S

The Pursuit of

Happiness:What Americans Do For Fun

David Burns

23 April 2015

UCR – Liberia

Peace Corps Response

How to contact me:

David Burns – Cell: 8416 2367

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Planets of our Solar System

M – V – E – M – J – S – U – N - P

April 23rd – English Language

Day

Let’s brainstorm…

S What are some leisure or entertainment activities

that are UNIVERSAL? Why are some

international and others only local?

S What are some that are specific to Costa Rica?

Guanacaste?

S What are some that are specific to the USA?

Why the differences in preferences?

Culture, history, tradition, language, society,

economy, religion, geography, philosophy….

S Culture greatly affects how we act, what we enjoy and how we enjoy it…

S Language is one of the strongest binds citizens of nations or groups of nations together…

S The English language in the USA and – more frequently –around the world is the universal language of entertainment… uniting culturally different peoples around the world…

U.S. Declaration of Independence – July 4,

1776

Preamble to the U.S.

Declaration of Independence

S IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

S The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of

America

S When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for

one people to dissolve the political bands which have

connected them with another and to assume among the

powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which

the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent

respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should

declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

S http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/

S 4 July 1776: Declaration of Independence from England

– King George III

S American War of Independence: 1776 – 1783

S Articles of Confederation (the first federal constitution):

written in 1778 and ratified in 1781.

S Neither federal courts nor a president, and the single

chamber of Congress had no way to enforce its laws.

S Individual states could and did ignore federal laws with

impunity. U.S. Constitution ratified in 1788.

Founding of the U.S. Legal

System

Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of

the U.S. Constitution empowers

Congress:

S To promote the Progress of Science

and useful Arts, by securing for limited

Times to Authors and Inventors the

exclusive Right to their respective

Writings and Discoveries.

Intellectual Property (IP) Law

S Trademarks

S Copyrights

S Patents

S Service Marks

Louisiana Purchase from

France (1803)

What are the top 10

languages spoken in the

USA?http://arcgis.mla.org/mla/default.aspx

Most Spoken Languages in

U.S.50 Million People Speak Languages other than English

1. English (216 M)

2. Spanish (40 M)

3. Chinese (3 M)

4. French (incl. Cajun, Patois)

5. German

6. Tagalog

7. Vietnamese

8. Italian

9. Korean

10. Russian

11. Polish

12. Portuguese

13. Japanese

14. French (Creole – Haiti)

Native Languages in the

USA

La Poblacion Hispana en los

Estados Unidos

And the pursuit of

happiness…

S Travel: road trips, hotel/motel, camping, beaches, mountains,

lakes, deserts, forests, rivers, National Parks, state parks…

S Music, Film, and the Arts: live music, cinemas, museums,

photography, dance, literature, poetry – arts in the schools.

S Sports: Professional, collegiate, amateur, high school,

children’s (little) leagues.

S Family & Friends: dinners, picnics, reunions, BBQs, ‘get

togethers’, games, weddings, b-day parties, funerals,

anniversaries.

S Volunteering: schools, hospitals, urban centers,

environment…

Americans love the open

road…

Eisenhower Interstate

System

S Championed by President Dwight

Eisenhower in the 1950s.

S Authorized by the Federal Aid Highway

Act of 1956.

S Total over 46,876 miles (75,440 km):

tunnels, bridges, overpasses, exit/entry

ramps.

S Total cost was over $450 billion, making it

the largest public works project in history.

Air travel is also very

popular…

Air Transportation in the

USA

S 17 of the world’s 30 busiest airports are in the USA (Atlanta is the world’s

busiest – with over 92 million passengers in 2011 = 252,000 passengers

daily).

S 12 of the world’s 30 busiest airports in terms of cargo (Memphis is the

world’s busiest – FedEx HQ).

S There are over 200 domestic passenger and cargo airlines and many

U.S.-based international carriers (American, Delta, United, and US

Airways the most notable).

S Over 5,000 paved runways are utilized in the USA.

S Many local, regional, and budget airlines fly to even the smallest of towns

and cities.

S Major air transport bi-coastal hubs for Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean

destinations as well as the Southern Hemisphere.

National Park Service (NPS)http://www.nps.gov/index.htm

Yosemite National Park

Music in the USA:

S What are some of the types (genres) of

music that you associate most with the

USA?

S Can you name some singers and/or

musicians from the various genres?

Music in the USA:

S Jazz

S Blues

S Rock N’ Roll

S Classical

S Rap

S Hip Hop

S Gospel

S Popular (Pop or Top 40)

S Rhythm & Blues

S Soul

S Folk

S Country & Western

S Latin (Cuba, Mexico, DR)

S Traditional (Zydeco in Louisiana)

American Music

S The U.S. has the world’s largest music industry and

its music is heard and influences other music all

around the world.

S The long history of immigration in the USA has

greatly influenced our music. Native Americans,

Europeans, Africans, and Asians contributing

notably to the ‘melting pot’ that is American Music.

S Eclectic and diverse are the two best words to

describe American music.

Live Music

Media & Pop Music

S Media outlets like MTV have

spread American popular

music around the world.

S Internationally popular music

groups tour the world and

sometimes are more popular

abroad than in the USA.

S Internet radio stations, iTunes,

and file-sharing sites allow us

to sample the diverse music of

USA.

JAZZ:America’s One Truly Original Art Form

New Orleans, Louisiana

Festivals like Mardi Gras

Learn more about New Orleans &

Louisiana:

S WWOZ (Jazz, blues, funk - radio station available online)

http://www.wwoz.org/

S New Orleans Online

http://www.neworleansonline.com/

S Louisiana Tourism

http://www.louisianatravel.com/

S New Orleans Jazz Festival

Public & Private Museums

S Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, is the

nation’s landmark museum, educational, and

research institute – funded completely by the U.S.

Government. There are 19 museums and galleries

and the national zoo in DC which are part of

Smithsonian.

S Many museums and arts institutes were endowed by

philanthropic gifts from some of America’s wealthiest

families, including: John Rockefeller, Andrew

Carnegie, Walt Disney, George Soros, Henry Ford,

Bill Gates, Andrew Mellon, Warren Buffett, Paul

Newman, Oprah Winfrey… etc…

Air & Space Museum

Theme & Adventure Parks

Disney Theme Parks

Hollywood, California

S Hollywood is an area (neighborhood) of Los Angeles.

S All major U.S. film studios are located in or near Los Angeles – but most are owned by companies based on the East coast.

S Hollywood is the largest film industry in terms of revenue but Bollywood produces the most feature-length films in the world.

S Largest studios: Paramount (Viacom); Warner Bros. (Time Warner); Columbia (Sony); Walt Disney; Universal (GE); 20th Century Fox (News Corp.).

Multiplex & Cineplex

Art House Cinemas

Sports in the USA:

S Can you name the most popular sports in

the USA?

S Do you know the names of some of the

professional and amateur sports’ leagues

in the USA?

Most popular professional

sports:

S Football (American football) – National Football League (NFL). 32

teams. Averages over 67,000 fans per game. Fall/Winter.

S Baseball (America’s past time) – Major League Baseball (MLB). 30

teams (1 in Canada). Spring/Summer/Fall.

S Basketball – National Baskeball Association (NBA). 30 teams

(one in Canada). NBA players are the highest paid pro athletes in

the world (by average salary per year). WNBA.

S Soccer (Football) – Major League Soccer (MLS). 19 teams (3 in

Canada).

S Ice Hockey – National Hockey League (NHL). 30 teams (7 in

Canada). Has players from over 20 different countries.

Winter/Spring.

Other popular pro sports:

S Golf – Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA & LPGA).

S Tennis: United States Tennis Association (USTA).

S Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) – National Association of Stock Car Racing.

S Wrestling: World Wrestling Federation (WWF). ‘Professional’ athletes; combination of athletics and dramatic performance.

S Rodeo: Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the highest paying rodeo organization in the world and sanctions rodoes in 37 U.S. states and 3 Canandian provinces.

Amateur, collegiate & high

school sports:

S NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). Very

popular college & university level sports. The 20 largest

stadiums in the USA are NCAA university stadiums.

S High School Athletics: Very popular and competitive.

Depending on the school – all major sports

representatives including rugby, lacrosse, tennis,

wrestling, swimming, etc. Most high schools have large

stadiums, practice fields, swimming pools, etc.

S Little Leagues: Every town and city has organized leagues

for all the major sports. Especially popular are soccer,

baseball, basketball, softball, and American football.

LSU Stadium – Baton Rouge,

LouisianaSeating capacity of 92,542 (10 in NCAA; 17 in world).

Volunteering

S Americans are proud of their history of

volunteering and helping others in need.

S Can you name any American volunteer

organizations? Do you see any volunteers in

this room?

S What are some major volunteer organizations in

Costa Rica?

International & Domestic

S Peace Corps

S AmeriCorps

S Volunteers of America (VOA)

S Habitat for Humanity

S Rotary International

S Thousands of opportunities on campuses around the USA.

Religion in America

S The USA is one of the most religious countries in the world

– over 85% of Americans consider themselves ‘religious’.

S This greatly affects how, where, and with whom many

Americans seek leisure activities.

S Church, temple, mosque, choir, youth, mission and other

activities are very popular.

S What are the major religions represented in the USA?

Hopscotch (Rayuela)

SHopcotch: Travel, Culture, Life

Swww.facebook.com/rayuelando

STwitter: @Rayuelando

Useful websites:

S http://www.si.edu/

S http://www.livescience.com/28945-american-culture.html

S http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/United-States-of-America.html

S https://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472033041-101AmerCult.pdf

S http://www.edupass.org/culture/

S http://www.internationalstudentguidetotheusa.com/articles/culture.htm

Muchas Gracias!

Many Thanks!