Five questions for … Ida Mattila
Ida Mattila is a 17-year-old exchange student at Los Alamos High School. She is from a small town in Finland called Hamina. She likes to dance and was part of a teen circus back home. Because she lived in Dallas for a couple years when she was a child, she is fluent in English. Ida decided she was interested in doing an exchange program when an Australian student stayed with her family for a few months when she was in the eighth grade. She is participating in the exchange program with the Rotary International Youth Exchange, which placed her in New Mexico after she specified that she would like to come to the United States.
Ida — whose birthday is coming up on May 15 — feels very lucky that she is in Los Alamos, because the student body is so diverse. She said she would recommend an exchange program experience for anyone. WHAT ARE THE BEST AND WORST THINGS ABOUT BEING A TEENAGER? You get more freedom, which is really nice, but you also get a lot more responsibility, which can be difficult sometimes. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP AND WHY?
One of the reasons that I took the exchange [program] is that I’m not really sure what I want to do, but I know that I’m interested in marine biology. WHAT IS ONE THING ABOUT YOU THAT YOU HOPE WILL NEVER CHANGE?
I like that I’m able to be really social and I love talking to as many people as possible. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE MOTTO? Every time there’s a chance to try something new, try it. WHAT’S THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE IN LOS ALAMOS AND LIFE IN FINLAND?
Honestly, the weather. In Finland, it’s a lot colder. Here, I’ve been trying not to get too sunburned.
Hannah Laga Abram is a sophomore at the Santa Fe Waldorf School. Contact her at cecilia sycamore@gmail.com.