An average home in a “non tourist area”. Would you exchange?

Posted by admin on Aug 5, 2011 in Case study | 1 comment

I want to share why despite of my interest I still have not put my offer in one of many home exchange listings. I think my reason number one has denied many others to engage into this movement.But in any case I’ll speak about myself.

So, I live in an average house in an unpopular place for tourists.

Our house has made in “soviet times” in 1973. A lot of things starting with the oranges and finally with building materials modern to the rest of the world at that time was a deficit – these things were available for ordinary citizens. As we couldn’t get much, party has decided salaries shouldn’t be large either. Also no one talked about mortgage or consumer credit in those days.

So my father built this house for work earned wages and from which he could obtain. At that time existing standards was built one and a half storey house with 90 square meters of residential area which included three small rooms and a bit bigger one, kitchen and a bathroom and an outhouse. Neither income nor Construction Authority did not allow architecturally express. Luckily the garden was (and still is) big and nice enough.

Here’s the second part of the problem – you can’t see the Taj Mahal or Macu Picchu from where I live. Luckily I’ve heard rumors it’s become possible to see Northern Lights now and then but personally I haven’t seen yet. Thus very likely that a week inLatviafor world wonders collecting tourist could prove to be full of disappointment.

I understand that those times when foreigners thought that we soviet area residents wear Russian Valenki and walk on the streets with bears are gone. But I assume that stereotypes about differences in living standards could complicate the potential exchange.

I see two possible solutions here. One could be to give up the home exchange intention. The second – I could give up the first and find out whether the concerns have real grounds and what I can do to make home exchange possible despite that fact that you won’t see snow-cappedpeakofMount Everestin my kitchen window at breakfast.

I must say that I tend to the second solution. In case if anyone has read these lines I’ll be glad to know your thoughts. Would you be willing to exchange with me and under what conditions (if you have any)?

Hospitality definition. Does your dog is my buddy?

Posted by admin on Jul 19, 2011 in Hospitality definition | 0 comments

Hospitality is closely related to home exchange. It comes to mind when we start to worry about possible troubles with the potential home exchange. I will host and I will be hosted as a guest. How it should be?

Before we dive into a hospitality definition, I want to tell a real case happened with my pal Leonid an experienced motorcycle traveler, which I sometimes join for shorter or longer trip.

Despite that fact, that we are away from theGreatCanyonand there are about 3000 kilometers until the nearest pyramid, sometimes some foreigners visit us.

So, one day Leonid stopped his car to take on board an auto stopper which he do regular and gladly. It turned out it was a teacher fromFrance. He spent every summer holiday by wandering around the world. By the way, while he was away he allowed his Paris apartment to live in the same adventurer as he was and who was not forbid a shelter for him. My friend was quite elated about such kind of traveling.

Though I met Leonid after he hosted a Frenchman, my pal was quite skeptical. Foreigner did not like the Leonid’s family pet dog, although the family was accustomed to it every day staying together and move freely around the house. This made visiting embarrassing. On the one hand, the guest was mincing from the other – maybe the host was not hospital enough.

By reference to the hospitality definition of number of sources (e. g. 1; 2) hospitality is the relationship between host and his guest, which includes accommodation, entertainment and security. For me this means that a host – person within its territory so strong, calm, dependable, helpful, honest and open at full sense and running by good will warm welcome and offer a safe place to a guest – person who left his home so feel more or less insecure but who is honest, open and reliant on a host.

We do not need ever to perceive hospitality unilateral and absolute. So to speak, if someone is determined to pick up guests he must blame himself. Hospitality is very double-sided act. It should take place only if both sides to answer their description. If they ever will change roles, it will be rendezvous of two strong, honest and open people.

What is your hospitality definition?

Benefits of The Home Exchange. A selfish review.

Posted by admin on Jul 14, 2011 in Featured | 0 comments

For those who want to leave a stunning impression on the girl (or a boy) which it seems would like to go to the world’s end the home exchange can’t really an appropriate solution. Perhaps a better choice would be to go here. In case you have already made a breathtaking impression for yours better half, in addition as a result there’s a covey joined you, the home exchange can give a tangible benefit for a travel budget of your family.

Let’s look at the most indisputable of them.

Firstly you mustn’t be Einstein to figure out it’s possible to reduce travel costs for the hotel price if you will stay in your exchange partners house.

Secondly, yet I’m not a fan of conspiracy theories though it’s a bit strange that I haven’t seen a kitchen with an electric stove in different types of hospitality establishments which have their own restaurants. It’s OK to visit a famous restaurant in surroundings but not three times a day. In your exchange friend kitchen you can make your favorite cheesecake and hear how saved coins jingling into the piggy bank.

However it’s hard to ignore possible material benefits if travel by participating in the home exchange movement. We could quietly close a topic if only there weren’t a couple of things worth mentioning.

How would you love to know that you have a second home anywhere on the earth – a safe base on unknown territory. See, you also tide up your house for guests just like your exchange partner. Like wise, you told a bit about your neighbors. You left references about practical things as from manipulation with your hi-tech Jacuzzi and ending with a location of your favorite vegetable trader pop in your local bazaar.

No matter how adventurous we are out of our known territory, our zone of comfort, during the journey. Therefore, perhaps deep in side, however we are vulnerable and scared. Staying at a “real home” reduce this feelings naturally.

In turn, this opens you for new experiences, the real journey experiences. I have nothing against organized group tours (although, probably I have) though possibility to live close by natives while maintaining a freedom of movement and building up communication skills and methods allow you to feel a bit just like “Discovery guy”. It’s completely possible that your home exchange partner’s neighbor after emptying an absinth bottle together last night will take you to the place “Discovery guys” are just dreaming about.

After all, you home dog-tired but satisfied. You throw then a garden-party for your friends. Than you realize you just get a couple of new friends somewhere on the world. You realize that despite the fact that you have 2500 virtual friends exactly them you won’t forget till your last journey.

p.s. OK, let’s tackle a “selfish” word.

Firstly we can’t love people if we don’t love ourselves.

Secondly, in the home exchange case, it’s a very acceptable word. We have to prepare best of all our part of the deal if we except to receive the same from our exchange partner. There’s an old saying – “Given returns to the giver”. Were all ancient people selfish? Or maybe wise?

The Home Exchange. Between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Posted by admin on Jul 11, 2011 in Case study | 0 comments

When we think about a home exchange, it’s like tasting a new sort of beer (or wine if you like it better). The initial taste always followed by aftertaste. When the initial euphoria about worldwide friendship fades, a dual sense appears that seamlessly want to cause an internal conflict.

The first that comes to mind and seem attractive, it is thoughts about hospitality and openness to new experiences and the world in general. In ancient times was a widespread idea – the traveler you receive at home could be a god, who arrived to check your humanity. There were times and places where travelers welcomed and protected, because whoever he was, he was far from his home, so weak and vulnerable. The host in this case could show his generosity as the strongest in this situation.

From the other side it was long ago it was elsewhere and maybe it wasn’t true at all. You cannot know what a stranger you let your house can cause to your property or yourself. The one thing is a friendship in different types of “facebooks” – if you don’t like someone, tell all what you think of him then exclude from the group and behold, heart again dwells in peace. Quite another is a real contact with strangers.

It seems nowadays the concept of hospitality we can more attribute to the business sector. You can better pay your money and all will smile at you and dance for you all your vacation and will stay anonymous like your virtual friends.

Here’s a home exchange dilemma here. On the one hand the inspiration, worry from the other. In fact, there’s nothing new, isn’t it?

Some time in my life, I was a shooting instructor for security stuff of Latvian Bank. One of my instructors formerSoviet Unionspecial task police unit combatant had a saying about this kind of situations: “The key is engage in a fight, than it will see”…

It’s likely that these two opposing forces are one of the reasons that there are hundreds of thousands of people from about a half of the world involved in home exchange movement, although we have more than 6.7 billion worldwide.

Perhaps you who read these lines have already home exchange member. If so, share experiences!

Who invented the home exchange and why?

Posted by admin on Jul 6, 2011 in Featured | 7 comments

As an interested in person I did some research in the topic.

Relating to the history of home exchange, the information only differed in one query – was it some teacher from US or maybe it was a whole conference of European teachers who invent this very good way of traveling. However, there were teachers for whom HE spring into their mind in early 50-ties.

What kind of person is a teacher?

Characteristics of a good teacher (I’ve met some of them and I’m married to one of them) of all times were curiosity, openness and ingenuity. And that’s despite of difficult working conditions and inadequate wage as often as not.

What kind of situation was then?

World War II had just ended. Fallen had to mourn. Ruins removed. Europe was built from scratch. Yet there weren’t enough for politico – Europe was divided and new conflicts in Cuba, Korea, Africa were cranked up and US/USSR cold war picked up speed. The situation wasn’t nearly so rosy how we could think today if we are looking at posters of that time.

Nevertheless, one thing is clear. The world most disastrous war was over and people were full of hope. Hippies only were born at that time but the need for external and internal freedom existing in every human being breaking out. Apparently, home exchange was one of its manifestations.

The idea was simple and brilliant. Teachers made lists of colleagues who agreed to exchange their homes free of charge with craft-brothers from other cities and countries. What do they got? They got home from home anywhere in the world. The home exchange movement was born.

What happens now?

During the beginning of fifties until the June of 2011, the Soviet block collapsed not to mention other “super significant” but a bit smaller organizations. Just the recession flapped capitally the capitalist system too. Even the hippies started to vanish. Perhaps now we have got through the world war too although in a little bloody way – lucky.

However, the home exchange movement survived and still functioning thanks to the people like teachers from 50-ties – curious, opened and imaginative who help this way their internal and external freedom show.

History teaches us – all material can disappear in a blink. What matters is only what we have experienced. “It’s banal” – maybe someone will say. “So what” – I will say. The most important things in life are simple.

Thank you, teacher from fifties!