By: Savannah Wooten, YES Abroad student in Bosnia and Herzegovina

"Last month, my host family and I spent a weekend in Split, Croatia. My host mom, dad, sister, and I piled into our family car on a Saturday morning and made the six hour drive across the country. The trip was gorgeous and I was glad we chose to travel during the daytime so I could see the beautiful Bosnian countryside! After a day of rest stops, junk food, Balkan folk music, and backseat dancing, we finally arrived at my host aunt and uncle’s apartment. We unpacked our things and immediately went out to the “Riva,” the walkway by the water. The adults sat and drank coffee and gave Ena and me permission to walk through the town by ourselves. We walked by the water, visited some little shops, and had a really nice evening. I ended the night by practicing my basic-but-somehow-understandable Bosnian with my host relatives over tasty pita and ćevapi.

The next morning my host uncle took Ena and me to a beautiful park on the top of the city. After an exhausting hike, we finally reached the main lookout point. My host family kindly humored my inner picture-taking tourist before we went back down into the main city. After some delicious lješnjak topla čokolada (hazelnut hot chocolate, mmm!) and some more time spent down by the sea, it was time to go home. Although it was only a short trip, I am really glad I had the chance to visit. I got a new stamp in my passport, bought a Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian dictionary, rubbed the lucky toe of Gregory of Nin, met my wonderful host relatives (who have Skyped me several times since the trip), and got to visit another beautiful Balkan city."

We are eager to welcome new families as hosts! To learn more about becoming a host, visit hosting.state.gov. If you are interested in hosting a student, let us know here!

Share your own hosting experience using #HostFamily on Twitter.