Back To School

Amir, 15

Music:

I like hip hop, R’n’B and reggaeton. I listen to it at home, or in school, on my new cell phone.

Who I admire in life:

My brother because I live with him, because he takes care of me. My dad and my step mum moved to Egypt, and they’re still there, so until they come back I’m living with my brother.

What I want to be when I grow up:

Computer technician.

What I did this summer:

Hung out with friends. Went swimming.

My plans for the fall:

Get my grades up. Because I lived in Egypt for six months I missed out on a lot of stuff.

Sara, 15

Who I admire in life:

My mum, because she never gets tired.

What I want to be when I grow up:

I want to become a journalist, like my sister.

How will you go about that?

I’m going to go to journalist school, but I know that’s not what’s going to get me a job. Every journalist I ever talked to tells me their education has had nothing to do with it. I’m just going to help out wherever I can.

What I did this summer:

I was in Morocco, meeting relatives.

Local wisdom:

I can undo my bra with one hand!

Rano, 11

Music:

Hip hop, Persian music. If I want to hear new music I’ll listen to MTV, or friends will give me mix CDs.

What I want to be when I grow up:

I want to be a judge. I watch Court TV every day. Sometimes when people have been thieving, they need to make things right, and that’s where the judge comes into the picture. I know it will require a lot of studying, but I want to help people stop being thieves.

What bothers me about adults:

Hmmm… they’ll make me read a lot.

Why does that bother you?

It doesn’t, I love reading.

Ida-Vera, 11

Who I admire in life:

Beyoncé. Her voice is so good, and she’s so pretty.

What I want to be when I grow up:

I want to be a greater singer than Beyoncé.

What I did this summer:

We got a dog! But then we had to sell it. My brother was too young and didn’t understand that he hurts the dog if he hits it, so it could have been dangerous for him. It was very sad.

Local wisdom:

If you’re good you’ll get a higher allowance. If you’re bad you’ll get minus points, and that will lower your allowance. I have experienced that first hand…

Halima, 11

What I want for my birthday:

My birthday was in March. I got money, but I already have enough to buy what I want.

What is it?

A bunny rabbit. We had one before so I’m pretty sure I’ll be allowed to get one again.

Who I admire in life:

Like someone I want to be like? I don’t know, I just want to be like me I guess.

What I did this summer:

I went to the Tivoli. The Voice was the most fun, you sit in pairs and spin around.

Local wisdom:

Like tricks? You know what has a lot of tricks in it? Mathematics!

Mario, 9

What I want to be when I grow up:

Football player. Videogame geek. Restaurant owner.

Favourite TV show:

“Hey Baberiba!” Carl-Philip is the BEST! He’ll say, “Oh, this makes my sack tingle,” when he goes on an amusement park ride that isn’t even two meters high.

What I did this summer:

I was in Italy visiting my grandma. She’s going to get a dog this fall. I don’t know if I’ll get to name it, but if I did I would name it Mario II.

Don’t you think it’s going to be a problem when she calls you?

Nah, she can just go “Mario twooo!”

Michelle, 12

What I want to be when I grow up:

I kind of want to be a lawyer, but it’s a lot of work getting there. It’s a good job, and it pays good money. I want to get rich. When I’m rich I’ll buy a big house where me, my boyfriend and our kids can live.

What I did this summer:

I hung out with my friends and my boyfriend, at his place. He lives 45 minutes away, by bus, but that doesn’t bother me AT ALL. It bothers my mum though, because I’ll ask her to drive me.

Local wisdom:

If you spend too much time with one guy you’ll learn things about them that maybe you didn’t want to know.

Jennifer, 11

Music:

I really like Green Day. Some friends of mine played it in their room and I went “Wow this is really good!” The music is fast and fun.

What I want to be when I grow up:

I want to be an actress or a singer, because I’m always singing! I’m in music school, and I got to sing on TV once. I was picked picked to sing alongside a famous Swedish idol called Darin.

What I did this summer:

I went to summer camp.

Local Wisdom:

If you stay late at the youth centre, you’ll get sandwiches for free, or almost free.