So Google translate.

It’s more about getting the message across than slaving over accuracy and the finer points of grammar. Let’s do a little example. Let’s take this cordially written Spanish request for a home exchange:

Estamos planteando la posibilidad de disfrutar de unas largas vacaciones en londres. No tenemos muchos conocimientos de inglés y creemos que la posibilidad de vivir un tiempo en inglaterra nos ayudaría a perfeccionar el idioma.

The translation that you will receive through Google translate is this:

We are raising the possibility of enjoying a long vacation in London. We do not have much knowledge of English and we believe that the possibility of living a time in England would help us to refine the language.

So you understand the message, but it sounds a little odd. This does not mean that the prospective people who want to exchange with you are freaks!!!

Far from it. Who knows how our own genially thought-out messages are being ever so slightly tinged with the non-quite perfect taint of the happy-go-lucky google translation.

Things get a little bit lost in translation. Not merely the words. Sometimes there are other cultural differences that may be reflected in various messages sent between countries. Let’s not forget this. Some cultures are a lot more direct. Whilst Brits might be more likely to write lengthier, verbally acrobatic proposals, and the Americans may don their pens to ever charming epistles… Some European or South American users may well cut out the tight-rope walking that we put ourselves through, and just stick the details down and ask you, quite frankly, if you’re up for it.

This doesn’t mean that they are rude or that they lack grace. It’s just a cultural difference. Something that we should very much keep in mind when we’re whizzing messages to and fro across the home-exchanging-globe.

HOWEVER: despite all the cultural differences that there might be, there is one common ticket amongst us home exchangers. Something UNIVERSAL that we must abide, above all else.

We must let people know, in some shape or form, whether we are interested in their exchange or not. And whether we be Italian, Lebanese, Argentine, Italian or Dutch, it’s very important to at least send some form of thanks for the proposal.

If you take a look in some of our forums, you can see that some people actually feel a little perplexed, or dare I say…hurt that they’ve had their exchange proposals ignored or rejected without so much as a word.

http://en.homeforhome.com is a community that you can trust and rely on. Let’s keep our fellow users in mind and maintain that loved up community vibe! <3