When Ben Allen moved to India a year ago, he left behind his older sister, his grandparents and his friends. But Ben wasn't resentful; he was enthusiastic.

"I'm excited, a little nervous, but I think it'll be a great experience for me," said Ben, then 15, before he left Indianapolis in August 2001. Ben's parents were going to India to fulfill their dream to be missionaries.

"My mom and dad asked both my sister and me if it was OK," Ben said of the four-year commitment. "We had a major part in it."

Y-Press interviewed Ben in July 2001. A year later, he responded by e-mail to questions about his experiences in India.

Ben's parents and younger sister are living in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where his father is an administrator for a mission agency. Ben, now 16, attends the Hebron International School, a British boarding school in Ootacamund, in southern India.

Although Ben was nervous, he was sure the trip to India would be a good experience.

"I think I'll learn a lot. I've always wanted to become a missionary since I've been, like, 8, so this is kind of like a dream come true. And it'll help me prepare to be a missionary maybe later."

Ben has been doing little missionary work, however, in his new life at a secluded boarding school in the mountains. He was dismayed at first to learn he had to repeat the ninth grade. "I'm going to be in the British system, and they're ahead of the American system," he said.

But he's adjusted well, he reported recently.

"An A is 80 percent and above, so I managed to get straight A's in everything except for chemistry," he wrote in an e-mail.

"I live in a dormitory of about 20 guys, and I have three people in my room. I have my own bed, cupboard and share a little bit of a closet," he continued.

An average day at his boarding school is different from an average day at his old high school, Perry Meridian.

"At Perry Meridian I would wake up at 6 in the morning from my alarm clock, but at Hebron I am awakened at 7:30 by my dorm parents.

"I have to go out of my dormitory after I get dressed in a school uniform and go up this small hill to a dining hall, where around 100 other guys eat breakfast.

"In the U.S. throughout the day, I would only get one break at lunchtime, and school would end at 2 p.m. But at Hebron, I get a half an hour break in the morning for tea -- a British thing -- and an hourlong break at lunchtime," he wrote.

"After school in the U.S., I would go to wrestling or soccer practice. At Hebron, I fool around with a British football -- soccer ball. I have to be at supper at 6 p.m., then I go to an organized homework session at 6:50 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Then I go to bed at 9:30 p.m. but stay up talking until at least 10:30 p.m."

Perhaps the biggest difference is that he rarely sees his parents now. He lives at Hebron 10 months of the year.

"I get to see them in October for this sort of parent night, and I get to see them during Christmas break and during summer break," he said.

Before he left, Ben expected Hebron to be strict, based on his experiences at a Baptist school. He has since changed his mind.

"Hebron is strict in that there is a uniform and a specific schedule you have to follow. Also, it does not let people have music of various artists. It only allows student couples to hold hands, and they have to be 6 inches apart at all times. But many of these rules are broken, and the staff does not seem to mind," he wrote.

Hygiene was another change; Hebron students are limited to three five-minute showers a week.

He knew there would be many cultural changes.

And he has had to adjust to the food, but not because he doesn't like Indian food. He does -- but apparently cafeteria food is a universal language.

"The cuisine at my boarding school is not great. They try to make Indian meals, and it is really disgusting, but usually Indian food is pretty good," he wrote.

But he hasn't had trouble communicating because many students are from English-speaking countries. "Most of the people at my school are missionary children, but about 40 percent of the students are children with Indian parents."

When visiting his parents, Ben has found the customs in Bangladesh are different from those at Hebron.

"In Bangladesh, the Bengali people clean themselves with their left hand. Therefore, it is unhealthy and dirty to eat or shake hands with your left hand. This was hard for me because I am left-handed. Also, just learning to eat with your hands (no cutlery) is pretty hard. I can eat pretty quickly with my left hand, but I still have not mastered eating with my right hand," he wrote.

Ben was at Hebron on Sept. 11, 2001. "I was going back to the dormitory from a prep session when one of the guys in my dorm told me that the Twin Towers had been attacked. I thought that they were joking, but when I finally realized that they were serious, I got to watch most of the news about it on a TV in a staff member's house. . . . I think I would have been more frightened if I was at home."

Being so far away, it is hard for Ben to keep up to date on news events. "Most of the news that I get is from talking to people," he wrote.

The Allen family will stay overseas as long as it takes for Ben to graduate from high school -- but "the U.S. is definitely still my home," he wrote.

"I want to see a ton of movies in a theater. Also, I want to see my family, especially my grandparents, and I want to eat at Taco Bell and Arby's again.

"But I probably would not want to (stay) for more than a day because it is fun in a way to be different and to have everyone staring at you as you ride by in a rickshaw."

ASSISTANT EDITORS: Katie Lootens, 14; Marian Duselis, 17.

REPORTERS: Kristin Drouin, 12; Valeri Simmons, 13.