Teens Get a Crash Course on Living in U.S.

Moscow Times

The Russian high school students listened eagerly to tips on living in the United States.

Be communicative and polite, keep an open mind when encountering America's diverse forms of worship, and volunteer in your community, like millions of Americans.

"Remember: It's not right, it's not wrong, it's just different," said Natalya Sirchenko, who coordinates student exchange programs for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

Skinny girls, your host parents might think you're not eating enough, cautioned Yelena Fomenko of the American Councils for International Education, a Washington-based NGO that runs the FLEX travel-study program with funding from the U.S. State Department.

Host parents also might ask you to do "man's work" like shoveling snow, said Fomenko, herself a FLEX alumna.

Girls in the room tittered.

The dangers of online social networks were also expounded upon. "You're going to America to learn about American culture. How can you do that when you're constantly talking to your Russian friends on Vkontakte?" Fomenko said.