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$0.12 per Gallon of Gas in Venezuela!

Jul 01 | 0 comments | interesante

American gas prices have never been so high and I, along with many other Americans, are stuck driving in a SUV with a twenty-some gallon tank that only takes premium gasoline.

Yesterday, I spent $4.29 per gallon. Let’s do the math: $4.29 a gallon multiplied by a twenty-three gallon tank equals $98.67 per tank of gas. I drive around 275 miles a week for work so I have to refuel weekly: multiply $98.67 by four and I get a sum too large to fathom. Sadly, I am more of an average case rather than a special exception. Americans make up less than five percent of the world’s population but own over one third of the automobiles. Thus, I have decided to move to Caracas, Venezuela-the world’s fifth largest oil exporter-where gas is a mere $0.12 a gallon.

Why So Low, Venezuela?

Think about paying only $.13 per gallon of gas! Unthinkable to Americans but a reality to the very few Venezuelans who own cars (around 53% of Venezuelans are poverty-stricken). But this cheap gas comes with a different kind of price. Latin American countries have been privatizing their petroleum industry since the early 1900’s–this is why the prices are so low. Through privatization, these countries hoped to attract much-needed investment capital, increase GDP and introduce free market economic reforms but much of the reforms have failed to live up to their promises. Many other Latin American countries that have a natural abundance of oil as well, including Ecuador and Bolivia. Together, these countries are affectionately referred to as “Petrocracies:” oil-rich countries inhabited by poor citizens.

Country	Price per gallon USD
Spain	$8.10
Peru	$6.09
Uruguay	$6.06
Chile	$4.81
Columbia	$4.05
Honduras	$4.05
Brazil	$3.12
Cuba	$3.03
Nicaragua	$2.61
Argentina	$2.40
Mexico	$2.35
Panama	$2.19
Puerto Rico	$1.74
Venezuela	$0.12

Note Spain’s high gasoline price. Although the price of raw gas is about the same for both the U.S. and European countries, the tax on gasoline is much higher in Europe (France leads with a 70% gas tax). Also, note the difference in gas price between Venezuela and another listed Latin American country. Oil barren Uruguay’s gas price is 5,050% greater than Venezuela’s gas price. Even Puerto Rico’s low $1.74 per gallon price is still 1,450% greater than Venezuela’s paltry $0.12!

Top 100 Spanish Words People Really Want to Know

Jun 09 | 2 comments | interesante

Top Ten Words

As Shakespeare said, brevity is the soul of wit. It’s also the soul of the top 10 most searched for words on SpanishDict.com. People want to know the basics of the Spanish language, like how to say “to”, “you”, “a”, and “are”. These are the building blocks and appeared most frequently in the more than 10 million searches from SpanishDict.com analyzed for this post.

But what may be more surpising, is how frequently “love” is searched for. Not only does it come in as the number 3 most searched for term, it also makes an appearance at number 68 with the phrase “I love you”. Perhaps Spanish is the language of love?

Looking at the instances of profanity, however, maybe not. Numbers 28 and 44 reveal people’s desires to use the foul side of the Spanish language.

Friendly and complimentary words also appear on the list. People want to know how to say “fun” (#29) and “beautiful” (#35), “good” (#38) and “happy” (#49).

People also search for some of the essentials in life: “people” (#78), “food” (53), “work” (#58), “dog” (#79), and let’s not forget “sleep” (#98).

Take a look through the list below. What surprises you most about what people search for? You can share your thoughts in the comments.

English Word	Spanish Translation	Searches
1. to	1. a	25011
2. you	2. tú	19803
3. love	3. el amor	18171
4. a	4. un, una	15935
5. are	5. eres/estás	15069
6. was	6. fui, fue	13595
7. the	7. el, la, los, las	12737
8. have	8. tener	12297
9. is	9. es, está	11792
10. me	10. yo, mi, me	11591
11. on	11. en	11440
12. I	12. yo	11408
13. it	13. lo, la, le	11358
14. this	14. este, esto, esta	11140
15. do	15. hacer	11052
16. like	16. gustar	10840
17. that	17. ese, que	10808
18. my	18. mi, mis	10760
19. for	19. por, para	10602
20. from	20. de, desde	10045
21. about	21. acerca	9900
22. go	22. ir, marchar	9813
23. at	23. a, en, arroba	9679
24. will	24. voluntad	9438
25. what	25. qué	9401
26. of	26. de, ante	9350
27. get	27. conseguir, recibir	9335
28. fu**	28. joder	9297
29. fun	29. deversión	8973
30. so	30. así, tan	8917
31. your	31. su, tu, vuestro	8873
32. also	32. también	8676
33. want	33. querer	8582
34. take	34. tardar	8378
35. beautiful	35. bello, bonito	8289
36. with	36. con	8103
37. can	37. la lata, poder	8092
38. good	38. bueno	8092
39. there	39. allí, allá	8085
40. play	40. jugar, tocar	8069
41. hello	41. hola	8010
42. see	42. ver	7978
43. when	43. cuando	7862
44. b**ch	44. perra, chucha	7834
45. come	45. venir	7774
46. in	46. en	7761
47. how	47. cómo	7734
48. by	48. cerca	7688
49. happy	49. alegre, feliz	7392
50. help	50. la ayuda, ayudar	7098
51. leave	51. dejar, irse	7054
52. miss	52. errar, señorita, echar de menos, extrañar	7004
53. food	53. la comida, el alimiento	6931
54. after	54. después	6793
55. find	55. encontrar	6760
56. meet	56. encontrarse	6760
57. and	57. y, e	6667
58. work	58. trabajar	6627
59. become	59. llegar a, ser	6591
60. make	60. hacer	6573
61. son	61. el hijo	6500
62. know	62. conocer , saber	6413
63. then	63. duración, tiempo, hora	6391
64. time	64. el tiempo	6388
65. has	65. tiene	6180
66. nice	66. agradable	6175
67. need	67. la necesidad	6150
68. i love you	68. te quiero, te amo	6111
69. to try	69. intentar	6016
70. how are you?	70. cómo está usted, cómo estás	5985
71. some	71. algunos , algunas	5972
72. learn	72. aprender	5957
73. stop	73. ¡alto!, parar	5900
74. but	74. pero, sino	5876
75. as	75. como, si	5863
76. show	76. mostrar	5807
77. eat	77. comer	5806
78. people	78. la gente, el pueblo	5679
79. dog	79. el perro	5638
80. look	80. ver	5570
81. would	81. condicional	5520
82. watch	82. el reloj, mirar	5498
83. stay	83. quedarse	5468
84. hot	84. caliente	5463
85. only	85. sólo	5462
86. be	86. estar, ser	5426
87. next	87. próximo	5407
88. give	88. dar	5348
89. no	89. no	5311
90. sexy	90. sexual, atractivo	5237
91. think	91. pensar	5208
92. all	92. todo, todos	5206
93. because	93. porque	5121
94. enjoy	94. disfrutar	5023
95. still	95. todavía, aún	4932
96. we	96. nosotros	4932
97. where	97. donde	4882
98. sleep	98. dormir	4867
99. lunch	99. el almuerzo	4826
100. sorry	100. lo siento	4783