Northbrook Junior High is a big school with hundreds of students. That’s why it's no surprise that we have many students who have transferred here from other countries, everywhere from Afghanistan to Japan to Brazil. The diversity is incredible. But have you ever wondered what it was like for them to move all the way from their countries to the United States?

Three students were interviewed by Sarah C., Luca H., and Kara T.

One of the three interviewees, Zarina S., a 6th grade student from Afghanistan, said, “I found out when my dad made the decision that we had to have a better life and a better school because life in Afghanistan was very downhill. I was three when I came here and I felt very happy because I did not like Afghanistan,” when asked about how she felt when coming to the United States.

Zarina was dealing with a series of issues while living there. “Living in Afghanistan was very sad and it was very downhill and stuff. We did not get proper water and the system was really bad. We didn’t have a fan and we were just very miserable. And some of the babies were even dying from the hot and the heat but in the winters it got a little cooler and if it came in January and December and months like that it would get really cold. And babies would die from the coldness they would get frostbites all over themselves and their fingers would turn blue and everything.”

Afghanistan occupies 652,864 square kilometers of land, the country is mostly mountains with plains stretching along the north and the southwest separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. As of 2021, the population of Afghanistan is about 40.2 million, made up of mostly ethnic Tajiks, Pashtuns, Uzbeks, and Hazara. The capital of Afghanistan is Kabul, the country’s largest city.

The second student interviewed was Mia P., an 8th grade student who spent her childhood years in Brazil.

She thought Brazil was great. “I had a lot of friends and the people were really nice to you no matter what,” she said.

When asked about her feelings about coming to Northbrook, she said, “My mom told me in the car and what I thought was like, ‘Is this really happening or is she joking?’. Because like it wasn’t something that was in my head it was like something that could happen to another person and not to me.”

Mia explained the weather and environment in Brazil, saying that “the weather’s really hot every day. It’s really humid.”

Brazil covers 8.5 million square kilometers and it is the world’s fifth largest country with over 214 million people. Brazil is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas. It’s one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations.

The third interviewee was Cecilia P., a 6th grader who has spent a few years in Japan.

Many people know about Japan for its food, culture, and sights.

A big part of what Cecilia remembers from Japan is the food. “It was really fun. And there was a lot of good food. I'm going to give you three examples. One, there was this really close ramen place, it was so good. There were these donuts that had cream in the middle. They were vegan too! They were so good (I can’t wait to go back to Japan). And third of all there was this curry. Me and my grandpa, we went to this curry place at the corner shop or whatever and got some Japanese curry.”

When she found out she was moving to America, at the age of 3, Cecilia felt “kinda sad but I didn’t have any friends so it's okay.”

Now here’s some extra insight on the country of Japan!

Japan is an island country in East Asia, and it is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, also bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan. Japan is an archipelago of 6852 islands covering 145,937 square miles in total. Its five main islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, Okinawa, and Kyushu. The capital is also the largest city, Tokyo.

Students from different countries, places, and ancestrys have all come to NBJH. It’s amazing how different cultures can come together to form one big community!

We thank you for reading this and learning about the different experiences of kids from around the world!

Have a great day!

Works Cited

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Information on Japan, Brazil, and Afghanistan belongs to en.wikipedia.org

Afghanistan photo belongs to Store Norske Leksikon

Botafogo Bay picture, credit to europosters

Japan photo belongs to Flickr

Credits

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Written by Luca H. and Sarah C.

Edited by Kara T., Sarah C., and Luca H.

Video produced by Kara T.

Behind the scenes produced by Sarah C.

Script made by Luca H.

Script edited by Sarah C. and Kara T.

Interviewers: Sarah C., Luca H., and Kara T.

Interviewees: Zarina S., Mia P., and Cecilia P.

Emails sent out by Sarah C. and Luca H.

Google Form made by Sarah C.