Interview with Juliette Asselin

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By Luara Garcia, Brazil

  1. What is your name and where are you from? My name’s Juliette Asselin, I’m from Saint-Lambert, Quebec, Canada.
  2. How old are you? I’m 16 years old.
  3. Tell me one typical food of your country: Poutine, which is fried cheese with sauce.
  4. Do you play any sport? No, I don’t play any sport.
  5. Do like watching series? Which on do you like most? Yes, I like The Hundred pretty much; it has a lot of action.
  6. If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go? I’d go to Japan, because is the opposite from where I live (food, life style, etc.).
  7. Why did you choose “Media and Journalism” as your SPIN class? Because it was the funniest one.
  8. Have you ever fall in love? How many times? Just once.
  9. How many languages do you speak? Which? Just 2, French and English.
  10. What do you like most in the United States that you don’t have in your country? Why? I like the beach. Because I like swimming in the ocean, is different from the pool, and I like being under the sun.

 

Interview to Pierina Staub

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Agustina Lopez from Uruguay

Questions:

  1. What’s your name and how old are you?
  2. Where are you from?
  3. Do you have any brothers or sisters? If you have, do they live with you?
  4. If you could travel to any place in the world where would you go first?
  5. Supposing you get a job offer in this place, would you accept it?
  6. Would you like to live there?
  7. What would you do if you fall in love with a guy there?
  8. If you stayed there for a very long time, what would you miss the most from your country?
  9. Of the countries you have visited, which one do you liked the most and why?
  10. If you could choose a super power, which one would you choose?

 

Pierina Staub from Switzerland

Answers:

  1. Her name is Pierina and she’s 16 years old.
  2. She’s from Switzerland, St.Gallen
  3. She has one sister and she loves her, her sister’s name is Lea and she’s 18 years old so Pierina is the younger sister and they live together.
  4. If she could travel to any place she would choose Santa Barbara so her dream has come true because now she is here.pierina staub
  5. Absolutely no, she loves her family and she would miss them very much because it is too far from home.
  6. No she wouldn’t like to live in Santa Barbara.
  7. In case she falls in love with a guy here she is going to tell him that Switzerland is very awesome and beautiful so if he wants to come back with her he is welcomed.
  8. Pierina would miss the most her friends, family and handball.
  9. Of all the countries she had visited the one she totally loved the most was Greece because she loves going to the beach and the food in there is pretty good too.

10.If she could choose a super power she would like to run very fast.

 

A Typical Day in Santa Barbara, California

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by Gabriel Rickenbach, Switzerland and Eva Schwenger, Germany

Weird beeping. The beeping is getting louder and louder and louder. Where`s my iPhone? I take my iPhone but it isn’t vibrating. I’m confused like Confucius. Suddenly I realize that it`s my friend’s iPhone. Why doesn’t my roommate turn off their mobile phone? School doesn’t start until 1 p.m. for me. Welcome to my home share.

Meanwhile 5.3 miles west a girl stands in front of her closet very troubled. She doesn’t know what to put on. Her phone shows the weather forecast for today: rain and up to 15 degrees Celsius (57.2 degrees Fahrenheit). Time to put on a hoodie and some long jeans. But which should she wear? The struggle is real. With the right jeans and the not-so-right hoodie, she leaves the house. Next task, which has to be accomplished in order to go to school, is catching the bus. Thank god the bus is late as well! She hopes it will be next time or she’ll get into serious trouble. Oh well, it’s just attendance.

BusMeme

I force myself to get out of my bed. My back is hurting. This decrepit bed has probably killed more than one back. I shuffle to the kitchen, grab the cereal and a gallon of milk and enjoy a boring breakfast. Still in my pyjamas I return to my room. One of four beds is already empty, the other three occupied with people who share the same schedule as me. I open my cupboard, grab some clothes which don’t seem filthy, and put them on.

Holding her phone in her right hand and a coffee in the other, she checks in which room she’ll have class next. Why doesn’t her phone connect with the Wi-Fi? She logs in with the username and password provided by the school for the seventh time this week.  It’s so tedious to always reconnect with the Wi-Fi! After she has reentered the information she opens the “myEF” App but it crashes. She gives it a second try and it shows where she has to be. But hurry up she’s already late! Entering the room she feels a breeze but the longer she stays in this room this breeze turns into freeze and the girl starts wondering why the school tries to compete with the Santa Barbara weather which one being the coldest.

SchoolMeme

 

I hit up my friends on WhatsApp to ask what they’re up to this morning but nobody seems to have a good idea. Afternoon class just wastes a whole day because what can you do in the morning? For the beach it’s too cold and for other activities there isn’t enough time available. Maybe I should go to Starbucks and see how they spell my name this time.

I’m feeling so tired, even though I slept enough. Let’s hope that this class ends soon. The most motivated person in this room is standing right in front of me. Maybe I can sneak out the class and fill my bottle of water. Maybe a snack afterwards? But hopefully the vending machine will take my Dollar bill this time…

Finally, school is over and I’m meeting my friend. Time for our vitamins of the day, also known as Yogurtland, our guilty pleasure. After meeting with our friends we start the tiresome walk down State Street towards the sweet release. When we arrive we happily accept the sample cups and pile them way too high with frozen yogurt. Freed from hunger we’re leaving for Sandbar so the lucky ones in our rows can hit it. Hard. So after a couple of Caipirinhas and some non- alcoholic beverages, we fancy going to the beach to have a BBQ.

DrinkingMeme

We order an UberXL to fit all the people inside and go to Ellwood Beach. While the boys try lighting a fire (which is the saddest thing to watch) the girls eat Cheetos and contemplate on how real men would light a fire. The sun is setting and the fire slowly starts to light up the scene. The music blasts and the mood gets better and better. Nobody wastes a thought about having to go to school early the next morning. Oh well, welcome to California everybody!

Campfire

Homeless People in America

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By Klara Keysendal, Sweden

What is homelessness? 

How to prevent homelessness? 

Homelessness occurs when people do not have the ability to take care of themselves. In January 2015, more than 560,000 people were homeless in the United States. About 200,000 were people in families, and about 360,000 were individuals. Almost 17 percent are considered chronically homeless, which is someone who has experienced homelessness for a year or longer and has physical or mental conditions. About 8 percent of the homeless people are veterans.

homeless

There are many factors to become a homeless person; poverty, job loss, health care, mental illness and much more. Persons living in poverty are most at risk of becoming homeless, to not have enough money and to be a homeless person makes it harder to get a job. Health care is a bigger problem for a person who is already homeless; many homeless people are ill and do not ever receive medical care.

homeless1

Numerous studies have shown that about 1/3 of the homeless people have serious mental illnesses, mostly schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. People who are homeless often use drugs and alcohol to deal with their situation, and to temporarily relieve their problems. The majority of domestic victims are women. 1 of 4 woman are abused in their relationships and they choose to stay in a dangerous relationship or to be homeless.

homeless2

It is hard to help all the homeless people in America, but we can probably help some of them. Communities and the government have to help. You as a private person can help as well. Give them food or clothes so they can survive during the day. Help them to find a job, start working and to take care of themselves. Give them assistance to find a place to live where they can be supported both mentally and physically .

Interview with Eva, Germany

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By Klara Keysendal, Sweden

1.What’s your name?
My name is Eva Wipplinger

2. Where are you from?
I’m from a city called Passau which is located in the south part of Germany, close to Austria

3. How long have you been in Santa Barbara? And how long will you stay?
I have been here for five weeks and will stay here for seven more weeks

4. Do you live in a host family or a home share? Do you like it?
I live in a host family and I really like it

5. Do you live with other students?
Yes, I do. I live with two other students, one from Japan and one from Switzerland

6. How would your friends describe you in three words?
Crazy, helpful, I don’t know the third one

7. Have you been in America before?
No, this is my first time

8. What did you do this weekend?
Me and my host family went to Cloud 10, which is a small park, and we had a BBQ with the family

9. Do you have any plans for this summer?
Yes, I have to study before school start, and me and my friend will travel to Italy

10. What do you think you will do in five years?
In five years I’m 21 years old, I hope to have a good job, have my own apartment and maybe have a dog

11. Describe your dream vacation with five words?
My dream vacation is to Florida or Africa. Five words to describe would be beach, friends, sun, having fun and food

12. What’s your dream job?
I don’t have a specific job but I would like to work with people and not work on the weekends

13. How do you spend your free time?
I’m with friends and having dance lessons

14. What is your best childhood memory?
It was seven years ago, me and my best friend travel to London for three days with our parents

15. If you won the lottery, what would you do?
Have a big swimming pool, travel a lot, of course save money for the future, and buy a big house

Kumamoto Earthquake

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Karen Nakano,Japan

The two big earthquakes hit Kumamoto city of Kumamoto prefecture in Japan. First was April 14, magnitude 6.2 at 21:26 Japan standard time and next was April 16, it was main one and magnitude 7.0 at 01:25. It was midnight so everyone was sleeping when this big earthquake hit, as a result a lot of people were buried alive. There are residences for university student in Kumamoto and over 10 students were buried alive. A lot of students rescued each other but some people are still in destroyed residence. Least 49 people were died and injured about 3000 because of these earthquakes. Also more than 44000 people have been evacuated from their houses in Kumamoto.

k1

Now big problem in areas affected by these earthquakes is that support materials are very shortage. Absolutely foods and water people the most need, almost houses were destroyed so they don’t have everything need for live such as blankets, paper, towels and diapers for child even houses. Now a lot of companies, volunteer organization and even individual people around Japan send many support materials on the other hand it is not enough. Some people waited 2 hours to get small rice ball. Everyone is on the line to get something with afraid for many earthquakes.

k3 k4

I was impressed by this picture. A woman is protecting her child into destroyed house of rubble. First when rescue team found this mother, they could not realize child into her arm because she wrapped her child in blanket and lied curled up for protect but after they helped mother and her child, mother was died but child was alive yet. One of rescue teammates found phone in this blanket with child. There is one message from mother “If you are still alive, please remember that how I loved you.” This message was read by everyone around there and impressed them.

k5

Disaster such as earthquake destroys houses, buildings, families and everything and a lot of people are dead. It is really sad and we cannot expect before this but after serious disaster, a lot of people around Japan help for them although it is not enough. I hope many people will be rescued and helped and there will be good condition as soon as possible.

 

Earth – Global Warming and How It Affects Animals

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By Klara Keysendal, Sweden

Global warming is the increase of earth’s average surface temperature due to the effect of greenhouse gases. The gases absorb heat that would otherwise escape from the planet. The temperature is rising faster than before. Global warming has become one of the biggest environmental issues in twenty years.

We get additional information every year about global warming and how it affects wildlife. When the planet warms, the ocean temperature also rises. To survive on our planet, animals and humans need good temperature, fresh water, a place to live, and food.

 earth 3

As the temperature becomes higher the ice melts and gets warmer. Some fish need cold water to survive. The water level increases and the quality worsening’s, which causing more difficulties for the animals during the winter and summer to survive because they can’t find food and the water gets more acidic. When the water level is rising it also destroy the natural habitat, more than 100 million people live close to the sea and will have to move away from their homes. According to IPCC, until the next century the water level might increase one meter.

earth 2 earth 4

If we not do something about this huge problem it will be extremely difficult to prevent the world from collapsing from global warming. We can’t do it by ourselves; we have to do it together, for all humans, animals, nature, and for our future.

Johannes Von Leitner, Germany

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By Sebastian Carlosama, Colombia

Where do you live?

Germany

Who is your favorite singer?

Maekes

If you had the opportunity to choose between being a woman or a man, would you still be a man?

Sure

Do you have siblings?

2 older sisters

Which is your favorite historical moment?

The time of King Cesar

Do you have a car?

Yes, a Volkswagen

Do you enjoy usa?

yes a lot

Do you know how to ride a bike?

Yes

If you had a desire for anything, what would you wish?

A big house, with friends

Do you think Trump should be president?

No

Interview with Sebastian Carlosama

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~by Johannes Enz von Leitner, Germany/Hannover

What is your favorite song at the moment?

“I took a pill in Ibiza”

What would you buy if you had enough money?

“An Island”

What is your favorite sport, which team?

“Basketball ; Barcelona”

How long have you owned a smartphone?

“5 years”

When did you graduate, what school?

“In 2015; high school”

Do you have siblings?

“No I am a lonely child :’(“

What was the best thing you have done in your life?

“Graduation of high school”

What are you planning to do in the future?

“Finish university”

Do you have a driver’s license?

“Yes”

Do you enjoy driving a car?

“Yeah”

Do you know how to ride a horse?

“Not really, No”

Do you enjoy being out in the sun?

“Yeah I like it”

~Sebastian Carlosama, Columbia

Viviane Meyer

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By Emmi Zoccolan, French section of Switzerland.

Viviane

Viviane Meyer is a nineteen year old Swiss girl. She is from Zurich and she speaks Swiss-German. Her parents are from Bern and she has a younger sister who is seventeen years old and works with children. Viviane finished high school before coming to Santa Barbara and after her trip here, she wants to study Economics at the University of Zurich. Her hobby is handball; she has played for twelve years now.

She chose Santa Barbara because she knew some people who were here before and told her that it was really amazing.  Furthermore, she thinks it is better to live in a smaller city like Santa Barbara than in a bigger city, like Los Angeles, because you can go everywhere and you do not need a car. Everything is near and accessible. Even if she feels good in the United States, she feels a little bit homesick; she especially misses the food from Switzerland, like the fondue and definitely her bed. According to her, the biggest difference between Switzerland and Santa Barbara is that here everything is within walking distance. Although, if you want to go to another city, like in San Diego, you need to plan. You cannot just go there, because you need to rent a car and book a hotel. In Switzerland, it is really different because it is a small country; so if you want to go in another city you can just take the car and be in the nearest city in less than one hour. In addition, she likes the fact that the stores stay open in Santa Barbara until 10p.m. because in her country they close earlier.

Viviane has already been to a lot of countries, but China was the most exciting experience she has had so far. She went to Shanghai for two weeks and compared to other European countries, China has a completely difference lifestyle. She said it was interesting to see how people live there and how it is so different from our lifestyle in Europe. She noticed that America is also different form Switzerland, but it was even more different than China. The most beautiful place she has been to is Croatia; she has been there three times already and she loved it. For her it is the most beautiful place she has seen because the water is clean and the landscapes are stunning. Moreover, she liked the fact that there are not sandy beaches and she did not have sand everywhere when she went home. She wishes to visit more Asian countries in the future, especially Vietnam. Perhaps she will take a trip to South America also.