June 2012 - Ramallah Friends Schools
June 2012 - Ramallah Friends Schools
June 2012 - Ramallah Friends Schools
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Children Without Borders<br />
A Joint Magazine/Majjalah Published by the Students of Park Day School<br />
in Oakland, California and The <strong>Friends</strong> School in <strong>Ramallah</strong>, Palestine<br />
Issue 10 <strong>June</strong> <strong>2012</strong><br />
Note to our Readers<br />
Park Day School, Oakland, California<br />
this issue marks the 10th anniversary of Children Without Borders, a joint magazine between the<br />
students of Park Day School in Oakland, California and The <strong>Friends</strong> School in <strong>Ramallah</strong>, Palestine.<br />
It seems incredible now to remember back to 2002, in the aftermath of rising anti-Muslim and<br />
anti-Arab sentiment in American following 9/11, when two students from PDS requested help in<br />
creating a magazine with children in an Arab country. They believed that if American children had an<br />
opportunity to connect with Arab children and get to know them, the former would grow up with a<br />
more open heart and mind to question stereotypes they encountered.<br />
The children, through their interviews, their stories and poetry, through their art and through the<br />
process of putting together each issue of the magazine have come to learn something about their<br />
similarities and their differences and to appreciate the diversity that is expressed in the product of<br />
their labor. They are able to experience the satisfaction of contributing to something larger, worldlier.<br />
There is a sense of empowerment at being able to take action to promote peace and understanding in<br />
the world.<br />
We thank the children for sharing their<br />
stories, the staff at Park Day School, our<br />
graphic designer, Dickie Magidoff, as well<br />
as Fred Schwartz and Cherlyn Oto, and<br />
Farouk Barzin of Green Copy for their support<br />
and contributions.<br />
Special thanks to Stephanie Cole at<br />
the <strong>Ramallah</strong> <strong>Friends</strong> School and the children<br />
of the <strong>Friends</strong> School for their commitment<br />
to the magazine project.<br />
The energy and enthusiasm that the<br />
children bring to this project each week<br />
gives us hope for the future.<br />
Thank you.<br />
Mona Halaby, Suzie McLean and Cathy Shields<br />
Park Day School of Oakland, California
Note to Reader<br />
<strong>Friends</strong> School Introduction<br />
what is it like to go to school in California? Do kids play soccer in Oakland? Do they have a big<br />
playground? Do the kids know how to speak Arabic? Do their teachers speak English? Do kids<br />
there like falafal and hummos? Do they live in apartments or houses?<br />
These questions and more were all things we discussed as the students at <strong>Friends</strong> Girls School in<br />
<strong>Ramallah</strong> worked on their parts of Children Without Borders and “met” their partners from Park Day<br />
School.<br />
Children Without Borders prompts our students to consider a world outside their own, looking past<br />
differences and seeing common ground. The wall disappears between them and they express themselves<br />
with no inhibition or prejudice. They go above the adult world of politics and see a common<br />
future as a new generation in the world—hopeful, happy and free.<br />
It has been my pleasure to work this school year with the Children Without Borders team on the<br />
tenth anniversary issue of this unique publication. Our 4th, 5th and 6th grade students have enjoyed<br />
writing articles, making acrostics, taking photos, and responding to the interview questions from Park<br />
Day School students. I would like to<br />
recognize the efforts of my English<br />
Department colleagues for their<br />
assistance with this project.<br />
We greatly appreciate Park Day<br />
School’s continued engagement<br />
with <strong>Ramallah</strong> <strong>Friends</strong> Girls School.<br />
Our students are eager to continue<br />
to reach out and learn about the<br />
day-to-day lives of the students in<br />
Oakland, California.<br />
Happy 10th year, Children<br />
Without Borders!<br />
Stephanie Cole, Academic Head,<br />
<strong>Ramallah</strong> <strong>Friends</strong> School<br />
<strong>Friends</strong> School of <strong>Ramallah</strong>, Palestine<br />
Children Without Borders 2
working on the magazine
Acrostic Poems
these acrostic poems are meant to be introductions before the kids from each school send their<br />
interview questions to the other. Using the initial letters in their name, each student created a poem<br />
describing themselves to their new penpals.<br />
Park Day School<br />
lollipop lover<br />
unique<br />
laughable<br />
awesome<br />
Lula Coldiron, Grade 5<br />
super Awesome<br />
totally Cool<br />
energetically Energetic<br />
lOL<br />
loco<br />
amazingly Owly<br />
Stella Strader, Grade 5<br />
spelling lover<br />
awesome friend<br />
math lover<br />
intelligent<br />
a drawing lover<br />
Samia Nelson, Grade 4<br />
soccer<br />
yells loud<br />
loves ice cream<br />
vaughn is one of my best friends<br />
i like cupcakes<br />
acting is fun<br />
Sylvia Barmack, Grade 4<br />
supper<br />
outstanding<br />
funny<br />
intelligent<br />
also I LOVE soccer<br />
Sofia Sani, Grade 5<br />
totally loves moose and parkour<br />
ostriches are really scary<br />
being happy!<br />
yaks are awesome!<br />
Toby Darci-Maher, Grade 5<br />
soccer<br />
optimistic<br />
never not liking alphasmarts<br />
i like acting<br />
awesome<br />
Sonia McCollum, Grade 4<br />
yogurt is my least favorite dairy<br />
um, I am awesome!<br />
kind<br />
interested in dance<br />
Yuki Koch, Grade 4<br />
Children Without Borders 5
moo!<br />
awesome<br />
totally cool beans<br />
totally weird<br />
insane for pandas<br />
easily excitable<br />
Mattie Hollenbach, Grade 5<br />
platypuses are cool<br />
artistic<br />
others are awesome<br />
loves nature<br />
almost always reading<br />
Paola Giron-Carson, Grade 5<br />
mammal<br />
independent<br />
yellow is not my favorite color<br />
apple pie is yummy<br />
Miya Kutchins, Grade 5<br />
passionate<br />
animal lover<br />
really loves owls<br />
krazy<br />
excited<br />
really happy most of the time<br />
Parker Reinheimer, Grade 5<br />
not a moose but I wish I was<br />
i like to do parkour<br />
care about stuffed animals<br />
over excited about bunnies<br />
likes moose and platypus<br />
artistic<br />
Nicola van Moon, Grade 5<br />
olive eyes<br />
loves to read<br />
interested in many things<br />
very fun<br />
ideas pop in to her mind all the time<br />
artistic<br />
Olivia Talley, Grade 5<br />
i like cake<br />
dinosaurs are so cool<br />
awesome<br />
ridiculous<br />
optimistic<br />
silly<br />
energetic<br />
Ida Rose Chabon, Grade 5<br />
super cool brother<br />
acting is awesome<br />
dog lover<br />
intelligent<br />
excited about going to Australia to see my<br />
family.<br />
Sadie Ellis-Caleo, Grade 4<br />
Children Without Borders 6
silly<br />
awesome<br />
marine enthusiast<br />
Sam Lopez, Grade 5<br />
jazzy<br />
artistic<br />
kicks soccer balls<br />
energetic<br />
Jacob Greenberg-Bell, Grade 5<br />
clarifies things<br />
loves dogs<br />
also likes rats<br />
ridiculously funny<br />
absolutely extravagant<br />
Clara Hollowgrass, Grade 5<br />
loveable<br />
easy going<br />
intelligent<br />
likeable<br />
awesome<br />
Leila Mottley, Grade 4<br />
energetic<br />
marvelous<br />
makes lots of jokes<br />
epic guitarist<br />
totally loves sports<br />
Emmet Burk, Grade 5<br />
likes Parkor<br />
invincible<br />
awesome<br />
monster Man<br />
Liam Cunningham, Grade 5<br />
happy<br />
artistic<br />
yay hedgehogs<br />
loves root beer<br />
enthusiastic<br />
yippy, Blue<br />
lovely<br />
unique<br />
crazy cool<br />
yo!<br />
Lucy Pierce, Grade 5<br />
Hayley Ross, Grade 5<br />
half-man, half-bear and half-pig<br />
energetic!!!!!!!<br />
never hates sports<br />
really artistic<br />
yes, I am single!<br />
laughing!<br />
unique!<br />
crazy Creative!<br />
yo dude!<br />
Lucy Swinson, Grade 5<br />
Henry Smith, Grade 5<br />
Children Without Borders 7
<strong>Ramallah</strong> <strong>Friends</strong> School<br />
artistic<br />
young<br />
adventurous<br />
happy<br />
Ayah Ghozzi, Grade 4<br />
modern<br />
innocent<br />
clever<br />
happy<br />
eager<br />
lively<br />
Michel Masaad, Grade 4<br />
funny<br />
artistic<br />
dark<br />
industrious<br />
Fadi Shihadeh, Grade 4<br />
gabrielle<br />
animal<br />
bright<br />
rice<br />
igloo<br />
egypt<br />
lean<br />
letter<br />
ear<br />
Gabrielle Nino, Grade 4<br />
adventurous<br />
helpful<br />
magnificent<br />
attractive<br />
delightful<br />
Ahmad Durra, Grade 4<br />
tired<br />
ambitious<br />
little<br />
elegant<br />
excited<br />
nice<br />
Taleen Abdullah, Grade 4<br />
intelligent<br />
young<br />
alert<br />
dark<br />
Iyad Altamimi, Grade 4<br />
yellow<br />
animal<br />
ramallah<br />
apple<br />
Yara Barghouthy, Grade 4<br />
Children Without Borders 8
kangaroo<br />
apple<br />
rabbit<br />
arrow<br />
melon<br />
Karam Al-Deek, Grade 4<br />
sweet<br />
angel<br />
lover<br />
moon<br />
amazing<br />
Salma Amro, Grade 4<br />
lettuce<br />
elbow<br />
elmo<br />
nail<br />
exciting<br />
Leene Zraiq, Grade 4<br />
zebra<br />
english<br />
instruments<br />
nurse<br />
Zein Abu Hijleh, Grade 4<br />
Looking to the Future<br />
in the following articles, two students, one from each school, have spoken from their<br />
hearts, teaching us about the world as they see it. We felt that Yara’s expression of hope<br />
and Sophia’s belief in her ability to change the world spoke eloquently to the goals of this<br />
magazine project.<br />
Children have a lot to teach us. Truly one can believe in a better world with young people<br />
such as the ones we have met at the <strong>Friends</strong> School and here at Park Day.<br />
Mona, Suzie, and Cathy<br />
Children Without Borders 9
Hope for the Future<br />
by Yara Abu Yousef<br />
Grade 6, <strong>Ramallah</strong> <strong>Friends</strong> School<br />
i<br />
am a positive person and I have hope for the future. Even if it’s difficult,<br />
but there is an end in sight where things will be better, then I<br />
have hope.<br />
Yara<br />
When I see kids that are younger than me and they’re working and they don’t go to school<br />
because their parents are farm workers and have no money and they have to work, I have hope<br />
that one day if the occupation ends, their parents will be able to provide for them so they can<br />
go to school. This means that they can work on the land and have control over their lives.<br />
We don’t really have money as a country. Most Palestinians work as farmers. That makes the<br />
land really important to us. It’s the only way parents can provide for children.<br />
When I’m at a checkpoint, I still have hope. I hope that the checkpoint will come down<br />
someday and I’ll be able to go wherever want just like other kids in the world.<br />
When I see the wall and how it divides our citizens and stops people from knowing<br />
their own families, I still have hope. I see the campaigns against the wall and have hope<br />
that it will one day be torn down.<br />
When I hear kids talking about Israel and say wrong facts, I still have hope that in the<br />
future kids from Palestine and from Israel become friends and not stay enemies forever<br />
because of an occupation. I want them to just talk about it like it’s the history of<br />
a country. I hope they can enter our schools and we can enter theirs. They can learn<br />
things about us and we can learn from them. We<br />
can learn each others’ traditions and that will help<br />
a lot. We can learn about Hanukkah. If kids start<br />
coming here, we can learn more things about the<br />
Jewish religion and they can learn about Islam and<br />
Christianity. Palestine is the only place with three<br />
religions, but if you’re a citizen you’d realize that<br />
people don’t know much about other people.<br />
In America, it seems like it’s easy to have<br />
hope. America is a strong country. People have<br />
rights. No one can come in and take your house.<br />
In America you can go where you want to. You can<br />
see your family and visit places. You don’t have to carry a card with your<br />
identification information all the time. I hope Palestinians can also be like<br />
that one day.<br />
I am a positive person and I have hope for the future. We will<br />
be like other children in the world. One day<br />
we will be friends.<br />
Children Without Borders 10
Looking to<br />
the Future<br />
by Sophia Taylor<br />
Grade 8, Park Day School<br />
Sophia<br />
on the occasion of Tom’s 25th Anniversary as Director of Park Day<br />
hello, my name is Sophia Taylor and I am an 8th grade student here at Park Day<br />
School. I would like to start today by acknowledging Tom Little for 25 years of being<br />
a dedicated director of this school.<br />
Park Day is an amazing and unique community. There is an awareness of the world<br />
at Park that you couldn’t find at any other school. From Care Week, Pride Day, and<br />
Cultures Day, students get to hear stories and learn about the experiences of others,<br />
from the guests that visit. At Park we students have the opportunity to expand our<br />
knowledge and dive deeper into our thoughts. I have always felt encouraged by my<br />
teachers and peers to share my opinions. Park feels open and welcoming. Learning<br />
is something students here love and enjoy.<br />
Our beliefs about education are reflected in the principles this school is built<br />
around. “We believe that it is essential to foster in our students the belief that an<br />
individual can make a difference in the world.” I choose this quote from a letter,<br />
about our school that Tom wrote on the Park Day School website. I really love<br />
this quote because it makes me think about how my actions affect others, and<br />
it makes me feel I have the power to make a change in the world. Park helps<br />
students feel that we can make a difference, big or small, and not to feel<br />
like our opinions don’t count, because of our age. Today I have the honor<br />
of presenting the “Identity and Social Justice Library” that will be placed in<br />
the middle school library, in Tom’s name. Students for years to come will<br />
be able to read books about people’s true struggles, that other students<br />
found meaningful and important.<br />
Park Day School is a community in which everyone has a place. Here<br />
at Park we are a diverse group of students, staff, and families. Because<br />
of my time at Park, I’ve gained insight into social justice, a multitude of<br />
cultures, and environmental awareness. Students at Park are taught<br />
to be academically strong, and politically correct. Park is a school that<br />
does more than just tell us what we should know. Along with everything<br />
we are taught, we are given an experience. Whether it’s a trip<br />
to the ropes course, or a week in Costa Rica.<br />
Children Without Borders 11
interviews
Toby Darci-Maher Interviews<br />
Ibrahim Awad<br />
Toby<br />
Ibrahim <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or girl? My<br />
name is Toby. I am a boy.<br />
My name is Ibrahim and I am a boy.<br />
How old are you? When is your birthday? I am<br />
11; my birthday is January 14.<br />
I am 10 years old and my birthday is <strong>June</strong> 6.<br />
Do you have siblings? If so, what are their<br />
name(s)? I have two siblings (both boys) and<br />
their names are Niko (older) and Theo (younger).<br />
Niko is always mean to me. Theo on the other<br />
hand is always nice!<br />
I have two brothers and two sisters. The boys<br />
are Faris and Ameer. The girls are Zeina and<br />
Diana.<br />
Do you have a pet? If so, what is its name? I<br />
have one cat, and three chickens. Their names<br />
are Tara (cat), Redhead, MR. Hoppy, and Checkers.<br />
(Those are all the chickens).<br />
I don’t have a pet, but maybe someday I will.<br />
What is your favorite animal? Do you have one<br />
as a pet? My favorite animal is a moose (me and<br />
my friends call the plural of moose meese, so if<br />
you see meese you know what I mean) and of<br />
course it’s not my pet, it’s a little BIG!<br />
My favorite is the dog, but I don’t have one.<br />
What do you want to do when you grow up?<br />
What do you want to be? When I grow up I want<br />
to help meese by giving them an area where no<br />
one can hurt them at all. Or maybe I will become<br />
a computer programmer like my dad.<br />
I want to be a doctor.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in the snow?<br />
My favorite thing to do in the snow is build snow<br />
forts and sled runs. But I have to say that sled<br />
runs are more fun. Also you can make it go off of<br />
huge jumps!<br />
I like to play with my friends and make a<br />
snowman.<br />
Can you describe a typical day in your life? What<br />
is it like? A typical day in my life goes like this: I<br />
wake up and go to school around 8:30. School<br />
starts at 8:45 but we want to be a little early.<br />
Then I do many things in school that always<br />
change. The only thing that does not change is<br />
that we have recess around 10 and lunch around<br />
11:50. Then I go home and do homework and<br />
what not. Then I have dinner around 7:00. Then I<br />
go to bed around 10:00.<br />
I like Sundays and Fridays because I go to the<br />
soccer club.<br />
What is your favorite topic in school? Do you<br />
sometimes do it out of school? My favorite topic<br />
is math. I think it is fun to figure out formulas so<br />
I do that out of school a lot! It is so fun!<br />
Math and English are my favorite subjects in<br />
school. I study with my father and I talk with my<br />
family in English sometimes.<br />
What do you like to do at your house? What<br />
does it look like? I like to play lots of different<br />
things like “Ascension” which is a game with lots<br />
of cards and coins and such. My house is painted<br />
red and yellow and it has a big yard. It has 1 floor<br />
and 9 rooms and a water tower, which has one of<br />
our bathrooms in it.<br />
I like to play PS3. My house looks like a maze<br />
and it is medium size.<br />
Do you play any sports? If so what are/is they/it?<br />
Do you like it/them? I play soccer and I like it a<br />
lot and I play it in the spring and in the fall. I also<br />
do Parcour, which is an acrobatic sort of sport<br />
that is used for running away from other people!<br />
I am doing the basics but the most advanced<br />
people at Parcour jump from building to building!<br />
Me too, I play soccer. I am so good. I play<br />
matches with many teams, and I play with my<br />
friends.<br />
Children Without Borders 13
Tallulah Coldiron Interviews<br />
Hala Abu Al Tayeb<br />
Tallulah<br />
Hala <br />
What is your name, and are you a boy or a girl?<br />
My name is Tallulah Jamaica Coldiron. I am a girl.<br />
My name is Hala and I’m a girl.<br />
How old are you? When do you celebrate your<br />
birthday? How do you celebrate your birthday?<br />
What gifts would you like to receive? I am 10. My<br />
birthday is May 21, 2001. I usually have a party<br />
with my friends and family, and have dessert.<br />
The dessert I’d like is a jelly filled donut, or a<br />
piece of cake or cookie. For my birthday I would<br />
like to receive a calendar for my room to record<br />
the date and events coming up.<br />
I am 10. My birthday is December 16, 2001. I<br />
usually have a party with my friends and family.<br />
I have my favorite dessert-candy or donuts and<br />
my mother’s yummy cake. For my birthday I<br />
would like to get a camera just for me.<br />
Do you play any sports? If you do, what sports<br />
do you play? I play soccer, tennis, and basketball.<br />
I play all positions in soccer and basketball.<br />
I love sports. I play them a lot in my backyard.<br />
I play soccer on one of the highest teams in<br />
Oakland.<br />
I play basketball, soccer and swimming. I<br />
love sports and I play sports with my friends. I’m<br />
good at basketball. I play basketball on one of<br />
the best teams in <strong>Ramallah</strong>.<br />
What do you do in your spare time? I practice<br />
playing sports in my backyard. I love drawing, so<br />
I often draw in my room, and sometimes even<br />
paint. I have three brothers, so a lot of the time<br />
in the afternoon I play with them. Sometimes I<br />
turn on the music and dance in my room.<br />
I play with my friends and sometimes with<br />
my brother Hareem. I love reading, so I keep<br />
reading books.<br />
What pets do you have? What kinds are they?<br />
What are their names? I don’t have a pet yet, but<br />
I’m getting a male Maltese dog in a few months,<br />
so I’m super excited.<br />
I don’t have a pet either, but I’m getting a<br />
female cat in one month, so I’m super excited.<br />
What is your favorite color, and why? My favorite<br />
color is purple, because it looks like a happy<br />
color. It’s perfect for me, because I’m a happy<br />
person. I also think it’s a pretty color.<br />
My favorite colors are red and blue. I think<br />
they are cool and perfect for me.<br />
Who is your favorite singer or band, and why? My<br />
favorite group is an alternative, light rock group<br />
called Coldplay because they have really good<br />
lyrics to their songs, which are also very catchy<br />
and easy to understand. I have never been to<br />
one of their concerts, but they’re still my favorite<br />
band.<br />
My favorite singer is Michael Jackson. He<br />
died two years ago. His songs make me feel so<br />
happy and powerful. I sing his songs every day.<br />
He is my favorite singer.<br />
What do you like to wear? I like to wear sports<br />
clothes, like shorts, shirts, comfortable sweatshirts,<br />
and running shoes. I don’t like wearing<br />
dresses, because they are too poufy and big for<br />
me. I like wearing more active clothes.<br />
I like to wear sports clothes and jeans. I like<br />
running shoes too, because they are so puffy.<br />
What’s your favorite book? My favorite book is<br />
Grim, which is written by Adam Gidwitz. It’s a<br />
mixed-up story about Hansel and Gretel. It is one<br />
of those books I am able to read over and over<br />
and not get bored with.<br />
My favorite book is Cam Janson. I love it<br />
because it talks about looking for things.<br />
Children Without Borders 14
Where were you born? I was born in London<br />
England. I am both a citizen of the UK and the<br />
United States. Since I was born in London, I can’t<br />
be a U.S. president, which kind of stinks.<br />
I was born in America in California and I am so<br />
sorry for you that you can’t be a U.S. president.<br />
Sylvia Barmack Interviews<br />
Leen Qudsi<br />
Sylvia<br />
Leen <br />
Do you play any<br />
sports, if so which one? I play soccer for Bay<br />
Oaks Soccer Club. This spring I am going to start<br />
playing lacrosse.<br />
I like to play soccer for fun.<br />
Do you have any brothers or sisters? How old<br />
are your brothers and sisters and what are their<br />
names and how old are they? I have one brother<br />
whose name is Max and is eleven years old. My<br />
brother and I get into a lot of fights.<br />
I have one brother whose name is Omar. He<br />
is eight years old. We always play soccer. I have<br />
one sister whose name is Rand. She’s five years<br />
old. We get in many fights.<br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl, and<br />
how old are you? My name is Sylvia and I am a<br />
9-year-old girl.<br />
My name is Leen and I am a 10-year-old girl.<br />
Who is your teacher and what is his/her name?<br />
My teacher is a funny guy named Bob. He is a<br />
really good teacher for me.<br />
My teacher is a good teacher and her name is<br />
Sabira.<br />
When is your birthday and what do you want for<br />
your birthday? My birthday is on September 10th<br />
and I want a laptop computer. I really love my<br />
birthday. Sometimes I have a sleepover and I<br />
always have a dinner at a restaurant.<br />
My birthday is on May 15th and I want PSP. I<br />
love my birthday. We always go to the beach and<br />
eat fish.<br />
Do you have pets, if so what kind? My brother<br />
and I have a snake and ten fish. The snake is<br />
kind of gross to me, because my brother feeds<br />
it rats.<br />
I don’t have any kind of pet.<br />
What grade are you in and how many people are<br />
in your class? I am in 4th grade and there are<br />
18 people in my class. There are 10 girls and<br />
8 boys.<br />
I am in 4th grade and there are 30 people in<br />
my class. There are 18 girls and 12 boys.<br />
What is your favorite type of food? I like rice,<br />
cheese, and bean burritos and pepperoni pizza.<br />
My brother likes the same kinds of food as I do.<br />
My dad does most of the cooking at our house.<br />
I like chicken and pizza. My mother and my<br />
dad always cook chicken and pizza.<br />
Do you play any video game systems, if so what<br />
kind? I play video games a lot. My brother, Max<br />
and I share an X-Box, a Wii, a Gamecube, 2<br />
iPods, 2 DS’, 1 computer, and 1 iPad. My favorite<br />
game is Fifa 10 on the X-Box.<br />
I play video games a lot. Me and my brother<br />
and my sister share 1DS, 1 Play Station, 1 Laptop,<br />
1 computer hard desk, and 1 iPhone. My<br />
favorite game is Temple Run on iPhone.<br />
What are your parents/guardians names? What<br />
are they like? My mom’s name is Catherine and<br />
my Dad’s name is Matt. I love my parents so<br />
much. I live with them and my brother on Forest<br />
Avenue in Berkeley California.<br />
My mom’s name is Bashaer and my dad’s<br />
name is Nahid. I love them a lot. I live with them<br />
in Al-Maysoun in <strong>Ramallah</strong>, Palestine.<br />
Children Without Borders 15
Stella Richards Interviews<br />
Violette Banda<br />
Stella<br />
Violette <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl? My<br />
name is Stella, and I am a girl.<br />
My name is Violette, and I am a girl.<br />
Do you have any brothers or sisters? What are<br />
their names and ages? I have one sister. Her<br />
name is Sylvie and she is 7. I sometimes play<br />
horsey with her. (She likes it when I try to buck<br />
her off.) She can be annoying also.<br />
I have 2 brothers and I don’t have any sisters.<br />
I am the smallest. My biggest brother is name<br />
Rafael. His age is 20. He is special. He always<br />
plays with me. My second brother is 18. This<br />
year is the last year for him in school. He plays<br />
football very well. I always play with him.<br />
How old are you, and when is your birthday?<br />
How do you celebrate your birthday? What gifts<br />
would you like to receive? I am 10. My birthday<br />
is November 14, 2001. I usually celebrate my<br />
birthday by having a party and cake. I would<br />
REALLY like to receive a dog, but it probably<br />
won’t happen.<br />
I am 10. My birthday is December 6, 2001. I<br />
always celebrate my birthday with a party. I have<br />
surprises on that day, plus gifts and a party. My<br />
dream is that someone will give me something<br />
for sports. My mom gave me a ball for the Barcelona<br />
team.<br />
Do you play any sports? I do. I play soccer. I<br />
play defense most of the time. I play on a team<br />
called the Cheetahs. I practice with my team on<br />
Wednesday or Thursday; otherwise I don’t practice<br />
a lot. (I don’t have a big backyard.)<br />
Yes, I do. I play football. I am on my school<br />
team. I always practice at my Grandma’s house<br />
because it has a very big backyard.<br />
What do you do in your spare time? I bike, play<br />
soccer, draw, and do my hair. I put my hair in<br />
ponytails and buns, and sometimes I color it.<br />
I read a story, play football, go to friends’<br />
houses and I also sing. I love to sing.<br />
What is your favorite animal? My favorite animal<br />
is an owl. I have lots of owl things like owl stuffed<br />
animals and owl hats. I love the color of owls’<br />
feathers and they fascinate me in general.<br />
My favorite animals are puppies. I always tell<br />
my mom to buy me one, but she doesn’t like<br />
puppies.<br />
Do you have any pets? What kinds? What are<br />
their names? I don’t have any pets. I have always<br />
wanted a pet. If I did have a pet I would get a dog<br />
and name it Coco.<br />
I had a dog. I named it Lucky. One day he got<br />
sick and died.<br />
What do you want to be when you grow up?<br />
When I grow up I want to be a fashion designer.<br />
My Aunt is a Fashion Designer and she really<br />
inspires me. I like lots of different kinds of fashion.<br />
Do you?<br />
I want to be a businesswoman. Like my big<br />
brother, I like this job because I will have my own<br />
laptop and my bag.<br />
What is your favorite color? My favorite color is<br />
purple because it is pretty and awesome!<br />
My favorite color is also purple because my<br />
name is Violette. It’s the meaning of the purple<br />
flower.<br />
What is your favorite food and why? My favorite<br />
food is ice cream, it is delicious and the best<br />
food ever! I love mint chocolate chip ice cream in<br />
a waffle cone. I usually buy it at Dreyers, an ice<br />
cream place here.<br />
My favorite food is hamburgers. My mom<br />
always makes it for us. When we go to any<br />
restaurant, I will eat a hamburger.<br />
Who is your favorite singer, and why? My favorite<br />
singer is Adele or Justin Bieber. They have great<br />
voices and are great singers.<br />
Children Without Borders 16
My favorite singer is Miley Cyrus. I like her<br />
voice. It’s so awesome!<br />
What are your favorite books? What are they<br />
about? My favorite two books are The Hunger<br />
Games and Out of My Mind. The Hunger Games<br />
is about 12 districts and every year the head of<br />
the city comes and picks a boy and a girl from<br />
each district to fight to the death. It is violent<br />
but an awesome book. Out of My Mind is about<br />
a paralyzed 11 year-old-girl who has a hard life. It<br />
is pretty sad, but amazing.<br />
My favorite book is Cam Jansen. I feel happy<br />
when I read it. It’s so amazing!<br />
Sonia McCollum Interviews<br />
Nuha Zraiq<br />
Sonia<br />
Nuha <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or girl? My<br />
name is Sonia, and I am a girl?<br />
My name is Nuha Zraiq. I am a girl.<br />
Do you have any brothers or sisters? What are<br />
their names and ages? I have 1 brother and 1<br />
sister their names are Raquel and Gabriel, and<br />
they both can be annoying.<br />
I have one brother and one sister. Their<br />
names are Tamer and Natal. They can be very<br />
annoying because my sister is 6 months old and<br />
my brother Tamer is 7 years old.<br />
What grade are you in? What’s your teacher’s<br />
name? How many kids do you have in your<br />
class? I’m in fourth grade. I have 18 kids in my<br />
class and my teacher’s name is Bob, and he’s<br />
really funny.<br />
I am in fourth grade. There are 30 kids in my<br />
class. My teacher is Miss Sabira. She is so nice.<br />
Describe your school to me. My school has a big<br />
playground and it goes from BK to 8th grade. We<br />
have an art room where we do projects; we have<br />
a field where we do sports, which you may call<br />
P.E., and we have the Spanish room where we<br />
learn Spanish, and the music room where we do<br />
music. Is your school big like ours is?<br />
My school has 2 big playgrounds. It goes<br />
from lower kindergarten to 6th Grade. The other<br />
school is <strong>Friends</strong> Boys School and it goes from<br />
Grade 7 to Grade 12 and IB. We have a music<br />
room where we learn about music. We have a<br />
library where we read.<br />
What are your favorite sports? Mine are soccer,<br />
football, baseball, volleyball, basketball, swimming,<br />
tennis, ice- skating, tetherball, etc,<br />
because they’re very fun to watch.<br />
Mine is soccer. It is fun and good.<br />
Do you have a favorite type of music, and why? I<br />
like pop music because I like the way it sounds,<br />
and I like jazz because I like jazzy music.<br />
My favorite is “Shake It Up” by Selena Gomez<br />
What do you like to read? I love to read adventure<br />
stories! Whenever I can I read.<br />
I love to read Junnie B. Jones Stores. They<br />
are fun. Whenever I am alone, I read.<br />
What do you want to be when you grow up? I<br />
want to be a designer like my dad. He builds a<br />
lot of houses, too.<br />
I want to be a doctor. I also want to be a ballerina<br />
because it is fun.<br />
Do you play any sports? Do you play any musical<br />
instruments? Yes I play piano and a little drums.<br />
My downstairs neighbor taught me how to play<br />
the piano and the drums.<br />
Yes. I play piano and I also play a little oud. My<br />
teacher is named Ilona and my ballet teacher’s<br />
name is Katya.<br />
Do you have any pets, if so which kind? What is<br />
your favorite animal? I have four fish and they’re<br />
very active. My favorite animal is a sea horse,<br />
be cause they look really cool with their curved<br />
tail.<br />
Children Without Borders 17
I don’t have any pets, but I have a favorite<br />
animal, a deer because it is colored brown. It has<br />
spots on his back and a long tail.<br />
Sofia Sani Interviews Dara Sabi<br />
Sofia<br />
Dara <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl? My<br />
name is Sofia and I’m a girl. My dad is Iranian and<br />
my mom’s dad is Palestinian and so I am interested<br />
in this magazine project.<br />
My name is Dara, and I am a girl. My dad is<br />
Palestinian and so is mom.<br />
How old are you and when is your birthday? How<br />
do you celebrate your birthday? What gifts would<br />
you like to receive? I am 10 years old and my<br />
birthday is February 11. I usually have a small<br />
party with some of my family friends and then a<br />
bigger party with friends from school. One year,<br />
when I turned 10, I celebrated in San Francisco<br />
by going out to lunch and then having a sleep<br />
over with friends. I really want a dog for my next<br />
birthday. I used to have a dog, but she died last<br />
year.<br />
I’m 11 and my birthday is January 18. I usually<br />
have big parties with my friends. I like to<br />
receive nail polish.<br />
Do you have any brothers or sisters? What are<br />
their names and ages? I have an older sister and<br />
her name is Sahar. She is 14 years old and goes<br />
to high school. She is really nice and we get along<br />
very well. I like reading with her and whenever<br />
we go on vacation, she is especially nice to me.<br />
I have a little brother. His name is Walid. He’s<br />
5 years old.<br />
Do you have any pets? If so what kind? What<br />
is your favorite? I have a cat and his name is<br />
Picasso. My favorite animals are cats, dogs and<br />
horses! I ride horses at a horse barn in Oakland. I<br />
have been riding horses since the summer and I<br />
like a horse named Calico.<br />
I have a blue fish. My favorite animals are<br />
horses, and I go horseback riding in Turmus Aya.<br />
My favorite horse is Tal.<br />
What grade are you in? How many students are<br />
in your class? I am in 5th grade. There are 17<br />
kids in our class. There is another 5th grade at<br />
my school and there are 17 kids in that class as<br />
well. We do sports together.<br />
I am in 5th grade and there are 29 kids in our<br />
class.<br />
What holidays do you celebrate, and why? My<br />
favorite holiday is Christmas and my second<br />
favorite holiday is my birthday! I like Christmas<br />
because I get lots of presents and usually we go<br />
skiing the week before. We put up a Christmas<br />
tree each Christmas and decorate it with my<br />
family.<br />
We celebrate Eid Al Adha and Eid Al Fitre. It’s<br />
a traditional celebration.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in the snow?<br />
I get to play in the snow at a place called Bear<br />
Valley in Northern California. We drive there<br />
usually before Christmas time. I like throwing<br />
snowballs at my sister! I also ski down hills.<br />
Sometimes I make snow angels by lying in the<br />
snow and flapping my arms up and down.<br />
I like to build a snowman and play snow fights<br />
with my neighbors. I also like to make snow<br />
angels.<br />
What kinds of food do you like? I like Mac “n”<br />
cheese. I like it because it is cheesy. I like to<br />
make my Mac “n” Cheese by cooking the macaroni<br />
first and then adding cheese.<br />
My favorite sweet is Um Ali, it’s originally a<br />
Syrian sweet and it’s delicious.<br />
What is your favorite color? Mine is sky blue.<br />
A lot of my shirts are sky blue and I have just<br />
always liked that color.<br />
Green<br />
Children Without Borders 18
Do you play any sports? If you do what is it? I<br />
play soccer on a team called Bay Oaks. I play<br />
mid-field. I have been playing soccer ever since I<br />
could kick a ball.<br />
I play soccer, I swim, and I’m also part of a<br />
Debka group, which is a traditional dance in<br />
Palestine.<br />
Samia Nelson Interviews<br />
Joelle Dahdah<br />
Samia<br />
What is your name? My name is Samia Elena<br />
Nelson.<br />
My name is Joelle Dahdah.<br />
How old are you? I am 9.<br />
I am 9 years old.<br />
Joelle <br />
What is your favorite color? My favorite color is<br />
any shade of purple.<br />
My favorite is red.<br />
Do you have any siblings? If so, what is/are their<br />
names? I have a little sister named Meilin, and<br />
she is 7 years old. I like to skateboard with her.<br />
Yes. I have one sister and two brothers. Their<br />
names are Emily, Gabi, and Khalil.<br />
Do you have any pets? If so, what animal(s) are<br />
they and what are their names? I have a dog,<br />
named Tucker. He is a little more than a year old.<br />
We got him from a breeder named Nacina.<br />
Now I don’t, but we will move to a new<br />
house and we will have a dog. We will call her<br />
Chocolate.<br />
What would a typical Friday at school be like<br />
for you? I arrive at school at 8:45, and we do<br />
monitor jobs. My monitor job is at lunchtime.<br />
Then we have a spelling test. Then we have a<br />
math quiz. Recess is next. Then we work on our<br />
most recent project. Then lunchtime. (That’s<br />
when I do my job.) After lunch, we have an event<br />
where the whole school comes together and<br />
sings some songs. After that, we go back to our<br />
classroom, and have Current Events in which the<br />
Class Leaders report to us about the most recent<br />
happenings. Then it’s room time. Room time, is<br />
when we get to do whatever we like inside our<br />
classroom.<br />
I don’t have school on Friday, so I will tell you<br />
about Thursday. Thursday I don’t study because<br />
after that day comes Friday. I play with my sister<br />
and sometimes I play with my uncle.<br />
Who is/are your best friend(s) and what do you<br />
like to do with them? My best friends are Ellie<br />
and Cecily. We like to jump rope together. We’re<br />
getting pretty good!<br />
My best friend is Zein. I like to play with her.<br />
What’s your favorite subject in school and why?<br />
My favorite subject is spelling because I like to<br />
challenge myself with different words. I also like<br />
Social Studies, because now we’re studying<br />
Japan.<br />
My favorite subject in school is P.E. because I<br />
play football.<br />
What is your favorite dessert? My favorite<br />
dessert is peanut butter cookies, because I like<br />
the taste of peanut butter. I like to help my mom<br />
bake sometimes.<br />
My favorite dessert is chickenburger because<br />
it’s delicious.<br />
What’s your teacher’s name, and what is he or<br />
she like? My teacher’s name is Kris Lee. She is<br />
from Korea, and she is very fun.<br />
My teacher’s name is Maha. She likes to do<br />
fun things.<br />
Children Without Borders 19
Sam Lopez Interviews Omar Khatib<br />
Sam<br />
Omar <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl? My<br />
name is Sam. I am a boy.<br />
My name is Omar Khatib and I am a boy.<br />
How old are you? When is your birthday? What<br />
gifts do you want? I am 11. My birthday is<br />
December 23. I would like a new bike and a<br />
microscope.<br />
I am also 11. My birthday is on the 14th of<br />
November. I actually would like a new bike and a<br />
new wii.<br />
Do you have any brothers or sisters? How old<br />
are they? How annoying are they? I have a sister<br />
named Mimi. She is 9 years old. She is very,<br />
very, very annoying. She always makes me play<br />
the bad guys or the villains in games.<br />
I have one older sister. She is 13 years old.<br />
And she is also like a robot that never stops talking.<br />
She is always bugging me.<br />
What would you like to be when you grow up and<br />
why? I want to be a marine biologist, because I<br />
love the ocean, and I want to help all marine animals<br />
and learn about them.<br />
I have no idea, but maybe just maybe I will be<br />
an engineer.<br />
Describe a typical day in your life. I get up, get<br />
dressed, and eat breakfast. I brush my teeth, put<br />
on my shoes and get driven to school. At school,<br />
we have Morning Meeting, do work, have recess,<br />
do more work, have lunch, do even more work,<br />
do our jobs, have Closing Circle, and go home.<br />
At home I do homework, eat dinner, take a<br />
shower, brush my teeth, read, and go to bed.<br />
Well, a lot happens in one typical day but first<br />
I go to school at 7:00 am and comeback home<br />
and do my homework. On the weekends I go out<br />
with my friends and chill.<br />
What do you like to do in your free time? I like to<br />
read, ride my bike, play Minecraft (a video game)<br />
and watch TV. Minecraft is a game where you<br />
fight monsters, go exploring in caves and build<br />
houses.<br />
I love to play video games and play outside in<br />
the backyard.<br />
What is your environment like? I live in the city,<br />
but we are less than 20 miles from the ocean.<br />
Oakland is a big city and it is hilly.<br />
I also live in the city and it is very far from the<br />
ocean. Palestine is very cool it is never cold and<br />
never hot.<br />
What is your favorite game, and why? My favorite<br />
game is “Manhunt,” which is a lot like tag, except<br />
when you’re tagged you become “It” along with<br />
the person who tagged you. You play until there<br />
is only one person left. I like it because you can<br />
never let your guard down.<br />
My favorite game is kickboxing because it<br />
makes me strong and I feel alive while I am<br />
fighting.<br />
What holidays do you celebrate? Which is your<br />
favorite? I celebrate all the Jewish holidays, but<br />
Hanukah is my favorite because I get presents. I<br />
like it because it is the only holiday that we celebrate<br />
as a family.<br />
I love all Muslim holidays, but my favorite is<br />
Eid Al-Adha because my family gives me money.<br />
What is your favorite animal? Have you ever seen<br />
one? My favorite animal is the green sea turtle.<br />
I saw one in an aquarium. It has a big shell, flippers,<br />
big eyes and I like it.<br />
I love all of the animals, but my favorite is a<br />
shark and I did see one.<br />
Children Without Borders 20
Ida-Rose Chabon Interviews<br />
Jenan Marwan Afaneh<br />
Ida-Rose<br />
Jenan <br />
What is your name? My name is Ida-Rose<br />
Waldman Chabon.<br />
My name is Jenan Marwan Afaneh.<br />
How old are you, when is your birthday, how do<br />
you celebrate your birthday and what gifts do<br />
you want? My birthday is <strong>June</strong> first I was born<br />
in 2001 I am 10 years old. I have a party. My<br />
friends and I talk and eat pizza. We usually do a<br />
craft and watch a movie. I love to get art supplies,<br />
craft sets and clothes.<br />
My birthday is on January 22nd and I was<br />
born in 2001, so I am 11 years old. For my last<br />
birthday I celebrated with my family and they<br />
bought me an iPod Touch.<br />
Do you have any sisters or brothers, if so, what<br />
are their names and how old are they? I have 2<br />
brothers and 1 sister. My sister’s name is Sophie.<br />
She is 17 and the oldest. I am one of the middle<br />
children; it’s me and my older brother Zeke. Zeke<br />
is 14, and Abe, my younger brother, is 8.<br />
I have 1 brother and 1 sister. My brother’s<br />
name is Sanad and he is the oldest. My sister’s<br />
name is Marwah. She is the middle child and I<br />
am the youngest. Sanad is 14 and Marwah is 13.<br />
What is your favorite subject at school and why?<br />
My favorite subject is history, but French and<br />
English history mostly. California does not have<br />
such a cool history, but there are some good<br />
parts. Is there any cool part of history from<br />
where you live? We have “The Great Alcatraz<br />
Escape!” Alcatraz is a jail in the middle of the San<br />
Francisco bay. People take a tour of Alcatraz,<br />
which is said to be haunted. I don’t believe that.<br />
My favorite subject is science, but I also like<br />
English and Arabic. I live in the city of <strong>Ramallah</strong>,<br />
near Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and there is<br />
some cool history. In Jerusalem there is the<br />
“Haram Al-Sharif”, which is crowded with many<br />
buildings of Islamic style. The most important<br />
place is the golden Dome of the Rock where the<br />
Prophet Mohammad is believed to have as cended<br />
to heaven. Also, there is the Church of the Holy<br />
Sepulcher, which we call “Kanist Al-Qiyama.” In<br />
Bethlehem there is a church called “Kaniset Al-<br />
Mahed”, and it’s where Christ was born.<br />
Do you like to draw, if so, why? I love to draw. I<br />
think it’s really fun and it can occupy you for a<br />
really long time. My dad taught me to draw well<br />
and so did my art teacher, Jenny. My favorite<br />
pencil is a Mirado Black Warrior pencil, because<br />
it slides across the paper and is easy to make<br />
small details.<br />
No, I don’t like drawing, but I like other sorts<br />
of hobbies such as reading and playing musical<br />
instruments.<br />
Parker Reinheimer Interviews<br />
Hiyam Ghneim<br />
Parker<br />
Hiyam <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl? My<br />
name is Parker, and I’m a girl.<br />
My name is Hiyam and I’m a girl.<br />
How old are you and when is your birthday? How<br />
do you celebrate your birthday? What would you<br />
like to receive as a gift? I am eleven. My birthday<br />
is on Nov. 3rd. I get to choose how I celebrate.<br />
This year I had a sleepover with my friends. I<br />
have everything I want so I don’t want any gifts.<br />
I am eleven too. My birthday is on July 26th.<br />
Every year I celebrate my birthday in a different<br />
way. Last year I celebrated it on Tenerife Island,<br />
Spain, with my aunts and cousins who threw a<br />
surprise party for me.<br />
Children Without Borders 21
Do you have any brothers or sisters? If so, how<br />
old are they and what are their names? I am an<br />
only child. It’s fun sometimes, but sometimes<br />
when I’m home alone, it’s kind of boring and I<br />
wish I had a sibling to play with.<br />
I have one brother, his name is Fadi and he is<br />
nine years old in the fourth grade. Sometimes<br />
it’s fun, but sometimes he teases me and we<br />
fight, then I wish I was the only child.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in your free<br />
time? I like to draw and type on my typewriter. I<br />
have an electric typewriter and I practice typing<br />
every day.<br />
Sometimes I read, sometimes I write in my<br />
diary, and sometimes I play on my laptop. I also<br />
enjoy cooking with my mom.<br />
What grade are you in? I am in fifth grade. There<br />
are 17 kids in my class, and I really like my<br />
teacher, Alex. He’s really nice and he doesn’t get<br />
mad easily. He’s really good at teaching.<br />
I am in the sixth grade. There are 30 students<br />
in my class, too many compared to your class.<br />
My teacher is Mr. Brian. I like him very much.<br />
He has a sense of humor and he teaches us by<br />
playing games.<br />
What is your favorite animal? My favorite is an<br />
owl, because I think they are cute. My favorite<br />
kinds of owls are snowy owls and elf owls.<br />
I love puppies, they are loyal! Unfortunately<br />
I still don’t have one because my mother is not<br />
ready to have one at home with us. She is a<br />
career woman. She thinks it will need a lot of<br />
care, and in the end it will fall to her and be her<br />
responsibility.<br />
What are your hobbies? I like playing soccer and<br />
reading. Some of my favorite books are The Hunger<br />
Games, and Out of My Mind.<br />
My hobbies are playing soccer too, and I also<br />
like playing the piano.<br />
What would you like to be when you grow up? I<br />
don’t know what I want to be, but I love animals<br />
and kids.<br />
I want to be a teacher because I like to<br />
correct papers, write on the board, and work<br />
with kids.<br />
Who is your idol? Do you look up to anyone?<br />
I don’t have an idol, but I’m working on it. In<br />
soccer, I admire Mia Hamm.<br />
I don’t have one yet either.<br />
What is your favorite food? I like fruits, especially<br />
Hawaiian fruits like lilikoi and rambooton. I also<br />
like lychee, mango, strawberries, pineapple,<br />
blueberries and raspberries, and lots of others.<br />
My favorite food is spaghetti with white sauce<br />
and chicken, yummy!<br />
Paola Giron-Carson Interviews<br />
Daleen Khalili<br />
Paola<br />
Daleen <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl,<br />
and how old are you? My name is Paola. I am<br />
a girl and I am 10. My dad is from El Salvador.<br />
He came to California, because there was a war<br />
going on in El Salvador. My mom was born in<br />
Berkeley, California.<br />
My name is Daleen. I am a girl. I am 11. My<br />
dad is from Palestine (Al Lod). My mom was<br />
born in Kuwait.<br />
Do you have any brothers or sisters, and if so,<br />
what are their names and ages? I have a sister<br />
named Ruby, and she is 7 years old. We like to<br />
play together in the hammock in our back yard.<br />
I have 4 sisters and 3 brothers. They are:<br />
Lena (25 years old), Linda (24 years old), Lana<br />
(23 years old), Dania (15 years old), and the<br />
boys: Mohannad (21 years old), Mohammad (18<br />
years old), Abdallah (11 years old). Abdallah and<br />
I are twins.<br />
Children Without Borders 22
Do you have any pets, and if so, what kind? I<br />
have a pet dog and her name is Alma. She is<br />
an Australian shepherd. She is 14 in human<br />
years (very old). We have a number of fish in our<br />
outside fountain, but we don’t know how many,<br />
because we can’t see them. They might have<br />
been eaten by a raccoon. My sister has a gray<br />
and brown dwarf hamster.<br />
Now I don’t have any pet except my fish, but I<br />
will buy a cat soon.<br />
What is your favorite animal? My favorite animal<br />
is a snow fox because they are very cute and<br />
mysterious.<br />
My favorite animal is a cat because they are<br />
very beautiful.<br />
What grade are you in and how many students<br />
are in your class? I’m in 5th grade and 17 kids<br />
are in my class.<br />
I’m in 5th grade and there are 29 kids in my<br />
class.<br />
Describe your school to me. Our campus is very<br />
big. Most of it is either garden or a place to run<br />
around. We have three main buildings—one is<br />
for Kindergarten through third grade. On the first<br />
floor are Kindergarten, first grade and the<br />
Spanish room for the younger kids. On the<br />
second floor is second and third grade, as well<br />
as Spanish for the upper grades and some<br />
of fices. The fourth, fifth and sixth grades are in<br />
two different buildings right next to each other.<br />
There is also another building for all of the middle<br />
school classes.<br />
Our school is big. We have 4 main buildings,<br />
the first one is for kindergarten, the second one<br />
is for fifth, sixth, and fourth grades. The third<br />
one is for first, second, and third grades. There<br />
is also a building for the teachers’ room and for<br />
the office.<br />
Do you play any sports, or do you play any musical<br />
instruments, and if so which ones? I play<br />
soccer and go rock climbing once a week, but<br />
I don’t play any musical instrument. I practice<br />
soccer once a week and play games on the<br />
weekend. I usually play defense. The name of<br />
my team is the Cheetahs.<br />
I play soccer sometimes at school. I don’t<br />
play any musical instrument either.<br />
What is you favorite thing to do in your free<br />
time? I like to read, because it is relaxing and I<br />
like stories. My favorite books are by Eva Ibbotson.<br />
She writes fiction and most of her books<br />
are fantasy, like, The Secret of Platform 13. But<br />
some of her books are realistic like, Journey to<br />
River Sea.<br />
I like to play on the computer or on the iPad<br />
and sometimes I play with my toys.<br />
Can you describe your home to me? I live in a<br />
purple and blue two-story house. Downstairs in<br />
the front is the living room and the dining room.<br />
Then there is the kitchen and the art room. My<br />
parents have a study, and there is a bathroom<br />
and the hallway. Next to the kitchen are the<br />
stairs to the upstairs. First there is my sister<br />
and my bedroom, then the bathroom and then<br />
my parents’ bedroom. (Our dog sleeps in my<br />
parents’ bedroom.) My garden has a fountain, a<br />
tetherball (which is a game) and a hammock.<br />
I live in a building. My house is not too big. It<br />
has 3 bedrooms and a living room. I sleep in the<br />
same room with my sisters. The boys sleep in<br />
the same room and my parents have their room.<br />
Describe a regular day in your life. First I wake<br />
up in the morning around 7:30. I get ready for<br />
school, and we leave the house around 8:15. We<br />
go to school until 3:00. Then I go back home, do<br />
my homework. After that I do something fun, like<br />
go for a walk, or play jump rope. We have dinner<br />
sometime between 6:45 and 7:00. I go to bed<br />
at 8:30 and read until 9:00.<br />
First I wake up in the morning at 6:30. I get<br />
ready for school. Then I go to school until 2:50.<br />
Then when I come home, I finish my homework.<br />
After that I watch TV, then I play and I go to<br />
sleep at 8:00 or 8:30.<br />
Children Without Borders 23
What do you like to do in the snow? I like making<br />
snow forts and sled runs. I hate snowball fights,<br />
because I hate snow in my clothes. We go to the<br />
snow at lake Tahoe in California.<br />
I like making snowmen, one big and a small<br />
one. Then I play “snow fight” too with my neighbors<br />
and my brother.<br />
Olivia Talley Interviews Loor Amin<br />
Olivia<br />
Loor <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl? My<br />
name is Olivia. I’m a girl.<br />
My name is Loor. I’m a girl.<br />
How old are you? When’s your birthday and how<br />
do you celebrate it? I’m 10 years old and my<br />
birthday is March sixth. I celebrate it by having a<br />
party. I usually have cake and my friends come<br />
over. One year we went to the tactile dome—this<br />
place where it’s completely dark and you have to<br />
find your way around by touch.<br />
I’m 10 years old and my birthday is on<br />
August 15. I celebrate it by having a party. I<br />
always have a cake and I don’t invite my friends<br />
because I am usually in Jordan because I am<br />
traveling.<br />
Do you have any brothers or sisters? What their<br />
names and ages? I have a brother named Kevin.<br />
He’s nine. We get along most of the time, but<br />
sometimes we get in fights.<br />
I have two brothers. One is named Faris, he is<br />
13 years old. The second one is Amer, he is 22<br />
years old.<br />
Do you have any pets? If so, which kind? What<br />
is your favorite animal? I have a cat named Harry<br />
and a fish named Chuck. My favorite animal is<br />
the bald eagle. Sometimes Harry gets a hold<br />
of catnip, and gets really crazy and skittish. We<br />
have a long hallway with wood floors, and he’ll<br />
run back and forth, and when he tries to stop,<br />
he’ll slide another couple of feet. It’s really funny<br />
to watch.<br />
I don’t have any pets, but I like dogs and<br />
guinea pigs.<br />
What grade are you in? How many students<br />
are in your class? I’m in 5th grade. There are<br />
seventeen kids in my class. Our class name is<br />
The Epic Motor Monkeys. My teacher’s name is<br />
Lesley. We call our teachers by their first names.<br />
I am in the fifth grade. My classmates are 29<br />
students.<br />
What are your favorite things to do in your free<br />
time? My favorite things to do in my free time<br />
are reading, drawing, checking my email, hanging<br />
out with friends, and playing soccer. When I<br />
hang out with my friends, we play a chase game<br />
called “Manhunt,” 4-Square (a ball game), chat<br />
or play on the swings. When we play soccer, we<br />
play it on the field at school.<br />
I usually play on the computer, or talk to my<br />
pen pal. I play on the wii and I watch TV. I l may<br />
help my mom.<br />
Do you play any sports or musical instruments?<br />
Which ones? I’m on swim team. My favorite<br />
strokes are Freestyle and breaststroke and I’m<br />
really bad at butterfly. I also play football. My<br />
favorite positions are goalie and left midfield. I<br />
got a guitar and I’m hoping to take lessons soon.<br />
I swim, play basketball, soccer, and tennis. I<br />
play piano. I dance ballet, too.<br />
What would you like to be when you grow up and<br />
why? I’d like to be a rocket scientist because<br />
my grandfather was a rocket scientist and I love<br />
math and science. If I can’t do that, I’d like to be<br />
a writer because I love to read and write.<br />
I’d like to be a doctor because my mom and<br />
dad inspired me to do that and I like to help<br />
people.<br />
What holidays do you celebrate and which are<br />
your favorite? I celebrate Easter, Independence<br />
Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and<br />
New Year’s. My favorite holidays are Christmas<br />
Children Without Borders 24
and Thanksgiving. I like Christmas because I love<br />
decorating the Christmas tree and the house. I<br />
love being with family and seeing other people.<br />
I love Thanksgiving because I get to see family<br />
and there is a lot of good food!<br />
I celebrate Easter, Christmas, Fitr, New<br />
Year’s , Adha and Valentine. I like Easter holiday<br />
because it’s the most fun and we have a lot of<br />
decorations.<br />
What’s the coldest weather you’ve ever been<br />
in? The coldest weather I’ve ever been in is at<br />
school. We have a big commercial kitchen and<br />
there is a walk-in freezer. When I went in there, it<br />
was –8°.<br />
The coldest weather I’ve ever been in was in<br />
my house. It was –1˚C.<br />
What are your favorite activities in the snow? My<br />
favorite thing to do in the snow is sledding. We<br />
usually make a track with jumps and sharp turns<br />
for the sleds. I like to saucer, too. This is a circular<br />
sled that starts you spinning like crazy and<br />
you get a ton of air!<br />
I like to make an angel, snowman and to have<br />
a fight with snowballs.<br />
Nicola van Moon Interviews<br />
Fadi Abu Hummos<br />
Nicola<br />
Fadi <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl, and<br />
how old are you? My name is Nicola. I am a girl<br />
and I am 10.<br />
My name is Fadi. I am a boy and I am 11<br />
years old.<br />
Do you have any brothers or sisters, and if so,<br />
what are their names and ages? I have one older<br />
brother and his name is Oliver. He is 12 years<br />
old. We like to do a parkour class together and<br />
do it around the house sometimes.<br />
I have two sisters named Razan and Raneen.<br />
Razan is 8 years and Raneen is 6 years. I have<br />
one brother. His name is Firas and he is 15 years<br />
old.<br />
Do you have any pets, and if so, what kind? I<br />
have a rabbit named Bella. She is very cute and<br />
is 2 years old. We also have a cat named Francis.<br />
She is not quite as friendly.<br />
I don’t have any now but I had a rabbit.<br />
What is your favorite animal? My favorite animals<br />
are a moose, a platypus and a rabbit. I like<br />
moose because their antlers look funny. I like<br />
platypuses, because they are so awkward and<br />
look so weird and I like rabbits because they are<br />
cute and fluffy.<br />
My favorite animals are the horse and the dog<br />
because they are beautiful.<br />
What grade are you in and how many students<br />
are in your class? I’m in 5th grade and 17 kids<br />
are in my class.<br />
I’m in 5th grade and there are 29 kids in my<br />
class.<br />
Describe your school to me. Our campus is<br />
very big. Most of it is either garden or a place<br />
to run around. We have three main buildings—<br />
one is for Kindergarten through third grade.<br />
On the first floor are Kindergarten, first grade<br />
and the Spanish room for the younger kids. On<br />
the second floor is second and third grade, as<br />
well as Spanish for the upper grades and some<br />
offices. The fourth, fifth and sixth grades are in<br />
two different buildings right next to each other.<br />
There is also another building for all of the middle<br />
school classes.<br />
My school is named <strong>Friends</strong> from the Quakers.<br />
It’s so big and there are 6 buildings, one for<br />
kindergarten and one of the sixth and fifth grade<br />
and one for offices. There is one for the 1, 2 and<br />
3 grade. We have a big area and we, the boys,<br />
like to play a game called Yornesh.<br />
Do you play any sports, or do you play any<br />
musical instruments, and if so which ones? I do<br />
parkour, which is an urban ninja sport. We do it<br />
Children Without Borders 25
in a gym with foam blocks. I go once or twice a<br />
week depending on the week, but I broke my toe<br />
doing it recently, so I won’t be going for a while. I<br />
don’t play any musical instruments.<br />
I play football and basketball and I play on the<br />
piano.<br />
What is you favorite thing to do in your free<br />
time? I like to find ways to incorporate parkour<br />
into the playground, my house and any thing<br />
else I can find. But now that I am on crutches, I<br />
can’t really do it anymore.<br />
I like to play on the iPad and the Galazy Tab.<br />
Can you describe your home to me? My house<br />
has two-stories. It is on a steep hill. The two<br />
notable things about it are, one, we have a<br />
climbing wall, and two a trapdoor with a ladder to<br />
get downstairs.<br />
My house is so big. I live in a building and we<br />
have 5 rooms and a kitchen and many things.<br />
Describe a regular day in your life. I wake up, get<br />
dressed, go downstairs, eat breakfast fast, get<br />
ready for school, brush my teeth, go to school,<br />
come back home, do homework, eat dinner,<br />
read and go to sleep.<br />
I’ll tell you about the first day of summer<br />
va ca tion. There’s no school, homework or tests.<br />
What do you like to do in the snow? I like sledding<br />
and skiing, because you can go fast.<br />
I like to make snowmen.<br />
Miya Kutchins Interviews<br />
Nour Habbash<br />
Miya<br />
Nour <br />
What is your name and how old are you? My<br />
name is Miya, and I am a girl.<br />
My name is Nour, and I’m 10 years old.<br />
When is your birthday? I am 10. I will be 11 on<br />
May 16.<br />
I am 10. I will be 11 on December 12.<br />
Do you have any siblings, if so how many? I<br />
have one older brother. His name is Jake and he<br />
is 13. He will be 14 on April 11. We like to play<br />
soccer together.<br />
I have one sister. Her name is Sara. She is 14<br />
and on July 8 she will be 15. We like to play with<br />
our dog together.<br />
What grade are you in? How many students are<br />
in your grade? I am in 5th grade, and there are<br />
34 kids in my grade.<br />
I am in 5th grade, and there are 29 kids in my<br />
class.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in your free<br />
time? My favorite thing to do in my free time is<br />
to jump on our trampoline. I like playing with my<br />
friends.<br />
My favorite thing to do in my free time is to<br />
dance ballet. I like playing with my dog a lot.<br />
What holidays do you celebrate? Which is your<br />
favorite? I celebrate most major holidays. My<br />
favorites are Christmas and New Year’s. Usually<br />
we have a large party at our house and invite my<br />
parents’ friends and some of my friends.<br />
I celebrate all holidays. My favorite holidays<br />
are Easter and Christmas. We usually celebrate<br />
them with our family and cousins in Jordan.<br />
What kinds of food do you like and why? My<br />
favorite food is sushi because there is a variety.<br />
Sushi is made with fish or vegetables wrapped in<br />
rice and seaweed.<br />
My favorite food is also sushi because I love<br />
the way it’s wrapped and its taste.<br />
What is your favorite subject at school, and<br />
why? My favorite subject is art because I can<br />
express my creativity. I mostly like painting, and<br />
sketching.<br />
My favorite subject is computer lab because<br />
we try really interesting stuff.<br />
Children Without Borders 26
What is your favorite color? My favorite color is<br />
blue, because it reminds me of the ocean. I also<br />
like green.<br />
My favorite color is green because I remember<br />
the green shiny grass.<br />
What would you like to do when you grow up,<br />
and why? I would like to be a professional artist<br />
who sketches and paints, because I love art.<br />
I would like to be a professional ballet dancer<br />
because I love dancing.<br />
Mattie Hollenbach Interviews<br />
Joud Touqan<br />
Mattie<br />
Joud <br />
Are you a boy or a girl? What is your name? I am<br />
a girl. My name is Mattie, which is not short for<br />
anything.<br />
I am a girl. My name is Joud Touqan.<br />
How old are you, and when is your birthday?<br />
Do you like to celebrate on your birthday? I am<br />
10½, and I like to celebrate with my family and<br />
friends. My birthday is in <strong>June</strong>, and I like to hang<br />
out with my friends and maybe go to the movies<br />
on my birthday.<br />
I am 10¾, and my birthday is in May and I like<br />
going with my friends and family to bowling and<br />
restaurant.<br />
What grade are you in? How many kids are in<br />
your class? I am in 5th grade. There are two<br />
classes in my grade and the classes have 17<br />
students each.<br />
I am in 5th grade. There are 3 classes in my<br />
grade and each class has 30 or 29 students.<br />
Do you have any siblings? What are their names,<br />
and how old are they? I have one older brother,<br />
and his name is Sam and he is 14. We like to<br />
play our instruments together, because he plays<br />
the guitar and I play bass guitar, so we can jam.<br />
I have two younger brothers, Zahi is 8 years<br />
old and Abdallah is 3 years old. Zahi and I like to<br />
play our instruments together just like you, but<br />
he plays qanuon (Arabic instrument) and I play<br />
guitar.<br />
What do you like to do in your spare time? I like<br />
to play soccer, draw, and horseback ride. Once<br />
our team played a whole season without losing a<br />
single game.<br />
I like to play soccer, draw, and read stories.<br />
What would you like to do when you grow up and<br />
why? I do not exactly know, but I love animals<br />
and it would be great to work with them.<br />
I like to draw so I would like to be a fashion<br />
designer.<br />
What places or countries have you traveled to,<br />
and what were they like? My family travels a lot,<br />
but I really love the Caribbean because of the<br />
warm water and the sandy beaches. I like to sail<br />
and swim and the sand is so nice and soft. It is<br />
fun to play in the sand and run across the beach.<br />
Also, my family travels a lot, but I liked<br />
Vienna because we went there in winter and it<br />
was snowing and it is very beautiful.<br />
Do you have any pets? If so, what are they? I<br />
have two dogs, Maybelle and Jojo, and two cats,<br />
Boris and Slate. My dog, Maybelle is a foxhound,<br />
white with black and brown spots. Jojo is a Rottweiler<br />
mix, he is black and brown with a white<br />
spotted chest.<br />
I wish, but when I was a little kid I had a fish.<br />
What is the coldest weather you have ever been<br />
in? Where was it? The coldest weather I have<br />
ever been in is 29 degrees Fahrenheit. It was<br />
when I was camping at a lake. We had to wear<br />
pounds of clothing, and at night we had to be<br />
buried in a ton of blankets in our frost-covered<br />
tent.<br />
The coldest weather was below 0˚C. It was in<br />
Palestine when I was 2 or 3 years old.<br />
Children Without Borders 27
Lucy Swinson Interviews Tala Malouf<br />
Lucy<br />
Tala <br />
What is your favorite animal? Mine is a zebra,<br />
because I like their stripes and I think they’re<br />
cute.<br />
I don’t like animals. I’m afraid of all animals,<br />
especially birds, cats, and dogs.<br />
What are your hobbies? Mine are singing, acting,<br />
soccer, and drawing. I am in chorus and I have<br />
been in a lot of plays. I’m going to be in one<br />
in February. I play soccer on a team called the<br />
Cheetahs.<br />
Mine are singing, dancing, soccer, and playing<br />
the violin. I love them because I am good at<br />
them and they are fun and nice. We don’t have<br />
a girl’s soccer team yet but I hope we will have<br />
one soon.<br />
Do you like to travel? If so, where have you<br />
been? I love to travel. I’ve been to France, Kauai,<br />
Tahoe, Colorado, Canada and many more. I love<br />
all the food in France, skiing in Tahoe, swimming<br />
in Kauai. I liked running through the sprinklers in<br />
Colorado, and I liked seeing my grandparents in<br />
Canada.<br />
I love to travel. I have been to Egypt, Turkey,<br />
Jordan, and Germany. I love traveling by airplane<br />
a lot.<br />
Do you play any musical instruments? I play the<br />
piano and I sing. I just had a recital and it was<br />
really fun.<br />
I play the violin. I went to a string instruments<br />
camp in Germany last year and the year before,<br />
and I also sing.<br />
What grade are you in? How many students are<br />
in your class? I am in 5th grade. There are 17<br />
students in my class. My teacher’s name is Alex.<br />
He is really nice and a good teacher.<br />
I am in 6th grade. There are 30 students in<br />
my class. My teacher’s name is Nuha. She is<br />
very nice and teaches us well.<br />
Who is your idol? Who do you look up to?<br />
My idols are Madonna and Betsey Johnson—<br />
Madonna, because I want to be a singer and I<br />
love her music; and Betsey Johnson, because I<br />
admire her sense of fashion and I like fashion.<br />
My idol is Selena Gomez. I like her songs very<br />
much and my dream is to meet her.<br />
What are your favorite books? Mine are The<br />
Hunger Games, which is a trilogy, and Drizzle. I<br />
like the The Hunger Games because it’s really<br />
suspenseful and Drizzle because it’s really<br />
descriptive.<br />
I like reading mystery and adventure stories.<br />
What is your favorite holiday and why? Mine is<br />
Halloween, because I love dressing up in a costume<br />
and getting candy, and because it’s my<br />
birthday, too.<br />
My favorite holiday is Christmas because I get<br />
a lot of gifts from Santa and it is a time when my<br />
whole family gets together.<br />
What’s your favorite color, and why do you like<br />
it? Mine are black, purple and yellow—black,<br />
because it’s dark and goes with everything;<br />
purple, because there are so many shapes, and<br />
yellow, because it’s bright and happy.<br />
Mine are purple and green. Purple because<br />
it’s a lovely color, and green because it’s a happy<br />
color.<br />
What’s your favorite place in the world and why?<br />
Mine is on stage, because I love performing in<br />
front of other people.<br />
I love performing in front of other people<br />
too. Mine is on stage too. It makes me feel that<br />
I am a very important person when everybody<br />
watches at me.<br />
Children Without Borders 28
Liam Cunningham Interviews<br />
Hilmi Samarah<br />
Liam<br />
Hilmi <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl? I am<br />
a boy; my name is Liam.<br />
My name is Hilmi and I’m a boy.<br />
How old are you? When is your birthday? I am<br />
10 years old. I am going to be 11 on <strong>June</strong> 17. I<br />
usually celebrate by having a slumber party with<br />
my friends.<br />
I am 10 years old. I’m going to be 11 on May<br />
25. I celebrate it by making a big party.<br />
Do you have any siblings, and if so, what are<br />
their names? I have one younger brother; his<br />
name is Rory, and he is seven years old. We get<br />
along well most of the time. Rory and I like to<br />
play Wii together. Do you know what Wii is?<br />
I’m like you. I have 1 little brother. His name<br />
is Amro. He is 5 years old. And yes, we have<br />
Wii. We love it!<br />
Do you have any pets, and if so what are they<br />
and what are their names? I have 4 pets: one is<br />
a leopard gecko; his name is Spots. Another pet<br />
is a tabby cat and his name is Tiger. The other<br />
two are society finches. They are hard to tell<br />
apart, so they don’t have names.<br />
No. I wish we had a tabby cat, but my mom<br />
won’t let me have one.<br />
How many grades do you have at your school,<br />
and how many people in your class? Our school<br />
goes from Bridge Kindergarten to 8th grade. My<br />
class has 17 people in it, but there are two fifth<br />
grade classes. There are two classes per grade<br />
level at my school.<br />
Our school goes from kindergarten to 6th<br />
grade. I have 29 people in my class. The class<br />
is very big. We have three sections for every<br />
grade.<br />
What are your favorite subjects in school? My<br />
favorite subjects are science and recess. That’s<br />
a joke. Recess isn’t a subject, but I like it nonethe-less.<br />
Seriously, I like doing scientific experiments.<br />
This year I got to make crystals, using<br />
Borax. We also got to go to science camp and<br />
study stream ecology. We tested water, studied<br />
insects, and got to visit the ocean.<br />
My favorite subject is science lab. We do tons<br />
of experiments. One time we dissected a goat’s<br />
heart.<br />
Do you play any sports? I play soccer, futsal and<br />
parkour. Futsal is indoor soccer but you can’t use<br />
the walls. My team is called the Hawks and we<br />
are undefeated. I also play on an outdoor soccer<br />
team called Sting. I have to tryout for this team<br />
because it is a competitive league. I mostly play<br />
defense. We practice twice a week and have<br />
games on the weekends. Parkour is a class that<br />
I take where I do obstacle courses indoors at<br />
a gym. We run, jump, vault, swing, climb, etc.<br />
from one obstacle to another. The whole idea of<br />
parkour is that instead of going around things,<br />
you can go over them. This saves time, but you<br />
have to be agile. My teacher Zach is super good<br />
and he expects us to work hard. I go once a<br />
week.<br />
You are sooooo lucky! We don’t have that<br />
here! But my friends and I go to the gym. We<br />
swim, play basketball, and play tennis.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in your free<br />
time? In my free time at school I like to look at<br />
things on the computer, play with my friends,<br />
and sometimes go outside and play soccer. At<br />
home I like to play Wii, Minecraft, and build with<br />
Legos. I play a lot with my brother or I have play<br />
dates.<br />
Sometimes at school I like to go to the library.<br />
Our school’s library is different. It has bean bags,<br />
sofas, and fun books. I go with my friends. At<br />
Children Without Borders 29
home, I play Wii and on the iPad. Or I visit my<br />
friends.<br />
Can you describe your house to me? My house<br />
is four stories high. I have a very small basement,<br />
a bottom floor, an upstairs and an attic.<br />
My house is 103 years old and we are fixing it<br />
up. I sleep in a bunk bed with my brother- I’m on<br />
top. I have a front yard with a huge oak tree on<br />
it. The tree is taller than our house. Our backyard<br />
has a garage with a basketball hoop attached to<br />
it. We have a small vegetable and fruit garden<br />
at the back of the garage. My house is up on a<br />
hill. Oakland is a city, but it’s not as busy as San<br />
Francisco, which is across the bay from here.<br />
From my house I can walk to the movie theater,<br />
ice cream shop and a lake where I can go sailing.<br />
From our house, it takes us about 5 minutes<br />
to drive to school. If I bicycle, it takes about 15<br />
minutes.<br />
I wish we had a house like yours! We live in<br />
an apartment. Well, it’s spacious. I have my own<br />
room. We have a market close to our home. It<br />
takes about 25 minutes to get to school by car.<br />
But we live in a peaceful, beautiful area that is<br />
not crowded.<br />
What do you want to be when you grow up, and<br />
why? I would probably like to be a video game<br />
rater or a Falconer. This is a person who raises<br />
falcons as a hobby. Some falconers actually have<br />
their falcons hunt for them. I would mostly like to<br />
just raise the birds but, if I had to, I could have<br />
them hunt for me too. Even though it’s very different,<br />
I would also like being a video game rater<br />
because I would get to play a lot of video games.<br />
I feel I’m pretty good at video game playing and<br />
I feel that I would know if a video game is enjoyable<br />
or not.<br />
I would like to be a space scientist or a video<br />
game creator. Since I was little, I was interested<br />
in space and I want to discover planets and stars<br />
or aliens! I would like to create supercool video<br />
games like Wii. I hope you will like my games!<br />
Jake Greenberg Bell Interviews<br />
Saif Naseriddin<br />
Jake<br />
Saif <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or girl? Jacob<br />
but my friends call me Jake. I am a boy.<br />
My name is Saif. I am a boy.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in free time? I<br />
love driving my remote controlled cars around<br />
my back yard and playing video games. This<br />
hobby started when my afterschool teacher<br />
introduced it to me.<br />
I love to play soccer and video games. I like<br />
playing violin because of its nice sound.<br />
Do you play any sports? Do you play any musical<br />
instruments? Which one? I play soccer,<br />
basketball, and baseball. I play these sports<br />
on three different teams in different seasons,<br />
although sometimes they overlap. I know how to<br />
play guitar, because I take lesson. I play acoustic<br />
guitar.<br />
I love to play soccer and video games. I like<br />
playing violin because of its nice sound.<br />
What holidays do you celebrate? Which is your<br />
favorite? I celebrate all Jewish holidays and my<br />
favorite is Passover, because there’s really good<br />
food.<br />
I celebrate Eid Fitre and Eid Adha.<br />
What would you like to do when you grow up<br />
and why? I would either like to play soccer or<br />
baseball, or be an architect. I would like to play<br />
baseball or soccer because they’re really fun and<br />
I would like to be an architect because you have<br />
a lot of freedom to design what you want.<br />
I would like to be a soccer player because I<br />
like running.<br />
Children Without Borders 30
Can you describe your house to me? I live on a<br />
beautiful tree lined street. My house has grey<br />
shingles and stairs up to the door. On the right<br />
of the stairs is a lawn. The house is two-stories<br />
high with 3 bedrooms and 3 backrooms. We<br />
have a big backyard and a trampoline.<br />
I live in a nice house with my family.<br />
What are your favorite subjects, and why? I like<br />
writing because it passes time and you can be<br />
creative unlike math and history. I also like PE/<br />
Sports, because I like to exercise.<br />
I love sports (soccer) so much.<br />
What is the coldest weather you have ever been<br />
in and where? It was about 3 degrees Fahrenheit<br />
with wind chill and it was in New York. I felt like<br />
my fingers were going to fall off.<br />
In 2008, it was snowing, and I loved it so<br />
much.<br />
Do you have any pets? No, but I hope to get a<br />
frog, because they’re my favorite animals. I like<br />
them because they are cute, especially the tree<br />
frogs.<br />
I don’t have any pets.<br />
What grade are you in? How many kids are in<br />
your class? I am in the 5th grade, and I have<br />
17 kids and 1 teacher in my class. My teacher’s<br />
name is Alex. He is very nice.<br />
I am in 5th grade, and I have 29 kids in my<br />
class.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in the snow?<br />
Probably sled, but all snow activities are very fun<br />
to me. I have never been downhill skiing and I<br />
hope to go some day.<br />
I like making a snowman.<br />
Henry Smith Interviews<br />
Zaid Anabtawi<br />
Henry<br />
Zaid <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl?<br />
What grade are you in? My name is Henry. I am<br />
11 years old. I am in 5th grade.<br />
My name is Zaid. I am 11 years old. I am in<br />
5th grade. I am a boy.<br />
Do you have any brothers, sisters? If so, what<br />
are their names and how old are they? I have<br />
one brother. His name is Oliver, and he is 18. We<br />
don’t get along very well. He’s mean and rarely<br />
nice.<br />
I have two brothers. Their names are Mohammad<br />
and Omar. Mohammad is 16 and Omar is<br />
14.<br />
What holidays do you celebrate? Which is your<br />
favorite? I celebrate Christmas, 4th of July,<br />
Hanukah and a few others. My favorite holiday is<br />
Christmas because I get a lot of gifts. For Christmas<br />
we celebrate by buying a tree and giving<br />
each other presents.<br />
I celebrate Easter, Christmas, and others, but<br />
my favorite holiday is Easter because I make<br />
colorful eggs.<br />
What would you like to be when you grow up,<br />
and why? I would like to be an entrepreneur. I<br />
would like to invent a lot of stuff.<br />
When I grow up I want to be an artist because<br />
I love it so much.<br />
Do you play any sports? Do you play any musical<br />
instruments? If so, which ones? I play soccer<br />
(futbol) and baseball. I play two instruments, the<br />
guitar and the violin.<br />
I play soccer, table tennis, and I like to swim<br />
but I will play the guitar.<br />
Children Without Borders 31
What is your favorite thing to do in your free<br />
time? I enjoy reading, writing, and playing sports<br />
in my free time. I try to do most of these activities<br />
every day.<br />
I like reading, playing sports every time in my<br />
free time.<br />
Do you have any pets? If so which kind? What is<br />
your favorite kind? I have no pets. If I could get a<br />
pet, it would be a chinchilla.<br />
I don’t have pets but if I want to buy a pet, I<br />
will buy a dog.<br />
What are your favorite subjects in school? Why?<br />
My favorite subject is science, because I love<br />
experimenting and learning new things. I mostly<br />
like chemistry.<br />
My favorite subject is math because I love to<br />
make things with the ruler.<br />
What kinds of food do you like? Why? I love<br />
candy, pizza, soda, and cake, because they are<br />
awesome.<br />
I love candy, cookies, pizza and cake because<br />
they are delicious.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in the snow? I<br />
love skiing and snowball fights. They are so fun! I<br />
ski in Tahoe, California.<br />
I love to make a snowman and snowball<br />
fights. They are so fun!<br />
Hayley Ross Interviews<br />
Sabine Saadeh<br />
Hayley<br />
Sabine <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl? My<br />
name is Hayley I am a girl. I am ten and a half<br />
years old.<br />
My name is Sabine Saadeh. I am ten and a<br />
half years old.<br />
Do you have any brothers or sisters? Do you<br />
have any pets, if so which kind? I have a twentyfive<br />
year old brother named Robert. I had a fish<br />
in the summer, but he died.<br />
I have a sixteen-year old brother and a<br />
twenty-one year old sister. I had a rabbit but it<br />
died.<br />
What is your favorite animal? I have a few favorite<br />
animals. I like hedgehogs, pigs and penguins,<br />
because I think they’re all really adorable.<br />
I have a lot of favorite animals. I like rabbits,<br />
penguins, pandas, parrots, and puppies because<br />
they are cute.<br />
What grade are you in? What are your favorite<br />
subjects and why? I am in fifth grade. My favorite<br />
subject is history, because I like learning about<br />
the past, and math because it helps you in life.<br />
I am in fifth grade. My favorite subject is math<br />
because it helps me in life, and I am good at it,<br />
too.<br />
Do you play any sports and which ones? Do you<br />
play any musical instruments and which ones? I<br />
play soccer; I’ve been playing since pre-school.<br />
I know how to play the piano and I am going to<br />
start taking guitar lessons because it looks like<br />
fun and I already have two guitars.<br />
I play gymnastics, soccer, and Debka. I like<br />
these sports very much. I play piano and I will<br />
start playing qanoun.<br />
What would you like to be when you grow up? I<br />
want to be a teacher because I would get to be<br />
with kids all day and it looks like fun to teach all<br />
the subjects that we learn here in school. Or, I<br />
think about being an actress because it is fun.<br />
I was in Midsummer’s Night Dream, The Three<br />
Little Bears (I was a hedgehog in that play), Peter<br />
Pan, and Aladdin.<br />
I want to be a doctor because I don’t get<br />
scared from this thing, and it sounds like fun.<br />
What holidays do you celebrate? And which one<br />
is your favorite? I celebrate Christmas, Halloween,<br />
Valentine’s Day, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day,<br />
Children Without Borders 32
the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah.<br />
My favorite is Christmas because you get presents<br />
and you get to give presents.<br />
I celebrate Eid Al-Adha, Eid Al Fitre, Valentine’s<br />
Day, Halloween, and Christmas. My favorite<br />
is Halloween because I like wearing costumes.<br />
Describe a typical day in your life? A typical day<br />
for me is I go to school, come home, do homework,<br />
watch TV, read, and then go to sleep. On<br />
the weekends I sleep in on the morning, watch<br />
TV, have a play date or a sleepover with a friend,<br />
and then I go to sleep.<br />
A typical day for me is I go to school, come<br />
back home, I go practice Debka, come back<br />
home, watch TV and go to sleep.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in the snow? I<br />
like sledding because that’s the only thing I’ve<br />
done in the snow. I can’t think of anything else<br />
cause I’ve only been in the snow once and that<br />
was 5 years ago. That was when I was in Iowa<br />
visiting my grandmother.<br />
I like making a snowman and sledding be -<br />
cause these are the things that I have fun doing.<br />
Emmet Burk Interviews Basil Meri<br />
Emmet<br />
Basil <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl? My<br />
name is Emmet. I am a boy.<br />
My name is Basil. I am a boy.<br />
How old are you, and when is your birthday? How<br />
do you celebrate your birthday? I am 11 years<br />
old and my birthday is December 27. I usually<br />
have my friends over on my birthday and go<br />
bowling or something like that.<br />
I am 10 years old and my birthday is December<br />
6. I usually make a birthday party. We make<br />
cake and invite friends and family.<br />
Do you have any brothers or sisters? If you do,<br />
how old are they? I have an older brother named<br />
Ezra; he is 12 years old. He is very annoying<br />
most of the time, but when he’s in a good mood<br />
he can be nice.<br />
I have a brother and a sister. My brother is<br />
21 years old. My sister is 18 years old. I like my<br />
brother. I hate my sister.<br />
Do you have any pets? If so what kind? What’s<br />
your favorite animal? I don’t have any pets,<br />
but my favorite animal is a turtle. I like turtles<br />
because they are cute and they have an awesome<br />
shell.<br />
I used to have a turtle, eight cats, and two<br />
birds.<br />
Do you play any musical instruments? If so,<br />
what kind? I play the guitar. I enjoy playing the<br />
guitar, because I can put my emotions into it.<br />
For example, if I’m sad, I’ll play an A minor which<br />
sounds like dark and a low note. But if I’m happy,<br />
I’ll play a G, which is a happy high note.<br />
I play our traditional drum and French horn.<br />
What do you like to do in your free time? I like to<br />
play sports especially soccer (fútbol), because it<br />
gives me exercise and I like to play it. I am on a<br />
soccer team. I play on the weekends.<br />
I like to play soccer and basketball. I play with<br />
my friends.<br />
What do you want to be when you grow up? I<br />
want to be an advertising businessman, because<br />
I like advertising with other companies.<br />
I have no idea!<br />
What holiday is your favorite holiday? My favorite<br />
is Passover because of the food. I especially love<br />
the matzah ball soup, and my grandma makes<br />
chicken.<br />
My favorite holiday is Christmas because of<br />
the presents.<br />
What is the coldest weather you’ve ever been<br />
in? The coldest weather I’ve ever been in was<br />
–4 degrees on top of a mountain snowboarding<br />
Children Without Borders 33
in Canada. My hands were like frozen, but I took<br />
a warm shower and it felt really good.<br />
The coldest weather was -1˚C. We don’t get<br />
many snow storms, 1 every 3 years maybe.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in the snow? I<br />
like to sled or snowboard, because they are both<br />
super fun and snowboarding gives me exercise.<br />
I do these activities with my family in Tahoe, or<br />
Canada (all snowy places).<br />
I like to play snow fights. I can’t ride sleds or<br />
snowboard because when it snows it doesn’t<br />
snow a lot.<br />
Ciel McKay Interviews Rula Saffarini<br />
Ciel<br />
Rula <br />
What is your name? My name is Ciel McKay.<br />
My name is Rula Saffarini.<br />
Do you have any pets, if so, what kind? What is<br />
your favorite animal? I don’t have any pets, and<br />
my favorite animals are gorillas. I like gorillas<br />
because they are smart and cute. I have seen<br />
them at the San Francisco Zoo.<br />
No, I don’t have any pets, but my favorite animals<br />
are puppies. I hope to own a puppy some<br />
day.<br />
Do you play any sports? Do you play any musical<br />
instruments? Which ones? I play soccer on a<br />
team. The team name is the Cheetahs. We have<br />
a lot of fun. I play goalie. I play the piano. I used<br />
to play the violin, but I like the piano better.<br />
Yes, I play soccer and I play the piano. I go for<br />
piano lessons once a week and I do a lot of practicing<br />
at home.<br />
What kinds of food do you like and why? Can you<br />
share your favorite recipe? I like Mac’n’Cheese,<br />
which is very easy. You make pasta, then you<br />
put cheese in it!<br />
I like deep fried chicken because it’s crunchy<br />
and delicious. My mom uses a deep fryer to fry<br />
the chicken and uses a mix of her special spices<br />
to make it come out crunchy and delicious.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in the snow?<br />
I like to make snowmen versions of people. I<br />
make a snowperson and then put clothes on it. I<br />
use sticks and stones to make the face.<br />
I like to make snowmen when we have snow,<br />
but it rarely snows where I live.<br />
Do you have any brothers or sisters? What is/<br />
are their name(s) and age(s)? I’m an only child. I<br />
am 11 years old. The disadvantage is that I don’t<br />
have somebody to play with, but the advantage<br />
is I get more attention.<br />
I have an older sister. Her name is Lama and<br />
she will turn 14 this coming <strong>June</strong>. I am 11 years<br />
old.<br />
What do you like to do in your free time? I like to<br />
draw, play sports, write stories, and sing with my<br />
buddies. I am in a choir and at Christmas I sang<br />
a song with a friend in front of the whole school.<br />
I like to play games on the Internet, sing<br />
songs, practice the piano, and watch TV. I use<br />
my iPad to make videos of myself singing and<br />
playing the piano.<br />
What grade are you in? How many students are<br />
in your class? I’m in 5th grade, and there are 34<br />
kids in our grade! But there are 17 kids in my<br />
class. My teacher’s name is Alex; he has a new<br />
baby who came on a camping trip with us.<br />
I’m in 6th grade and there are 30 students in<br />
my class.<br />
What would you like to do when you grow up and<br />
why? I want to be a zoo worker, so I can work<br />
with gorillas in a zoo.<br />
My dream is to be a pop star like Selena<br />
Gomez because she is my idol and I love her<br />
songs very much.<br />
What holidays do you celebrate? Which is your<br />
favorite? I celebrate Christmas and Halloween.<br />
My birthday is on Halloween so my birthday party<br />
Children Without Borders 34
is usually with costumes and candy. For my<br />
birthday celebration, I invite family and friends,<br />
and for Christmas just family.<br />
I celebrate my birthday in January with my<br />
family and friends. I also celebrate Muslim feasts<br />
twice a year with my family.<br />
Cecily Bartsch Interviews Aya Ghoozi<br />
Cecily<br />
Aya <br />
What is your name? My name is Cecily Jean<br />
Bartsch.<br />
My name is Aya Walied Ghoozi.<br />
Do you like sports? If so, which ones? I like dancing<br />
and jump roping because you can do them<br />
all the time.<br />
I like dancing, too. I like dabkah and English<br />
dancing.<br />
Do you have any siblings? If so, what is/are their<br />
names? I have a little sister named Margaret but<br />
everyone calls her Maggie. Her name means<br />
pearl and she is 7. I like playing games with her.<br />
I have little sister named Alma and a brother<br />
named Omar and one other brother named<br />
Laith.<br />
Do you have any pets? If so, what animal(s) are<br />
they and what are their names? I have four cats.<br />
The kittens’ names are Chutney and Delubo. The<br />
cats’ names are Caitlin and Elizabeth. I also have<br />
three chickens whose names are Lightball, Blossom,<br />
and Babette. I have a frog, too and I named<br />
her Lucy.<br />
I have one dog named Tornado.<br />
What would a typical Friday at school be like for<br />
you? I arrive at school at 8:45, and we do monitor<br />
jobs. Then we have a spelling test. Then we<br />
have a math quiz. Recess is next. Then we work<br />
on our most recent project. Then lunchtime.<br />
After lunch we have an event where the whole<br />
school comes together and sings lots of songs.<br />
After that, we go back to our classroom, and<br />
have Current Events in which the Class Leaders<br />
report to us about the most recent happenings.<br />
Then it’s room time, where we get to do whatever<br />
we want!!<br />
I don’t have school on Friday, but I want to<br />
tell you about what I do on Friday. On Friday I go<br />
to dabkah. I play with my friend and my sister. I<br />
practice my lessons and I do my homework.<br />
What do you want to be when you grow up, and<br />
why? I would like to be either an actress or an<br />
entertainment person because I love changing<br />
personalities when I act.<br />
I want to be a singer because my talent is<br />
singing.<br />
What’s your favorite subject in school and why?<br />
My favorite subject is spelling because I love<br />
seeing how different letters combine to make<br />
different words. I also like reading and writing<br />
because I get to travel to whole new worlds of<br />
my own creation.<br />
My favorite subject in school is English. My<br />
father is an English teacher and I learn many<br />
things in English.<br />
What is your favorite dessert and why? My favorite<br />
dessert is home-made cream on a summer<br />
day because it is so refreshing. I also like the<br />
chocolate cardamom cookies that my mom<br />
bakes because the spiciness tastes good with<br />
the chocolate chips.<br />
My favorite dessert is Al-Nkab. I like it<br />
because it is hot in summer and I like summer.<br />
What’s your teacher’s name and what is he or<br />
she like? My teacher’s name is Kris Lee. She has<br />
black hair. Kris loves to teach math.<br />
I have many teachers, but I want to tell you<br />
about my English teacher. Her name is Miss<br />
Stephanie. She has brown hair.<br />
Children Without Borders 35
If you could pick any nickname to have what<br />
would it be and why? I would pick Ocelot<br />
because ocelots remind me of myself. They<br />
have spotted fur and wide eyes. They are a type<br />
of big cat.<br />
I would pick Selena because I love the name<br />
Selena. If you know Selena Gomez you will love<br />
her.<br />
Cass<br />
Dua’a <br />
Cass Dellis Interviews Dua’a Shbat<br />
What is your name? My name is Cass. It’s a family<br />
last name.<br />
My name is Dua’a Shbat.<br />
Do you have any siblings? I have one brother<br />
whose name is Ben. He is five and he takes<br />
Capoera, a Brazilian martial art. We usually get<br />
along well.<br />
I have one brother whose name is Mohammad.<br />
He is 13 years old. I have 3 sisters: Sujood<br />
(she is 10 years old), Tasneem (she is 15 years<br />
old), and Aden (she is 15 years old).<br />
What are you favorite subjects and activities, and<br />
why? I love art because it does not have rules. I<br />
like math because math comes pretty easily to<br />
me; I like ice-skating because I feel like flying,<br />
Indian dance because it’s fun, and dancing I just<br />
like.<br />
I love art because we do a lot of nice pictures.<br />
I love debka because it is a way for me to<br />
express myself.<br />
How old are you? When is your birthday? How<br />
do you celebrate your birthday? I am 9 and my<br />
birthday is August 4th. We celebrate it differently<br />
every year. I always have an angel cake.<br />
I am 9 years old. My birthday is May 5th. I celebrate<br />
my birthday with my friends and family.<br />
What grade are you in? How many students<br />
are in your class? Who is your teacher? I am in<br />
fourth grade. I have 17 students in my class.<br />
Bob is my teacher. He is extremely awesome<br />
and you can read more about him in an interview<br />
in this magazine.<br />
I am in fourth grade. There are 30 students<br />
in my classroom. I have many teachers, but my<br />
English teacher is Miss Stephanie.<br />
What would you like to be when you grow up?<br />
And why? I would like to be a play director,<br />
because it combines art and theater. I enjoy art<br />
and theater tremendously. I have been in one<br />
play, and I starred as Cinderella.<br />
When I grow up I want to be a teacher<br />
because I like to give people more information.<br />
What countries or places have you traveled to?<br />
I’ve traveled to Tahoe, Hawaii, Virginia, Yosemite,<br />
Disneyland, the Dominican Republic, Maryland,<br />
Florida, and North Carolina.<br />
I have traveled to Sharm Al-Shiekh in Egypt,<br />
Jordan and other places.<br />
What holidays do you celebrate? Which is your<br />
favorite, and why? We celebrate Christmas,<br />
Easter, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, and Winter<br />
Solstice. One of my favorites is Groundhog Day,<br />
because it is silly.<br />
We celebrate the Eid holiday and Eid Al-Fatar.<br />
I like both of them because we get new clothes<br />
and we get money.<br />
What kinds of food do you like and why? Can<br />
you share a favorite recipe? I love Thai Food and<br />
sushi. I also enjoy making Cass cakes, which are<br />
pancakes with tangerine squeezed in the middle.<br />
I love Chinese food. I also love chocolate chip<br />
cookies which are chocolate chips and cookies.<br />
What do your parents do? My parents owned a<br />
Thai food restaurant, but they sold it. Now my<br />
dad is in the stock market, and my mom is successfully<br />
unemployed. She volunteers for our<br />
school’s gardening program and farm boxes.<br />
My mom doesn’t work. She takes care of us.<br />
My dad works in a travel business.<br />
Children Without Borders 36
Becky Isaac Interviews Faris Treish<br />
Becky<br />
Faris <br />
What is your name, and are you a boy or a girl?<br />
My name is Becky and I am a girl. My real name<br />
is Rebecca. I sometimes wish I were a boy and I<br />
dress like a boy. I love being a girl though.<br />
My name is Faris. I’m a boy and it’s great. I<br />
love sports.<br />
What is your teacher’s name? My teacher’s name<br />
is Bob. He is very funny.<br />
I have many teachers. All our classes are in<br />
Arabic except for English. My English teacher’s<br />
name is Miss Tala.<br />
What is the name of your school, and do you like<br />
it and why? The name of my school is Park Day<br />
School. I love it. I love it because all the teachers<br />
are nice and the lessons are great.<br />
My school is called <strong>Friends</strong> Girls School<br />
because of history, but it’s for boys and girls. I<br />
like it but it’s different from other schools.<br />
Do you have any siblings, and what are their<br />
names and ages? I have a brother and his name<br />
is Jonah. He is 11 and fun. We like to kick and<br />
punch each other for fun and make jokes.<br />
I have a brother names Layth and he’s 3 and<br />
sister named Mira. She’s 8. We quiz each other<br />
on our favorite shows and movies.<br />
Do you like sports? If so, what sport? I like basketball,<br />
softball, dance, volleyball, and soccer<br />
etc.<br />
I like basketball, soccer, and swimming.<br />
What is your birthday? How do you celebrate<br />
your birthdays? My birthday is <strong>June</strong> 9, 2002. We<br />
get to pick what we want for breakfast, usually a<br />
junky cereal, then get to pick out dinner, either<br />
where we go out to eat, or what is made for me<br />
at home.<br />
My birthday is November 30th, 2001. I<br />
choose where my party is. The night of my birthday<br />
we go out for dinner or dessert.<br />
Do you live in a house, apartment, mansion,<br />
or farm? I live in Piedmont, which is a tiny, and<br />
small town in Oakland; it is very close to San<br />
Francisco. My house is two stories tall. We got<br />
a new foundation, which is what holds up your<br />
house. We’re also getting a hangout, playroom<br />
basement with someday a bathroom.<br />
I live in an apartment that’s for my family. It<br />
has a basement, my uncles’ house, my grandparents’<br />
house, our house and a laundry house.<br />
Do you have any pets? If so what kind? How old<br />
and what is their name and age and gender and<br />
if so what breed? I have a black lab named Lola.<br />
She is soooooooooooooo cute !!!!!!! I love to go<br />
on walks and throw the ball, lay down with her,<br />
give her belly rubs, and hugs and kisses.<br />
I have zero.<br />
What would you like to be when you grow up? I<br />
want to be a professional dancer, actor, teacher,<br />
astronomer (someone who studies space), and<br />
artist because I enjoy it a lot. And I’m super good<br />
at acting and dancing.<br />
I’d want to be an actor so I could have a<br />
pretty wife. And be known to everyone and rich.<br />
What’s your favorite kind of weather, and why? I<br />
like rainy, or snowy weather, cause it makes me<br />
want to be inside a house, all warm and cozy<br />
drinking that kind of “Hot Coco” that you get from<br />
a mini mart, that very stereotypical “Hot Coco.”<br />
I also like the cold weather. I like to be inside<br />
where I can play board games and have a reason<br />
to stay in bed all day and watch movies for<br />
quizzes.<br />
Children Without Borders 37
André Wackernagel Interviews<br />
Yazan Abu Hijleh<br />
André<br />
Yazan <br />
What is you name, are you a boy or a girl? My<br />
name is Andre and I am a boy.<br />
My name is Yazan and I am a boy.<br />
How old are you and when is your birthday?<br />
How do you celebrate your birthday? What gifts<br />
do you receive? I’m ten and I will turn eleven in<br />
March. I usually have a huge water balloon fight<br />
on my birthday, and we have a party with cake.<br />
What I would most like to receive are Wii games.<br />
I’m ten years old and I will turn eleven on<br />
March 30th. I bring about six friends and go<br />
play on the Xbox. I would like to have a mobile<br />
phone.<br />
Do you have any brothers and sisters? What<br />
are their names and ages? I have no siblings. I<br />
like being an only child, because I don’t have to<br />
share stuff, and some of my friends have two<br />
siblings and they are really annoying.<br />
I have one sister. Her name is Zein. She is<br />
annoying. She is nine years old.<br />
Do you have any pets, and if so, what kind? What<br />
is your favorite animal? I have two rats named<br />
Jerry and Brownie. They are both girls, and they<br />
are two and a half months old. Once when I was<br />
holding Brownie, she bit a hole in my shirt, to<br />
use the fabric for bedding.<br />
I have no pets, but I would like to have a dog.<br />
What grade are you in, and how many students<br />
are in your class? What is the name of your<br />
teacher? I am in fifth grade. There are 17 kids<br />
in my class. My teacher’s name is Lesley. She’s<br />
from New York and she used to live in the same<br />
county as my godfather.<br />
I am in fifth grade. There are 29 kids in my<br />
class. My teacher’s name is Linda. She is from<br />
Colorado, but now she lives here in <strong>Ramallah</strong>.<br />
What are your favorite subjects and why? What<br />
are your favorite school activities? What are<br />
your favorite after school activities? My favorite<br />
subject is reading. I am reading a lot of good<br />
books. I like to read action adventure, and fantasy<br />
books. Right now I am reading Levithian,<br />
which takes place in the past, but seems like the<br />
future. Scientists figure out how to change DNA.<br />
It’s a fascinating book. After school, I enjoy going<br />
to a friend’s house.<br />
My favorite subject is Math. I like to solve hard<br />
questions.<br />
What countries or places have you traveled to,<br />
and how did you feel? I’ve been to ten different<br />
countries not including my home country.<br />
I’ve been to Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France,<br />
South Africa, Australia, and England. Every summer<br />
we travel to Switzerland and stay for two<br />
months with my dad’s family.<br />
My favorite subject is Math. I like to solve hard<br />
questions.<br />
What is the coldest weather you have ever been<br />
in? The coldest weather I’ve ever been in is<br />
either in the Alps or in Chicago. One winter I was<br />
in Switzerland and we went to the top of a mountain<br />
where there was a glacier. In Chicago, my<br />
toes almost froze off because it was so cold. My<br />
toes were numb.<br />
In 2007, I felt that I am in a refrigerator.<br />
What do you want to be when you grow up, and<br />
why? I want to be a video game designer, even<br />
though you don’t get paid for years until your<br />
game comes out. I love computers, and I am<br />
really into programming.<br />
I want to be a finance manager like my father.<br />
Children Without Borders 38
Lucy Pierce Interviews<br />
Nadia Mogannam<br />
Lucy P<br />
Nadia <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl? My<br />
name is Lucy, and I am a girl.<br />
My name is Nadia, and I am a girl.<br />
Do you have any brothers or sisters? What are<br />
there names and ages? I have an older brother<br />
named Maxwell; he is twelve. I also have a<br />
younger sister who is 5 and her name is Elsie.<br />
I have three older sister. The oldest sister<br />
is 20 years old. Her name is Manal. She has a<br />
business selling clothes from America. My other<br />
older sisters are twins. Their names are Eman<br />
and Amal. They are 19 years old. Amal likes to<br />
work on her laptop and Eman likes to go to the<br />
gym. Both Amal and Eman are studying at Bir<br />
Zeit University. I have one little brother. His name<br />
is Ameer. He is 5 years old and he is in kindergarten.<br />
He loves dogs!<br />
How old are you, and when is your birthday? I am<br />
10, and my birthday is May 16.<br />
My birthday is November 12. I am 10 years<br />
old.<br />
Do you have any pets, if so which kind? What is<br />
your favorite animal? I have a fish. My favorite<br />
animal is a giraffe. I don’t know why I like giraffes<br />
so much but they are cute. I like their spots and<br />
they are very interesting animals.<br />
I have a pet. It is a puppy. Her name is Tiffany.<br />
She is very tiny. She is very friendly. She is<br />
white as snow. She loves to lay on her back with<br />
just one paw up. It is very funny. My favorite<br />
animal is the dog. I like dogs because they are<br />
playful. They are sweet and they will also protect<br />
your house.<br />
What grade are you in? How many students are<br />
in your class? I’m in fifth grade, and there are 17<br />
students in my class. But there is another fifth<br />
grade with 17 students and we do field trips and<br />
sometimes sports together.<br />
I’m in fourth grade. There are 30 kids in my<br />
class. They are very silly. They like to play and<br />
they have a lot of energy.<br />
Do you play any sports? Do you play any musical<br />
instruments? Which ones? I play soccer<br />
(your football) and I also love to swim. I play on<br />
a soccer team with a lot of my classmates. The<br />
name of my team is Cheetahs. I play the guitar. I<br />
have been playing since I was six years old. I like<br />
to play and I like to sing, too.<br />
I don’t play any sports or musical instruments.<br />
I am a dancer. I am a ballerina. I love<br />
ballet. It is my favorite kind of dance. It is a calm<br />
activity.<br />
What countries or places have you traveled to?<br />
I have been to Chicago, Michigan, Wisconsin,<br />
Iowa, Hawaii, and Florida. I used to live in Chicago<br />
and we would take vacations to Michigan<br />
where my grandparents have a second house.<br />
We have friends that own an island in Wisconsin<br />
and it is really fun to go there. Once we swam<br />
on floaties around the whole island! Another set<br />
of grandparents used to live in Florida so we visited<br />
them and then they moved to Iowa where I<br />
visited them once. On my cousin’s first birthday,<br />
my aunt and uncle scheduled all of us to go to<br />
Hawaii for a celebration. That was my first time in<br />
Hawaii.<br />
I have traveled to America. In America I have<br />
traveled to California. My aunt lives in San Francisco,<br />
so I’ve been there. I went to Disneyland<br />
one year. I have traveled to Jordan and also to<br />
Jerusalem. This summer I will go to America to<br />
a wedding. I will be the flower girl and my<br />
brother will be the ring boy.<br />
What holidays do you celebrate? Which is your<br />
favorite? I celebrate Christmas, Halloween,<br />
Children Without Borders 39
Valentines Day, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving,<br />
New Year’s, and the 4th of July. My favorite<br />
is Christmas. I like Christmas because I like<br />
going to the snow. I like spending time with my<br />
family and relaxing.<br />
I celebrate Easter, Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s<br />
Day, and Fourth of July sometimes. My<br />
favorite holiday is Halloween because we dress<br />
up in costumes. I also like Easter because we<br />
do a lot of egg hunts and on the Saturday night<br />
before Easter we color eggs. My brother gets too<br />
excited because the Easter Bunny is coming. On<br />
Christmas Eve, my mom always makes cookies.<br />
We decorate them. We also listen to Christmas<br />
carols at this time.<br />
What’s the coldest weather you’ve ever been in,<br />
and where? The coldest weather I’ve ever been<br />
in is –45. That was in Chicago when I lived there.<br />
That day it was really windy. That day I got my<br />
tongue stuck to an icicle. I had to put pouring<br />
hot water on to it to unloosen it.<br />
This year was the coldest year ever in my life<br />
in <strong>Ramallah</strong>. I kept hoping that it would snow.<br />
Will you describe a typical day in your life? First,<br />
I go to school and when I get home I usually do<br />
homework. After I do some homework I might go<br />
outside and play soccer. After that, I read until<br />
it’s time for dinner. I usually go to bed around 10<br />
to 10:30 PM.<br />
I wake up and go to school. I learn several<br />
things and I have fun with my friends at break<br />
time. Sometimes I just chat with them. After<br />
school I come home. I wash my hands. I eat my<br />
lunch. I study on my balcony. It is warm there.<br />
Usually I study math. Sometimes when I have<br />
English, I do that. Then I play when I’m done.<br />
When my mom gives me a 20 minute break, I<br />
read for ten minutes and I play Wii for ten minutes.<br />
When I go to bed I read a story. I go to<br />
sleep around 9 p.m.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in the snow?<br />
I like to make snowmen and dress them up in<br />
clothing that I find around the house. I also like<br />
to make snow forts and have a snowball fight<br />
with my friends or my brother.<br />
My favorite thing to do in the snow is to make<br />
a snowman. I dress it up with a scarf and a hat. I<br />
also use some sticks for the arms. I also have a<br />
snowball fight with my brother. It hasn’t snowed<br />
a lot for a really long time. I like to relax and play<br />
checkers inside and drink hot chocolate.<br />
Clara Hollowgrass Interviews<br />
Layth Bhaisi<br />
Clara<br />
Layth <br />
Are you a girl or a boy? How old are you and<br />
what is your name? I am a girl. My name is Clara<br />
and I am eleven.<br />
I’m a boy and I am twelve years old. My name<br />
is Layth Bhaisi.<br />
Describe a typical day in your life. I wake up<br />
and take the dog for a walk, get myself ready<br />
and go to school. I stay at school for six hours<br />
then come home. We often take our dog to run<br />
and play at the dog park. Sometimes I go to a<br />
friend’s house to do homework and play. I help<br />
my mom make dinner, eat, then read, and then<br />
go to bed.<br />
A normal day in my life begins when I wake<br />
up, eat breakfast, and go to school. I’m at school<br />
for 8 hours! I come back home and have supper<br />
with my family. I go outside to play soccer. I then<br />
go back to my house. I work on my homework<br />
after this. When I’m finished, I play on my iPad<br />
and then I sleep.<br />
Do you play a sport, if so what kind? I play<br />
soccer and I love it. I usually play defense on a<br />
team called the Cheetahs. This team is made up<br />
mostly from girls in my grade.<br />
I play soccer, too. I play on a team called<br />
PS4L. I play as a striker. We practice and play<br />
Children Without Borders 40
our games at the upper school because it has a<br />
grass field. We play against teams from towns<br />
all over Palestine. Our team is made up of boys<br />
from our school.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in the snow?<br />
My favorite thing to do in the snow is snowball<br />
fights. One time when I was 5 years old, my<br />
friend Sammy threw a snowball and it hit me in<br />
the face. Because I was mad at him for this, I<br />
filled a sled with snowballs and threw them all at<br />
him. We laughed and played a lot.<br />
My favorite thing to do is to throw snow at<br />
other people and on cars. I’ve also made snowmen<br />
when it has snowed here. It does not snow<br />
here very much.<br />
Do you have any pets, if so what are they and<br />
what are their names? I have four pets, Blanca<br />
the dog, Lucky the parakeet, and Peace and Dart<br />
the rats. I love them all!. My dog is fluffy and<br />
white and really cute. When you blow on her face<br />
she tries to eat the air. I’ve had Lucky the bird<br />
since kindergarten. A parakeet is a good choice<br />
of pet because they sing to you and they play<br />
with a bell.<br />
I have no pets. My parents don’t want to have<br />
pets. We don’t have a yard for animals. My family<br />
lives in an apartment. My mom doesn’t like birds<br />
or fish.<br />
What do you want to be when you grow up?<br />
I want to be teacher or maybe a designer of<br />
flowers, hair or clothes. I love playing and working<br />
with kids. I like to introduce new topics to<br />
people and watch them learn. There is a feeling<br />
of wanting to create something that I really like<br />
the look of, for instance a jean pocket with a<br />
special design.<br />
I hope to be a professional soccer player. I<br />
would like to play for Barcelona in Spain. I love<br />
soccer so much and Barcelona is the best team,<br />
in my opinion. I practice a lot so that I can play<br />
like Messi.<br />
Do you have a hobby? If so, what is your favorite?<br />
My favorite hobby is whittling designs into<br />
long, smooth sticks. I use a pocket knife. I like to<br />
sit on a blanket on the grass, in the warm sun,<br />
my dog by my side while I whittle.<br />
I like to play on my iPad. My favorite game is<br />
Asphalt. I like it because it is a game with cars. It<br />
is 3-D. It shows beautiful cars and you can pretend<br />
you’re driving them.<br />
Do you have a favorite word? If so, can you share<br />
it? My favorite word is hyperbole. It means an<br />
exaggeration as a figure of speech. One example<br />
might be, “My dog Blanca’s eyes are as black as<br />
deep caverns.” Another example would be, “The<br />
hole in the jeans was as wide as a ocean.”<br />
”Fufu.” It’s the short name for my friend Faris.<br />
It’s just another way of saying someone’s name.<br />
Who would you like to have lunch with, alive or<br />
dead, and why? I would like to meet Adele, the<br />
singer. She does community service by donating<br />
belongings, money and food to people in<br />
homeless shelters. Even though she is very<br />
successful in the music industry, she still thinks<br />
of people in need. I also really like her music.<br />
I would like to have lunch with my grand father<br />
Fayez. He is not alive anymore. I never met him,<br />
but my family remembers him and tells me<br />
about him. He owned a restaurant nearby. He<br />
was a good person and everybody loved him.<br />
What is your most special belonging? My most<br />
special belonging is my journal from when I was<br />
7. I wrote funny things about what I did each day.<br />
It is funny because it is from a 7 year old perspective.<br />
One example is “Today our teacher was<br />
tap dancing. Then we played with playdough and<br />
had lunch. Then I went home and we had mushrooms<br />
for dinner. Yucky.” This writing is special<br />
to me because some of the things I said were<br />
sweet. It’s like I’m visiting the past through my<br />
7-year-old-self.<br />
Besides my iPad, I have a small bear that is a<br />
toy. I have had it since I was a baby. I named it<br />
Lulu. It sits on my bed in my room at home.<br />
If you could have any animal(s) as a pet, what<br />
would it be? I would get an elephant and a<br />
Children Without Borders 41
leather back sea turtle. I feel like elephants are<br />
very graceful even though they are so huge and<br />
loud. They actually seem like humans because<br />
their emotions show through their sounds and<br />
movements. Leather back sea turtles can survive<br />
for more than a hundred years! I would be<br />
able to have one for my entire life. When I think<br />
about a sea turtle I imagine a very intelligent<br />
animal. It’s amazing how the baby turtles are<br />
hatched in the sand and know exactly where to<br />
go next.<br />
If I could have a pet, it would be dog. I’d like a<br />
dog because I could play with it. I’d like to have<br />
a puppy because it is cute and I can teach it. I<br />
would teach it to be good with people and to<br />
play games.<br />
Yuki Koch Interviews<br />
Zein Suhail Musarsa<br />
Yuki<br />
Zein <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or girl? My<br />
name is Yuki Else Koch. I am a girl.<br />
My name is Zein Suhail Musarsa. I am a girl.<br />
How old are you, and when is your birthday? How<br />
do you celebrate your birthday? What gifts would<br />
you like to receive? I am nine, my birthday is<br />
Feb. 18, 2002. Usually my parents and I choose<br />
what I want to do for my birthday. For example,<br />
one year I had a treasure hunt party. My dad<br />
hid things all over the neighborhood and left<br />
clues for me and my friends to find everything.<br />
It was fun. For my birthday I would want to get a<br />
Nintendo DS, it is sort of like an iPod touch but<br />
different.<br />
I am ten years old. My birthday is December<br />
13, 2001. I usually do my birthday at a bowling<br />
alley. I would like to get a Nintendo DSi, an<br />
iPhone and an iPad.<br />
Do you have any brothers or sisters? If so how<br />
many, and what are their names? I do not have<br />
any brothers or sisters. But I have three cousins.<br />
Two of my cousins live in Japan and one lives in<br />
Germany.<br />
I have 1 brother named Walid and 1 sister<br />
named Jeannine.<br />
What grade are you in? How many students<br />
are in your class? I am in 4th grade. Right now<br />
there are 16 kids in our class, but there is a boy<br />
named Jesse coming in February.<br />
I am in 4th grade. There are 14 boys in the<br />
class and 16 girls.<br />
What is your favorite thing to do in the snow?<br />
I like having snowball fights with my dad. We<br />
usually go to Germany to be in the snow but this<br />
year, there is no snow in Germany and we are<br />
thinking about going to Tahoe in California during<br />
our week off of school in February.<br />
I like to have snow ball fights with my family<br />
and drinking hot chocolate.<br />
What’s your favorite planet? My favorite planet is<br />
earth because it has life. I do like looking at the<br />
other planets though. They are really colorful.<br />
I like Mars because it’s red.<br />
Who is your teacher? Do you think she/he is a<br />
good teacher? My teacher is Kris Lee. I think she<br />
is awesome. She can be strict, but she is strict<br />
for a good reason.<br />
My teacher is Maha Atallah. She is nice and<br />
funny.<br />
How many teeth have you lost? I have lost 8<br />
teeth. I have gotten 6 teeth pulled out and I am<br />
going to get 4 more teeth pulled out. That is<br />
because I need to get braces for my teeth.<br />
I have lost 13 teeth.<br />
What’s your favorite design? Polka dots, stars,<br />
hearts, stripes etc. I like Polka dots because they<br />
make me feel happy.<br />
I like hearts and polka dots.<br />
What is your favorite holiday, and why? My<br />
favorite holiday is Christmas, because I get to<br />
Children Without Borders 42
spend time with my grandparents, and since my<br />
birthday is so close to Christmas, I get double<br />
presents.<br />
My grandparents usually come here from<br />
Germany for Christmas, but last year we went<br />
there. My favorite holiday is Christmas because<br />
I am Christian and I get presents.<br />
Sadie Ellis-Caleo Interviews<br />
Rahaf Abu-Homos<br />
Sadie<br />
Rahaf <br />
What is your name, and are you a boy or a girl?<br />
My name is Sadie and I am a girl and my nickname<br />
is Suds.<br />
My name is Rahaf and I am a girl. My nickname<br />
is RoRo.<br />
What is your teacher’s name? My teacher’s name<br />
is Kris Lee. She is a good math helper.<br />
My homeroom teacher’s name is Miss Maha.<br />
She is a good teacher because she gives us<br />
important information in a fun way.<br />
What is the name of your school, and do you like<br />
it and why? The name of my school is Park Day<br />
School. I like it because it gives everyone equal<br />
rights and has a great gardening, sports and<br />
Spanish program that I really enjoy. The teachers<br />
are nice and supportive.<br />
The name of my school is <strong>Friends</strong> Girls School.<br />
I like it because my friends are here. It is very<br />
good for learning English. I like to learn English.<br />
Do you have any siblings, and what are their<br />
names and ages? I have an older brother named<br />
Tim who is 18. Tim is super cool and one of<br />
my favorite things to do with him is play math<br />
games. I also have an older sister named Tessa<br />
who is 29. She is super nice and really fun to do<br />
artwork with and I really enjoy doing it with her.<br />
I have one brother and one sister. My sister’s<br />
name is Maram. She is 14 and in Grade 9. She<br />
tells me funny things and we dance. My brother’s<br />
name is Ala. He is Grade 7 and he is twelve<br />
years old. He usually helps my parents with<br />
cleaning our home, but sometimes he doesn’t.<br />
He studies a lot and he is a good student.<br />
Do you like sports? If so, what sport? The sports<br />
I like are soccer, swimming, dancing, basketball<br />
and jump rope.<br />
I like sports. I like soccer and ballet. I also like<br />
swimming.<br />
What is your birthday? How do you celebrate<br />
your birthdays? My birthday is <strong>June</strong> 22, 2002.<br />
These are a few of the things that I like to do on<br />
my birthday. I like to spend lots of time with my<br />
family, go swimming, watch movies, read lots,<br />
and play soccer with my dog. For dinner, I like to<br />
get “take out” sushi, or go to one of my favorite<br />
restaurants. My favorite cake is German<br />
Chocolate cake.<br />
My birthday is on January 12, 2002. On my<br />
birthday my family brings me a cake. I get<br />
some presents. We have a small party with my<br />
friends. We cannot have a big party because<br />
one of my uncles died and our family is still sad<br />
about this.<br />
Do you live in a house, apartment, mansion, or<br />
farm? I live in Montclair, which is a tiny neighborhood<br />
of Oakland. My house is two stories tall<br />
with all our bedrooms on the second floor. My<br />
backyard is pretty big with a play structure,<br />
hammock, tetherball, ping pong table and grass<br />
on one side and a basketball court on the other<br />
where I do my jump roping. There are lots of<br />
trees, and a creek with a little bridge.<br />
I live in a house in <strong>Ramallah</strong>. My house has<br />
my whole family and we share it with my four<br />
uncles and their children. Our space has just our<br />
family of five people. Next to our house are the<br />
other relatives. We don’t have a yard or a garden.<br />
On the top of our house there is a place for use<br />
to play. We eat dinner there sometimes. We’re<br />
Children Without Borders 43
always working on our house. Right now we’re<br />
making a new door for my bedroom.<br />
Do you have any pets? If so what kind? How old<br />
and what is their name and age and gender, and<br />
if so what breed? I have a dog named Josie. Her<br />
breed is a corgi German Shepherd. I got her a<br />
little bit more than a year ago at an animal shelter<br />
called Milo. She is super cute and sweet. I<br />
used to have two cats—one was named Smoky,<br />
the other one Pirate. Smoky died of old age. She<br />
was 22 in people years and Pirate died of cancer<br />
last year. I also have a fish named Sarah who is<br />
still alive and cute.<br />
I have no pets. I wish I had a dog. I’d like a<br />
Chihuahua because it is small and cute. I like to<br />
play with animals.<br />
What would you like to be when you grow up? I<br />
would like to be a professional dancer or actress.<br />
I would also like to make my own cat and dog<br />
foundation or be a marine animal trainer at<br />
Marine World or Seaworld.<br />
I would like to be a doctor. I would be the<br />
doctor that gets the babies. I want to be this<br />
because I like babies. Maybe I will go to London<br />
to study to be a doctor.<br />
What’s your favorite kind of weather, and why? I<br />
like a rainy day, because it makes me feel cozy<br />
and warm. I just want to be in my pajamas and<br />
sip hot cocoa by the fireplace.<br />
Rain is my favorite weather. I like it because<br />
it comes in the winter and my birthday is in<br />
winter.<br />
Leila Mottley’s Interviews<br />
Leila Habayeb<br />
Leila M.<br />
Leila H. <br />
What is your name? Are you a boy or a girl? My<br />
name is Leila. I am a girl.<br />
My name is Leila, too. I am a girl.<br />
How old are you, and when is your birthday? How<br />
do you celebrate your birthday? What gifts would<br />
you like to receive? I’m 9 and a half. My birthday<br />
is <strong>June</strong> 15, and I am going to go swimming for<br />
my party. I hope I get a gift certificate to a bookstore.<br />
A gift certificate is money on a card to a<br />
certain store.<br />
I’m nine and a half. My birthday is <strong>June</strong> 18.<br />
For the last two years I celebrated at a swimming<br />
pool. I invited my friends and we had<br />
chocolate cake. For my birthday this year I’d like<br />
to receive English books to read. I like reading<br />
books like the Boxcar Children series. I like these<br />
books because the kids solve mysteries. I like<br />
mysteries.<br />
Do you have any siblings? What are their names<br />
and ages? I have a brother who is 12 and his<br />
name is Logan. My brother is kind and fun to play<br />
with when he’s not grumpy. We like to play with<br />
our swords.<br />
I have a brother. He is 12 years old and his<br />
name is Yazan. Yazan likes to wrestle with me.<br />
I also have a sister. Her name is Razan and she<br />
is 7 years old. Razan likes to help my mother<br />
make food.<br />
Do you have any pets, and if so, which kind?<br />
What is your favorite animal? I have three cats<br />
and my favorite animal is a cat. The oldest, who<br />
is 6, is a blue tailed tabby, and her name is Kiwi.<br />
Another is Luna and she is calico, and 1 year-old.<br />
Jaco is an orange tabby and the same age as<br />
Luna.<br />
Children Without Borders 44
I have no pets. I’d like to have a dog because<br />
they are funny. I like Chihuahua dogs because<br />
they are tiny and cute. My favorite animal is the<br />
dog because they are cute.<br />
What grade are you in? How many students are<br />
in your class? I’m in fourth grade and there are<br />
17 kids in my class.<br />
I’m in fourth grade and there are 30 kids in<br />
my class.<br />
Describe your school to me. There are three<br />
buildings in our school, one is called The Palm<br />
Building and it is for K–3rd. Another building<br />
is the BK building and another is called the<br />
Magnolia building, which has the 7th and 8th<br />
graders. We also have a huge playground with<br />
swings, slides and basketball courts. My favorite<br />
is the basketball courts.<br />
My school has five buildings for different<br />
grades and offices. There is a big playground<br />
with slides and a place to play soccer. Our<br />
school is very old. My aunts were students at<br />
this school.<br />
What is your favorite subject and why? What are<br />
your favorite afterschool activities? I love reading<br />
and writing, I love Indian dance, which is on<br />
Wednesdays at 3:00 and right after that I have<br />
Modern dance class.<br />
My favorite subject is English. I like it because<br />
we have many activities and my teacher Miss<br />
Stephanie tries to make us be good in reading<br />
and writing English. I learn guitar afterschool. It<br />
is on Thursdays. I like it because guitar is my<br />
favorite instrument. My parents don’t like me to<br />
play, though. They want me to play the piano. I<br />
learned for two years and then I quit because I<br />
did not like it.<br />
Do you play an instrument, and if so which one?<br />
A.I play the piano. My lessons are every Fridays<br />
at 5:00. I love playing the piano and for Christmas<br />
I got a keyboard.<br />
I play the guitar. Sometimes I play the piano.<br />
We have a piano in our house.<br />
What holidays do you celebrate? Which is your<br />
favorite? I celebrate Christmas and it is my favorite<br />
holiday. Every year my grandma, aunt and<br />
uncle and soon cousin (they just had a baby<br />
named Andrew) come down to our house and<br />
we eat and open presents and then they leave.<br />
I celebrate Christmas and Easter. My favorite<br />
is Christmas because we get presents. Sometimes<br />
we go to Amman, Jordan for Christmas<br />
to celebrate with our cousins. We play UNO and<br />
other games. We go to church.<br />
What countries or places have you been to, or<br />
are planning to go to? I’ve been to Michigan and<br />
Ohio when I was a lot younger because that’s<br />
where my parents grew up, but in July my whole<br />
family and uncle, aunt, and grandma are going to<br />
my great-uncle and aunts in Canada and it will be<br />
fun.<br />
I’ve been to Jordan and Egypt. In Egypt I went<br />
to Sharm Al-Sheik where we went swimming in<br />
the Red Sea. I also went to America, but I was<br />
just 2 months old, so I don’t remember what I<br />
did. My two aunts live in Jacksonville, Florida and<br />
I have many cousins in America.<br />
What’s your favorite kind of weather and season?<br />
I love rain, so I can sit down and read with hot<br />
chocolate and then take a nap. I also like to go<br />
out and try to catch rainwater on my tongue and<br />
that’s why winter and the beginning of summer<br />
are my favorites.<br />
I like the summer. I like it because we go to<br />
swim at a swimming pool called Snobar. I love<br />
swimming. I love winter, too. I love it because<br />
it sometimes snows, but in Palestine it doesn’t<br />
snow much.<br />
Children Without Borders 45
PDS Articles
Art-icle<br />
by Lucy Pierce and Lucy Swinson and Parker Reinheimer<br />
We’re writing an article about our school art program taught by our teacher<br />
Jenny. We do art in a big room with lots of tables and big shelves filled<br />
with art materials. In art we do all kinds of different art, like abstract dot<br />
build up, realism, sculpting, painting, and collages etc. We also use all<br />
sorts of materials, like records, corks, pepper,<br />
clay, paper, paint, glitter, and wire etc.<br />
We have art on Thursdays. Parker and Lucy S.<br />
have it after lunch, Lucy P. has it before lunch.<br />
We do art because it helps you express yourself. Here are some pictures<br />
of us painting on records and free sketching. We hope you like them!<br />
Children Without Borders 47
Palestine and Israel Stamps<br />
by Sam Lopez<br />
these stamps are from Israel and Palestine. My sister’s friend’s dad went<br />
to Israel and bought these stamps for me because I asked if he would<br />
bring back pictures. But he forgot<br />
his camera, so he figured this was<br />
the next best thing. The stamps<br />
from Palestine are from 1942 and<br />
from when Palestine was part of<br />
the British Mandate, so they are<br />
very rare. v<br />
Here is a scan of all the stamps.<br />
Children Without Borders 48
Sports<br />
by Hayley and Sofia<br />
sports at Park Day School is taught by two people -- Will is the sports teacher for<br />
1st grade to 6th grade, and Josie teaches 7th and 8th graders. Sports is played on<br />
the field and also on most of the campus, if you’re playing a big game.<br />
Some games that we play in sports are capture the flag, bravery, mouse trap,<br />
evolution, circle of doom, hockey, corner soccer, baseball,<br />
Danish rounders, volleyball, the west wind blows,<br />
jump rope, etc. We think all the kids are all wrapped up<br />
in sports. It’s fun because Will always makes up new<br />
games, and Josie, too. The 7th and 8th graders have a<br />
team and their name is the Mighty Apples. Overall, we<br />
think that all the kids enjoy sports and the games the<br />
teachers make up!<br />
Kids play soccer everyday<br />
Jumproping<br />
Our sports teacher invents new ballgames<br />
Children Without Borders 49
Graffiti Art<br />
By Lula, Mattie and Stella<br />
graffiti is a type of street art that is usually thought of as bad or unnecessary. We disagree. We<br />
think that graffiti is a great art form that encourages artists to speak their words in the form of<br />
street art.<br />
Graffiti can be anything the artist wants: abstract, cuteness, words, signatures, etc. Graffiti can<br />
be made from anything you want, but the most common material used is spray paint. You can also<br />
use pen or pencil and paint to practice on a piece of<br />
paper.<br />
Even though graffiti is illegal in some places, it is<br />
not illegal everywhere. Graffiti is legal in lots of areas,<br />
like for example, in a lot of places in the mission district<br />
in San Francisco.<br />
There are graffiti tunnels where are encouraged to<br />
do graffiti on the walls of the tunnels. Graffiti is almost<br />
always on walls or sides of buildings, but sometimes it<br />
is also on trains or trucks and cars.<br />
Finally, we think that graffiti is a really cool and<br />
amazing form of art and we think artists should be<br />
able to express their feelings in most places.<br />
We have been through Berkeley and Oakland<br />
observing all the graffiti we see. Here are some<br />
of photographs we took of graffiti art.<br />
Children Without Borders 50
New Hot Lunch Program at Park Day School<br />
By Cass, Olivia and Sonia<br />
park Day has a new hot lunch program! Kids can get hot lunch Tuesdays and Thursdays, or 5 days<br />
a week. We get little green cards that say our name and our teacher’s name. If you buy lunch<br />
Tuesdays and Thursdays, your card is light green, and if you get lunch everyday, your card is dark<br />
green.<br />
Some of our favorite meals are teriyaki chicken, Sloppy Joes, Mac ’n Cheese, garlic bread, minestrone<br />
soup, and spaghetti and meatballs. There’s always a long line on Tuesdays and Thursdays<br />
because that’s when a lot of people buy lunch. A common<br />
issue with the lunch line is that it moves pretty slowly. That’s<br />
because there are only two stations for food.<br />
Before the Hot Lunch program started, we had pizza on<br />
Wednesday, pasta on Tuesday, and burritos on Thursday.<br />
The pizza was cheese and wasn’t very good. The beans in<br />
the burritos were starchy, but the pasta was great.<br />
The Park Day lunch program is near the 6th, 7th and<br />
8th grades area. The chefs cook the food. They cook it in<br />
trays and there’s a window that they pass it out to the lunch<br />
ladies, so they can serve it to the kids who are in the program.<br />
When we get to the front of the line the lunch ladies take a plate and ask us what we want. After<br />
they serve us, we can go to the vegetable table and get side dishes, like vegetables and pasta, and<br />
there’s always salad, tomatoes, egg salad and sandwiches and sometimes beats. There also is a soup<br />
table, which not a lot of people get. Then once we have all our food we go out to another table, which<br />
contains fruit, water and 2% milk. Finally we can go and eat<br />
our lunch after that long process.<br />
Park Day does not use paper plates and plastic utensils<br />
because it’s not good for the earth. Instead of using those<br />
things, we use hard plastic plates and regular silverware that<br />
can be washed and reused. We have plastic cups. This is a<br />
big improvement because last year we used paper plates<br />
which created a lot of waste and got blown all over the campus.<br />
This year, when we’re finished eating, we put our plates<br />
and utensils into buckets that the cooks come out and get<br />
when they’re full.<br />
We think that the food is good most of the time. Avi, a vegetarian fifth-grader comments, “I think<br />
that options for vegetarians are limited. Other than that, the food is so-so.” But there are many other<br />
kids that love the food and like to eat it five times a week. Becky, a fifth-grader, said that the garlic<br />
bread is good and Stella, also in fifth grade, loves the pizza.<br />
The chefs are doing a great job. Nutrition-wise they are providing healthy choices. Taste-wise most<br />
people love it. Choice-wise, we recommend adding more vegetarian choices.<br />
Children Without Borders 51
Our Playground<br />
By Sam Lopez<br />
our playground has a play structure with<br />
monkey bars, ladders, a corkscrew and<br />
a slide. It is on top of a woodchip area. We<br />
have a big Astroturf field next to it where<br />
we play soccer and other games. We<br />
have a small purple stage, another<br />
slide, a basketball court, a climbing<br />
structure, a swing set, and a<br />
sunken area we use as a garden<br />
to plant vegetables and<br />
flowers.<br />
Children Without Borders 52
Justin Beiber<br />
By Emmet, Henry and Jake<br />
justin Bieber was just an ordinary boy in Canada.<br />
His parents were divorced. So he grew up with<br />
his little sister and his mom. He loved playing guitar<br />
and had a great voice. Ever since the day he was<br />
born he had talent. His mom saw that he had great<br />
rhythm drumming on seats and tables and singing<br />
all around the house! Justin’s career bloomed when<br />
a man named Scooter saw some of his Youtube videos<br />
online and took him to Atlanta and talked about<br />
making records. As soon as they got off the plane in<br />
Atlanta, they saw Usher and Justin said he was Usher’s<br />
biggest fan and he wanted to sing for him. Usher<br />
agreed and let him sing. Usher loved Justin’s voice<br />
so he made time in the recording studio to record<br />
his songs and he made records! His first hit album<br />
was entitled My World.<br />
As Justin became known around the country, radio shows requested meetings and<br />
Justin bloomed into a teenage sensation. He created a monster posse of young and old<br />
women worldwide. They followed wherever he went, and screamed whenever they got<br />
the slightest glimpse of him at a concert almost instantly! WOAH!!!<br />
As Justin grew up he bloomed into a handsome man and ladies bowed down<br />
worldwide. Soon Ellen Degeneres, a talk show hostess saw his videos and asked if<br />
he would like to have an interview. Immediately Justin agreed. Interviews like this<br />
played a big role in his career. Justin came out with lots more Youtube videos.<br />
Justin came out with his second album entitled My World 2.0. The album had hit<br />
songs, for example “Baby,” “One Less Lonely Girl,” “U Smile,” and “One Time.” The<br />
album got a good rating on iTunes. Justin then made music about love and hardship<br />
like “Baby,” one of his hit songs. Then Justin made music videos for his<br />
songs and they also were number 1 hits on iTunes.<br />
Justin was and still is a star thanks to Youtube.<br />
Children Without Borders 53
Interview with Bob<br />
By Becky, Leila and Sylvia<br />
How did you become a teacher, and why?<br />
Bob: I think I always liked doing it and I like<br />
being with kids. My wife also suggested that I<br />
would be happier being a teacher.<br />
What year did you start teaching?<br />
1991.<br />
What was the first grade you taught?<br />
I taught in this order 5th, 7th, 6th, and 4th.<br />
Did you have a job before you were a teacher? If<br />
so, what?<br />
Yes, I was a lawyer.<br />
What was the first school you taught at?<br />
Skyline Elementary in Daly City.<br />
What was your favorite thing<br />
to do when you were a kid?<br />
It was probably to play<br />
with my friends.<br />
Bob<br />
Do you have any pets?<br />
Yes I have two dogs -- one named Buzzby<br />
and one named Annie.<br />
Do you have any kids, and what grade are<br />
they in?<br />
Yes, Alex is in the 12th grade and Lucy is<br />
in 10th.<br />
What is your favorite sport?<br />
To watch, it would have to be football,<br />
and to play it would be biking.<br />
What is your favorite animal?<br />
My favorite animals are dogs and<br />
birds.<br />
Interview with Kris<br />
By Cecily, Sadie and Samia<br />
Question:What’s your favorite color?<br />
Kris: It changes all the time, but right now it’s purple.<br />
What is your favorite subject to teach?<br />
Math and social studies.<br />
Why did you become a teacher?<br />
It’s a very important job to help children get an education.<br />
Do you have a pet?<br />
No.<br />
What is your favorite TV show?<br />
City Hunter, and Korean series.<br />
What is your favorite book?<br />
Arabian Nights<br />
Kris<br />
Children Without Borders 54
RFS Articles
Twenty Years From Now…<br />
by Natalie Jubeh<br />
it’s 9:00 am and I’m late to work. I am an English teacher and a hair dresser. I am living now<br />
in Turkey because when I visited it as a child I liked it so much. It’s a very nice place.<br />
My best friend is called Nazan. She is Turkish and I love her. She is a math teacher at the<br />
same school where I work. By the way, my mum’s grandmother is from Turkey so my grandfather<br />
speaks Turkish and Arabic. When I was a little girl, he taught me how to speak Turkish.<br />
The Gift of Family<br />
by Sara Khatib, Grade 6<br />
the best gift I have ever received is my family, because they help me when I need them.<br />
They are always on my side supporting me. If I do something wrong they tell me so I will<br />
not do it again. They care about me very much and I care about them. For a best gift, some<br />
say an iPod, others say a pet and things like that, but I say that having a mom, dad, and a<br />
small brother is the best gift.<br />
Snow in <strong>Ramallah</strong><br />
by Taleen Abdullah, Grade 4<br />
i<br />
was only five years old when I saw snow for the first time. I was so happy and excited. I<br />
couldn’t wait to go outside and play with it and build a snowman. It’s something I’d wanted<br />
to do for a long time. I remember we went to the roof of our building to play. I was so happy.<br />
I wanted to feel snow between my hands. I didn’t wear any gloves and after a while my hands<br />
were so cold that I started to cry.<br />
Children Without Borders 56
My Day Off<br />
by Nour Habbash, Grade 5<br />
what day do you love the most? I like the day, Sunday, because everyone is just home<br />
and asleep. I always go feed and play with my dog Kanfush, and then I try and try to<br />
wake my sister up. After that, I go with my mom to a restaurant, and its name is Zamn! When<br />
we finish eating, we go do our daily chores. Thank God for this day, because this is always the<br />
best day ever!!<br />
My Atlas is My Favorite Book<br />
by Tarek Abu-Amr 4B<br />
my favorite book is my National Geographic Atlas. My dad brought it to me from America<br />
because he knows that I like geography. It gives me nice information about countries.<br />
I learn about the continents. It helps the other students in our Geography Club. I like<br />
my atlas very much!<br />
I Love Swimming<br />
By Marc Husary, Grade 6<br />
i<br />
liked swimming since I was a little kid and I still like it. Now I’m good at swimming. Every<br />
summer I go swimming. I swam in many places. I swam in Syria and I swam in Jaffa many<br />
times. Swimming is my hobby. Every time I go swimming I practice moves and jumping into<br />
water. I hope I’ll enjoy swimming in the next summer.<br />
Children Without Borders 57
I Love My Family<br />
By Shukri Kuttab, Grade 6<br />
living within a loving family is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Loving, caring,<br />
and sharing are the most important words in our family. Sharing means sharing<br />
everything, like good or bad things, ideas, moments and duties. Since our parents give us<br />
the best things they can, we as children should give them something in return, like loving,<br />
helping, and appreciation, and I think this is just a little bit compared to what they gave us.<br />
A Migration Story<br />
By Amanda Azar, Grade 5<br />
america has a lot of very good colleges, so that’s why my dad left <strong>Ramallah</strong>, Palestine.<br />
He was awarded a scholarship to go to one in Utah. When he first got there he stayed<br />
at the university. He felt very scared and lonely to be far from home in a foreign country.<br />
Utah was like <strong>Ramallah</strong> in one way in both places most of the people are very nice.<br />
Although he faced the challenges of feeling homesick, getting to know his way around, and<br />
meeting new people, he started to like Utah very much. Many years later he moved back<br />
to <strong>Ramallah</strong> so his kids could learn the language. Now with his education, he is back home<br />
where he wants to be.<br />
Children Without Borders 58
Activities
food is an important part of everyone’s culture and we thought it would be fun to make a food that<br />
the children at the <strong>Friends</strong>’ School enjoyed: hummus.<br />
Making Hummus<br />
Palestinian cuisine shares many dishes in common<br />
with other countries in the region, hummus<br />
is one of them. In Palestine, hummus is a popular<br />
appetizer, or meze and is served with grilled<br />
or toasted pita bread cut into wedges. 4 to 6<br />
servings<br />
Ingredients<br />
Chickpeas, cooked and drained — 2 cups<br />
Tahini (sesame paste) — ¼ to ½ cup<br />
Lemon juice — ¼ cup<br />
Garlic, crushed — 2-4 cloves<br />
Salt — ½ teaspoon<br />
Water — as needed<br />
Olive oil — ¼ cup<br />
Parsley minced — 1-2 tablespoons<br />
Method<br />
Place the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice,<br />
garlic and salt into a food processor or<br />
blender and process until very smooth. Add<br />
water as needed to achieve a soft, spreadable<br />
consistency. Adjust seasoning with<br />
lemon juice and salt to taste.<br />
Mound the hummus in a serving bowl<br />
and drizzle the olive oil over the top.<br />
Sprinkle with parsley and serve.<br />
Children Without Borders 60
Palestinian embroidery — Tatriz<br />
the Middle East has been a leader in textile production<br />
since vancient times. Arabs introduced many forms<br />
of silk weaving and production to the West. Witness,<br />
for example, the frequent use of such Arabic names as<br />
“damask” (from Damascus) and “gauze” (from Gaza) for<br />
certain fabric weaves<br />
Palestinian hand-embroidery is rich in color, texture,<br />
and history. Historically Palestinian girls have learned to<br />
embroider, or “tatriz,” as soon as they could hold a needle<br />
– at the age of six or seven. A girl was normally taught<br />
cross-stitching and the simple motifs of her village. Palestinian<br />
women have expressed their sense of regional<br />
identity and pride in the designs and colors of embroidery<br />
in their dress.<br />
One day CWB reporters tried on some examples of<br />
this clothing.<br />
Children Without Borders 61