Home swap: how can it be?

Home exchange in the movie: The Holiday

I collected some ideas from swappers’ comments here and there.
Here they are.

Home exchange can be…

1. Fascinating
2. Exciting
3. Probing
4. Interesting
5. Innovative
6. Peculiar
7. Special
8. Enthralling
9. Unusual
10. Different
11. Fearsome
12. Worrisome
13. Educational
14. Edifying
15. Enlightening
16. Daring
17. Convenient
18. Liberating
19. …?

What else?

Send me your comments or ideas please! Thanks!

Hello! I’m back with Rosa’s story…Unluckily she didn’t write it in English directly. But no problem! Here we are again…

“… I was finally going to Liverpool!!
I felt kind of anxious, but it wasn’t the typical “journey-anxiety”: it was the kind of apprehension that comes when you know you are doing something important for your own life, for your…Self.

And so it was.

Starting from how they received me at the airport to the last chapter and verse of the room they prepared for me (with a regal bathroom aside!!) I felt like at home straightaway. Obviously the language wasn’t mine but…Who cared? A good chance to improve!
Liz became soon a good friend of mine and all her family did their best to make me feel at ease. I lived their routine, I visited Liz’s father clinic, I went to have a 5 o’ clock tea at some friends’ house,

Would you like a cup of tea?

I went dancing to some clubs with Liz and her friends… And it’s been fantastic: like having a second life, parallel to mine, but in a sense more special because different, alternative, in English, so far away from my Italian home.
It gave to me the possibility of testing myself, growing as a person, taking advantage of the new place and people.
Then I went also to the Beatles Festival and to visit The Cavern, the club where The Beatles played many times in the early ‘60s!

The Cavern

They would never have been the same holidays if I hadn’t stayed at someone’s home.
This home exchange with Liz overwhelmed me with precious feelings and memories and turned on my passion for English language, UK music and the bizarre British culture.
Well…However not for the food. No offense, but in this case I still prefer the Italian option!

Spaghetti!!

The following year, in August, Liz came to my place, near Venice: we gave her my room (which I gave up with pleasure) and I introduced her to the village life, to my friends, my places and my family.
Liz graduated in Italian and international law. She has lived and worked in Venice and Rome for some years.
I ended up studying in UK and, still, I love English, the green hills, the tea. I also adore staring at their sparkling shop windows, often full of clothes too scanty to be dressed, however proudly and womanly worn.

Uh, I forgot… I also made many other home exchanges with people from the entire world since I got a flat, little but cosy, in Bristol.

Bristol Views

But this is a different part of my diary…”. Rosa.

Lucky girl! Thanks Rosa for sharing your first home exchange with us!
!

“…By chance a family friend (a normal friend, not a mafia-style one! ) got married to a Lady Jane from Liverpool, and in the end I asked her if she knew anyone who may be interested in home exchanging.

Unbelievable! She this girl from Liverpool was really interested…I got her number and called the day after.

She seemed really nice and quite enthusiastic about the idea. Her parents agreed with the whole home exchange thing. We exchanged some letters and we got to know soon that we weren’t so different. We were both adolescents, music lovers in search of something special to do that would make us feel special in the same way.

In July I bought a British Airways open ticket and the first of August I took the plane to Manchester. I was finally going to Liverpool!! ”

To be continued…

Sorry but the translation requests quite a lot of effort this time… Rosa clearly likes poetic style

Today I’d like to submit an extract from a friend’s diary, Rosa (who’s from a village near Venice). She sent it to me because she wanted to share her first home-exchange experience.

“I was 18 and I used to listen to Beatles and Nirvana all day long. I was crazy about music that made history and for the one that was still making it and also about English speaking countries.

I don’t know how English people perceive their own language, but I’ve always been seduced by the charm of English. I find in it a special strength, due to the simplicity they put into some phrasal verbs through which they express more or less complicated concepts. I also loved the English “fluidity” you can hear in English songs.
I’ve always thought that if they have so many good bands, to a certain extent this is due to English language structure.

Years before I had been to Oxford for an intensive English study programme and –while walking down the perfect-English-city streets- I had already felt that particular feeling of freedom and novelty and of music all around.
Therefore I kept the desire of going back to Great Britain, as soon as possible. I had however to face the lack of money which is typical of secondary school students: I couldn’t really afford a hotel or a hostel during my possible journey.
I went to a travel agency asking for advice but they could only suggest looking for an “au-pair” option.
It wasn’t exactly what I wanted for myself: I wanted to go there and have the English girls life, surrounded by English people, English friends… I also wanted to have their famous cooked breakfast and buy in their supermarkets (provided with any kind of goods) some of their wonderful “rubbish” snacks to crunch. I wanted to go to the famous English pubs, plastered with decorations, pictures, paintings, flags…

A UK Pub

The “Fate” made me run into a Mrs Jane from Liverpool, a family friend’s wife…”

To be continued…

A lot of people will wonder how going on home exchange is.
They will have doubts and fears in giving their house to a stranger. A part of these doubts is legitimate.
Even so there are several aspects to take into account that can make our fears disappear.

Trying this kind of experience is not only a question of money, although you are going to save a lot. Money is a tiny part of the whole.
Therefore I’d like to focus on a specific psychological aspect of the issue.

Let’s try to imagine ourselves in the HOME EXCHANGE SITUATION.
You have a house, a life made of people, habits, routine, time and spaces…
At this point you should bear in mind that also the other person (the swapper) has all these things, though in a different way.

You have the unique opportunity to borrow all these things from this other person. You can turn our backs on everything, leave our ordinary life and begin, try a new one (alone or with our family).

If one is well-disposed will certainly meet new people, probably friends or acquaintances of our swapper…You can see different places, colours… You can go native, somehow. Even a banal supermarket will seem something special.
You’ll be foreigners but native at the same time.
You can take possession of a place that is not only “walls”, but rather a place soaked with life, with experience. You can wake up at day break (or even later if you prefer… ;)) at home (your new one) instead of doing it in an anonymous hotel room. You can stare at a different sky; learn a new route to get to the supermarket or to the newsagent’s, breathe a cleaner or simply different air… In conclusion, you could get the possibility, for yourself and your family, to have a new life (though for a short time).
The occasion of getting a life en plus, given to us by the home-exchange, seems incredible to me.

And it is pretty sure that this new life will be less stressful and will have all the advantages of being limited in time and unique and more genuine just because led in a true house, usually lived throughout its days and nights.

Which other way do we have to live two lives?

(Montecarlo, Monaco): suggested for gambling.

Monte Carlo View

The last town recommended in our already famous Top10 list is Monte Carlo.

The reason here is “gambling”. If we only have to look at the fact that one had to choose a different motivation for each town in the Top10 this choice is fine with me, otherwise not… maybe Casino and Grand Prix lovers will agree with this preference, but I would say that there are many other better cities than Monte Carlo around the world, either in Europe or not.

Historical casino

Not that it is an ugly city, on the contrary: there are several things worth seeing, only I wouldn’t put it in a world Top10.

By night

I invite you to suggest an alternative destination then, giving the related motivation for choosing it so that we will all want to go there! Thanks for your help!
I don’t really have enough money (and holidays) to burn in a casino, but for sure you’ve already got that!

…9… Sidney, Australia: recommended for nightlife.

Sidney by night

Sure, choosing Sidney we can’t pretend to be good boys (or girls) all the time… They know how to have fun there and there are hundreds of options, both for day and night, from the “gloomiest” to the most brilliant ones: pubs, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, shops. Museums, galleries, exhibitions, festivals, events and activities for kids, more or less prearranged adventures… In What’s On in Sidney you can get an idea of what Sidney can offer. Either by the most rapid Thunder Jets, luxury yatches or more affordable boats, trips and maritime excursions don’t lack.

Harbour Bridge, Sidney.

We shouldn’t forget however that Sidney is such a popular destination also because She knows how to show up and gives us some spectacular views of herself…

View from Sidney Tower.

I have a friend from Sidney, I met him in Scotland: Sam. He invited me several times to go over… It’s a pity that he got married to an Italian girl and at the moment lives in Puglia… I guess that if I wanna go to Sidney I’ll have find another Australian who’s looking for a home exchange. The “S.A.M.-option” has gone.
Anyway, I think that Australia is quite in fashion. Wherever I go I hear of people that go there or want to go or have just come back…
One of my dearest friend, Carlo, is about to go to Perth where he’ll stay until next February… He’s going to improve his English –he says- but after an intensive course he’ll go around and dedicate himself to a free and wild exploration…(Pay attention to the poisonous animals Charles!!).
Part of his journey is based on home exchanges with Australian guys that are going to put him up. And when they will decide to come to Italy they will stay in Carlo’s home in Veneto. He told me that this way he can afford a longer trip because he’s going to save a lot of money (he doesn’t have to pay for hotels or B&B…).

Not bad…Not bad at all.
I’m tempted to follow him… Yes…I know that I have already to go to South Africa, I know that. But I’m not in a hurry. I’ll take it easy and I will plan everything… It’s better dreaming and planning far-away journeys than not doing it.

…Don’t you think?

A smile.

***

Hello again everybody! Having a good day? Hope so!

…8…
Shall we go to Cape Town today in South Africa? (Kaapstad in Afrikaans to be precise…)
First European settlement in South Africa, rich in architectural and cultural remains from the first Dutch colony onwards, it appears in the Top10 thanks to its…BEACHES!

Houtbay, Cape Town

Well, not bad, not bad…But I would mention also the famous Table Mountain…Extremely suggestive:

Table Mountain by cable car

I know several people from South Africa: they are all different for character or life style, but they all share a kind of calm, powerful light, difficult to describe with words, a sort of positive energy that gives you a sense of peace and safety.
I think that Kirsty and Juliet would agree with this South African destination, but not Biffy and Albert… There are so many astonishing places in South Africa that it is really cruel having to choose only one…
Therefore I’m going to share with you at least some of its unique colours and a little part of its animal delegation. And they unquestionably have an unutterable beauty.

South Africa, Garden Route

Animal Delegation of South Africa

Being left without words after all the wonderful South Africa pictures I’ve been watching all day, I wish you a wonderful and relaxing evening.
I look forward to receiving any comments about South Africa or its people, if you know any!

A smile

Hello everybody!
How are you? What did you do last we?

I’m going to leave Venice and comment with you on another destination, as suggested by listverse.com.

…6. Hong Kong, China: recommended for unique culture.
Revelation: I’ve never been to eastern countries. Never.
I feel bad about that. Well, the reason is simple: I didn’t have enough money to do that. Maybe now, with this home-exchange thing I will find some nice Hong Kong inhabitant who wants to visit Italy…
…Often described as the city where East meets West, Hong Kong can puzzle you with its melting pot of cultures, habits, food…
Well, it’s not really clear to me if it is the kind of city you’d better visit on your own or if you need a local guide to explore it and understand it…Any suggestions? Any of you has been there and can tell us something interesting? Thanks!

For now that’s it…I must go…
See you tomorrow!

Continuing what we were saying yesterday…

I was thinking about the possible best destinations for fab holidays… Ok, I didn’t pay much attention to the cost…I just let myself dream…Body and soul relaxing in extraordinary places…
Then I decided to borrow some of the Hot Holiday Destinations listed in one of the listverse.com Top 10s. The writer focuses on a particular aspect of each place. Let’s see if we agree…

1. The Maldives: recommended for relaxation. Well, who wouldn’t like to go there? That island looks absolutely stunning. I’m already there, body and soul lying down.
2. Queenstown, New Zealand: for Excitement. Well, this sounds quite obvious…Queenstown is the bungy-jumping capital! Honestly I don’t know if I would give it a try…Is there anyone amongst you who tried it and can tell us how it is?
3. Paris, France. For the food. The writer also suggests bringing along enough money for food and wine. I would say that going to Paris for food is a little reductive, but maybe -being Italian- my opinion is not so objective, because we are also quite famous for our food and I would think of a different reason to go there (guess which…?). Anyway I agree that Paris must remain in the Top 10. What do you think?
4. New York: for shopping. Since watching the recent “Sex and the city” movie we can get a perfect example of how to go shopping in New York, this one could be a valid reason to go there…Unfortunately not everyone can afford that kind of shopping and I would definitely opt for a home exchange in order to save up for some shopping and also to feel like a real New Yorker.
6. Venice, Italy: for history. Being a good Italian I can’t make head to this choice.
I adore Venessia (as pronounced, to be precise, in Venetian dialect): for evident esthetical reasons but also for history…Personal history. But this is far cry from Venice origin. Do you know anyone who doesn’t want to visit Venice?

I don’t.

And what about living there as a real Venetian, without cars and bikes and traffic noise? Another good reason to look for a home exchange.
But pay attention to the canals! My cousin fell out of a “gondola” into the Canal Grande and I can assure you that it is a horrible experience!

That’s all for today…But we’ll surely discover some eastern destinations…

In the meantime let’s think…What is your favourite Top5?