55 percent think that they should keep in touch with relatives

such as uncles, aunts, and cousins; 60 percent say that they would rather

spend time with relatives than with friends; and nearly 80 percent think

relatives are more important than friends. These attitudes vary with age and

gender—people over age forty-five tend to be more family-centered than

are younger people.

27

3. Spare time:

• In the Old England the tradition

was either, Polo (for the rich)

or Rugby and Football for the

middle class or the poor, At the

present time, Football is one of

the most common, Rock-

climbing is another popular

hobbies in London, how has

wonderful places to practice

this. However London has

amazing touristic places to go

and have fun. 28

4. Main Religious:

• Since the 1950s, church adherence has

fallen dramatically, and the British are

generally uninterested in formal religious

practice. Sixty percent of adults do not

believe in God, and one-third have no

religious affiliation. Thirty-six percent of

the population identifies with the official,

state-sanctioned Church of England; 10

percent with the Roman Catholic Church; 4

percent with Presbyterianism; 4 percent

with Baptism and Methodism; 3 percent

with other Protestant denominations, and 3

percent with other religions. Four percent

describe themselves as Christians, and 35

percent say that they have no religion.

29

5. Politics: • Government. The United Kingdom is a

constitutional monarchy. The monarch is

chief of state and the prime minister is

head of government. The Cabinet of

Ministers is appointed by the prime

minister and are responsible to

Parliament. Parliament is composed of the

House of Lords (hereditary), the House of

Commons (elected), and the sovereign.

• Leadership and Political Officials. The

monarch reigns, but does not rule the

nation per se, acting only with the

approval of Parliament. The prime

minister holds the executive power and is

traditionally the leader of the majority

party in Parliament. The primary parties

are the Labour Party, the Conservative

Party, and the Liberal Democrats.

30

Conclusion paragraph

• A multicultural city, London has a diverse

range of peoples and cultures, and more

than 300 languages are spoken within its

boundaries. London has something for

everyone, from history to culture, art, grand

museums, dazzling architecture, royalty,

diversity and irrepressible pizazz.

• London is the seat of the Government of the

United London has traditionally been

Christian, and has a large number of

churches, particularly in the City of

London. The well-known St Paul's

Cathedral in the City and Southwark

Cathedral south of the river are Anglican

administrative centresKingdom. In religious

sense 31

China

• One country that has a rich cultural history, a large

population and some of the grandest mountain ranges in

the world is China. This country is the third largest one

and contains the world's largest population. It is also

home to one of the very first recorded civilizations.

Thanks to its large mountains it is rich in natural

resources that had come up from the earth. China

produces a large variety of things from steel, to cameras

and synthetic materials. Electricity generation is one of

the largest in the world. It's government is one of the

oldest on earth starting in 1726. All of these things make

up China.

32

1. Work:

China’s job market has started to show signs of stress,

putting pressure on the government to intensify fiscal

spending to prevent the economy from weakening

further.

• Like politicians the world over, Chinese leaders’ biggest

single economic worry is whether unemployment is

under control, and analysts say the job outlook will help

determine whether they launch a big stimulus effort as

they did nearly four years ago.

So far the labour market has held up much better than in

late 2008 when 20m migrant workers lost their jobs. But

cracks are appearing and that experience showed how

the situation can change virtually overnight in China.

• “Depending on how deep the growth slowdown is,

unemployment can deteriorate very suddenly,” said

Ding Shuang, an economist with Citi.

• China, which publishes the bulk of its second-quarter

economic data on Friday, is expected to have grown

about 7.5 per cent, its slowest pace in three years.

33

2. Family: • The institution of family is the pinnacle of society. This is a fact that has

long been realized by the Chinese who hold the family bonds as sacred and

honor them accordingly. The traditional Chinese family has a hierarchical

order with the man as the head of the family tagged with the responsibility

for earning the bread of his family. This responsibility also endows him

with complete authority and the final say in the affairs of the family.

• The roles adopted by the members of the family in Chinese society have

been greatly influenced by religion. Social order and communal behavior

was learnt by the Chinese through the philosophy of Confucianism. The

influence of religion on the family structure spanned from choosing a mate

to dealing with your children. With the passage of time however Chinese

family values have undergone many changes. There are some aspects of

the Chinese culture that are still the same. For instance the father is still the

maintainer, provider and protector of the family. He may still have a final

say in the important matters concerning his children but no longer does the

man of the house enjoy absolute control over his family members. The

children of today’s Chinese family are more or less free to choose the

career they want to pursue but are required to consult their elders for

advice.

• When it comes to marriage we find the Chinese to have an elaborate

wedding celebration culture. The wedding events include many ritualistic

practices. Although they have been toned down over the years they have

been retained to a certain degree because they are meant to honor the

institution of family.

• The father of the house is also responsible for housing and educating his

children up until the time of their marriage. Once married the children

move into their own homes. Traditionally married couples would also stay

with the parents of the groom for a short while before moving out into their

own homes.

34

3. Spare time:

• Perhaps table-tennis is the first sport that comes to mind

for most people when they hear the country China. It is

one of the country's national sports. But China offers

much more that this. Various martial arts are very

popular.

• Wushu and Kung Fu are two wide terms of martial arts.

Wushu is used to characterize the more modern

competition-oriented forms that exist today in the

country while old Kung Fu styles that have survived

often have done so outside China. All forms of martial

arts are physically demanding, it is necessary to be able

to summon both condition, concentration, presence of

mind, balance and physical and phychological strength.

Martial arts are very common in Asia in general, in

China as well as in other countries. Chinese

Qigong and Tai Chi have become popular to practise

also in Northern Europe during the past years, as have

several Japanese sports. In China they are just as much a

way of living as a form of training to keep the body in

shape. The focus of the training can be set on self-

defense, personal development, competition or on a

close to artistic level.

35

4. Main Religion:

• Buddhism

Buddhism was introduced to China around the first century

A.D. Since the fourth century A.D, it was widely spread and

gradually became the most influential religion in China.

Buddhism in China is divided into three branches according to

varied language families, namely, Chinese Buddhism, Tibetan

Buddhism and Pali Buddhism and there are about 200 thousand

Buddhist monks and nuns under these three branches. At

present, there are more than 13 thousand Buddhist temples that

are open to the public, 33 Buddhist colleges and nearly 50

types of Buddhist publications in China.

As one branch of Buddhism in China, Tibetan Buddhism is

mainly spread in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, Inner

Mongolia Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province with

some 7 million believers from Tibetan, Mongolian, Yugu,

Monba, Luoba and Tu nationalities. Pali Buddhism is popular

in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Dehong Dai

and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture and Simao region in

southwestern China’s Yunnan Province with over one million

believers from Dai, Bulang, Achang and Va nationalities. The

believers of Chinese Buddhism are mainly Han people, who

live all over China.

36

5. Politics:

• Under China's 1982 constitution, the most powerful

organ of state is meant to be the National People's

Congress (NPC), China's parliament. In truth, it is little

more than a rubber stamp for party decisions.The

congress is made up of nearly 3,000 delegates elected

by China's provinces, autonomous regions,

municipalities and the armed forces. Delegates hold

office for five years, and the full congress is convened

for one session each year.

• This sporadic and unwieldy nature means that real

influence lies within a standing committee of about 150

members elected from congress delegates. It meets

every couple of months.

• In theory, the congress has the powers to change the

constitution and make laws. But it is not, and is not

meant to be, an independent body in the Western sense

of a parliament.

37

Conclusion paragraph:

• China, an ancient, mysterious and beautiful land, is

always appealing to adventurous foreign visitors. As the

third largest country in the world occupying an area of

9,600,000 sq km, it spans 62 degrees of longitude and

49 degrees of latitude. A wide variety of terrain and

climate shape its numerous natural attractions.

Abundant in a variety of resources, plants, animals, and

minerals, the land has nurtured countless generations of

Chinese people. One of China's greatest treasures is her

long, rich history. As early as 1.7 million years ago, the

earliest humans evolved on this land.

• China is proud of her many people, long history,

resplendent culture and distinctive customs. Among her

greatest gifts to the world are the 'four great

inventions' (paper, gunpowder, printing and the

compass) . Chinese arts and crafts, including painting,

calligraphy, operas, embroidery and silk are distinctive

and unique. Martial arts, which have only recently

begun to enjoy popularity in other parts of the world

have been part of Chinese culture for centuries, and

Chinese literature is testifies to the country's rich

heritage. And, of course, there is Chinese cuisine, which

has been exported to every corner of the globe. 38

WORK

U.S.A CUBA GUATEM

ALA

LONDON CHINA

The

workforce

continues

to shift

from

manufactu

ring and

agricultur

e to

profession

al and

office

jobs.

Expats

interested

in working

in Cuba

may find

employme

nt as tour

operators

or

representat

ives.

If you’re

looking to

crew a

yacht,

there’s

always

work being

offered

around

sometimes

for short

trips.

London's

largest

industry is

finance,

and its

financial

exports

make it a

large

contributor

to the UK's

balance of

payments

“Dependi

ng on

how deep

the

growth

slowdow

n is,

unemplo

yment

can

deteriorat

e very

suddenly,

”

The Jobs are very important in all the countries, to have a

better economic development.

39

FAMILY

U.S.A CUBA GUATE

MALA

LON

DON

CHINA

American

s age 18

and over

were

married,

6% were

widowed,

10% were

divorced,

and 25%

had never

been

married.

Despite

state

attempts to

legislate

gender

equity

within the

family,

patriarchy

was never

fully

eradicated

in the

home.

Guatemal

ans say

that

parents

are

mirrors

through

them, you

learn who

you are

and what

you can

become.

famil

y

relati

onshi

ps

remai

n

close.

The institution

of family is the

pinnacle of

society. This is

a fact that has

long been

realized by the

Chinese who

hold the family

bonds as

sacred and

honor them

accordingly.

In all the countries the parents are considered the family

Guides because they give the example of good and bad.

40

SPARE TIME

U.S.A CUBA GUATE

MALA

LONDO

N

CHINA

The two

most

popular

activities

found in

the

survey,

were

sleeping

and

watching

televisio

n.

Even

though

many in

Cuba

cannot

afford

much, they

are very

resourceful

in finding

fun things

to do.

These

activities

are mostly

customize

d to

maximize

the

experienc

e.

In the Old

England

the

tradition

was either,

Polo (for

the rich)

or Rugby

and

Football

Wushu

and Kung

Fu are two

wide

terms

of martial

arts.

The persons in their spare time usually do physical activities

or make their favorite hobby.

41

MAIN RELIGION U.S.A CUBA GUATE

MALA

LONDO

N

CHINA

America

ns said

that

religion

is very

importa

nt in

their

lives,

most of

the

people

in the

country

are

Christia

ns.

The religion in

Cuba is very

interesting

because the

60% of the

population is

catholic but

only 5% of

that 60%

attend mass

regularly, in

some parts of

Cuba is

modified and

influenced

through

syncretism.

In

Guatemal

a the

official

religion

is the

Catholici

sm but in

the last

years the

number

of

Protestan

tism

people

increase.

the British

are

generally

uninterest

ed in

formal

religious

practice,

more of

the 60%

in the

country

don’t go

to the

church.

The

Buddhism

are the

oldest

religion in

China and

the most

common

in that

country,

they don’t

believe a

lot in

other

religions.

All the Countries has their official religion and everyone

believe in God in their way.

42

POLITICS U.S.A CUBA GUATEMALA LONDON CHINA

The United

States is a

federal

constitution

al republic,

in which

the

executive

branch is

headed by

the

President

and is

independen

t of the

legislature.

Cuba is

constitution

ally defined

as a

socialist

state, the

present

Constitutio

n also

ascribes the

role of the

Communist

Party of

Cuba to be

the "leading

force of

society and

of the

state".

It is a

democratic

country

where the

legislative

power is

vested in

both the

government

and the

Congress of

the

Republic.

The

judiciary is

independen

t of the

executive

and the

legislature.

The

United

Kingdom

is a

constitutio

nal

monarchy.

The

monarch

is chief of

state and

the prime

minister is

head of

governme

nt.

The politics

of China is

of a single-

party

socialist

republic.

The

leadership

of the

Communist

Party is

stated in

the

Constitutio

n of the

People's

Republic of

China.

In summary all countries has a representative who acts as the

voice of the people.

43

ETHICAL PROBLEM Alan works in the claims department of a major hospital. Paperwork on a

recent admission shows that a traumatic mugging caused the patient to require

an adjustment in the medication she is prescribed to control anxiety and mood

swings. Alan is struck by the patient’s unusual last name and upon checking

her employment information realizes she is one of his daughter’s grade school

teachers.

Alan’s daughter seems very happy in her school and he cannot violate patient

confidentiality by informing the school of a teacher’s mental illness but he is

not comfortable with a potentially unstable person in a position of influence

and supervision over his eight year old daughter. Can Alan reconcile these

issues in an ethical manner?

Answer: At first the doctor should ask the patient if she

gives her permission to helps her because the teacher can

have many problems with the school if the doctor

denounced as inadequate for the job but this may change in

all countries, for example in large countries safety

standards for children are very strong so the teacher can

lose their work unless it is proved that she is in their

mental capacities to continue with their work, but this does

not happen in small countries like Guatemala because they

don’t have the ability to verify this for themselves. In my

opinion based on previous research the doctor has to

suggest the teacher to get other kind of job where she can

have more peace.

44

London: The possible answer for this problem could be

that the doctor gives a warning to school because the

teacher did not the skills for the job.

China: The people in this country can say that if she

has the skills and it does not affect anyone she can

continue with their work normally.

Cuba: In this country most people do not care if the

person who teaches your children is good or bad

person.

Unites States: This country is really focused on the

safety of children and take very seriously the rules that

a teachers must fulfill.

Guatemala: We have trouble with teachers because we

do not enforce the rules, for this reason they do

wherever they want to do with their students.

45