Happy Thanksgiving! After family, friends and health, what are you most thankful for? You know what my vote is -- home exchange! I have met so many interesting people through swapping. We have spent months exploring exotic locales and we never have to cram our four-person family into a tiny, grimy hotel room. More about that next time.
Today we are sending a shout out to all the foreign home swappers in the US during Thanksgiving. What is the big deal? they are no doubt wondering. How do Americans choke down all of this dry turkey? And where can I eat dinner that will be open and won't load my plate with weird Thanksgiving delicacies?
The answer comes to us from far away Asia. If you want to have dinner when there is a national holiday and everyone has closed up shop, go to a Chinese or other Asian restaurant. People who do not celebrate their adopted country's holidays are more likely to see it as just another work day.
This problem can be avoided altogether by checking in with exchange hosts about any holidays scheduled during your home swap. More often than not, the exchangers will have scheduled their vacation around some holiday or another. It is easier to get time off from work during a holiday "dead period".
We found out the hard way that holidays may not be the best time to visit a foreign country when our cruise ship docked in port after port closed for a string of Southern European holidays. All the museums were shut and the streets were practically deserted.
On the other hand, we were invited to a Mexican family's Christmas posada. That was a fun event full of real family warmth. If you exchange homes during a holiday period, let your swap partners know what to expect. If possible, arrange for friends or neighbors to host your guests for the traditional holiday celebration. This is the kind of access to the real culture of a place that makes home exchange the only way to travel.
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