The underground.

What is with that? What happens to us? Honestly? What happens to civilisation when it hits those grimy steps and enters the so called underworld?

It changes. Normal, kind hearted, non-freakish people (some of whom have even given blood) turn into this monstrous wave of channelled anonymity, that pushes you, snarls at your ankles, and wishes you dead if you falter getting your ticket into the machine in less than 2.0 seconds.

We change, according to our environment, and depending on the group of people we are in.

The metro dehumanises us. Fact! But what does the home exchange community do to us?

Well, five things immediately spring to mind. To be a home exchanger, broadly, you´re going to be a certain type of person. Someone who likes to travel. Someone with a sense of adventure. Someone who likes to experience new things. Someone who has faith in community.

And the things this environment can bring out of you are that:

1) You help make the house child proof for the coming family
2) You leave a list of useful numbers such as dentists, doctors and physiotherapists at the ready
3) You inform the neighbours of the new family´s arrival
4) You prepare directions and suggestions for things the family can do during their stay
5) You leave their house sparkling clean for when they get back.

You see. The beauty of home exchange is, that although it might be a bit of extra effort to put all these things in place for the coming family, they will be thinking of you and doing exactly the same things for you. It´s these sweet little touches that really make home exchange a personal and heart-warming experience.

Just as the underground takes some humanity out of us, home swapping brings out the heart in us.