[DelMarie]

We stayed with a host family in Krasnodar in 2004 & 2005.

On our first trip we had no idea we would be staying with a host family and started asking questions about which hotel we would stay at. So, needless to say when we first walked into the apartment we were overwhelmed and nervous. Well, our hostess took one look at our faces and said-DON'T WORRY-we will take good care of you-sent us off for a nap and when we got up had a great bowl of borsch waiting for us. AFter that we were more at ease and COULD NOT WAIT to see our host family again on the second trip. We shared photos, went with them on errands so we could "soak up" the culture and even became more confident in venturing out by ourselves.

I would encourage you to learn as much Russian language as you can-however, we were able to do that because we had nearly a 2 year process in 2004/2005. We learned hello, thank you, good morning, good evening, excuse me, etc....Even though we couldn't carry on much of a conversation, the effort we took to learn some words seemed to show those we encountered that we cared about their country.

Both my husband and I LOVED the experience and felt we truly experienced more than if we would have stayed in a hotel. WE were sad to leave the city and our new friends-we've tried to maintain contact over the past couple years as much as possible through e-mail.

I didn't have any problems with the food but have to second the comment about gaining weight. Our hostess prided herselves in cooking HUGE portions for us. The only dish I didn't care for was the local "sturgeon" from the black sea. It was a request of mine when the hostess asked if there was anything else we would like to try I said yes-how about some local sea food? It was so salty and like sardines.

One final comment-we did share some Russian Vodka as celebration on our last night with the host family and boy oh boy-was that warm going down!

GOOD LUCK