Project I-57

Question:  After learning more about life in Benton and students from there this year, what do you now feel are the good and bad points?
- Describe what you now think the people are like who live there.
- Which place do you now think is a better place to live: Benton or Chicago?  Why?

(Write two to three paragraphs using complete sentences.)
 

SA (M)

I think that life in Benton is a little worse than ours.  First of all they probably live about 1 mile away from each other because of the farms.

I think people who live their [sic] always wear overalls with a long piece of grass in their mouths.  And they have pigs as pets instead of dogs or cats.

Chicago - more sights to see like John Hancock or Sears Tower.  In farmland you only see cows and pigs.

- M who communicated at least once a week with Benton but didn't mention specific students

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AC (F)

Benton to me sounds like a place where no cool places are around to hang out.  I wonder if there's a mall or not.  The store there is maybe old-fashioned.  I love my town and the people in here.  I hate to live there because I'll have to adjust and meet new people.  Our place has many things and maybe more, I want to explore more of my town than ever.

I think people down in Benton are old-fashioned too. I haven't had time to look at there pictures or read many of there [sic] letters, but this is what I think.

- F who communicated once with two students in Benton

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JH (F)

After learning more about benton I know [sic] feel that they where [sic] very nice and they had a lot to say to be [sic].  And they where [sic] writing me telling me that they like to play and they had a lot to say and I think that they had a lot to say.

I think the people that like live their [sic] now they are probalby [sic] pretty out going [sic] and I know they like to write because one of my people that I was writing to they where [sic] very writeable.

I still think that Chicago is a better place to live because I think that it has more site seeing [sic] and I think their [sic] is more of my kind in Chicago.  Not that I think that benton is a bad place I would want to go down their [sic] but I wouldn't want to live in benton for a long time.  I don't think that I could surive [sic] in benton.

- F who communicated at least once a week with 2 students in Benton
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NJ (F)

The bad thing's [sic] are that people all know each other, and you cann't [sic] get away with alot [sic] of things you do.  And I would feel like I'm in jail if I lived their [sic].  And the good thing is that their [sic] isn't a lot of gang related things down their [sic].

I think that their [sic] are all country like, and they don't have alot [sic] of places to go so they could hang out.

And I would die if I would move to Benton.  Because Chicago is a more out going [sic] type of city, and alot [sic] more fun.  And their [sic] is alot [sic] of places to go to just hang out. or with your boyfriend or girlfriend.

- F who communicated only once with Benton but didn't mention specific students
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SJ (M)

Well they don't have alot [sic] of good things down their [sic] when they e-mailed me, they told me that this town is pretty boring and not much happeng [sic] here.

I think that they are normal people but they live in Benton.

I say that Chicago is better because their [sic] are probably more things to do here then [sic] in Benton.

- M who communicated at least once a week with 3 students at Benton
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CK1 (F)

After connecting and talking to Benton, Southern life feels bad.  I feel really bad for them.  It sounds like school, home and the park is all they have to do.  It sounds like they have no life.  Sorry to say.  I would rather stay in Chicago because it has much much much more to do here.  In Chicago we have malls, clubs, Great America, airport, many more things to do here.

I imagined people that live in Southern Illinois wear overalls, with shirts that are torn, but actually it isn't that bad.  All in all, they are OK! :-)

- F who communicated only once with a single student at Benton
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CK2 (F)

I think that its [sic] OK there but I would never want to live there because I'm just usto [sic] living in the city

I think that people who live there are kind of oldfashioned [sic].

Chicago of course I mean I wouldn't ever want to live there because they are nerds and I'm not.  I mean I don't know theme [sic] wery [sic] well but from what I wread [sic] their [sic] nerds because their favorite sport is GOLF!!!

- F who communicated at least once a week with one student at Benton
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JL (M)

I think some of the good points about living there is your freedom.  I'm sure the laws aren't as harsh as they are here.  Our freedom to go where we want to go is limited.  Whereas there, there probably isn't much to do or places to go to make it limited.  The bad points are as I already said, there isn't much that can be done probably.

I think the people are alot [sic] like us.  They do all the same things we do here like, shop, go to movies, etc.  The only difference I can see is they might have a southern accents [sic].

I still think Chicago is better place to live because there is alot [sic] more to do here.

- M who communicated 2-5 times with two students at Benton
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PL (F)

After learning alot [sic] about benton I would hate to live there its [sic] look's [sic] really dull and boring and not very interesting.

I think the people out are very boring and nobody has showed them how to have some fun.  They look pretty happy the few people I talk to sounded like they had perfect homes and everything.

Chicago, definatly [sic] I think cause Im [sic] used it and its [sic] a lounce [unclear] place and there's a lot of people that I know and a lot of cool things to do.  If I had a chose [sic] of where to live I would choose Chicago no doubt about it.

- F who communicated 2-5 times with two students at Benton
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WM (M)

After learning more about life in Benton I think I wouldn't want to move there.  I like it here more because there are malls here theaters close by and life is good here.  All there in the Southern is mining thing and lot of free space I think I can't live that.

I think people down there are probably bored with there [sic] lives but unlike here excitement is everywhere.

I would want to live in Chicago rather down in Benton because here there is tecnology [sic].

- M who communicated at least once a week with two students at Benton
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MO (F)

After learing [sic] about life in Benton I think it's a very small town, very dull, and quite [sic].  Also theres [sic] alot [sic] of places teenagers would like to go to hang out but they don't have clubs, malls, and ect. [sic]

What I think about the people in Benton is they are very nice and honest.  The reason why I think this because they didn't write us bad comments & would describe them & their lives.  Also people who live in small areas are more nicer than people in large areas because they communicate with each others [sic].

I would pick Chicago than Benton because Chicago has alot [sic] of places that teenagers would like to go, have more people, more loud & crazy, and see more different kind of religion, ethnic background, different faces.

- F who communicated at least once a week with a student at Benton
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BP (M)

The project I-57 is really interesting.  All the technology is really cool.  The e-mail communaction [sic] is okey [sic] but if I or other fellow students had gotten a chance to communicate in real life this would've really made a difference.

The people down in Benton are pretty nice and calm.  They reply to everything that I have sent.  They also answer in a positive way and do ask back.  The thing that they live in the mining towns doesn't really made a difference.

I still think that it is better to live in Chicago subrabs [sic] then [sic] down in Benton, Illinois because it is much more crowed [sic] around here then [sic] over there.  And the more the people the more you learn.

- M who communicated at least once a week with a student at Benton
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HP (F)

After learning about the Benton kids I think their [sic] really cool.  But I would think their place is a prison.  Theres [sic] no mall or no houses near have bugs every where, I wouldn't want to feed cows or clean the pig pen.  Thats [sic] not my life.  But the benton kids seem cool.  they told me about a cave that was cool.

I would rather life [sic] in Chicago.  I think this because I love to go to several diffrent [sic] malls and play and go to school all day.  I rather wash the dishes and cleaning my room insteed [sic] of milking the cows.

- F who communicated only once with a student at Benton
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MP (M)

After I found out how it was in Benton, I thought it would be nice to maybe visit them out there.  I think there are good points about Benton and the students.  Some good points are that the people were polite.  It would also be cool because you could shoot a BB gun or real gun in a real open area.  Another is that it is more quite [sic] than the city.  Some bad points are that there is not allot [sic] of technology, sports, and very empty town.

I think the people out there are probably disiplined [sic] because they would have to do allot [sic] of farming to survive.  I also think the people are very poor and that there are allot [sic] of bumbs [sic].  There also probably no fancy restaurants out there to have a nice family dinner.

In my opinion to either live in Chicago or Benton I would have to say Chicago because there are more activities to do here and in Benton it's more of a boring life to me.  Also, I rather have a better job and a good education which I can get in the city.

- M who communicated almost every day with a student at Benton
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GP (M)

I feel that in Southern Illinois it is very similar to my lifestyle in the Chicagoland area.  When I e-mail my partners in Benton they told me they did things very similar to things that I do.  For example my partner Michael told me that he played video games, go to the movies, go to mall, etc.

I think there is no better place to live because I believe where I live and Southern Illinois is very similar.  I think some of the people who live there have some different hobbies like collecting rocks and shells.  That is really the only difference between us and the kids in Benton Illinois.

- M who communicated only once with a student at Benton
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LP (M)

After learning more about life in benton is that it is a good place to live.  It is good because you have a place that's safe and not that much crowded.  Now that is a good points

The people I bet are very kind nice and will welcome the new neighbors who live there who are going to live there.

I still think Chicago is much better.  You have friends there and it is a very nice place to live in.  So I would Chicago.  Thank you and good night.

- M who communicated 2-5 times with 2 students at Benton
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NQ (M)

After learning more about Benton I feel that they are very nice people because when I e-mailed them they responded as soon as possible.  The e-mails that they had sent to me were very polite and courteous.  The bad points are that there aren't many places to go because when they took pictures of there [sic] comunity [sic] they didn't have many places to go.

I think that Chicago is a better place to live in, because there are many more places to go and I really don't like small places like benton.  I think I also like chicago because of grow up here, if I grow up in benton maybe I would like to live there better.

- M who communicated 2-5 times with 3 students at Benton
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US (M)  -  NO CONSENT FORM *******

I did not learn anything about benton Ill. Because my person e-mailed me onces [sic] and that's it and all she talked about was how my day went in school.  I'm not gona [sic] say their [sic] bad people.  Because I didn't practally [sic] didn't learn anything.  I still would like in Chicago because I think Benton I[ll.] is a boring town.

Because I didn't learn anything about it.  I still would like to visit but I will not move down in a farm town.

- M who communicated at least once a week with one student at Benton
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DT (F)

I feel they are not writers cause I only got 2 e-mails from 1 guy and 1 from a gir [sic] and none from the other person.  I don't know much cause they didn't say much.

I do not know what people are like who live there.  But I know from living close to there that it is very boring.  It is boring cause there isn't much to do.

I now think that Chicago is a better place to live than Benton because there is so much more to do.  I think in Benton there are no malls.  That is what a fellow class mate of mine said.

- F who communicated 2-5 times with 2 students at Benton
 
 

Question:  After learning more about life in Benton and students from there this year, what do you now feel are the good and bad points?
Describe what you now think the people are like who live there.
Which place do you now think is a better place to live: Benton or Chicago?  Why?

(Write two to three paragraphs using complete sentences.)
 
N.B. The M and F after each essay refer to the student's gender.    Spelling and grammar have not been corrected, per the teachers' request except in cases where misunderstanding is likely.

After learning more about life in Benton I've learned that they are just like us they do the same things like us.  Except that they live in the country and its [sic] a little bit different then [sic] us, cause we live in the city.

I think that the people that live their are maybe more friendly then [sic] us, cause they live in the country and we live in the city.

I think that its [sic] better to live in Chicago.  Their [sic] are many things to do here then [sic] in Benton.

- F who communicated a few times with Benton but didn't mention specific students
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JC (M)

Bad points about living down in Benton is its [sic] probably very boring.  Some good points is I think it would be very pieceful [sic] and serene.

I think the people or student down in benton are mean hicks.  They give attitude in there [sic] e-mail.  Never write back.  I think there [sic] like that because nothing ever exciting happen's [sic] down there.

Definitely Chicago, for many reasons more action and a whole lot more people.  There interesting site or monuments to see.  Experience the taste of exotic foods from around the country.

- M who communicated at least once a week with 3 students at Benton
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LD (M)

The good points about life in Southern Illinois is that the crime rate is lower than chicago, It's peacefull [sic], and there is a lot of room for people the bad points are that you would probably have to go a mile to school, and you don't see people from other races that much.

The people in Southern Illinois are probably white, they live on farms, they get a little more freedom (like hunting and gokart [sic] racing) and they are peaceful.

I think for me it's better to live in Chicago because, I lived on a farm once in my life.  But at the age of 6 and still today I live in the city and I don't know if I can get used to a farm.

- M who communicated at least once a week with 1 student at Benton
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MD (F)

My feelings about them have not changed one bit.  I have always thought that it was a interesting town even if it did[n't?] have every store from all around in it.  I think that hunting, farming, fishing, and stuff like that is very relaxing and I would not mind at all to go live there.  The kids there are also very interesting they are just the same as we are maybe not as ethnically diverse as we are, but pretty much the same.

I think that Benton would probably be a better place for me to live.  I enjoy the small town life.  Of course if I ever had to became [sic] someone who had a job that revolved around the movie screen or a court room I wouldn't mind going in the city were [sic] it was located, but the catch is, is that I would still live in the country.

- F who communicated almost every day with 3 students at Benton
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YG (F)

After learning a little more about life in Benton I now think the good points about life in Southern Illinois is that its [sic] always quite [sic], you have farms, I would think less gangs, and more friends.  The bad points, however, are that you hardly have anywhere to go, one of my people who comunicated [sic] with said so.

The people who live there are all mostly white, and same religion.  They all talk the same way.  I know this because of the pictures they have took.  I didn't see not even one Indian, or black, or chinese, just white.

I think a better place for me to live in would be Chicago.  Because of all the different places you are able to go to, like they don't have the Planet Hollywood, or the tallest building in the world.

- F who communicated 2-5 times with Benton but didn't mention specific students
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JH (M)

I think the pople [sic] are more open.  kids have guns to go hunting just for the fun of it.  Most of them have awards that they won.  Is not a very populated place and everybody in the school know each other.  If I was to choose were [sic] to live it would have to be Chicago, because ther's [sic] more people and you can get to know new people go places like downtown.  Benton is alright.  You can learn how to plant, go hunting and do some other cool stuff.

- M who communicated at least once a week with one student at Benton
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MH (M)

I think a good points [sic] about Benton is that they get out of school earlier.  Another thing I like is that they like to wrestle.  One last good point is that they have farms.  I love farms.  When I was a little kid I use [sic] to love going to my grandmas [sic] farm.  The think I dislike is the mining.  It smells nasty with those factories.  Another thing I dislike are the Indiana Pacers.  I can't stand that team.  I hope they get eliminated by New York Knicks.  The last thing I dislike is the dry weather.

I think the people in benton are very cool.  If they think they can beat us in basketball they are wrong.  I think they have some fine girls.

If I had the choice to be in Chicago or Benton it would be Chicago.  I would rather live in Chicago, because it is bigger and I'm thinking it that you have better stuff to do in chicago than you do in benton.  That is all I have to say.

Bye, M.

- M who communicated at least once a week with one student at Benton
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SJ (M)

The thing is that they don't have all the thins [sic] we do and on the other hand it's good because it's an open area and it seems like they have more freedom.  The people in Benton seem to be one race.  But here we have the nationalities at Maine East.  I don't think any place is good to live because Benton has something the Chicago doesn't have.  And chicago has something Benton doesn't have.

It's not like I hate Chicago but I just think both places seemed equally good to me.

- M who communicated almost every day with 3 students at Benton
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AM (M)

First of all the bad things about living in benton is that it's probably boring because you can't go to places in benton that you can over here.  there are more places over in chicago then [sic] in benton.

The people in benton are the same as we are except that they have a southern sound to their voice.

I would rather live in Chicago.  because Chicago is my hometown.  I've lived there for nine years and they have been real good.  when I moved here to the suberbs [sic] I still go to chicago to play ball or chill.  I would rather live in Chicago than anywhere else, no doubt, except P. my home country.

- M who communicated 2-5 times with Benton but didn't mention specific students
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MM2 (M)

I learned there is a mining and farming industry in Benton.  Also I learned it's not too different than here.  A good thing about Benton is they get out of school a week earlier than we do.

I think the people in Benton are kind of like us.  They do different things, but they act the same as we would.

I think Chicago is a better place to live. because there's a lot of thing [sic] you could do.  Benton is mostly farms.  Chicago has places all in one area.  In Benton it is spread out.

- M who communicated only once with Benton but didn't mention specific students
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DM (F)

I've learned that people over there are different then [sic] us in some ways.  They work and live on farms and they don't have that many intresting [sic] places to go.  Some of the hobbies that the kids had were to milk the cows.  for us that is so weird and unusual.  our hobbies are going shopping, swimming things that kids like to do.  So thats [sic] different.

They are really friendly and kind you can tell just from the e-mails.  I would love to go down there and spend the weekend.  I think that it would be really cool.

I really like Chicago better.  I guess its [sic] the fact that I was born here and there is so much to do.  I love this city and if I had to pick I would pick Chicago in a heartbeat.  There are so many things to do and see here.  It is so much fun in this city.

- F who communicated almost every day with two students at Benton
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MM1 (F)

I learned that in Benton. they don't have a mall, Benton is small it's not big like Chicago.  I think that the people who live there are used to living there like were [sic] used to living here in the city.  I think Chicago is the best place where anyone can live because it's more free there's more stores, we have cars.  They grow their own food and here we buy it.  The people who are over there I think that they are most close minded.  I think that if I had the chance to go to Benton I wouldn't stay there because I'm already used to Chicago and the same thing with them if they came here they would find it strange weird because their [sic] used to over there.

- F who communicated almost every day with one student at Benton
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MM3 (M)

There are some good points and some bad points to living in a farming and mining community.  A few bad things are that they have to do a lot more work, on the farm and all.  Plus they might not have the technilogical [sic] advances that we do here such as computers stores, arcades, big movie theaters.  Some good things are that they probibaly [sic] have a lot of land for farming, plus they are allowed to ride ATV's at like 14 which is a lot of fun, plus they get out of school earlier.

I don't know much more about them then [sic] I already knew.  I lived on a farm for a while and I know what hard work it is, so I have some respect for them.

I think I would still rather live in Chicago over Benton.  I love my house and all my friends.  I love my school and I love my town.  I like everything that I have, but one thing I do know is that it's pretty fun to live on a farm.  You stay out all night doing stuff and there is almost no need for a TV cause you are busy all the time, every day.  It is fun, but I still like living in a big city better.

- M who never communicated with students at Benton, although he was assigned two students
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DO (M)

The bad things in Benton is that over there they might have tornado's and in chicago we only have tornado's in the nearest county.  one good thing in Benton is that the people there are nice and respectful.  Another bad thing is that they don't have fun because all they do is they're in a farm not doing anything.

The people who live there look nice and respectful.  They're all white with a southern accent.

I would pick Chicago because where ever [sic] you need to go it's not that far of a distanation [sic].  In Benton it's just one country where they have nothing to do and the people over there would have a good time coming for a vocation [sic] so they can see something new.

- M who communicated almost every day with two students at Benton
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MP (M)

The bad things about being in benton is that I am not used to living in a small area with nothing exciting execpt [sic] for how friendly people are.  The good things about benton would be that you will always know who the people are.  In chicago you meet a person one day and the next day you forget about him and live your life.  Another good thing about benton would be that you get to stay outside 95% of the time.  In chicago, all you need to keep entertained is a tv and some good movies.

I think the people who live at benton are very nice and won't get angry at the littlest things like chicago.  I mean, in benton, people always say, "Hi!" or "hello!" if you see them anywhere.  That is what I think of people in Benton.

In my opinion, I think that Chicago is a better place to live because of all the things to do over here.  If you get bord [sic] you can watch tv or play video games.  In benton they might have these things, but it won't be the same because of all the things we have here.

- M who communicated over 10 times with two students at Benton
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NR (F)

I think the students in Benton are alike us they like to do pretty much what we do.  They like hanging out with their friends.  I think the people who live there [sic] doesn't [sic] go out as much because the places and houses are so far away.  I think it is better living in Chicago because there [sic] are more places you can go and hang out.

Benton is a small town that doesn't have so many places that you can go to.  And is always a very quiet place.

- F who communicated 2-5 times with 3 students at Benton
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DS (F)

Well, I have lived most of my life in chicago and it would [be] weird living in Southern Illinois.  Chicago is a busy city.  Benton is quiet and they live in houses that have farms.  Chiago has big buildings, shopping centers, and places where you can go.  Southern Illinois have different type of surroundings.

People that live in Southern Illinois are quiet and they talk different than we do.  Most people down there know each other for a long time because the town is so small.  In Chicago we have different types of nationalities but in Bneton they have one or two different types of nationalities.

Chicago is better for me.  Chicago is a busy city where I think I would like more.  Chicago is where I lived for a long time and I am used to its surroundings.  Chicago is fulled [sic] with different type of people and different things to do.

- F who communicated only once with 3 students at Benton
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GS (F)

I think their lifes [sic] and our lifes [sic] are almost the same except they have an eccent [sic] and they live in a farm.  I think if we went to visit them we could have actually seen how they live.  The people there are really nice, but they all are the same background.  When they got to know how we have different people from all around the world they were really exited [sic].

I still think Chicago is a better place to live because there are lots of people that have the same background as me.  If I went to Benton I would be lonely.  I need to talk to somebody my language too.  I am used to living in Chicago, so I would like it here.  They are used to live [sic] in Benton, so they would like it there, but it was still fun to talk with them on the internet.

- F who communicated at least once a week with 3 students at Benton
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BS (F)

After learning about Benton I think it's a nice place to be in.  One think [sic] that I like about the school is that they get to go out of school early then [sic] we did.  I think Benton is a quiet place because it's not a city and it's like a farm place.

I think the Benton people are nice people.  I also think they are regular people like us.  I think the people who live in the Benton is a little quiet because they live in a farm town.

I think I like Chicago better then [sic] Benton. One of the reason I don't like to live in benton is because I don't like to live in a farm place.

- F who communicated only once with two students at Benton
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LV (M)

The good things are that people live there and have friends bad things it quit [sic], boring nothing to do allot [sic] down there.  There are no sport [sic] team down there like the cubs and Bulls good thing they have a great America there and I think I heard the st. Lois [sic] cardnal [sic] play [unclear].

people who live down there are probably hard [unclear] [unclear] lot of farms, rancher cattle, and raising animals

Chicago would be a better place to live because lot of things to do here see thing, and all the sports team are here.

- M who communicated at least once a week with 2 students at Benton
-----------------------------------------
VV (F)

The good points is that it is very quiet there and there probably isn't any violence there and no one will get hurt.  The bad points are that I, think that it is kind of weird living on a farm or owning one

I think the people who live there are nice because the way they sound they are not mean they sound like there [sic] friendly people.

I think I would probably pick both because if I want to go to a quiet place I would want to live in Benton and if I want to be in a loud place I would want to be in Chicago

- F who communicated 2-5 times with 2 students at Benton
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LZ (F)

I learned a lot about life in Benton.  Like how they live about what they do.  Like, when they enter their pigs in contest, at the county fair, and that there isn't that many activities you can do there.  The good things about living in Benton is that you get to have more space, like outside the houses aren't so crowded.  Also there isn't a lot of people there.  So that's good that you have space.  The bad things are that your friends don't live that close to you, and maybe the places too.

I think that the people who live there are some what [sic] the same.  I mean that they like to hang out with their friends.  They also go places and party on the weekends.  But they are also different because they have an acient [accent?].  But I think that they dress the same and act the same.

I think that living in Chicago is better because places are closer to you.  But I also think that living in Benton is a good place if you like a lot of space.  But living in Chicago is better because you are closer to your friends and the places you like to go.  Like if you go to the mall, or the pool,  Those are some places you can ride your bike or even walk, you don't need to ask your parents to drive you.

- F who communicated almost every day with 2 students at Benton