A research series by MaiMai
MaiMai's World Desk
The research corner where I prepare every family adventure. Observations on how different countries live, work, learn, and solve problems. For teens, teachers, and curious families.
✓ Non-partisan · ✓ Classroom-ready · ✓ Ages 13–18 · ✓ Official sources linked for every comparison
Start exploringWhy World Desk exists
In MaiMai's fictional family world, cultural adventures with Roly and Bobo inspire questions a travel guide cannot answer. How do people actually live? What policies shape their lives? Why might families in Sweden and the United States have different experiences? MaiMai's World Desk brings those questions to older kids, teachers and curious families. The character scenes are imagined teaching prompts; the newly authored policy research uses named public sources. Read it to investigate institutions and tradeoffs, not to rank people or replace current professional advice.
World Desk isn't about opinions. It's about observations — what countries actually do, how they got there, and what the tradeoffs look like. Every entry includes sources so you can dig deeper. Every topic ends with questions to think about, not answers to memorize.
— MaiMai
Current Series
The World Compared
How different countries handle the policies that shape teen futures. Minimum wage, parental leave, university costs, voting age, healthcare, and more.
6 entries · Updated regularly
Explore the series →Minimum Wage Around the World: What Teens Should Check in 10 Countries
Compare ten countries' wage-setting rules, with dated benchmarks, teen-rate qualifications, U.S. state examples and Denmark's bargaining model.
Parental Leave by Country: Sweden's 480 Days and the U.S. Federal Paid-Leave Gap
Compare ten countries' time-off rights and parental benefits: Sweden's shared days, eligibility, and why no universal U.S. federal paid guarantee does not mean zero leave.
Vacation Days by Country: Comparing Paid Leave Without Miscounting
Compare ten countries' annual-leave rules, including France's five weeks and the U.S. federal baseline, without mixing day definitions or unsupported averages.
University Costs Worldwide: Germany's Low-Tuition Model and the Real U.S. Price
Compare ten study destinations and separate tuition from total costs: Germany is not free for everyone, and US$300,000 is not a universal American price.
Voting Age Around the World: Where 16-Year-Olds Vote (and Where They Don't)
Compare nine voting jurisdictions, from Austria and Brazil to Scotland and Japan, while separating election levels, citizenship and registration.
Healthcare Systems Compared: What Happens When You Get Sick in 10 Countries
Compare ten healthcare frameworks, including Canada's resident insurance and visitor costs, without assuming universal coverage means free care for everyone.
Coming soon to World Desk
Behind the Headlines: How News Works in Different Countries
Coming in 2027
Business Cultures: Why Work Looks Different Around the World
Coming in 2027
Growing Up Elsewhere: What Teen Life Looks Like in 10 Countries
Coming in 2027
Who this is for
For Teens
Understand how your future could look different in other countries. Perfect for AP classes, college prep, debate team, Model UN, and future planning.
For Teachers
Classroom-ready research for AP Comparative Government, Model UN, world cultures, civics, and business classes.
For Families
Dinner-table conversation starters your teens will actually engage with.
Where World Desk meets family adventures
Every World Desk entry includes a Family Discussion section where Roly (age 10) and Bobo (age 12) weigh in on what I researched. The best way to understand a complex topic is to explain it to someone younger. Teens who use World Desk often become the explainers in their own families — the one who helps a younger sibling make sense of a news story.
Our family's adventures start at this desk. The research is what makes every WonderLens Goggles trip feel real. MaiMai, Roly, and Bobo are fictional characters; their conversations are teaching prompts, not reported evidence.
Meet MaiMai, Roly, and Bobo →