So, Lizzie, tell us about yourself! 

My name’s Elisabeth but most people call me Lizzie, and I’m from Italy!! I was born in Rome and spent most of my life there, until I turned fifteen and my family had to move to Brazil for my mom’s work. Right now, I’m almost seventeen and living in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and about to move back to Rome in June. 

 What school do you go to, and what colleges are you studying? 

I’m finishing the year off at BCB, the British College of Brazil. It’s an English school but we do the International Baccalaureate instead of A-levels. As part of IB we take quite a few classes (for better or worse), so I’m taking English literature, history, economics, math, biology, and Spanish. 

 What’s your favourite subject? 

Favorite class would probably be English literature, there’s a lot of reading to do, which I like. I’ve always loved writing too, which is nice about the class because we get to look at more types of texts than I could on my own, even though there’s wayyy too much analysis to do. I think one of my favorite works we looked at was Death of a Salesman, it’s a play by Arthur Miller, and I really recommend it. 

Awesome! What’s your favourite cultural food? 

I’m Italian so cultural food is a big thing for me, I’ll never beat the stereotypes. One of my favorites is gnocchi al sugo, or gnocchi with tomato sauce. Brazil has some pretty good food too, I like Brigadeiro, it’s like chocolate toffee with sprinkles?? Shaped in little balls?? I’m actually not too sure how to describe it I’m probably offending some Brazilians right now.  

 What’s your favourite tv show? 

Breaking Bad!!! Breaking Bad has my heart it’s the first show I watched after moving so I have memories of sitting on the floor of our new (very empty) house and watching it on my iPad. And Jesse Pinkman and Walter White are the best duo of Netflix by far. 

 What’s the best thing about being a teenager in your country? 

Being a teenager in Sao Paulo is very different from when I lived in Rome. The city is huge, way bigger than Rome, so my friends and I usually end up on side quests lol. One of the coolest places is Beco do Batman, which means Batman Alley. There’s music, thrift stores, jewelry stands, restaurants, and a lot of street art. It’s a big part of the underground scene here, which I like a lot. In Rome, I was used to just calling up my friends and we’d all meet in the Roman center. We always liked Villa Borghese, it’s a big park reserve with zoos, food, and museums, so most teenagers like it because there’s always something to do. 

 If you left your country, where would you like to live? 

I’m graduating next year, and I’m applying to Ireland and some other countries for university. But my top choice is Trinity College Dublin, so hopefully I get in and can spend a few years there!! I’ve heard that the weather’s pretty bad though, which will be strange after coming from Brazil and all the sun. 

 Where do you see yourself in the next ten years?  

I guess I’ll still be in school for most of the next ten years. Not too sure where I’ll go afterwards though, I guess it’s all a bit up in the air. I’m hoping to work in international relations and diplomacy, so I’ll probably be travelling a lot. I’m not sure if I see myself staying in Europe for long, and after having lived in Latin America there’s a lot that I love about it, so I guess my options are open. 

If could have dinner with one celebrity, who would they be and why? 

 One of my favorite celebrities is Ian MacKaye, he’s a musician and was part of Fugazi, it’s a great band from the punk scene in Washington DC. I doubt Ian would consider himself a celebrity though, he’s pretty lowkey from what I’ve seen online, but he has a crazy voice and I’m sure would have a lot of stories to tell over dinner. My dad met him many years ago, and he still talks about it today. 

If you had the ability to know what someone was thinking who would you choose and why?  

I’d choose my dog hands down. He’s a tiny (really chubby) jack russell and sometimes I wish he could make conversation with us at mealtimes and such. I’d want to know what he thought of drama at school, or maybe politics on the news, I’m sure he’d have great input. 

If you could take one thing on a dessert island, what would you take? 

My headphones?? Though I guess I’d need a second object like my phone or a Walkman to actually listen to music, but I can’t really get through the day without them anyway, let alone on a desert island. 

 If you were in charge of the world for one day, what one change would you make?  

I’d change all hold music to be personalized based on your Spotify Wrapped. No more elevator jazz while waiting on customer service, that’s lame.