Program participants may live in a university dormitory or with a Russian host family. The overwhelming majority of American Councils participants choose the host-family option. All host families provide private rooms, telephone access, and keys for their American guests. Host families also provide two meals per day during the week and three meals per day on the weekend. Living with a host family immerses program participants in everyday Russian life, while offering some of the comforts of home. Host families also expose participants to authentic, contemporary language and culture in informal, social settings.
All host families are screened, selected, and monitored by American Councils home-stay coordinators and resident directors. Students wishing to move from a host family into a dormitory or from a dormitory into a host family may do so at any point in the program.