My name is Ben Grassi, I am 16 years old and live in Freedom Maine, United States. I live with my parents, two brothers, two cats, and two dogs. In Maine, I go to high school at Mount View High School in Thorndike, Maine. In my free time, I enjoy playing Soccer, Basketball, Baseball, Frisbee, Swimming, and Skiing. I also love to do things with my family like playing board games, taking hikes, and visiting friends. Some of my favorite foods are Pizza, Pasta, salad, and Sushi. A few foods I don’t like are Eggplant, Lamb, Potatoes, Beets, and Cilantro.

In the months before I came to France I had been looking for a way to experience something new. When the opportunity came to Mount View, I knew I was going to do it.

When I arrived at school in France for the first time, I realized so many differences. First of all, here in France, we go to school from 8 am-6 pm. In Maine, we go to school from 8 am-3 pm. Another difference is the way the school day is laid out. In France, we go to roughly 4 classes a day (each one being 1-2 hours long) and we have the rest of the time off. In Maine, we go to eight classes every day (each one is about 40 minutes long) and we only have one break which is for lunch.

As far as differences in the landscape and culture, there are many. In Maine, everyone knows everyone. Whether you’re distant cousins or your great-grandparents owned a logging company together you’ll probably know most other people in the town. Another cultural difference is that you’re not expected to socialize with anyone if you don’t want to.

A few differences that I’ve noticed in the food are the way we prepare meals. In France, we eat a lot of raw meat, cream, and bread. In Maine, it is rare if we bread or cream more than once a day. Strangely, I haven’t noticed many differences in the landscape. Where I live in Maine the landscape is very similar to the landscape in Querre where I’m staying. Just like in France, it is about a 30-minute drive to get to a small city in Maine.

« Bonjour, je m’appelle Célestine et je suis la correspondante de Ben.
J’ai voulu m’inscrire au programme Passepartout pour pouvoir faire découvrir notre pays et notre système scolaire à des personnes qui n’ont pas le même que nous.
Et pour moi, pour découvrir une nouvelle culture, un mode de vie différent et rencontrer de nouvelles personnes.
Mais aussi pour améliorer mon niveau en anglais et en profiter pour visiter un nouveau pays.
Je serai confrontée à d’autres formes d’enseignements, ce qui me permettra de devenir plus mature et plus indépendante.

Je sais que cela sera également un grand atout pour mettre sur mon CV.

Et pour finir, c’est aussi pour vivre une expérience unique. »