BANGOR – For 14-year-old Rachel Barkin of Bangor, it wasn’t the architecture, the art or even the food that helped her and her Italian host family to bond.

“My family and I would watch MTV Europe – we all loved pop music. We’d dance and sing to the same songs, which really helped to bring us all together,” Barkin said.

In early July eight students ages 12 to 14 from Waldo, Hancock and Penobscot counties spent two weeks with host families in and around Milan, Italy, as part of the Children’s International Summer Village interchange program. On July 19, eight Italian young people came to Maine for the second half of the program and stayed through Monday, Aug. 2.

Children’s International Summer Village is a youth exchange organization committed to promoting peace and understanding between diverse cultures. In the interchange program, between six and 12 young people and an adult leader from two chapters spend two weeks in each other’s home countries learning about their respective cultures and developing close relationships with their families.

According to Doug Fox of Unity, a host father and organizer of the exchange, CISV is unique in that is so intimate.

“It works on such a small scale that all the kids and their families become really close very quickly,” he explained. “They find out what family life is like for a culture that’s very different from their own.”

For the Maine students, their experience in Milan was eye opening for many reasons. For most of the students, it was their first time in a big city – the greater Milan area has a population of nearly 4 million.

Monique Kelmenson, 12, of Hampden said that Italians are very different from Americans in that “they are so warm and open. They love to be close to each other. They’re always hugging each other and gesturing a lot.”

The students saw many Milanese landmarks during their stay. They visited the Duomo di Milano, the third largest church in the world; the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie where Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” is located; and they experienced the legendary shopping in a city renowned for its fashion.

Now it is the Italian students’ turn to experience American culture. For Edoardo Marseglia, 12, Maine is a marked change from Milan.

“None of the buildings in Milan are very tall – everything is very flat,” he said.

Michele Sannino, 12, said he’s ready to experience American life.

“I don’t know what it’s like for people over here, so I’m really excited to learn,” Sannino said.

Group leader Louisa de Bellis, 21, said Maine weather perplexes her the most.

“It’s always changing – first rain, then cold, then three days of heat and humidity.” she said.

The group has planned many activities, including a trip to Acadia National Park, excursions to area lakes and a white-water rafting trip.

The Italians also have planned a national night, where they will have a dinner featuring food from their country, and they will perform a skit for their host families. The Americans did the same for the Italians while they were in Milan, cooking them a breakfast that included blueberry pancakes and American cereals.

American group leader Amy Fagan of Dover-Foxcroft said it’s been the experience of a lifetime for both the kids and the adults involved.

“Despite the fact that most of the kids don’t speak much of either group’s language, they really communicated well and had no problems getting to know each other,” Fagan said.

Maggie Harding, 12, of Ellsworth agrees: “I didn’t even need to know Italian – when you’re having fun and learning you can always understand each other.”

For more information on Children’s International Summer Village, visit www.cisv.org.