When we went to Boston, we were lucky because it was the week before Halloween. We saw a lot of houses decorated with ghosts, witches, pumpkins, skeletons… it was so funny!
Halloween, in the USA, is more important than in France, it’s a time when people organize many activities. For example, in Foxborough, there was a haunted house. Our penfriends took us there the first night- it was the Saturday when we arrived. Voluntaries dress up and enjoy frightening visitors.
The place where Halloween is the most important is at Salem. It’s like the capital of Halloween because this city is marked by its history. In fact there was a big witch-hunt there in the seventeenth century. There were trials and women were charged with witchcraft and they were hung . Now Salem plays with its history to attract tourists. There are a lot of witch museums , witchcraft shops… we went to Salem and we saw many people who walked in the streets being dressed up, it was funny!
Mylène
One of the things which impressed me in the US is the difference of culture with France, especially the food habits. I’ve noticed during my stay that there was almost no meals which gather the whole family, everybody seated around a table like a French traditional lunch or dinner. In fact, my family didn't really have set eating time : they ate what they wanted, when they wanted. Moreover, their meals aren’t composed like ours, with vegetables, meat, fruit etc, most of the time they nibble. Even at the High School cafeteria, students only have 30 minutes to eat , that’s why they nibble. The moment when I realized this fact was on the first monday we were there : the American students did their homework at Megan’s home, and when it was about 17 p.m., they stopped& said “who wants to go to Wendy’s ?’”. So we went to Wendy’s, puzzled, curious but enthusiastic ! I observed that it was their most important meal of the day. That was the starting point of my food discovery in the US, then I tasted all the (junk) food they gave me, and I finally understood, when I ate a donut (yummy !) that I would soon get used to American food. Anyway, I was glad when my mother bought me a real French croissant at the airport, when we came back.
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