When trying to find a home exchange in a foreign country you may not have a family member who can teach you the linguistic subtleties of the region. But that kind of help is as close as your internet connection.
FREE TRANSLATION HELP
Your best bet for communicating with swappers who don't share your language may be crowd-sourcing. Lot of people are bilingual in your language and that of your potential swap partner. They can help you.
ENHANCING FREE TRANSLATIONS
When writing to a swap partner, you need a better resource that the awful free computer translations available on sites like Babelfish or Google language tools. But paid human translation, at about $40 per page, adds up quickly when working out home exchange details. You also don't need the precision a paid translator will bring to a simple email. Start with a foreign-language email from a swap partner, or a short message you want to send and add the expertise of a native speaker.
WHERE ARE THE CROWDS?
If you post a paragraph or two on http://answers.yahoo.com/ you will quickly find others who are willing to crank out a quick translation for you. It may not be perfect, but you can run it through that computer-based free translation program to make sure no one is trying to play a hilarious joke on the swappers with an off-color translation. Using this method I was able to find multiple suggestions of Slavic names for my Russian Blue cat. Folks who answer those questions earn points so they have a motivation for helping you.
NETWORK FOR TRANSLATION
No matter what your interest or careers, you have peers living in other countries. Join an internet group aimed at others who share your interests and ask for help with translation. This is also a great way to help others learn about home exchange. Who knows, you may even find a more compatible swap family this way.
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