ALT Experience Russia
Experience Russia
Many of the things we hear about Russia are hard to believe or even understand. Did you know that Russia is the biggest country in the world, covering ⅙ of the Earth’s surface? It’s true! Russia spans across 10 time zones! That’s why it has a great diversity of cultures. Some of the world's greatest minds, like the scientist Dmitry Mendeleev and the novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky were from Russia. And the Russian Federation's space program which was started during the Soviet Union times, is famous all over the world for sending the first man into space. But there are also some stereotypes, like bears walking around the streets or that it is freezing cold year round. We invite you to discover the truth yourself!
And the best way to discover the real Russia is with an ALT Experience Russia programs:
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Language Homestay
How about discovering in person one of the most beautiful and contradictory countries in the world? Is travelling your passion and do you like to meet interesting people? Then an authentic Russian homestay might be right for you. You will:
- Have the experience of a lifetime in Russia
- Travel with an unbeatable low budget
- Learn about one the most interesting cultures in the world
- Experience Russian life from the inside, as a family member
- Gain experience as a tutor
Don't miss this chance to visit Russia for a couple of months and stay in a nice home with a host family. Every host family is carefully selected and they provide a single room and full board.
The main purpose of the program is for you to explore a wonderful country, meet new people, have a memorable teaching experience and learn about a different culture from within. The best applicant for this program is someone, who wishes to travel to Russia, who is open to new experiences and has a desire to discover what Russia is really about.
Language Homestay is the unique way to get your homestay for free if you don’t mind helping a family to learn conversational language. You will teach your host family for only 15 hours a week as an exchange for your accommodation and meals. In your free time you can visit the local sites, meet new people or just chat with your hosts.
You don't need to prepare a detailed teaching plan for your classes with the family, you can just talk and discuss different topics, because the members of the family are in most cases, just interested in conversational English. And you shouldn't worry if you don’t have a teaching experience - we will provide the teaching materials that you will need.
Free accommodations are provided as an exchange for your help in learning a language, in this case you only pay for the placement services.
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Benefits |
Language Homestay |
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Full immersion into the mysterious Russian culture |
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Practice Russian language during your stay |
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Meet new people and make new friends |
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Save money on your trip |
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Add this unforgettable experience to your CV |
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Get a free homestay in exchange for language tutoring |
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After submission of online application our Manager will contact you shortly!
Our Host Families
Every host family is carefully selected from a wide range of families who will really treat their foreign guest just like a family member, while sharing our program values. The host family must provide full board accommodation and a separate clean room. Before we approve of the host family, we inspect their homes, talk with them in person and make sure that they understand the program and that they will be genuinely happy to meet a new friend from abroad.
Language homestay program is the best way to immerse into Russian culture. It is a unique chance to feel the atmosphere of traditional Russian family with it’s hospitality customs.
There are a few pieces of advice how you can spend your time being a part of a family during the program.
1. Local Excursion twice a month (Local Museum or gallery)
There are breathtaking sights located far away from the capital. Every corner of the country, every town or small village has its own rich history. A great variety of churches (The Golden Ring of Russia), places of the great battles with magnificent monuments (“The Motherland calls” in Volgograd), nature reserves (Lake Baikal or “Kizhi in Karelia, Divnogorie in Voronezh) and many others. You can visit the attractions together with your host family.
2. Opera and Ballet theater / any other theater/ or Russian folklore concert
The cultural component of our program for theater lovers. What would you choose: to attend a drama perfomance or enjoy a graceful ballet production. It’s up to you.
3. Friday meeting with friends/relatives
Russian feast is not just the opportunity to taste traditional food such as “pelmeni”, “okroshka”, “borsch”, pancakes with red caviar or “oliviye salad”. This is the way to become closer and understand each other better. Besides it shows the generosity and hospitality of Russian hosts.
A host family can choose to go to a Russian food restaurant instead of cooking by themselves.
4. Picnic or “Shashliki” /BBQ
Usually our “shashliki season” starts in spring (May holidays) .
You can become a part of this tradition. It usually takes place in a country house. You may also have a chance to go fishing in the morning.
5. Bath-house tradition (on Thursday)
This custom goes back to ancient times. It is called “Clean Thursday” and considered as the process of cleaning your body and mind.
- We promote our program within families and receive a pre-application from those who wish to invite a friend from abroad.
- We interview the family in person and if we see that they meet our program's requirements, we'll send them our full application form. We carefully select only those families who share our program values, and really want to find a new “family member” from abroad.
- After checking all the details ( private room, meals, wi-fi etc.) we put family's profile onto our approved families list.
- We select families which we believe are the best for you and send their profiles to you.
- You choose one and we organize an online meeting through skype.
- If it is successful, you'll receive a invitation letter soon. If you decide to keep searching for any reasons, we will help you to find another one.
Sarah (Scout) Mills, Portland, Washington, USA (2015)
Also we must mention one thing - if you would like to stay with different families during the program - we can find a family who will accept you for the first month of your trip, and then you can move to another family for another month.
How do we prepare you for the trip
Before your arrival to Russia, we must check that you’re ready for the program. In order to do that, we will have an online consultation (again, through Skype) with you. During this pre-departure orientation we will prepare you for your trip to Russia. Don’t be scared! We will try to tell you more about Russian people, things to take with you, managing transportation, the food to expect, prices, etc. Also if you are taking part in our Language Homestay, program we will send you the materials for your English lessons with the family, so you could prepare for the classes. The materials include conversational topics on history, food, cinema, geography, sports, space and many others, so you will always have something to talk about with your host family.
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Your duties and responsibilities |
Host family duties and responsibilities |
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keeping your room clean |
HB accommodation (full board depending on availability) |
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being polite with the people around you |
Give advice regarding life in Russia, food and transportation and provide power adapters |
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English tutoring: 15 hour per week |
2 local excursions per month |
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Transfer from and to the airport when you arrive and leave |
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Provide Moscow Travel Pass or St. Petersburg Travel Pass |
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| Keep to weekly social program plan |
Program length and dates
You can start the program year-round. It is better to apply at least 2-3 months before your travel dates. It will give us time to find the best host family match for you.
The program length can be anything from 2 weeks to 3 months, it’s up to you!
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What's included |
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What's included |
Language Homestay |
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HB accommodation in a private room (FB/HB - availability) |
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Placement throughout the country |
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Your stay lasts from 2 weeks up to 3 months |
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24/7 local office support and consultations |
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Two-way airport pick-up |
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Visa support |
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Online interviews with the potential host families |
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2 local excursions per month |
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Access to the best excursions and museums in Moscow or St. Petersburg via Moscow Travel Pass or St. Petersburg Travel Pass |
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Pre-departure materials and orientation |
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Tutoring position in a host family (15 hours per week) |
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Tutoring materials |
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Power adapters |
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What's not included:
- airfare and visa expenses
- extra meals
Study Russian
And now as the icing on the cake! You can add Russian language courses to your program! We can organize courses for you at the local language school or with your host family, so you can improve your russian not only during your conversations with the family, but also by learning with qualified teachers.
This option is available in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Voronezh
Eligibility:
- cadidates over 18 years old
- be a native English, German, Spanish or French speaker
- a high school graduate – being a college student or graduate is preferred
- be in good mental and physical health
Application process:
- fill in the application form
- have a skype interview with us
- after a successful interview pay $250 deposit
- select the family and have a skype interview with them
- pay for the program
- apply for a visa
- buy your flight ticket and start your journey!
How much do I save by travelling with a Language Homestay program?
Let’s pretend you will come just as a regular tourist, in this case every night in a hostel will cost you at least $20/night for a bed, plus another $20/day for meals, so about $40 in total. A hotel room with breakfast included is about $45, so one day with meals will cost about $65 (hotels are much more expensive!).
A 3-month Language Homestay program will cost you only about $11/day for a quality Full Board Homestay!
So, for a 3-month stay you will save around $2610 to $4860! The longer your stay, the higher your total savings will be.
Before your arrival we must check that you’re ready for the program. In order to do that, we will have a skype orientation session with you. During this pre-departure orientation we will prepare you for your trip to Russia. Don’t be scared! We don’t mean anything bad or unpleasant, like bears, cold weather or something like that. We will try to tell you about Russian people, things to take with you, transportation, food, prices, etc. If you take part in our Language Homestay program we will send you materials for English lessons with the family. The materials include conversational topics as: history, food, cinema, geography, sports, space and many others.
What great benefits do you get with your program fee?
Hannah Whitt, Fincastle, Virginia, USA
Photos
After submission of online application our Manager will contact you shortly!
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