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Around The World
 |  Guilherme enjoys the great outdoors with his motor scooter and surfboard. |
BRAZILIAN KIDS SPEAK OUT ON . . .
- being a kid in Brazil
- their homeland
- differences between Brazil and America
- society's biggest challenges
Brazilian kids speak out on being a kid in Brazil:
TFK: What are your favorite things to eat?
Warren: I like to eat rice, beans, fried potatoes, steak, pizza and pancakes.
Wallace: I like pizza, hamburgers and ice cream (but I don't get fat).
Aline: Beef, pork and chicken "churrasco" (or barbecue) style.
Guilherme: Açaí with granola (açaí is a Brazilian fruit that looks like grapes) and pancakes.
TFK: Favorite TV shows and movies?
Wallace: I like Brazilian TV comedies like "Zorra Total" and "Casseta e Planeta." I like cartoons such as "Pokemon," "The Jetsons," and "Hora ACME."
Aline: My favorite movie is "Popstar," featuring Xuxa. Xuxa is the big celebrity here in Brazil. She has her own TV show and everybody loves her. I also like the soap opera "Malhaçao" because it's for young people and discusses subjects like drugs, AIDS, violence and smoking.
Ana Paula: MTV and horror movies.
TFK: Favorite celebrities?
Chris: I like Pelé. He was a great soccer player, and he continues to be a great person here in Brazil.
Aline: Xuxa and Mário Frias, who is a beautiful actor on "Malhaçao." Angélica is a popular singer and actress like Xuxa. I like them because they are very great and all of Brazil likes them, too.
Ana Paula: Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lopez.
|  Ana Paula is a big fan of music from the U.S. Here she relaxes in her family's sunlit garden. |
TFK: Favorite music bands and pop stars?
Warren: I like the group Karametade, which is pagode music. Pagode music is romantic music in the form of samba. (Samba is Brazil's national music and is rooted in African rhythms.)
Chris: I like the pagode group Só pra contrariar. (In Portuguese, it means "only for thwarting.")
Wallace: I like the singers Claudinho e Buchecha (funk music) and the Backstreet Boys.
Aline: Backstreet Boys and Sandy e Junior. Sandy e Junior sing romantic songs and are very beautiful. They're the same age as me.
Ana Paula: Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Destiny's Child.
Guilherme: Raimundos (a Brazilian rock band), Silverchair, Guns and Roses and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
TFK: Favorite sports?
Warren: I like to play soccer and basketball.
Chris: I like to play soccer.
Wallace: I like to play soccer, living-room soccer (soccer played on a cement field), and basketball.
Aline: Swimming and gymnastics.
Guilherme: Surfing and water polo.
TFK: Name something you're saving up money to buy.
Chris: I'm saving up for a cell phone. I will use it when I need to speak with my parents. Some of my friends also have cell phones.
Wallace: I'm saving up to buy a 29-inch TV and a shelf for the TV.
Aline: I'm saving up to buy a computer to do schoolwork and look for subjects on the Internet.
Guilherme: A Honda Bizz (it's a motor scooter).
Brazilian kids speak out on their homeland:
TFK: What do you like most about Brazil? What do you like least about it?
Guilherme: This is a good place to live, the people are pleasant, and they eat healthy food. I live in a house near the rural area of Niteroi. There are forests, trees and birds.
Warren: The things I like most about Brazil are the climate and the sense of community. The things I like least are the drugs and the violence. The violence comes from gangs, and they use lots of guns. I am afraid of walking alone because I am still small and don't know how to defend myself.
Wallace: I think that Brazil is a very good country to live in. I like the forests, waterfalls and the pure air, but I don't like the violence that has been increasing over the last few years.
Chris: I believe that the rest of the world knows that Brazil has a lot of good qualities. We have great artists, great beaches, pretty places and the world-famous Carnival (a celebration filled with music, dancing and parades).
Aline: The place where I live is full of peace and friendship, and this is what Brazil needs.
TFK: What are some misunderstandings you'd like to clear up about Brazil?
Wallace: Brazil is a third-world country, but I think first-world countries could treat it with more respect. With all of Brazil's foreign debts, those countries think it doesn't have value. But Brazil is a country of great wealth. Brazil has a lot of good qualities, they're just not promoted well.
|  Brothers Warren and Chris (standing in the middle) like to invite friends over to their father's pool. |
Aline: Rio de Janeiro. I would like to show them Sugar Loaf Mountain and Corcovado (a mountaintop with a giant statue of Christ). These places are very beautiful, where tourists like to visit.
Warren: My city. I would take him to my school to meet my friends and teachers. I would show him my classroom and the beautiful church that's part of my school.
Chris: I would show him my father's ranch and the city's shopping sites because they are very beautiful and entertaining. My father has horses, oxen, cows, dogs, and other animals.
Ana Paula: I would like to show him/her the beauty of Carnival. There is no party like the Brazilian Carnival!
Brazilian kids speak out on differences between Brazil and America:
TFK: What do you think of America? Where do you get your ideas about America?
Warren: I think that America is a very big country with beautiful states and different cultures. I admire its variety of languages. I've learned about America from books and television. I would like to learn English because my father speaks it well, and he learned it when he lived outside of Brazil.
Guilherme: I have traveled to Florida (Miami, Orlando, Key West, etc.). It's a beautiful place. I went to Disney World and really loved it.
|  Wallace is proud of the natural beauty and resources of his homeland. |
Guilherme: The Brazilian people are more friendly, warm and happy. Americans are not so friendly.
Warren: The United States is very developed economically and socially. It is more advanced than Brazilian culture and has many different languages.
Wallace: With every year that passes, though, Brazilian culture is moving in a direction of greater horizons.
TFK: Would you like to visit America? What would you like to see?
Warren: I would like to be in a country like America where I can learn languages that are different from Portuguese. I would also like to visit Disney World.
Wallace: Because I've never left Brazil, I would like to visit America's tourist and cultural places. I would like to see Disney World.
Ana Paula: I would like to see the Statue of Liberty.
Guilherme: New York.
Brazilian kids speak out on society's biggest challenges:
TFK: What do you think is the biggest problem that Brazilian society faces today?
Warren: The drugs and lack of employment. Though there aren't drugs in my school, I know that there are drugs in some neighborhoods in my city. I think the government also needs to improve its police forces and that the country's income should be divided equally. Here in Brazil there is a lot of social inequality, and it has a lot of children who grow up without knowing how to read.
Aline: The misery, hunger and theft. Politicians do nothing to stop them and these problems grow bigger each day. Here in Brazil the rich have lots of money and the poor have very little money. To improve, the politics must change.
Guilherme: Politicians in Brazil take people's taxes and money, then spend it on themselves.
|  Aline hopes that Brazil will become a place filled with peace and friendship for all kids. |
Aline: Kids are using drugs and living on the streets. Children are the future, and we have to campaign about these issues for a better world.
Ana Paula: Poverty is the biggest problem in the world. The government should give jobs to more people and pay good salaries so that they could live with dignity.
Special thanks to Andreia Condack dos Santos, Edi Condack, Denise Werneck de Paiva and Antonio da Silva for making this interview possible with their help and generosity.
