There is a British couple who used to do home swaps with French families in different cities in France. Now, they´re both retired.  Living gleefully in France for six months of the year, in the bosom of a local rural community. Every Christmas they receive invitations to spend the festive season celebrating precious friendships with their old exchange partners.

The warming solidarity of two parties seeking to share their homes for the mutual benefit of an intimate, and inestimable holiday can easily lead to a momentous friendship. Not only do you both partake in a beautiful experience of having a stress-free, fabulous time exploring and relishing a different culture. But you also enter into the heart of someone else´s living – their home. In this way, if you choose, you can cultivate a really special bond with a shining variety of people from a whole range of different cultures. It´s not only culturally enriching, but also personally touching.

There is, of course, no obligation to invest yourself in a personal level, but it´s one of the many opportunities offered by home exchange - to integrate yourself on a worldwide level, and colour your life with a medley of cultural exchange. Whilst you´re taking pleasure in the many different flavours of food, weather, architecture, history, natural landscapes, and local entertainment, you are also afforded the opportunity of making enduring friendships with people from different countries.

Part of the excitement of a home swap is the sweet sense of adventure, and this is not only limited to the holiday. There´s a whole world out there, waiting for you to try it out.