Today, we are interviewing three international students- David, Arnaud, and Luciana. They come from three different continents: Africa, Europe, and Latin America. The topics discussed relate to current teen issues and growing up in a different age and environment than their parents.

What is your background?

David: My parents are from Uganda, but I was born in Washington D.C.

Arnaud: I was born in Belgium but I have lived in several other countries.

Luciana: I was the only one in my family
born in Mexico. Everyone else was born in Argentina.

What age do you think people should start dating?

David: After College.

Arnaud: There is no age to start.

Luciana: I think that you can start dating when you get to your teen years.

Do you have a curfew? What is your curfew based on?

David: I don’t have a curfew. My parents trust me and they know what I’m doing.

Arnaud: My curfew is at 12 am. My parents want me home at this time because they say “Nothing good happens after 12am.”

Luciana: I have a curfew, because my parents think that it is very unsafe for a girl my age to be out in the streets at a late hour.

What would be your punishment if you broke your curfew?

David: My parents would take away my privileges and make me stay at home.

Arnaud: My parents would ground me for a long time.

Luciana: My parents would take away my phone for three days.

Are STDs concern for your age group?

David: At our age, we don’t think about the consequences.

Arnaud: In America, preventions are more accessible and therefore AIDS isn’t such a concern as in other places in the world.

Luciana: I think it is a relevant topic to our age group but I don’t think teens think about it enough.

How does all this compare to your home country?

David: It was different for my parents, because my parents were raised in a stricter environment, with less social pressure.

Arnaud: Belgium is a lot more dangerous, so my curfew would be stricter, but the punishment would still be the same.

Luciana: In my home country I think I would be able to stay out longer, because it is more common for young people.

David Kagulu, Luciana Giorgio and Arnaud Duquesne