Ali Salloum

We interviewed a Finnish friend called Ali Salloum about the leisure and music in his country :

1- What time do your parents want you to come back home in the evening ?

I don’t have any special time. I can be out however I want until they call me. It depends from the day and how happy are my parents.

2- Where do you usually go with your friends in your free time ?

So we hang out with my friends in winter actually in some warm places. For example in young houses¹ or in some friends’ house. The schedule depends on the day, but you can spend there a lot of time, like playing ping pong, snooker, boardgames or billiards. And the best thing is that for everyone it’s free !In summer we probably usually go swimming and get tanned.

3- How do you usually spend your time during your holidays ?

With my friends basketball training, studying, chatting, relaxing…

4- Are there any differences between your leisure in summer and winter ?

Absolutely ! It is so boring in winter. Okay okay, we like winter but only for one month, not five months ! Then we will miss summer, really ! There are a lot of more activities than in winter, really !

5- What kind of music do teenagers usually listen to ?

So, we very seldom listen to Finnish music, but there are lot of good Finnish singers like Cheek and Jenni Vartiainen for example.

I don’t like Lordi because I think they are totally crazy ! But on the other hand they won the Eurovision competition, so I can’t keep nagging.

Nighwish was a good band, but when they changed the singer, it became worse. I love Eurovision song contest ! It is really interesting and it’s cool to listen to different music !

6- Do you think Finnish teenagers have more freedom than French teenagers ?

From what I experienced², I will say yes ! We really have more freedom, but its sometimes not so good, believe me ! Okay that’s true, we can speak all the time during the lessons, we can talk on the phone or eat but it gave teachers a bad picture and it will affect our « report list »³

But so what, I loved your school’s pupils ! They were so nice, you have some strange rules but so what ?

Anne Sophie, Mathilde, Romain